Originally presented on 1/24/1996 In Chicago for Nutrition for Optimal Health Association, a non-profit educational charity. I recovered this from a floppy drive today. This was one of my early lectures. As the buyer for the leading Midwestern retailer of macrobiotic foods in the late 1980s, I was the person to whom the Kushi Institute referred people with questions or seeking dietary staples (like sea vegetables, soba pasta, condiments, etc.) in that era.
NOHA CLASS on The MACROBIOTIC DIET
JAN. 24, 1996
Presented by NEIL EDWARD
LEVIN, CCN
Macrobiotics
is the group of diets which reflect balance between natural forces to promote
health and normal body-mind function. Using the unifying principle of yin and
yang to describe the expansive or contractive properties of foods, one can
correct the diet for any number of imbalances. Such a balanced diet is shown to
reduce and reverse chronic diseases such as cancer and food allergies, while
reducing social problems such as crime and violence.
Adhering to a macrobiotic diet is an
environmental act. One chooses to eat foods appropriate for one's climate and
past imbalances. Organically-grown wholesome foods are preferred. Locally grown
foods eaten in season are preferred. Animal products are a rarity, including
mostly seafood.
All traditional diets are macrobiotic with
a small "m". The so-called Standard Macrobiotic Diet is a remnant of
traditional Japanese diet. It is high in grains, vegetables from sea and land,
some non-stimulant spices, and beans.
The new Food Pyramid of the Mediterranean
Diet is fairly similar to the Standard Macrobiotic Diet. Both rely on grains as
the main staple, vegetables as the main side dish, and beans, animal products
and fruits used sparingly. Olive oil vs. sesame oil. Brown rice vs. wholegrains
and pasta.
Yin foods are expansive, leafy, and
watery. They tend to be high in sugars and potassium, low in calcium. They are
fairly perishable. They tend to be eaten fresh (in season), dried, or pickled
in sea salt. Salads and fruits are yin. Yin foods tend to be acidic.
Yang foods are contractive, compact,
drier. They tend to be high in contractive minerals like calcium, low in
expansive ones like magnesium. They have a longer shelf life than yin foods.
They can travel farther and still be fresh and wholesome. Salt is very yang,
but sea salt is more balanced, due to some yin minerals comprising up to 5% of
the total weight. Gray sea salt has a lot of magnesium, and can possibly be too
strong for some, leading to constricting effects like kidney stones. Many root
vegetables and small grains and beans are yang. Yang foods tend to be alkaline.
Of course, foods are rarely all yin or
yang. These are relative terms.
We can select foods for their properties
to compensate for seasonal and daily changes. Breakfast should be somewhat yin,
with more water used to cook breakfast grains. This will help us to expand our
energy. Lunch should be similar. Supper should be larger, more yang, and cooked
more, as befits the contractive energy of the day as it is condensing inward.
Grains, esp. brown rice, should be eaten daily,
preferably at nearly every meal. White rice is never used, as it is far
inferior to the wholegrain brown rice. Smaller grains are more yang than
larger. Short or medium grain rices are preferred for daily use. Long grain and
basmati for occasional warm weather use only. Rice is high in every B vitamin
plus a host of other nutritional factors.
This emphasis on grains is based on
history, biology and anatomy. The 20 molars in an adult mouth are named for the
Latin word for "millstone". They are used to grind plant foods to a
pulp. The eight incisors are for cutting, and the four canine teeth are for ripping.
They are nothing like a cat or similar carnivore's teeth, which consist largely
of large canine-type teeth. Our digestive tract is similar to plant-eaters
rather than like predators, who eat a low fiber diet. These factors indicate
the ideal ratio of 7 to 1 for plant to animal foods, or carbohydrates to
protein. This is shown as 5 parts grains and other fibrous foods, 2 parts
vegetables and 1 part beans or animal food. Meat is suited to cold climates,
and is associated with many diseases such as cancer. Traditional cultures in
temperate zones use meat sparingly. As a culture shuns their traditional diet
for the modern, processed foods, the rate of degenerative diseases increases
greatly.
Grains have always been the historical
dietary staple. The word "meal" means ground grains as well as
general eating. In China, people used rice, millet, and buckwheat. In India:
rice and wheat. In the Mideast: wheat and barley. In lower Africa: sorghum. In
the Americas: corn. And in Northern Europe: wheat, barley, rye, and oats.
Grains provide steady fuel. Brown rice releases 2 kilocalories of glucose per
minute into our bloodstream versus over 30 for a candy bar. This is due to the
starches, or complex carbohydrates, in the grains. For athletes, the amount of
glycogen reserves doubles using a starchy diet versus a high-protein one.
Americans use an average of about 2,000 pounds of grain per year apiece for our
animal-based diet. Plant food-based cultures get by very well on 400 pounds per
person.
Food is nutrition: energy and components
of our bodies. Food choices are the largest controllable variable to create
healthy body cells. Eating one extreme will create a desire for the opposite,
to create a rough balance. This balance of extremes is not very healthy. The
classic example is of meat eaters craving alcohol, sweets, potatoes, and other
very yin foods. This leads to an excess of fats, protein, carbohydrates, and
water.
Poor diet often
includes refined table salt, white sugar, animal protein, saturated fats, and poor-quality
water. Mixing meat + dairy + sugar + cold drinks will lead to sticky deposits
and kidney stones.
These principles often lead to natural
remedies. Kidney stones represent excess yang energy. Warm ginger compresses
over the painful area will expand the ducts and allow the stone to pass more
easily. Hot green tea will help internally. For a fever, one can use a fresh
green leaf to the forehead or a tofu plaster. These will more reliably ease a
fever within minutes than ice, which is too cold and may trap the excess in the
body as the fever tries to force it out.
Dietary diversity is also important. We
must try to eat a variety of foods to enlarge our supply of nutrients. Other
general factors apply:
Men can tolerate
more meat than women. Women can tolerate more salads and sweets. Babies, small
and compact are more yang than adults, which creates a need for soft, sweet,
low salt yin foods to allow proper growth. However, if children eat lots of
sugar, they will tend to be hyperactive, emotional, and cry easily. Mother's
milk is very yin, the perfect small baby's food. Milk is made even more yin
when it contains antibiotics and bovine growth hormone.
Meat is yang and leads to aggressive
tendencies. It is appropriate for nomadic, isolated people. Grains lead to
mental conditions of cooperation, community, support, and family life. Look at
our Big Mac diet versus the Japanese rice-based diet, and consider the degree
of community cooperation in each culture. Tomatoes and other nightshade plants
are very yin, and contain nicotine-like substances which are addictive and
depress the mind.
The Standard Macrobiotic Diet consists
mostly of cooked foods. The food enzymes are largely provided by fermented
foods such as miso, naturally brewed tamaris, tempeh, umeboshi plums, etc. The
balance of foods and the amount of cooking depends on the coolness of the
climate.
Like all substances, food has a
vibrational energy. As in homeopathy, you can activate the energy in a food by
cooking, dilute the foods by chewing with saliva to increase the power of the
food, and thus liberate the nourishing, healing powers of our diet.
Yang energies activate the nerves, while
yin dulls the sensations. Grains are high in serotonin enhancers, leading to
calmness and thoughtful behavior. Animal foods activate acetylcholine, which
leads to impulsive behavior linked to low blood sugar and low serotonin levels.
Testosterone, being yang, is increased by animal foods. An explosive discharge
of yang energy is likely to lead to violence. Refined sugar, in a Yale U.
study, dramatically increases adrenaline levels. When children were given the
amount of sugar in two cupcakes, their adrenaline levels increased tenfold;
leading to rapid heartbeat, shallow/quick breathing, nervousness, and
aggressive/hyperactive/erratic behavior. Excess sugar can deplete minerals,
leaving white spots on nails, low zinc, manganese, magnesium, sodium, chromium,
vanadium, and the like.
These same forces influence depression.
Late in the day and in the year the air is contractive, yang. Depression is
linked to hypoglycemia, produced by an imbalanced diet, esp. meat and animal
foods. Yang accumulation in the pancreas inhibits secretion of glucagon, the
yin hormone which increases blood glucose. The pancreas gets hard and tight.
The more yang hormone insulin still secretes and reduces blood sugar, but the
new imbalance lowers blood sugar to the point of craving. The yang, stimulating
neurotransmitters are reduced, which can lead to depression. Short of its blood
sugar for fuel, the higher brain functions decrease and alcohol and sugar
cravings increase.
Schizophrenics usually have chronic low
blood sugar, leading to cravings for refined sugar, alcohol, chocolate, and
drugs. These yin substances expand the brain and nerve cells. These expanded
cells are overly sensitive to yang stimuli, including dopamine. Chronic
overstimulation makes one ignore external, more distant factors. In
schizophrenics this leads to overload, loss of abstract thought, and the
breakdown of the yang powers of concentration and thought coordination. A
niacin deficiency is linked to some 10% of schizophrenic cases, and may be
linked also to glucose tolerance factors.
High blood sugar is likewise linked to
excess yin foods in the diet, so the pancreas releases more of the yang hormone
insulin to rebalance. This also increases the stimulating, yang
neurotransmitters to arouse motor activity.
Too many animal foods can lead to graying
hair, baldness on the top of the head, being oversexed and short tempered, a
tendency to brain hemorrhage, heart attacks, rheumatism, and arthritis. Cutting
out the sugar in the diets of teen offenders reduced their violent episodes
between 45 and 80%. Animal foods and excess dietary fats and calories are all
linked to cancer. About 10-15% of our caloric intake should be healthy types of
fats and oils, compared to 30-50% in our modern diet. Excess fat blocks the
energy flow in the body. Plant foods tend to inhibit cancers. Soybean foods are
specifically linked to low cancer rates. Miso eaters have much lower cancer
rates than the control groups.
Some of the staple foods of the Standard
Macrobiotic Diet include:
*Brown Rice for
the main grain, also appearing in rice milk, rice cakes, mochi cakes, amazake
drink, and pastas. Brown rice should be organic, be rinsed until the water is
clear, and can be pre-soaked for higher digestibility. It is normally cooked
with at least 2 parts water for about an hour. As the rice cooks, the water
drops below the surface. Do not stir the rice after this point or it will get
very sticky. Poke down into it with a wooden spoon occasionally to check the
water level.
*Soy products,
often fermented, including tofu, tempeh, miso, shoyu & tamari, and soy milks.
*Sea vegetables,
mostly cooked in soups, stews and bean dishes. These foods are extremely rich
in minerals. For example, kelp has 150x the iodine of any land plant; while
dulse has 200x the iron of beet greens, the richest land source. Other types are
wakame for soups, stews and beans; hijiki and arame for beans and soups; nori
for sushi rolls.
*Soups and stews
*Beans, esp.
small ones which are more yang and meat-like. Look for aduki, chickpeas,
lentils, soy, peas, and kidney beans. Sea vegetables help us to digest the
beans.
*Pickled foods to
stimulate digestion, provide beneficial bacteria for the gut, and provide a
source of lactic acid.
*Nuts and seeds
can be used in moderation, best if from your climate/continent. This is the
main oil source in the macrobiotic diet. Avoid tropical items.
*In season:
fruits and land vegetables.
*Whole grain
pastas. This is one of the few products using flour. Whole, unground grains are
healthier than flours. Flours are stickier, more mucus-forming, more acidic,
and harder to digest.
*Rolled and
cracked cereals.
*Fish should be
used at most 1-2 times a week.
*Sea salt and
foods pickled with sea salt. For flavor and digestion. Do not overuse! Signs of
overdose include: fluid retention,
thirst after meals, overeating, craving for fruits, sweets, and alcohol, and
emotional tension. Signs of too little salt include:
weak muscle tone,
poor circulation, and mental spaciness.
*Condiments: sesame salt, horseradishes, mustards, rice
and cider vinegars, Ume plums.
*Fresh water and
green teas. Grain beverages.
*Fermented dairy
products like yogurt, kefir, etc.
It is good to eat a variety within each of
these food categories. Cooking methods include boiling, steaming, sautéing,
frying, and pressure cooking. The heat intensity and cooking techniques affect
the yin/yang energy in the food.
Organic foods are so important because the
microorganisms in both the human gut and the soil aid digestion and
assimilation of nutrients to either us or plants. Vitamin B-12 is made only by
these types of bacteria. The traditional Japanese diet provides different,
simpler intestinal microbes than average Americans (Western J of Med, 1974),
and such simpler populations were associated with lower rates of bowel cancer
(Cancer Research, 1975).
Illness is a symptom of imbalance. Look
for the lesson of how your energies are affecting that manifestation. Sickness
becomes inevitable if our foods and actions are out of harmony with nature.
If the skin is pale, you may be eating too
much fruit. Bad skin indicates excess sugar. Gluten and grain allergies
indicate an excess of dairy and sugar in the past. Diets high in meats, fats
and sugar show increased rates of tooth decay and weakened bones.
Lotus root tea
reduces mucus in the lungs.
Yang foods are salts, hard cheeses, eggs,
and meat. Illnesses from excess yang foods include: duodenal ulcer, hepatitis, appendicitis, jaundice, gout, liver
cancer, and headache in the back of the head.
Yin foods include most dairy, sweets,
juices, alcohol, spices, coffee and tea.
Illnesses linked
to excess yin include: colitis, hernia,
diabetes, asthma, pleurisy, leukemia, meningitis, detached retina, varicose
veins, gum disease, stomach ulcers, cystitis, frequent bloody noses, and
headaches in the front of the head.
More balanced foods include grains, beans,
vegetables, seeds, nuts, and seasonal fruits. When one eats at the extremes
there are other associated illnesses including:
arteriosclerosis,
gallstones, arthritis, breast cysts and cancer, lung cancer, cataracts, and
pneumonia.
It is recommended to not eat for 3 hours
before bedtime.
Cancer is yin, expansive. Avoid overeating
and indigestion by chewing foods to liquid. Avoid all fruit, animal fats, and
greasy foods.
In studies,
macrobiotic-type diets are very healthful:
Lowering and
stabilizing blood pressure (AmJ of Epidemology, 1974)
Lowering blood
cholesterol and triglycerides (NEJ of Med, 1975)(Atherosclerosis, 1982)
Lowering cancer
rate by 60% and death rate by 40% in Denmark during a blockade and shortage of
animal and dairy foods (JAMA, 1920)
Sea vegetables
removed most of the strontium 90 from contaminated subjects (McGill University,
1964)
Daily eaters of
miso had 33% lower rates of stomach cancer (1981, Nat. Cancer Center of Japan)
Mice fed
naturally fermented soy sauce had a 26% lower rate of stomach cancer and a 75%
drop in tumors (1991, U. of Wisconsin)
Patients with
pancreatic cancer. 24 on macrobiotic diet survived an average of 17.3 months
vs. 6.0 months for matched controls. The one year survival rate was 54.2% vs.
10% for controls. (1984-85, Tulane U.)
Macrobiotic Diet
is a healthful way of eating (AmerMedAssn Family Medical Guide, 1987)
A high fat diet
is linked to higher breast, lung, and skin tumors in mice. (CancerResearch2)
A 41 country
study linked high intake of refined sugar with high breast cancer rates (BritJ
of Cancer, 1976)
Soy protein
reduces serum cholesterol and triglycerides (JAMA, 1982)
People who
regularly eat cheese have a 50% greater risk of breast cancer than those who
don't. With milk it's an 80% increase (Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, 1986)
A diet high in
meat and animal products is linked to colon cancer (NCI, 1974 in CANCER) (JAMA, 1920) (Gut, 1969) (Journal of the NCI, 1975)
Macrobiotic
eaters versus the Framington Heart Study participants: the macro eaters had
average cholesterol readings of 126 mg./dl. compared to 184 for the normal diet. Harvard study in the New England
Journal of Medicine, 1975)
Fermented soy
sauce shows anti-tumor activity (Science News, 1991, U. of Wisc.)
21 Macrobiotic eaters added 250 grams of beef
a day to their diets for 4 weeks. Within 2 weeks their serum cholesterol levels
were up an average of 19%. Harvard
study in JAMA, 1981)
Wakame and hijiki
seaweeds, also shitake mushrooms lower serum cholesterol Atherosclerosis,
1972)
A high sucrose
diet (20% of daily caloric intake) linked to liver cancer Huntington Research Centre,
Huntington, England, 1978)
Diet should
consist of Carbs (50-60% of caloric
intake), with glucose, sucrose, and lactose restricted. People should eat
natural foods with unrefined carbs. High levels of fats should be restricted.
(Journal of the ADA, 1979)
Shitake mushrooms
showed almost complete regression of tumors (Cancer Research, 1970)
Kombu given to
mice with implanted sarcomas: 89-95% inhibited. Also good results with leukemia
(Japan Journal of Experimental Med, 1974)
Leukemia in
chickens was reversed by feeding them whole grains and salt (Tokyo Red Cross
Blood Center, 1972)
USDA recommends
partial replacement of animal foods with cereals and legumes, esp. soy. (Am J of
Clin Nutr, 1983)
Tofu as a
substitute for meats and dairy products is closer to the national dietary
guidelines than beef, chicken, eggs, or cheese. It is also preferred by
preschoolers in taste tests (Journal of the ADA, 1990)
Men with AIDS put
on macrobiotic diet stabilized, did better than other patients. (Boston U.
School of Med in Lancet, 1985)
Chewing
thoroughly (saliva) inhibits HIV-1 infectivity (Journal of the American Dental
Assn, 1988)
