DAN'S PAPERS, July 4, 2008 Page 179 www.danshamptons.com
Health/Fitness
Yin and Yang of Macrobiotics: Diet for a Happy Life A macrobiotic diet isn’t simply a diet – it’s a philosophy and way of life. It isn’t as much about the food you eat as it is about how that food can help you maintain a natural balance and live a happier life. “It stems from an intuitive understanding of the orderliness of nature,” said Michio Kushi in his book The Macrobiotic Way. Kushi was a student of George Ohsawa, a Japanese philosopher who brought his teachings on the macrobiotic diet to Europe and North America in the 1950s. “Modern macrobiotic philosophy focuses on offering a way of living that closes the widening gap between humans and the natural world.” Similar to a vegan diet, the staple foods of this regimen are whole grains, such as wheat, oats and barley, coupled with vegetables (mostly green leafy, roots and round veggies), fruits, beans, soy products, mild and natural seasonings, nuts, seeds and, occasionally, fish. It eschews refined sugars, processed foods, dairy, eggs and most animal products. Practiced for thousands of years, with contemporary interest in macrobiotic diets stemming from Japan, followers of the diet believe that the quality of the food you put into your body has a great effect not just on your health, but on your happiness and well-being as well. The macrobiotic diet – macro meaning large and bio meaning life - also calls for the reduction of salts, fats, sugars and stimulants, such as alcohol and coffee, from your diet.
Those who follow the diet believe that sickness and unhappiness are nature’s way of telling us that we need to adopt a healthier diet and way of life. They also believe there are physical manifestations of the diet, including a longer life and the reduction of many diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, obesity, gallbladder and liver disorders and cancer. Many studies over the years, including “Dietary Goals for the United States” (1977) and “Diet, Nutrition and Cancer” (1982), side with the macrobiotic diet, finding that a simpler diet based around whole grains is ideal for one’s health.
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Foods are categorized as either a “yin” or a “yang,” depending on how the food grows, where the food was grown, its sodium-potassium content and the effect the food has on the body. Yin foods are rich in potassium, while yang foods are rich in sodium. There are also five elements that must be balanced as well. The “Seven Universal Principles” of oriental medicine are also followed in order to balance the yin and the yang. And it’s easier than you might think to maintain a macrobiotic diet. Once you rid your home of all the junk and processed foods you once ate, it’s easy to keep your pantry full of healthy foods so you don’t immediately reach for the junk. Also, while it might be difficult to go out to eat (though, go to any Asian restaurant, such as Chinese, Japanese or Thai, and ask about what they might be able to throw together for you), you can still ensure that you keep your diet. You can keep healthy snacks in the car or in your bag for when you get hungry while out of the house, and making sure you cook for yourself at home before going out will keep you from stopping off for a quick, and likely unhealthy, snack. It’s also important to keep track of what you’re eating. That way you can actually see how healthy you’ve been, and conversely, see how unhealthy you’ve been if you’ve strayed from the macrobiotic diet at all. For more information on this diet and way of life, go to macrobiotics.org.