Why do we eat food? Why is food important to us?
How does food affect us physically and emotionally? How do we
decide which foods to eat? Taking a quick glance at the
newspaper, I get the impression we are unable to answer these
questions. We follow fashion food trends that change like the
wind. One day, the newspaper says, "Eating grapes can reduce
cancer" and the next day "Drinking green tea can reduce your blood
pressure." What is the underlying philosophy of eating?
Should we change our eating habits everyday hoping to reduce cancer
or lower our blood pressure?
I grew up following these news articles too until one day I
got fed up. There must be a reason for choosing certain foods
and quantities over others. Sure, materialists have argued we
choose foods based on the level of vitamins and minerals in them,
and, while, that may sound natural to our ears, the more I thought
about it I realized there are two problems here. One is that
the amount of vitamins changes by temperature, time, and age. That
is, raw foods will have more than cooked foods. So food gurus
argue for a raw food diet, based on the fallacy that more means
readily ingestable.
Another problem is that each individual is different, born
with a different constitution and energy make-up, and is a whole
being with his/her own differing health conditions. Thus, raw
foods may be helpful for someone with lots of yang, or physical
energy, but would be disastrous for someone yin, with a more
expanding constitution, or state of health. Thus, current food
"science" for what to eat only confuses us.! Eating more
grapes or green tea can be helpful or detrimental depending on
factors that are not explained, and thus many without thought are
left to consume as much as possible of tea today, or grapes
tomorrow. The health effects could be far worse than the
previous diet.
After research, I stumbled upon Macrobiotics, which means
longevity, and is the ancient oriental practice of food based on the
two opposing energies of yin and yang. Food medicine precedes all
other forms of medicine, including herbals. In traditional
Asian society, village elders would make recommendations to cure
illness and prevent disease just by food alone using the yin/yang
method. Yin and yang are principles of expansion and
contraction. All food can be classified as yin or yang as well
as people and movement and so on. Based on the food's energy,
and also confirmed in new studies on chemical properties, we can say
yang foods! are such as meat, oil, eggs, fish, soy sauce, vegetable
roots, salt, and grains; yin foods are potatoes, fruits, alcohol,
leafy greens, medicine, sugar. If you are yang, meaning of a
more contracted energy, strong, physical, manly, you should eat yin
foods to balance your energy; whereas yin people, of more floating,
womanly energy are attracted to yang foods. I am obviously
overly simplifying. Most importantly, the use of yin/yang
theory keeps body balance, and, because it does not over stress the
body, it gives time for natural body healing and spiritual
healing. Yin/yang is clear and concise. There is no
reason to wait in the dark for answers on how to eat or what our
body needs. It is different for each person.
#
FEATURE
YIN
YANG
1
Height
Taller
Shorter
2
Face Shape
Rounder, elongated
More square,
narrow
3
Eyebrows
Slanted down and outward from the
center of face
Slanted down and
inward toward the nose
4
Eyes
Wide eapart
Close set
5
More surface set
Deep set
6
Nose
Long
Short
7
Downturned
Upturned
8
Prominent
Flat
9
Mouth
Wide
Narrow
10
Teeth
Large and more spaced
Narrow and closer
together
11
More slanted outwardly
More slanted inwardly
12
Chin
Narrow and pointed
More square
13
No cleft
Presence of cleft
14
Palm/Hand
Proportion
Shorter palm, longer
fingers
Longer palm, shorter
fingers
15
Thumb position palm of hand
fully extended
Thumb points away from
face
Thumb curls back toward
face
16
Fingers
Long, elegant, narrow
Shorter, squarer
17
Nails
Long and narrow
Short and square
18
Torso/Limbs
Proportion
Shorter torso/longer
limbs
Longer torso/shorter
limbs
19
Feet
Long, broad
Shorter and more narrow
The traditional Asian diet of macrobiotics
was based fully on grains as the stable, with various fresh, cooked
vegetables and roots, and occasional meat or fish. There is a
direct correlation in Korea between the introduction of western meat
eating habits and the rise of cancer. Korean dietary habits
have reversed; before, fully vegetarian and grains with occasional
meat; now, fully meat eating with occasional grains and
vegetables. Meat introduces toxins into our blood and speeds
up the deterioration process of our organs, as do milk and
eggs. Extreme yin (drugs, alcohol) and extreme yang (meats,
eggs, too much oil) draw energy ou! t of our body and put enormous
strain on our body, distracting it from normal healing.
If we follow the 10,000 year-old philosophy
of longevity we can protect ourselves from illness, restore
healthfulness, and avoid the food "medicine" fads. Simply, we
should eat according to our constitution and present health,
following yin and yang principles. Korean traditional foods
had this balance, but with the introduction of sugar and red peppers
and MSG over the past one hundred years, the diet no longer has its
strong bonding balance. However, many people are rediscovering
macrobiotic principles and applying them to their lives with great
success. The aim is long life and natural death without disease or
sickness. Why not apply them to your
life?
If you'd like to found out more about how
macrobiotics can improve your health and spirituality, please email
to [email protected]
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