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Mr Ohsawa, the chap who conceived of the macrobiotic diet was a chemist, and he was also Japanese which is why he explained world in terms of yin and yang - which to put it very simply is a way of explaining how opposites attract - and he made it his life's work to explain our relationship to our diet in order to help us gain and maintain perfect health.
He found that breast milk, human blood and in fact sea water were similar (in that all had a ratio of two parts sodium to five parts potassium). brown rice and all whole grains had pretty much the same ratio. As all cultures have a whole grain as the basis of their traditional diet he discovered that eating mostly whole grains was the key to staying in balance.
Many people start macrobiotics with a 3 / 5 / 10 day brown rice diet because when you actually experience natural balance it makes you want to keep going. (It's also great for de-toxing)
In terms of yin and yang energies, sodium has a strong contracting effect and so it's yang, and potassium is expansive, yin.
He discovered that before our food was industrialised people living in areas that have four seasons ate a variety of food according to the season to keep in balance. In hot regions (eg tropical or equatorial) traditional diets are more yin as they include locally grown fruit and vegetables which are tropical and higher in potassium to counteract the effect of the hot yang sun. In cold regions (eg arctic) diets are more yang containing a lot of animal food and salt (used to preserve foods) to balance the yin climate.
If we eat extremely yang substances we cannot help but be drawn to yin foods to counteract and balance these. The simplest example is if we taste something extremely yang - for example salt, we automatically reach for water.
So to remain in balance and avoid cravings we only need to place our local traditional food at the center of our diet, and discover which foods are conducive to balance for our locality. The beauty of it is this will be the foods traditionally grown in our region. Traditional diets include an indigenous fermented food which provides B complex vitamins (eg natural pickles, miso, naturally brewed soya sauce etc) - in other words they are probiotic. They usually include good quality meat and fish eaten as a compliment to the grain.
In practice if we are in good health we can enjoy grains, fruits, vegetables and condiments from around the world but for daily use if you wish to remain balanced it is advisable to use those from a similar climate to your own.
Georges Ohsawa was drawn to this work when he caught tuberculosis after several members of his family died of the disease. His cure was to eat the traditional Japanese diet, and soon people were queueing outside his house for advice on how to deal with their various illnesses after they had heard about how he cured himself.
After running a macrobiotic school in Japan, Georges and his wife Lima Ohsawa sold their most valuable possessions - antique jewellery and musical instruments that were family heirlooms. They used the money to send one of their brightest pupils, Michio Kushi, to the west to spread the word to the world. Kushi's pupils began the 'whole food movement'.
Unfortunately the incredible healing properties of the macrobiotic diet did not spread as widely and he had hoped. This was partly because the first western pupils started schools that charged a lot of money for the information (and still do) so it didn't reach the masses. They stuck strictly to the diet demonstrated by their teachers and so people where put off by the unfamiliar Japanese ingredients that still characterise the diet today.
Whilst the Japanese condiments certainly enhance and extend the variety of foods available and are very delicious, this is not what the concept behind the diet is about.
Food additives, medication, coffee and sugar, are extremely yin. Eggs, red meat and salt are very yang, as is nicotine. As well as tropical fruits and vegetables, another category that is extremely yin (very high in potassium) is the nightshade category of vegetables and particularly tomatoes and potatoes.
By gradually cutting out these foods, eating mainly food historically from your own climate you can easily become more balanced and avoid cravings. It is important to familiarise yourself with the standard macrobiotic diet to ensure you are getting adequate nutrition. Happily there are now many macrobiotic recipes and articles online.
Beginning macrobiotics is like starting on a journey of discovery and you are unlikely to produce gourmet macrobiotic food over night. All the ingredients are very plain, but by observing how they are traditonally cooked throughout the world, in becomes infinitely varied and delicious. For example
Spicy curries and dahl,
Herbed pasta, fish and Mediterranean vegetables, dill pickles
Tortillas and refried beans, and mexican vegetable and salads and jalapenos
Greek pitta bread with hummus and olives
Japanese tofu tempura with brown rice and miso soup
etc
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| My parents enjoying a grain based meal |
