Dr. Needles' Passport To Pain Free Living

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

I have been asked about the macrobiotic diet and its values. It was advanced by a Dr Georges Oshawa around 1965 and was advocated at that time for longevity and rejuvenation. It should be revisited, in light of today's nutrition. If you are not well, this diet may improve your health.

In old Chinese medicine yin was contractile and yang was expansive. This is all reversed in physical thinking of the macrobiotic diets. Four thousand years ago, in the physical sense, the sky was considered the supreme Yin symbol and the earth the supreme Yang symbol. Physically speaking, all empty organs are Yin, as they are passive and receptive. These include the stomach, lungs, bladder, gall bladder, colon and small intestines. The Yang organs are solid organs with compactness and are the kidney, heart, and pancreas. Metaphysically, in old Chinese medicine and acupuncture all this reversed.

The macrobiotic diet is based on the process of transmutation. Without it we could not exist. Transmutation is the way one element is changed into another element, either naturally or artificially. In the Orient thousands of years ago gold was produced from other elements and other metals and substances were produced. Biochemical transmutation is no longer the mystery of the alchemist nor a philosophical concept.

On June 21,1964 in Tokyo, Georges Oshawa transmuted the element sodium into potassium under low temperature, pressure, and energy, using a 20cm vacuum tube and 100 watts of power.

It is thought that elements in the body can transmutate to other elements by using minute amounts of energy in the body. This is the foundation of macrobiotics.. Through this process our body can produce all that it needs to be healthy by eating the foods in the macrobiotic diet.

When man borrows elements from nature i.e. iron, calcium, vitamin c and sugar substitutes, we lose the capacity to manufacture what our bodies need. Our bodies are the sites of transmutation. A cow eats only grass and still has a very strong bone structure. Where does the calcium come from? It comes from potassium, hydrogen and internal heat.

AH! SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE!

Why can birds fly in any direction with its nice feathers?. Why can a tiny grain absorb a little water, open, push up small leaves, and grow into a nice plant that gives thousands of grains? A cow eats only grass and has strong bones. Where did the calcium come from? It comes from potassium, hydrogen and internal heat. Why don't any animals (except humans) drink milk after they get teeth? Yet, man is the greatest mystery.

How is the heat produced in your body, continuously day and night? Who or what controls this action? Why is your heart so automatic? How does aspirin lower fever? What is the chemical process that turns proteins in the stomach to energy? Why does adrenalin change the heart rate? What opens (sympathetic/yin) and closes (parasympathetic/yang) all the tissues in the body? Yin foods make the sympathetic system rule, whereas a too Yang diet stimulates the para-sympathetic system. Where does memory come from? Our comprehension, judgment, expression, thinking, and actions all depend on memory. These are many of the unexplained marvels that cannot be yet explained in analytical ways. Yet we have confidence in this empirical medicine. Why not in acupuncture?

Health is nothing but a beautiful good equilibrium between our two antagonistic systems. This imbalance is caused only by diet. At first it is Yin that stimulates Yang and in the end Yin neutralizes Yang and fortifies Yin. The Heart is compact, solid, heavy reddish, full of blood, elastic and all Yang. It reacts with a stimulus from the Yin sympathetic system. It is our motor and it is very Yang. The Stomach is Yin being less solid than the heart, has less elasticity, and is easily tired. Yin cannot be attracted by Yin but excludes it. Hence, the stimulus from the sympathetic system does not make the heart react, and the stomach is quickly contracted.

Every disease is an expression of this process:
The more yin or yang that is attracted continues to the extreme end, where it becomes neutralized. One must not cure a disease because it regulates itself. Disease has a reason to exist.

PRINCIPLES OF MACROBIOTIC DIET

1. Avoid sugar, soft drinks, and foods with colored dyes, canned or bottled food. Fruit and sugar are very yin.
2. Avoid fruit and vegetables that are artificially produced with chemical fertilizers and insecticides. If ill, no fruit is to be eaten. Fruits are yin in nature except for apples, strawberries, and cherries.
3. Eat no food that comes a long distance, because it requires preservatives.
4. Avoid vegetables that are out of season. Carrots, parsley, onions, garlic radish and lettuce tend to be yang veggies.
5. Avoid yin foods as potatoes, eggplant and tomatoes. Cucumber, asparagus, spinach artichoke and mushrooms are also very Yin.
6. Avoid spices or chemical seasonings except natural sea salt, tamari (soy sauce) and miso. Avoid vinegar.
7. Avoid coffee and tea containing dyes. Bancha tea (roasted coarse green tea), haru tea, chicory, mu tea and Chinese natural tea (undyed) are yang and ok.
8. Avoid animal foods as chicken meats, butter, cheese and milk as they are all chemically treated. Dairy products are very Yin except for Roquefort and goat milk. Instead of butter and cheese, use tamari, miso, tekka or miso cream in its place.
9. Yeast is produced as froth or sediment during alcohol fermentation and is sugar based. Avoid or use small quantities.
Avoid baked goods (baking soda is too Yin to be part of a balanced diet.
Chew each mouthful of food at least 50 times. (The salivary juices can digest the food before it enters the stomach.)

WATER

Cut down on drinking liquids (to around 8 ounces). Most teas, coffee, fruit juices, all sugared drinks, champagne and wine are very Yin. 75% of your body is water. Cooked rice has 65% water. You should only urinate twice a day if you are female and three times a day if you are male. Drinking a lot makes the kidney tissue swell. This swelling compresses and closes the semi permeable openings in the kidney, and consequently reduces kidney function. Help your tired and overworked kidney by drinking less.

Anything juicy and watery is Yin and that which is dry is more Yang. The whole body needs water but not in excess. Too much water can make us less energetic, lower our body temp, decrease cell activity, and dilute the blood causing a relative anemia. Those who drink a lot of liquids are usually inactive, lazy, weak, and more Yin. Arthritis is a Yin disease. Alleviate it by drinking less water and juicy foods.

VEGETABLES

Must eat 70% of your principle foods of the following:
Cereals, brown rice, wheat, barley, and corn
The remaining diet is 20% vegetables and 10% soups
Eat all you want but chew your food well.
Food gives us life and energy, but can also kill us if the proportions are bad. Every reaction depends on many factors: chemical, physical, biologic, electrical, electronic, and vitamins. All foods are produced from chlorophyll and thus have a vegetable origin. An animal cannot exist without eating vegetation. Only vegetables can energize and synthesize inorganic elements. The inorganic world is yang and the vegetable world is yin. We humans cannot digest inorganic substances or make them from proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins or minerals. However vegetables can absorb these inorganic foods and turn them into organic foods which our bodies then can utilize. Without vegetable life no animals could exist.

VEGETABLES

We depend on vegetables to maintain and build our bodies. We are transformed vegetables. Without chlorophyll, we cannot energize our lives. Even our hemoglobin comes from chlorophyll. Vegetables are indeed a superior food. But remember not to take in too much food. We tend to be greedy and to overeat. Even bad quality of food is not as bad as excess in quantity. That is why fasting in food and drink is beneficial at times.

Eat vegetables that are in season (except potato, eggplant, and tomatoes). Eat all the carrots, onions, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce you like. Yin veggies are generally bluish to violet in color. The most yin veggies are: raisins, red cabbage, oranges, sugar cane, eggplant and figs. Despite being rich in vit C and K, they should be eaten in moderation. A vegetarian diet results in tranquility obedience, patience and resistance to fatigue.

When cooking your veggies, don't peel them nor soak them in water for any long periods of time. Eat all the rice and other cereals you wish but chew them well. Eat seaweed, and shellfish and veggies (all the food that does not run away). Avoid chemically treated foods.

PROTEIN AND DAIRY PRODUCTS

A diet with over 25% meat or fish will result in aggressive behavior, egocentricism, laziness, and vulnerability to diseases. A yin person will cry faster than a Yang person. (How would you label your children?)
A vegetarian diet results in tranquility obedience, patience and resistance to fatigue.

Yang foods are red or yellow. They are the meats, fishes, eggs, vit d and all blood products. They are high in sodium and low in K.
Ratio of Na to K should be about 5. If the ratio is less than 5 the body is Yang. If more than 1/5 the body is more Yin. K is Yin and Na is yang. Both are found in almost all chemical products.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

The macrobiotic diet is based on the process of transmutation. Without it we could not exist. Transmremely yin. All foods containing chemical fertilizers and insecticides are very Yin. Liver disease results from foods too rich in animal proteins and an excess of sugar.

Chronic disease is a result of too much Yin or Yang in the foods.
If one takes too much Yang, this means that one is too Yin.
You only have a choice between life and death, to be or not to be, longevity or premature death.

If you are over 60 years of age, reduce your salt intake, eliminate oily and greasy foods and animal fats, and use a minimum of vegetable oil. Live as close to nature as you can, and share your personal happiness with others.

All disease is located in our blood or fed to our blood. Nature is the greatest healer. Nature has given us foods that are proper for our bodies. We can get healthy by using them. Most diseases are caused by rich foods and living luxuriously. The macrobiotic diet gives us a natural way of eating and drinking. It has withstood the test over the last 40 years.