Choosing Foods Wisely

Written 1997.

There are many ways to evaluate our everyday food choices.  Some people go by habit, some by whim, some by sensory appeal and still others by concepts.

Macrobiotic literature and teachings offer a detailed understanding of balanced eating according to the yin-yang system.  This is an excellent way for using foods in healing and for long term wellness.  Many people find that it takes quite a while to successfully apply this yin-yang approach to their personal, daily eating.  I want to share with you a simpler set of criteria.  These may make your overall food choices much easier.

There are many ways to evaluate our everyday food choices.  Some people go by habit, some by whim, some by sensory appeal and still others by concepts.

Four Types of Foods to Avoid

(1) Overly concentrated-condensed foods.

These include red meats, eggs and hard cheeses.  Excessively salty foods of any kind belong here too.  These foods make you too stiff, tense, uptight, restless and easily agitated.  Further, due to their extremely yang nature, they will naturally make unstoppable cravings for extremely yin foods.  This yo-yo effect is not a healthy balance since the foods in these two extreme groups are fundamentally toxic and gradually weakening to our bodies.

(2) Overly dispersing-expanding foods.

Sugars—especially the simple sugars of dextrose, sucrose and fructose—belong in this group.  Common foods that contain these are soft drinks, chocolate candy or ice cream. Also within this category is nutra sweet, the artificial substitute for refined sugars.  Recent studies have implicated nutra sweet with brain cancer.  Other extremely yin substances are hard liquor, marijuana and addictive drugs.

(3) Overly congesting-congealing foods.

Dairy products are the main items here.  From milk, which quickly congests the sinuses, to cheese, which stagnates the bowels, our body must deal with all the foods we place into it. When we inundate the body with excessive fats, they will accumulate over time. Where do cysts come from?  They are encapsulated fat, solely. Mucus-forming foods means the same as congesting foods.  Besides dairy products, this category includes nut butters and greasy foods.

(4) All non-human foods.

Here we have the myriad man made substances. These are either added into the food chain by agribusiness—the pesticides and warehouse fumigants, for example or by food manufacturers—the dyes, preservatives and flavor “enhancers,” for example.  Whatever justifications these industries offer for using these substance in our foods, they serve no healthy benefit to our body.  Instead they are toxic over time and in the short run demand healthy resources to neutralize or eliminate.  The body accomplishes this by exerting more demand on the functions of the liver, kidneys, colon and lungs. There are other non-human substances that people commonly ingest such as antibiotics and hormones. These too can create disturbing effects.

Avoiding the foods in these four categories can improve your well being automatically.  There will be less burden on the intestines and all the organs of assimilation, metabolism and elimination.

There are four primary distinctions that may be equally useful in making healthy choices with your daily eating.

Four Types of Foods to Eat

(1) Eat vegetable-quality foods, mainly.

This is a broad statement about priorities. All food other than animal meats and by-products (like milk) are inherently better for us.  The next three categories enumerate the types and selections of vegetable quality foods.

(2)  Eat whole grains and vegetables daily.

Macrobiotics has been too closely associated with brown rice, as though this one food is supreme and required for wellness.  Instead, we need to value grains as a whole.  Within the world of grains are barley, corn, millet, wheat, quinoa, oats and others.  Further, there are flour forms of whole grains, such as whole wheat breads, and there are partial forms of grains like couscous or white rice.  All of these can have a place in our everyday eating.

(3) Eat protein sources daily.

There are two types of protein sources overall.  They are animal or vegetable.  Macrobiotics does not exclude animal foods per se.  Rather it stresses the value of vegetable quality proteins principally.  But if you want to be totally vegetarian then a macrobiotic approach can be a solid, healthy way of eating.  For those who want or need some animal foods, seafoods are the best choice.  This is because they are from the world of water (ocean or fresh), which is more ancient or primitive than our human life.  Also most seafoods are less yang than other animal foods like poultry, beef, pork or lamb.

We can make a useful distinction among vegetable proteins.  There are primary protein sources and secondary sources.  It is essential to emphasis the primary ones for best health.  These are beans, tofu, tempeh and seitan.  The secondary ones are seeds, nuts, (and seed or nut butters), seaweeds and miso.  The reason I make this differentiation is to insure good digestion and nutrition.  Seeds and nuts (and their butters even more so) are very difficult to digest; they can stress the liver and gall bladder, which must produce and deliver bile for processing the concentrated oils in the nuts. The reason miso is in this category is that it does not contain enough protein to fulfill the body’s needs.

We will benefit nutritionally and in satisfaction when we have a primary protein source once, twice, even three times a day.  The quantity is a personal matter.  I see many well meaning people who intentionally eat very little protein.  This is an error with great consequences.  The most common result from eating this way is chronic hunger, overeating, feeling unsatisfied, and (secret) binging.  The belief that a low protein diet is healing is not valid.  It comes from the association of a high animal food diet being linked to many cancers and heart disease.  But vegetable proteins sources and the natural vegetable oils they contain are assimilated and utilized in totally different ways.

(4) Eat natural sweets and miscellaneous foods in moderation.

Natural sweets include barley malt, rice syrup, honey and maple syrup. The latter is less recommended because it is so quickly metabolized that it can rapidly throw off blood sugar levels.  The others are much less quickly absorbed, so they provide an easier response by the stomach, pancreas and liver.

Fruits are natural sweets indeed.  It is better to eat locally grown ones or choose ones that could grow in our own climate. This is sensible and easy; it is an obvious way to stay acclimated to our environment.  Fruits are best eaten separate from a meal.  They do not mix well with beans or protein foods, causing gas, bloating or heart burn.  Also, many fruits are more digestible when cooked (like apple sauce) and even more, when cooked with a pinch of salt (which also brings out the natural sweetness).

These simple guidelines are offered as useful ideas for seeing how to make clear, sensible choices in everyday eating.  Foods must satisfy the taste buds, the stomach, our emotional life and our quest of wholeness.  Enjoy what you eat, with gratitude and eat in moderation then you will benefit many fold.