Female Macro

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July 6, 2010 in Female Macro, Reviews by bursty | No comments

northrupThe newest edition of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Dr. Christine Northrup is on the shelves! 

I happened upon a 1998 edition of this book at a used bookstore over the long weekend, and basically devoured it yesterday.  Earlier in my journey toward intuitive and integrative health, I had borrowed Dr. Northrup’s book from the library and read the parts that were pertinent at that time in my life.  Honestly, I recommend that every woman get a copy of this book.  It is incredibly empowering, and guides in a way that is so very unique in our society.  This is definitely something that every woman, of every age and life station, should have as a reference and a tool for empowerment in women’s health!!  I am excited to get a copy and read the updates she’s made since 1998 (there has been another edition since then, too, copyrighted in 2006). 

(And no, I didn’t get a free copy!)

Calcify?

March 26, 2010 in Female Macro by bursty | 5 comments

At my annual exam a couple of weeks ago, the 4th-year-medical student that met with me to go through my concerns prior to seeing my doctor encouraged me “since I don’t eat meat or dairy” to supplement my diet with calcium.  She gave me an ominous look and informed me that I have about 2.5 years to “pack in all the calcium [you] can, because when we [women] turn 30, it just goes down from there”.  I nodded obediently, and the conversation went elsewhere.

But here’s what I wanted to say:  “The average bone loss for a vegetarian woman at age 65 is 18 percent; for non-vegetarian women, it’s double that. Researchers attribute this to the consumption of excess protein–the average meat-eating American woman eats 144 percent over the recommended daily allowance; the average man eats 175 percent more.  Excess protein interferes with the absorption and retention of calcium and actually prompts the body to excrete calcium, laying the ground for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis. Animal proteins, including milk, make the blood acidic, and to balance that condition, the body pulls calcium from bones. So rather than rely on milk for calcium, vegetarians turn to dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and legumes, which, calorie for calorie, are superior sources.”  (see here)  I also know that a consistent practice of yoga incorporating weight-bearing poses stimulates the body to retain calcium.  (here)

What are your thoughts on calcium, and for that matter, on supplements in general — do you feel the need to take them??

The Female Macro: Moon Empowerment

December 2, 2008 in Female Macro, spirituality by bursty | 1 comment

Macrobiotics, for me - as you may or may not have realized by now, is very spiritual. I am continually exploring the more spiritual side of life — and as a female macro, I have been led further into the exploration of the divine feminine, which entails a little history lesson. One of my favorite textbooks for that journey is “The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth” by Monica Sjoo & Barbara Mor. It is an exquisite journey into the history of religion among humans throughout history — specifically, how Goddess-centered religions dominated for the first 30,000 years of human life. As a quick aside, the only “god-image” ever painted on rock, carved in stone, or sculpted in clay from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Neolithic (roughly 30,000 years) was the image of the human female. But I digress, sort of. As a modern-day female, I can’t help but feel a little cheated by today’s patriarchal society & dominate religions. It is none other than the moon that gives me solace and hope in the face of that dismay…
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The Female Macro: Cycling Through

November 25, 2008 in Female Macro, spirituality by bursty | 2 comments

Did you know….

  • Calendar consciousness developed first in women because their natural body rhythms corresponded to observations of the moon — Chinese women established a lunar calendar 3000 years ago. Imagine not having electricity, and having only the moon as light at night - of course you would pay attention to its cycles!
  • Chinese sages called menstrual blood the essence of Mother Earth, the yin principle giving life to all things.
  • Indians of South America said all humans were made of “moon blood” in the beginning.
  • In Mesopotamia, the great Goddess created people out of clay and infused them with her blood of life. She taught women to form clay dolls and smear them with menstrual blood. Adam translates to “bloody clay.”
  • In Hindu theory, as the Great Mother created the earth, solid matter coalesced into a clot with a crust. Women use this same method to produce new life.

See more here.

Continuing to explore the connection of moon and menstrual cycle, this week I would like to delve into the concept of a “cycle.” Although we call it our “menstrual cycle,” few of us really think of it as a cycle. At least I didn’t, until I started to think about the beauty of a “cycle” - and the beauty that comes through in a cycle that is inherently connected to a celestial body (namely, the earth’s moon). Starting on the macro level, there is the cycle of life: we are all born, we grow, we mature, and then we die. This is the ultimate cycle of our lives - and too often our culture seems to ignore it, to not hold life as sacred as it is, and to dismiss the fact that we are all on a cyclical journey through this life. All other cycles can be brought down into a mirror-like image of this bigger cycle - think of our day: we wake up [birth], we mature [learn things] and we die [go to sleep]. In my yoga practice, there is a similar cycle: we start in child’s pose [birth], move through the poses [maturing], and end in corpse pose [death]. Read the rest of this entry »

The Female Macro: Moon Cycles

November 18, 2008 in Female Macro, spirituality by bursty | 3 comments

Since beginning a whole-healing, whole-grain way of life, and before, I’ve been very connected to the moon and its cycles. I can hardly describe the feeling of comfort and joy that a very dark night away from the city with a brisk Minnesota chill and a clear sky with the moon shining full in the sky brings to my heart, and to my core as a woman. Being macrobiotic and eliminating most sludge from my intake has allowed me to come into my intuition in a deeper way than I could have imagined, and it grows deeper each day. One of the most rewarding parts of deep intuition for me is coming into consciousness, so to speak, of my menstrual cycle. I have been reading “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom,” which is a great book by gynecologist Christiane Northrup. Dr. Northrup describes the power of natural remedies, cycles, and healing, but also acknowledges times that more conventional medicine may be the best remedy for a health problem. Alas, this is not a review of Dr. Northrup’s book (although I would recommend it highly, along with “The Female Brain” for women who seek to understand the cycle of hormones and its effect on your body and psyche). In one of the chapters Dr. Northrup writes about women’s menstrual cycles — and the effects that different hormone secretions throughout it have on a woman’s body and psyche.

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The Female Macro: Sludgey Reproduction

November 4, 2008 in Female Macro, Personal Health by bursty | 4 comments

I did a post a while back about infections and experimenting with hip baths. Since that time I’ve done some more research and oh-my-goodness the amazing effects that these baths can have on a woman’s health. I’m planning to invest in a hip bath tub eventually - and I just purchased my first bunches of dried daikon leaves online. We went to the co-op in hopes that they would have some leaves in the back for me to dry myself, but no luck — the woman at the co-op said that they restock daikon root so rarely that she hadn’t ever done it, and wasn’t even sure if they came with their leaves on! Goodness! I guess I may have to wait until I have my own garden to dry my own daikon leaves…

As it turns out, daikon leaves have amazing healing properties for females! A hip bath like the one that I posted (from Kristina Turner’s book - but also found throughout macrobiotic literature) helps a woman’s reproductive system to discharge excess fat and built up sludge. As Jessica Porter pointed out in the Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics, female reproductive organs store a lot of sludge. When we “go macro,” we have the ability to discharge a lot of our sludge through our period and other vaginal discharge. The daikon bath helps this along.

It’s funny to think of my uterus, ovaries, and other reproductive parts holding a lot of the baked flour, saturated fats, and other sludge that I have ingested over the years. Hip baths have been used to get rid of ovarian and uterine cysts, to regulate periods, to help with uterine cancer, to treat urinary tract infections and yeast infections, to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, to help with the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, and to generally cleanse the body of excess fat, mucous, and fatty deposits like cysts.

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The Female Macro: The Keeper

October 28, 2008 in Female Macro, Reviews by bursty | 3 comments

A good friend and I were discussing the keeper this evening — and she proclaimed that she has had hers for 4 years, and my response, however corny, was, “you and your keeper, a loving partnership…” ah… how refreshing. But really, this little contraption will become one of your most trusted allies - if you’ll just let it.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about when I say “the keeper,” brace yourself - the idea may seem a little crazy, radical, even impossible to you… The keeper is a reusable menstrual cup that is an alternative to tampons, maxi pads, and other menstrual products. It is made out of natural gum-rubber so that it won’t stain (they also make the moon cup, which is latex-free for those with allergies). It catches your menstrual flow rather than absorbing it. It is held in place by a rim that creates suction, and it is released by little holes in the rim when you pull on it. It costs about $35, but it lasts for up to 10 years if it is not exposed to harsh chemicals - making the savings over disposable menstrual products very significant. Additionally, using a reusable menstrual cup decreases your carbon footprint!

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The Female Macro: The Estrogen Question — How much soy is too much?

October 21, 2008 in Female Macro, Personal Health by bursty | 4 comments

One of my concerns about the macrobiotic diet is that we tend to rely on soy-based products for some of our protein. I’ve heard (and read) - as I’m sure many of you have - that eating too much soy can contribute to cancers and other health problems (but what hasn’t been linked to cancer and other health problems in the media?). Anyway - did some internet research and this is what I found - for those who may have done their own searching, please leave your thoughts in the comments!

There are estrogen-like substances in soy products called isoflavins that may stimulate the estrogen receptors of breast cancer cells and make them grow. But some believe that eating soy actually protects against breast cancer because these isoflavins have much, much less power than the estrogen that your body makes on its own — so the theory is that if the receptors are occupied by the weaker isoflavins, they’ll be less stimulated than if they were grabbing onto your body’s own estrogen… (see this article) Read the rest of this entry »

Get up and Stretch!

October 16, 2008 in Female Macro, Personal Health by bursty | 1 comment

Since moving back to the Twin Cities, I’ve enjoyed increased energy, brighter skin, and a healthier-feeling digestive system… all directly attributable to increased activity in addition to an intentionally macro diet most of the time (although we have slipped significantly since the beginning - “whole hog” - days). I’ve started doing yoga 3-4 times a week, and using my new bike for running errands & commuting to work a couple of times a week. Now - mind you - I’ve never been someone who particularly enjoys getting active just for the sake of getting active - even to stay in shape. Fortunately for me, I’ve always had high metabolism and been able to keep the pounds off without a lot of exercise. So, even though I understood that getting exercise was probably something that would be positive for me, it wasn’t a priority… so I don’t judge anyone who isn’t all about the activity!

However… I can now attest to the improved vitality, increased energy, and toxin-releasing effect of activity - especially yoga.

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The Female Macro: To Make-up or Not to Make-up

September 16, 2008 in Female Macro, Personal Health by bursty | 2 comments

As I was typing the title to this post, I was struck by how strange the term “make-up” is.  So a large number of us get up in the morning, wash our faces, and then put on “make-up”.  We “make” ourselves “up” so that we can go out into the world… implying that we need to put on something fake in order to be seen.  And I’ll admit it - I wear make-up on a daily basis.  I was recently at the make-up counter choosing some shades for an important event that is taking place this coming weekend.  I like how I look with make-up on.  But maybe that’s just because it is what I am used to?  In our hectic lifestyle over the past couple of weeks, I haven’t been “making myself up” as often as usual and it’s kind of nice not to deal with it.  I thought I’d explore some of the things in “make-up” that might make us (myself included) think twice about what it is we’re slathering on delicate facial skin. Read the rest of this entry »

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