balance

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Macro Principal Six: Opposites Attract

May 27, 2010 in Macrobiotic Principles by bursty | 2 comments

The author puts it, Opposites Attract, Like repels Like.  In all honesty, I think the whole opposites / extremes point has been driven home sufficiently in principals 3, 4, and 5.  I’m struggling to come up with anything new to say on the subject. 

One fun way of thinking of and using this principal is in cooking macrobiotic meals.  Or in creating artistic work (one expression of which, I truly believe, is cooking).  Think contrasting colors, flavors … things that you wouldn’t necessarily think would go together actually do great things!  Last night - for our summer of smoothies smoothie flavor, I threw the following into the blender:  one peach (with the peel on), one kiwi (peeled), two bananas, 1/3 can of organic pineapple (and juice) left over from making pineapple fried rice, a cup of green kale, and a teaspoon of cinnamon!  Where’d I come up with that cinnamon?  Not sure - just sounded interesting.  And it added a great dimension of flavor to the smoothies! 

For me this principal is license to go with my intuition, try new things, and not be afraid to throw “opposites” in a blender together.  Fabulous.

Five: All Polarities are Complementary, yet Antagonistic

May 19, 2010 in Macrobiotic Principles by bursty | No comments

rainydaylovelies

These principals are full of BIG concepts.  Some of them are hard for me to wrap my mind around without some rather intense investigation and thought.  This one is one that, when I first read it, caught me by surprise.  Maybe it’s the big words, or perhaps the words are just a little overwhelming in concept.  I’m not sure.  But initially, I kind of don’t want to write about it - I’d rather just let it go, and not think about it.  Probably not a great sign!  I’m going to pursue it, though, because I think that in the end, thinking about these principals will deepen my understanding of macrobiotics, as well as my practice.

If it weren’t for extreme opposites, there would not be balance.  Although going to extremes is generally not part of practicing macrobiotics, one must maintain an awareness of the extremes in order to understand the point of equilibrium.  It’s also interesting that these principals really play off the previous ones.  In four, I talked about how everything in the extreme changes to its opposite.  This one is similar, in that it emphasizes extremes, but it goes a little further and describes those extremes. 

When we end up more near to the polarity than to the balance, we’ve got to take a step back and see what is going to bring us back into balance.  Use your intuition!  The longer you practice macrobiotics, the easier it will be for you to identify what your body needs to bring you back into balance.  Perhaps, like the author of the principals article I’ve been referring to describes, you need something that won’t pull you to the other extreme like one of those hooks on silent television!  Instead, maybe something that is balanced (like umeboshi tea with a bit of ginger in it) itself will be more effective to bring you back to balance.

We’re still out of town and living in a hotel room — learning how much we truly value macrobiotics, when we really have no opportunity to practice eating and living the way we usually do, and the way we prefer to.  Getting back into the swing of things at home this coming weekend, I’m SO looking forward to getting back to balance!  It’s amazing how we take for granted the ability to cook our own food on a daily basis … and how much we crave those simple, wholesome dishes when we’re away.

Four: Everything in the Extreme, Changes to its Opposite

May 6, 2010 in Macrobiotic Principles by bursty | No comments

This principal is really at the heart of macrobiotic living.  It’s the concept that is oft repeated here at AGAD, that moderation and balance are really the keys to success in macrobiotics.  It’s tough to maintain moderation, though, because it’s almost as if we as human beings are pulled to extremes.  Life is far more exciting (see the author’s amusing story of an 18 day grain fast followed by a milk-and-cookie-induced-comatose-state) when we are living on the edge.  Or is it?

When I was studying for the bar exam a few summers ago, I spent my days eating avocado and goat cheese sandwiches, drinking several hazelnut lattes a day, and stuffing my face with little debbie swiss cake rolls and zebra cakes.  Now - studying for the bar exam is a rather intense state of affairs.  But, I’m willing to bet that had I responded to this intense state of affairs with some brown rice, quinoa, steamed broccoli, and umeboshi tea, my life may not have felt like it was crashing down around me.  However — that summer was also one of the most amazing of my life.  I was living in a new place, had discovered that a good friend was in actuality my soul mate, and was embarking on a whole new life and career. 

But then there is the opposite in the equation — throughout this period of intensity my body was in high gear and I’m pretty sure that I experienced more than one anxiety attack.  My mind would go completely blank and I would feel as if I was going to pass out, accompanied by a racing heartbeat and a general feeling of disorientation.  Perhaps a reaction to (a) WAY too much caffeine pulsing through my veins and (b) sugar sugar sugar coupled with (c) adrenaline.  Everything in the extreme, changes to its opposite.

Generally, now, we strive for balance and moderation in our diets here at chez AGAD.  We’ve all got stories like the ones cited above that prove that this principal is a reality.  And, like I talked about a few posts back, people who are attracted to the macrobiotic way of living just *might* be a tad fanatical at times.  So we need to watch out for this principal in action — if we decide to do a brown rice fast, great.  But let’s not decide for the wrong reasons, and let’s ease ourselves out of it with grace, rather than with cookies and milk.

Yin Yang Breakdown

February 25, 2010 in Reviews by bursty | 2 comments

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Alright so I admit it — I still am not completely sure of the yin/yang thing.  So meat is super yang but it makes you more yin?  Or is that visa versa?  And sugar is full of yin energy and it makes you really yin and jittery?  It’s clear I need a breakdown.

Traditional yin/yang classification teaches that universal energy comes from the universe down to the earth and is contracting and downward, thus, yang.  It teaches that earth energy is flowing from earth toward the heavens and is expanding and upward, thus, yin. Generally plants are more yin and animals are more yang — but each individual food/plant/animal/person contains elements of both. However, we want to be slightly more yang for optimal health.  Thus, the balancing act that is macrobiotics.

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Aryuveda/Macro Mash-up!

February 22, 2010 in Personal Health, spirituality by bursty | 4 comments

glass

I’m currently participating in a class at a local yoga studio that has mentioned the concepts of Aryuveda a few times, and it has sparked my interest.  The principals that I’ve been hearing about sound remarkably similiar, or at least complimentary, to macrobiotic principals.  The word “aryuveda” is derived from the Sanskrit roots of ”Ayus” meaning life and “vid” meaning knowledge, therefore translating to “knowledge of life”.  Practitioners of Aryuveda believe that each aspect of our being: the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, contributes to overall health, and that balance of the four is necessary for optimal health.

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How to get your Zinc without killing animals

February 12, 2010 in News, Personal Health by bursty | 1 comment

Today’s topic:  Yet another reason to eat your sea veggies!

seaweedsaladTurns out, zinc is important.  Zinc deficiency affects many, many people the world over, leading to such tragic things as:  growth retardation in children, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptilibity, impotence, immune suppression, and diarrhea.  As it also turns out, zinc is easiest to get in the form of animal protein. 

The zinc content of plant-based foods depends on how rich the soil it was grown in was with zinc, and zinc deficiency in soil is an ever-increasing problem as the world struggles to diversify the crops planted in a given plot of soil from year to year.  The RDA recommends 8 mg of zinc per day for women and 11 mg per day for men.  This can be difficult to get, as zinc absorption is also difficult, with only 15-40% of the zinc you take in through food actually getting absorbed.  The zinc in animal meat form is 4 times more available than that in plant-based forms.  Phytic acid, naturally occuring in the body and also present in some fortified products, prevents the absorption of zinc into the body by binding to it.  Dietary fiber (abundant in the macro diet) also prevents absorption. 

With all that said, some of the best vegan sources of zinc include:  peanuts, beans, whole grain cereals (fortified), brown rice, and whole wheat bread (fortified).   Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated sources of zinc in the vegan diet!  Other good sources are:  chickpeas (2.8 mg per cup), baked beans (1.6 mg per cup), vegeburger (1.6 mg), muesli (1.3 mg per 1/4 cup), tahini (1.1 mg per oz), sesame seeds, and dried yeast (0.8 mg per 1/3 oz.).  Read the rest of this entry »