Macrobiotics can help us get back to balance, because we understand our condition and we know what food or activity choices we need to make at any given time.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t understand the basics of yin and yang, and the restaurants, supermarkets and advertising agencies who are in charge of what we eat, are not interested in helping us.

Most of us who work a job, have kids, and aren’t quite able to accomplish all that we need to get enough free time to kick back and enjoy life, are frequently YANG–that is, we are contracted, tight, stressed, dry, moving fast and our internal organs are overworked, especially the kidney, liver and pancreas.

Occasionally, I run into someone who is super-relaxed, at loose ends, taking lots of sugar, drugs, entertainment, unable to focus, and I’m amazed at how they got there. These people are YIN–that is, expanded, diverging, and possibly a bit schizophrenic. These people tend to have lung, head, neurological and sinus conditions.

Does this sound interesting? If so, you need to read any book by Michio Kushi, but especially his The Book Of Macrobiotics. It’s a classic.

It explains the universe, the seasons, all that good stuff, and then gets to food, which is of course very important. But until you read those 300+ pages, I will just say that if you want balance, you need to eat more boiled whole grains, such as brown rice, millet, barley, etc., and a mix of organic vegetables, sea vegetables, legumes and fermented foods (miso, pickles, etc.), and less animal foods (mostly yang, except for milk/cream/butter) and chemicalized/processed foods (can be yin or yang).

More next time!!