Introduction to Macrobiotics
After the fury of ephemeral fashion and away from the debate in relatively recent times, trying to overcome stereotypes and prejudices own and others, it may seem sensible approach in this world so near and distant from both the Macrobiotic. Attend the seminar “Healing macrobiotic" by Dr. Apollinaire Dschoutezo at the College of Alternative Medicine and Ethnomedicine Madrid. And after talking to the teacher. Born in Cameroon in 1965, he lives in our country since the late 80s, has a degree and PhD in Alternative Medicine (University of Complementary Medicine in Sri Lanka), ethnomedicine researcher and president of the Confederation of Associations of natural medicine for Africa.
Draws attention to the macrobiotic approach to hear the words of Dr. Apollinaire Dschoutezo "The secret is the scale and flexibility." from any image stereotypes, according to macrobiotic and adaptation of man as a microcosm or the macrocosm that is "Everyone should eat things that live in the place."
The Dr. Apollinaire also emphasizes "You have to eat everything, learn to eat everything, not to be a slave to food. The macrobiotic is vegetarianism, it accept meat, fish, eggs, cereals, vegetables, pulses, provided that they are natural and comprehensive." And it acknowledges that not everything can be cured with nutrition.
The macrobiotic is an overview, a system that cares for life forms breathing, cooking, eating, meditating, to choose. For Apollinaire "It's the easiest way to understand food and medicine, covering the energy polarity yin / yang, gymnastics energy, plants and herbs, breathing techniques, meditation, acupuncture. It is a form of life, renewal of the way of life, including time for rest and work, who you are, what you eat. And a social dimension that seeks social justice."
From a macrobiotic or holistic point of view, there are 3 types of medicine:
1) symptomatic, looking for the cure of symptoms, palliative "cut flu symptoms," obvious that the symptom is the way to manifest a disease or disorder, which is underneath or other symptoms.
2) the educational, the first level of the macrobiotic, aims to teach the person the laws that govern your health so that it applies on same.
3) spiritual healing, being one's own doctor, live with a clean mind, without fear, anxiety, with freedom within the law, by providing real health.
For the macrobiotic, disease is an imbalance or disorder occurred at different levels in the 1 environment, in the 2nd half of the individual psychological, 3rd level society ( "Without love, respect, no values") and 4th at the physical level. As there are many diseases, there must be many treatments: dietary, environmental, correct any misconceptions about patterns ourselves "Without limits or say that we cannot do anything. Attacking the disease from different angles." And the healing is a process of learning and adapting to the aggression, water, air, food, the presence of some 3,500 chemical additives on the market.
Apollinaire characterizes the modern diet as consuming refined foods, of refined white sugar, excessive consumption of eggs and proteins and lipids in general, also cheese, excessive water consumption. It accept alcohol consumption, and "is characterized by excessive consumption of yin and yang excess."
"Eat whatever you want even poison, but sparingly. Savor each bite, Chew until liquid"
In his view, modern diet and the Mediterranean now favors physiological poisoning by 5 factors:
1) It does not take into account the nature of food (acid / base).
2) It does not take into account the compatible blends.
3) Do not chew well.
4) Eat food in large quantities, most of the calories needed (about 2,000 kilocalories, and eats about 10,000 or more a day).
Eating homeopathic golden rule is: "Eating whatever you want even poison, but little." Eating consciously, enjoying eating, and filling the person Savor each bite, chew up until liquid."
5) The consumption of additives is another destabilizing factor. Therefore, Apollinaire recommends organic food, soya flour and biological grains.
Macrobiotic diet aims to combat these factors "Little amounts, not incompatible blends in the proportions, it is sometimes incompatible proportion." For modern macrobiotic diets are highly concentrated in protein and carbohydrates.
The food or macrobiotic diet, which "It's a way of life, accept the possibility of change" first advocates consumption of food, with all its parts or elements. Second, low potassium, a chemical element present in vegetables and fruits. Third, low water consumption. Fourth, consumption of algae and derivatives. Five, preparing food according to the laws. Six, with proportions of macrobiotic food. Seventh, chewing well. Eighth, eating relaxed . Ninth, flee from all that is synthetic, and find biological products. Tenth, fast from time to time: one day a week, or half fasting every day. The energy balance should be 50% and 50% yin yang.
The "standard of macrobiotic diet is healthier" as follows: Cereals 50% in winter and 30% summer. Vegetables 10% in winter and summer. Soups with vegetables 5% in winter and summer. Vegetables 25% in winter and 35% in summer. Animal products 5% in winter and summer. Fruit, nuts and seeds 5% in winter and summer. For macrobiotic, cooking is essential, theoretical knowledge of its principles and how to cook without losing their properties.
Apollinaire says that this is the optimal macrobiotic diet: 50% whole grains, cooked in various ways (without water, with water, fried, steamed). 20% -30% of plants, two thirds of them cooked and raw third. 10% of vegetables. 5% seaweed soup. 5% of fruit, usually cooked. Fish or seafood once or twice a week, its volume is less than 15% of the plate. Add seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, flax, peanuts). Drink herbal medicinal type hot (tea, dandelion…). Look for a diet that is four things: One, balance yin / yang of the body, which has no power over yin (cold) and yang (warm). Second, the alkalinity of the blood, as "There is often a mismatch, and most of the time the blood is acidic." Third, look for a minimum production of toxic waste. Finally seek vitality: "Any diet should meet these four principles at once."
Macrobiotic principles of energy
According to the explanatory of Dschoutezo Apollinaire, these are the 7 principles
energy as well as its application in dietetics:
1) Everything is polarized, everything is energy created or differentiation in yin and yang, each also
food. ("The porridge is the same as rice, in different proportions of carbohydrate, protein, trace elements, … What determines each food, the difference is the energy that is above the field." )
2) Everything changes, everything dies. Metamorphosis may be a food, through the kitchen
can be transformed, for example by cooking apple.
3) Apparent antagonist, in life, are complementary. ("A meal with meat and lettuce, you have to mix them because they are complementary, it is not positive, too negative").
4) There is nothing equal in the world, things are only similar. Each food has its corresponding specific energy: lemon / orange, or apple / pear, are not the same, have different graduation yin / yang.
5) Everything has a beginning has an end.
6) Anything that has a face has back: "If you eat a search result you can get another
different result." We must also consider the chemical structure, taste of food, even like yin and yang " The sweet, for example, the flavor is more destructive more than drugs to people, that destroys the health, and it is also necessary for the growth of children, if growth is bad for children because the child does not eat candy. The child eats what he calls his intelligence innate, chocolate, muffins natural …, children need food with more energy and expansive force that yin yang (beef), if there is excess yang may be left with health problems. "
7) Larger is the face, the greater the back. "
Theorems of macrobiotic
And these theorems are:
1. Like the yin attracts yang and yang to yin (the attraction of magnets).
2. Yin to the extreme it becomes yang and its end becomes yin.
3. Nothing is neutral.
4. Everything created is composed of two trends, the life balance of mechanical forces. Yin and yang must be the daily diet, the combination of both to consume food.
5. Yin and yang in varied combinations produce different phenomena.
6. All phenomena are ephemeral and change their constitution of yin and yang. Nothing is static, not the body.
7. All physical things are yang and yin in its center on the outskirts
The macrobiotic diet: "purification by fasting, but eating."
Claiming the Mediterranean macrobiotic diet
Diet 7 absolute recommended in the macrobiotic healing process of most diseases, is based on a single cereal for 10 day , including breakfast, lunch and dinner "Cereals are the synthesis, the most wonderful of the vital elements" (air, water, fire, earth). The most recommended is rice: "Cereal fairer balance in the sodium / potassium and yin / yang." of the sodium / potassium-dependent intra-and extracellular, as macrobiotic, immunity and physiological adaptations.
The rice has a protein content that exceeds other Grains, essential amino acids present in the structure allows the body to more effectively take advantage of the proteins they receive. A grain of rice combination that brings the body needs: 7% of its energy comes from proteins, 89% of carbohydrates and 4% of its lipid “compared with 30% of calories now widespread in the diet comes out of their lipids, and atherosclerosis caused by excess fat excess.”
This diet, in the words of Apollinaire Should customized according to the needs and characteristics of each person, depending on their chemical composition as yin or more or less yang. No diet should exceed 10 days and no one should do without the supervision of an expert in macrobiotic, attending to their needs and composition. "Not everyone can do it”. As contraindications of the 7 diet, our interlocutor said that "No person can follow it being weak, very exhausted, no if deficient yin or yang, or the person hypotensive. Yes can be done, says instead, in normal daily life without having to stop to make while maintaining a full swing.”
It is applied in many U.S. clinics ( "People are very frightened by symptoms, dizziness, etc .") to resolve health problems because "It allows fast, but eating, always lose in a week." is based on principles that the macrobiotic considered irrefutable: " First, the cereal was created to be man's staple food, bread is the presentation of all foods. Be nourished only ten days of grain foods more balanced energy, 50% yin and 50% yang, so balancing all organs is the maximum healing process. Secondly, any cereal has a 10% fiber, so they clean the intestinal tube. 3) Any cereal is between 6 and 7% fat, polyunsaturated always the quantity that the body requires." Fourth "Grains, always full of vitamins and minerals, in balanced way." In addition: "The macrobiotic diet is meaningless if not chew each bite to convert it into water, not eating, running free energy yin / yang contained."
Regarding the benefits of diet 7 total rice, Apollinaire
lists the following:
1) cereal provides balance yin / yang in it.
2) rice cleans tissue depth.
3) starts its fiber mucus of the intestines, allowing the gut to accomplish its mission.
4) rice is a good slimming, the best "It contains complex carbohydrates, slow metabolism, with little amount of food the person is still metabolizing all day what he has eaten. "
5) contains germ and lecithin "parties that nourish the human brain."
It also has variants in absolute diet, rice can be consumed in different ways
(cooked, with or without salt) and in cream of donuts, rice cakes. Or, perhaps, also with rice milk.
There are also other varieties of diet 7, the diet of rye or buckwheat, cereal the most yang, or eating a different cereal every day.
Diet 7 on is an option for those who cannot cope with the absolute ("It may be more violent than fasting "). In the relative, as well as grains "You can eat miso soup, seaweed, to fill the gaps that the person has."
Cleaning and debugging
The macrobiotic diet is its merit in the context of a concept of fasting and semi-fasting, traditional methods of cleansing and purification. The fasting, "physical and mental, in the words of Apollinaire" is not to refrain from food, rather it is tied to everything it is only necessary for life: air, water, light, "a preparation made with fasting and under the supervision" It is the most secure, reliable and healthy all methods of cleaning and purification, collapsing many incurable diseases…, to fast food is not the disease. The macrobiotic fasting of 72 hours, – "energy source that can stir or awaken the dormant inner energies"- provides physiological, emotional, spiritual, mental, organic, and cellular energy.
Another method to get rid of food poisoning is the realization in semi-fasting.
It does not take anything from the evening and the next day. The macrobiotic approach is "The semi-fasting promotes longevity, its practice can be a source of great health. Keeps us young and clean continuously."
In closing, Dr. Apollinaire Dschoutezo believes that the macrobiotic
is fought in the West, by WHO, etc. Because the economic interests, besides
"For the of Western arrogance, which prevents from accepting other way than to think how to eat and heal.”
Source: Human Space No 28/29, February / March 2000