Macrobiotic Diet, medical diet
Besides any medicine you choose to treat diseases, ingestion of foods may accelerate or delay the progress of healing.
Energetic properties of food
Yes, of course, the nutrients and calories have their place and we should deny that, however, there is one aspect of the food energy that rarely we take into account.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, energetic patterns in the food change the tissue, cure disease and keep us alive.
The energetic properties include features such as the nature yang or hot food, or the nature of yin or cold food. If something has moisture and mucosa is yin, if something tends to be dry is yang.
Science and ancient wisdom for example, shows that hot chicken soup (a yang food) can help heal someone with a cold (yin condition) in winter. There is something beyond protein and minerals of soup doing the work, its energetic nature.
According to Eastern traditions, the forces of yin and yang are energetic qualities that everything in the universe has, including our health.
Yin disequilibrium patterns:
Cold
- Tendency to feel cold
- The urine tends to be clear
- Likes the heat, and prefers dresses
- Pale colored stools
- Shows preference for hot food and drinks
- Soft muscles
- Rarely thirsty
- Often tired, sleepy
- Tendency to feel depressed
- Health worsened in cold weather
- Quiet attitude
Treatment:
A cold pattern often occurs in vegetarians or those who eat mainly raw foods, especially when they live in the cold.
The cold can also increase with age and can increase humidity. It is recommended to regulate the cold with aerobic exercise.
If you notice these symptoms, recommended foods include lamb or beef in hot dishes, chicken, soups, stews and meat, chicken eggs, eel, trout and wild salmon.
The beneficial plants include cooked vegetables, roots, cooked pumpkin, onion and mustard. Nuts and seeds, like sunflower seeds, can help to heat, just like butter, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, turmeric and pepper. Helpful grains include oatmeal, quinoa and buckwheat.
It is best to eat cooked and hot foods and beverages,
The salads, fruits, frozen desserts, pasta, white flour, and iced drinks should be minimized.
Moisture
- Disgust by moisture
- Nasal congestion, postnasal drip
- Health worsens by moisture
- Bloating
- Fluid retention
- Little thirst or hunger
- Overweight, flabby body
- Urine tends to be turbid
- Puffy eyes or face
- Short of breath easily
- Heavy feeling around the lower body
Treatment:
Moisture can be associated with the cold or heat and is aggravated by wet climate conditions. Chronic moisture is caused by eating fast, excessive worry, or a diet high in fried foods, bread, pasta, commercial milk, ice cream and other sweets.
Too much raw fruit and salads damage digestion and lead to moisture. Aerobic exercise is essential for balance.
Useful foods include lightly cooked green vegetables such as broccoli, turnips, asparagus and kale. Fish, grilled or roasted poultry and meat to balance.
The best grains to improve moisture patterns are rye, basmati rice, and sprouted grains. Radishes, turnips, pumpkin seeds, green tea, bitter foods and herbs help to remove moisture.
Sweets, dairy and starchy foods tend to contribute to moisture. Ice cream, lasagna, white bread and milk should be avoided.
Yang imbalance Patterns:
Heat
- Tendency to feel warm
- Tendency to be talkative
- Uncomfortable in hot weather
- Urine is usually dark
- May get fever blisters
- Prefers to wear dresses and short sleeve
- Ruddy complexion
- Suffers from headaches, nosebleeds and bleeding.
- High blood pressure
- Often thirsty, needs cold drinks
- Restless sleep and disturbing dreams
- Tendency to impatience, irritability or anger
- May have constipation
Treatment:
A heat pattern often manifests in hot weather or a person undergoing a lot of stress. Overwork, alcohol and sugar increase body heat.
Meditation, nature walks, swimming and / or yoga are ideal for balancing the hectic nature of thermal imbalance.
The ideal foods to compensate are salads, cucumbers and greens lightly cooked, especially spinach and watercress. Vegetables of all kinds are useful, while the meats should be limited.
Other cooling foods include are melons, pears, beans, mung bean sprouts, sushi, soups, chillies, and plenty of water.
Alcohol and sugar should be avoided. Mint is beneficial an herb while pepper, garlic, ginger and onions should be reduced.
Dryness
- Dry skin, dandruff
- Cravings for sweets
- Dry stools and constipation
- Preference for hot liquids in small sips
- Dry throat or eyes
- Night sweats
- Menopause
- Thin body type
- Highly stressed, angry or frustrated
- Flushed cheeks, especially after exercise
Treatment:
A dry pattern is a yin deficiency, or fluid. Hormones, skin oils, saliva, digestive juices and secretions provide our yin element. Liquids are similar to antifreeze for a car, and when they come down, you can easily overheat or freeze. We see dryness in menopause, or age and the skin becomes dry.
Although flushing feel as heat, they are a sign of decrease of yin energy, which allows heat to rise and is not controlled. Stress also reduces yin.
Treatment includes meditation, yoga, nature walks and gardening.
The good fats are recommended. Healthy choices are oily fish, eggs and poultry, sheep cheese, olive oil and coconut oil, meat of poultry, pork, nuts and avocados.
Soups and stews rich in animal fats are very helpful. Other foods include black beans, green beans, squash, sweet potato, sea vegetables such as seaweed, millet, fermented soy and shellfish.