The Macrobiotic Approach To Health And Wellness

Home
>
Alternative Medicine
>
The Macrobiotic Approach To Health And Wellness

The Macrobiotic Approach To Health And Wellness

It may be an ordinary dance studio during the week, but on Sunday mornings this little room in Toronto's west end is transformed by the smells of steamed vegetables, seaweed and miso into Anna Rosenberg's Macro Mornings cooking class. Here Rosenberg provides her students with a basic introduction to macrobiotic cooking.

Many of Rosenberg's students come to her cooking classes to learn how to prepare a wide variety of meals that will help them start the healing process and recover from such diseases as cancer.

"The first factor of health is what you eat. It determines how you react, how you think," says Rosenberg, a macrobiotic chef, teacher, councillor and founder of the Macrobiotic Living Whole Foods Cooking School.

Macrobiotics Defined
In macrobiotics health and longevity is believed to be achieved through theunderstanding of the relationships between ourselves, the food we eat and the lifestyles we choose to live. Sickness is viewed as the body's natural attempt to harmonize itself with its environment.

All foods consumed in macrobiotics help the body achieve this harmony by aiding in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

"Macrobiotics is basically a whole grain and vegetable diet, it's really simple," Rosenberg says. "It's about looking at an individual and seeing what they need."

In macrobiotics food preparation is just as important to human health as are proper food choices.

"I'm trying to teach day to day cooking," Rosenberg says. "Most people think it (cooking)is just a matter of ingredients but it's also the energy of the food, the pots the food is prepared in and the type of dish. Is it a fast or slow dish?"

By going to fast food restaurants she says we give up our control over what we eat to others who might not be concerned with whether the food they are preparing is healthy.

"By putting order into cooking, you put order into your life," Rosenberg says.

Good Health
Rosenberg first learned about macrobiotics from her ex-husband who told her that when they got married they were going to eat macrobiotic. After seeing her health improve from this diet, she knew she couldn't go back.

"I though I was in good health but I discovered a whole new sense of health," Rosenberg says.

Little things that she though were just part of life like, menstrual cramps and athlete's foot, completely disappeared.

She says she is amazed when people tell her they are healthy and then tell her they have a health condition like diabetes. She says many people don't truly understand what health is.

Making The Transition
One of the most common mistakes beginners make when starting a macrobiotic diet Rosenberg says, is not eating enough of a variety of foods.

"In a day you should have about 10 different vegetables. Cooked in different ways," she says.

Lidia Kuleshnyk, a licensed holistic practitioner, macrobiotic cook, health consultant and founder of Macrobiotics Plus, recommends beginners start by adding healthy foods to their diets instead of taking away bad ones. This will help stop food cravings and make the transition physiological and biologically easier.

Kuleshnyk says miso soup is a great addition to any diet.

"One bowl of high quality miso soup will cleanse 50 cigarettes from your body," she says.

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, has been a staple of the Japanese diet for centuries

Macrobiotics In Demand
One day Kuleshnyk would love to see rice balls offered along side Tim Horton's donuts and amaske as an alternative to ice cream at Baskin Robbins.

Amaske, a whole-grain sweet brown rice beverage, is just one of the hard-to-find foods that Kuleshnyk's macrobiotic food service currently sells.

"There's never a shortage of demand. There is just a problem with the logistics of meeting it," she says. " I'm busier beyond my capacity."

Six or seven years ago, Kuleshnyk believes society shifted toward a more spiritual and environmental form of thinking.

"Today there is a health food store practically on every corner. It wasn't' like that 10 or 15 years ago," she says.

Stephanie Raymond is the publisher of Hippocrates, a web journal dedicated to the healing properties of food. To find out more visit http://hippocrates.4t.com

In The News:

FOXSports.com
 <div><a class ...
FOXSports.com
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 30 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, Daytona 500-winning crew chief and broadcaster. He earned 23 Cup wins as a crew chief, including two victories in the prestigious Daytona 500, ...

and more »

CBS News
Colonoscopy Alternative Reduces Cancer Rates, Research Finds
BusinessWeek
By Nicole Ostrow on May 21, 2012 An alternative to colonoscopy that only looks at a portion of the colon rather than the whole intestine reduced cancer rates, a study found. The screening, called flexible sigmoidoscopy, was associated with a 21 percent ...
Colonoscopy Alternative Reduces Cancer Deaths, Study ShowsWall Street Journal (blog)
Simpler colon cancer screening alternative cuts death risk, study findsCBS News
Less invasive alternative to colonoscopy reduces colorectal cancer deathsSTLtoday.com

all 249 news articles »

The Republic
Ditch euro? Many Greeks already are
BusinessWeek
Instead of euros Arabatzis takes TEMs, a Greek abbreviation for Local Alternative Unit. A small but growing minority in about a dozen Greek towns are using an alternative exchange system to help them survive the crisis.
Ditch the euro? As crisis swirls, many Greeks already are _ with alternate ...Washington Post
News Summary: Local currencies take root in GreeceThe Associated Press

all 139 news articles »

'Geuro' an Alternative to Greek Euro Exit: Deutsche Bank
CNBC.com
Greece's best chance of survival may be to stay in the euro but opt for its own parallel currency or “Geuro,” according to Deutsche Bank's head of research, Thomas Mayer. In a research piece, Mayer said the Geuro would help Greece balance its primary ...

and more »

Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
Pet owners seek alternatives to traditional boarding
Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
Other alternative options can be sought on Craigslist.com and HousesittersAmerica.com. Photos by Jason Getz Melissa Cazorla had two problems when she and her husband moved to the Atlanta area from Virginia Beach: their Labrador-whippet mix and their ...

Why We All Need to Think About Alternative Credit
Huffington Post (blog)
Alternative credit is something we'll all need to think about, though perhaps not first thing in the morning. Before I joined eCredable, I spent the prior seven years at the credit reporting agency Equifax. I got up close and personal with the credit ...

and more »

IBNLive.com
Mamata wants alternative to taxing poor, price hike
IBNLive.com
PTI Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said an alternative must be found to taxing the poor and raising the prices of essential commodities whenever economic problems cropped up. Without elaborating on her 'alternative', ...

and more »

Tasmania Mercury
Opposition outlines its alternative budget plans
ABC Online
By Damien Larkins - Cross media reporter The Tasmanian Opposition says its alternative budget offers hope, but it would cost hundreds of public sector jobs. The Opposition Leader Will Hodgman delivered his financial plans in Parliament today.
Libs outline alternative budgetTasmania Mercury
Homebuilder bonus planTheMercury.com.au
Libs urged to identify safe jobsYahoo!7 News

all 23 news articles »

Manito's Alternative High School program graduates 136
Chambersburg Public Opinion
A filmmaker, Dunbar graduated from Manito s Alternative High School program. CHAMBERSBURG -- Mercedes McClain is 17 and in a hurry. She was enrolled in Franklin County Career and Technology Center, studying cosmetology when she had a change of plans.

Syria: An Alternative Choice
FrontPage Magazine
In the midst of the current revolutionary chaos in Syria, there is a clear voice of reason that seeks to create a free Syria that is democratic, Western-oriented and federal in structure. That voice belongs to Sherkoh Abbas, President of the Kurdistan ...

and more »

Google News