User:Pat Palmer/sandbox/todo list/Macrobiotics

The word macrobiotics was first coined by a German physician, Christoph von Hufeland (1762-1836), in his book title (translated in English as) Macrobiotics or the Art of Prolonging Human Life.

a system of holistic principles and dynamic practices that guides choices in nutrition, activity, and lifestyle for physical, emotional, mental, social, and environmental health.

• macrobiotic, adj., such as macro-biotic philosophy or macrobiotic diet.

WAY OF LIFE

Gratitude: Developing a love of life, making the most of every moment, and being grateful for whatever happens whether it seems positive or negative, is an opportunity to grow.

One grain, ten thousand grains: In nature, one seed becomes a plant that produces many seeds, thus giving back and increasing. This is a metaphor to continuously act with generosity towards others in all aspects of life, thus giving back more than you receive.

Values: Learning to accept people as they are and appreciate each person’s life journey. Seek to make honest and positive relationships that fulfil the highest ethics and values in life.

Everything changes: By embracing change, humans develop. Macrobiotic living is a way to create beneficial change in life, evolving through experience and as the world changes.

ECOLOGY AND FOOD

Body and nature are not separate: What we do to the environment greatly affects us. Food and breathing are our direct connection to nature. Through daily meals, regular rising and sleeping times, and daily exercise, we realign with the seasonal cycles of nature every day.

Food: Consistent mealtimes and eating together promote health. A macrobiotic diet is based on combining healthy traditional food, including fresh vegetables, whole grains or their products, beans, fruit, nuts, seeds, pickles, fermented foods, herbs, seasonings, sea vegetables, and teas. Each person is unique and discovers the best food for health based on macrobiotic principles. Many thrive being vegan and some choose to include a little animal food. Macrobiotics is an open, flexible, and adaptable approach to eating that can include a wide variety of foods for social events and special occasions.

Principles for food selection: Prioritize food that has grown and adapted to your climatic region over many centuries or at least comes from a similar climatic zone. Prefer local and seasonal perishable foods from as close to home as possible and organic/natural foods with as little chemical additives as possible. Our food choices impact society and the environment.

Natural preparation: Use natural preparation, cooking techniques, and preservation methods to enhance the taste and quality of ingredients and to make nutrients more available. Cooking is a skill that can bring greater sensory and emotional satisfaction to each meal.

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Concepts from Ohsawa:

HEALTH Seven conditions of health: 1. Vitality. 2. Good appetite for natural food and life. 3. Deep refreshing sleep. 4. Good memory. 5. Cheerful pleasant outlook. 6. Clear thought and action. 7. Honesty and appreciation.

Self-reflection: Developing the ability to view life from the biggest perspective from a more objective and non-judgmental place. Living with self-awareness can guide each person toward health.

Intuition: An integral part of health, based on an inner knowing, that comes from a direct connection with nature and beyond.

Self-empowerment: The ability to influence your own life and health is one of the first steps to empowering yourself, leading to a creative, constructive approach to life.

ECOLOGY AND FOOD Body and nature are not separate: What we do to the environment greatly affects us. Food and breathing are our direct connection to nature. Through daily meals, regular rising and sleeping times, and daily exercise, we realign with the seasonal cycles of nature every day.

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Origin: from Ancient Greek: Makros (large or long), Bios (life or way of living), and Thiké (technique or art of).

• Definition agreed upon by the International Macrobiotic Conference 2017 in Berlin by 45 teachers, representing many schools, institutes, and organizations. Revised November 2018 in Portugal.

No scientific evidence or research suggests that macrobiotic eating can cure disease. However, macrobiotic eating may provide health benefits to some people when used as a complementary therapy. The macrobiotic diet is largely vegetarian. It significantly limits animal fat.

You're discouraged from eating dairy, eggs, poultry, processed foods, refined sugars, and meats, along with tropical fruits, fruit juice, and certain vegetables like asparagus, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, and zucchini. You're only supposed to drink when you feel thirsty.

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Macrobiotics is a way of eating centered around mostly plant-based whole foods, which are ideally locally sourced and seasonally appropriate. The diet is intended to be supported by lifestyle practices such as regular walking outside to promote health and well being. Macrobiotics is also a social movement that trains people in how to diagnose and care for themselves using macrobiotic principles.

George Ohsawa (1893-1966) is considered the "father" of macrobiotics because it was through his efforts, travels, and books that others around the world took up the study.

his work was strongly reinforced by two other contemporary Japanese proponents of macrobiotics, Herman Aihara and Michio Kushi.

Macrobiotics is a social movement centered around a diet of mostly plant-based, locally sourced whole foods, along with recommended lifestyle practices to support health and well being. The movement originated from books published in Japan by Sagen Ishizuka (1850-1909), a Japanese army doctor who used diet and lifestyle recommendations to treat sick people. In the 1920's, Ishizuka's ideas were taken up by George Ohsawa (1893-1966), who subsequently traveled around the world training others. Ohsawa is today considered the "father of macrobiotics", but his work was strongly reinforced by two other contemporary Japanese proponents of macrobiotics, Herman Aihara and Michio Kushi.

By the 1960's, Ohsawa's efforts had spawned several small, dedicated pockets of students in various parts of the United States, Great Britain and Europe. In the 1970's, macrobiotic advocate Herman Aihara (1920 to 1997) came from Japan to California and founded the Vega Study Center for macrobiotics in Oroville, California. About the same time, Michio (1926-2014) established a center for macrobiotics in the Boston area in the early 1950s. He lectured all over the world at conferences and seminars about philosophy, spiritual development, health, food, and diseases.

Dedicated students of the 1960's formed study and support groups in California, Philadelphia, New York, western Massachussetts, and Boston, and it is from the 1960's study groups and houses that today's senior macrobiotics counselors arose.

led by a coalition of highly trained counselors who learned directly from a lineage of teachers reaching back to Japan around 1920. Macrobiotic counselors teach nutritional principles, cooking skills, menu planning, and the use the diagnostic principles from Traditional Chinese Medicine to monitor one’s own health. Cooking, diet and lifestyle are ideally intended to be adjusted for each individual’s need based on their condition at a certain time.

As of 2020, I estimate that there are perhaps a dozen or fewer senior counselors available worldwide.

Macrobiotic counselor:

• Able to offer guidance for those with cancer, advanced cardiovascular problems,

HIV, Lyme disease, serious psychological, addiction or nervous system problems, and other immune issues.

The counselors train members of the public, but also certify some followers are macrobiotics coaches.

Macrobiotic coach:

• Has a broad understanding of macrobiotic diet, cooking, and lifestyle practices
• Helps people establish a clear direction for their health and life
• Helps to improve life of oneself and others through creating order and structure in diet, cooking, and lifestyle practices
• Provides support for creating order and structure
• Can provide a combined plan for what to do and how to do it based on the goal
• Can help with shopping, setting up a kitchen, menu-planning, and guidance on cooking and lifestyle practices
• Can offer support and encouragement, positive guidance, and lifestyle practices