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I'm absolutely convinced that the lack of animal foods was the cause of my osteoperosis. If you consider the diet as it is described in all of the Kushi literature as the macrobiotic way of eating than yes, that diet was the cause of my osteoperosis. My problem could easily have been avoided if I had eaten strong animal foods at least every day and not just in moderate quantities. And the truth about dairy is often exagerated in the macro-community, moderate amounts of dairy can improve the health for some.
It's only since the last few months that I'm starting to recover since I've started to eat red meat or eggs twice a day and eat less of anything else. I'm not saying that this is also the solution to others who suffered from shortages due to the macro-diet. But I come from a background of heavy-meat eating and the sudden switch to a diet with only 2-3 times a week a small piece of fish have taken me to a condition with such great shortages, that I need a lot of extremes right now to catch up.
Macrobiotics doesn't need to be a diet that can lead to shortages with some individuals. What's important is that you not take too seriously what the kushi-books or kushi-institute says. You must listen to your own body, not the theories. The sad thing is, many macrobiotic counseleres are so dogmatic that they will never advice someone to eat more animal foods or at least chicken or meat, even if they are thin to the bone. They see this thin condition as 'too yang' so you shouldn't eat meat, which was an awfull mistake they did to me and many others.
A sad thing is that most of the people who suffer from severe shortages due to the kushi diet just return to their old way of eating and you never hear of them again out of shame for the macro-community. Or they are just ridiculed and pointed out as someone who didn't follow the instructions properly. Only the people where the diet did work for remain, and those that follow a way of eating that's a little more wider like the advices that Roy is giving.
So what is exactly macrobiotics? Can I say that I'm still eating macrobiotic now that I eat red meat, eggs and dairy? Theoretically I can, but it breakes the standard view of macrobiotics so far apart that I see no point of using the word macrobiotics in my diet. I tried many different ways of eating. Life has been a constant education for me in the last years. I now know that there's no vegan diet on this earth that I can live on. And eating just small amounts of fish every day is by far not sufficient. It has taken me time to accept this, and now that I've done so, I feel more free than ever.
My advice to others is, listen to your body first. If you feel better after eating a lot of raw apples, then experiment more with that. Forget the beautifull theories, forget the fact that's 'too yin'. You might make yourself more sick doing so, but in time you will learn. Only follow the kushi-diet for a short time, perhaps 6 months. Then try eating things that are totally ommited in the kushi diet, and see if you feel better or worse. If you only eat the things that are in the Kushi diet than you never learn what your body needs because you are only eating an extremely small variety of foods.
Take care,
Peter
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