hi, new here

h, i was wondering why macrobiotics don't use herbs in food??

no pepper, no cayenne pepper or whatever it is called?? is it not good to use peppers, spicy food no good??

and why no tomatoes, and is it ok to eat spinach??

i'm a little bit confussed.

would someone please help a guy like me who's considering to change to a good healthy macro diet.

[brooklyngal]

Macro cooking uses all natural simple seasonings like organic sea salt and sesame seeds for example. Peppers, tomatos, eggplant, potatoes, and other nightshade vegetables are generally not recommend b/c they cause the blood to become acidic and generally throw your body off of balance. If you have just started investigating Macrobiotics, you probably have come across the ideas of Yin and Yang and creating a good balance of each in your diet and overall life.

On this topic I have also read that these vegetables are slightly "toxic" (although I am not sure what that means exactly!) and some of them contain nicotine in the leaves.

Hope this helps!

thank you for the rply.

But is spinach consider a toxic to the body?

[brooklyngal]

I believe the way they put it is that those types of vegetables are acid producing and mildly toxic. This does include spinach by most sources. The veggies which are generally not recommended are: avocado, all potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, asparagus, spinach. Also tropical fruits are not recommended unless you live in a tropical area where they are grown locally.

There is a more information posted on this by an gentleman named Bruce on this part of the forum:

http://www.cybermacro.com/Macrobioti...de_Vegetables/

Hope this helps!

D

[brooklyngal]

Dear Unregistered -
One important thing I should have added to my response with regards to nightshade vegetables is that Macrobiotics is not about restriction. It is based on the idea of freedom and taking control of your body and your happiness and your life - understanding the idea of yin and yang and what effects different things have on your body.

One way that Ohsawa's (one of the great teachers) book puts it is to think of eating and drinking as a well thought out "divine art" "using supreme judgement"- as opposed to defining your eating habits around taste and pleasure. Food can still be delicious but can also create health and happiness, peace and clarity. It directly impacts our mental as well as physical well being. He believed that all sickness and unhappiness and crime, etc. was derived by violating the natural order of things.

The most important thing to remember that no one is perfect or immune from anything. Some people choose to just incorporate a "more macrobiotic" lifestyle than what they had - like eating more whole grains and organic veggies a few times a week. Or just try to use the yin and yang concept when making your food choices here and there. That is great! The whole idea is to take control, understand healthy choices and how to balance - as opposed to dictating what you can and can not have.

hi, and thank u for all your help.

I've ordered some books about microbiotics, through the internet, but it will take a few weeks for me to get them, but i can't wait!!
So that's why i'm so curious.

I have another question about nightshades.

Is aubergine consider a nightshade?? i'm chocked over how so many "healthy" veggies can be harmfull to the body!

good evening, i'm looking after 'Miriam Nour' reference to contact her about my mother illness,i don't know if u could help me?

[dkornels]

pepper: black pepper is an intestinal irritant when cooked as its molecular structure changes, better to add pepper to meal after cooked , jalepenos very high in vit C, kills parasites

spinach: high in oxalic acid but also high in beneficial beta carotene and considered anti-cancerous

I consider any seed bearing plant or tree to be intended for man's use, although some are very alkaline and others acidic, they have other important nutritional factors to be considered. Each has a unique blend of vitamins, minerals, bi-flavinoids, some are higher in fiber than others but all are necessary. I have seen many recommend a ratio of 80% alkaline foods to 20% acidic, that is alkaline foods should be dominate.

There aren't any fruits/vegetables/nuts that I don't eat unless I just don't like them, I just work on trying to have balance.

[Cool Dude]

Hi!

Let's read what some experts have written on the subject.

From Part Two: THE CONTENTS OF THE MACROBIOTIC DIET: Vegetables, in the book,
Macrobiotic Diet:Balancing Your Eating in Harmony with the Changing Environment and Personal Needs by Michio and Aveline Lushi, Edited by Alex Jack
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...063148-2916842 :

"Tropical Vegetables

.Tropical and semitropical vegetables may be enjoyed in their native setting but are generally too extreme).e in their energy and effects on the mind and body for even occasional use in temperate, four-season climates. This includes some species that originally came from southern latitudes but are now grown in northern climate zones. In most cases, they have been cultivated in the new enviro'nment for only a few centuries, which in evolutionary terms is very brief. Perhaps in several thousand years after they have more fully adapted themselves to the new type of soil, weather, and growing conditions, they will be more suitable for human consumption.
Among tropical vegetables, the solanaceous plants are especially unsuitable. These include white potato, tomato, eggplant, green pepper, red pepper, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika, as well as tobacco, belladonna, henbane, and other members of the deadly nightshade family.
In the cold mountainous region of the Andes, where the potato originated, it was used primarily as a cover crop to break up the soil for growing corn. In
times of famine, when grain was unavailable, the potato's bitter taste and semitoxic properties were neutralized to some extent by soaking in a cold mountain stream, pounding, drying and using as a meal or roasting and boiling. Only the tubers were eaten, as the leaves, flowers, stems, berries, and other parts growing above ground contain the poison solanin.
The tomato, native to the tropical lowlands of South and Central America and having some of the same toxic properties as the potato, was brought to North Africa by the Conquistadores. Along with the potato, it entered Southern Europe by the sixteenth century. The eggplant, native to India, reached Europe in the Middle Ages. However, for several hundred years all three plants were regarded as poisonous and grown only for their ornamental value.

Since antiquity nightshades had been used medicinally to stimulate and depress the nervous system, increase heart rate, reduce digestive function, and raise blood pressure. When potatoes arrived in Europe and began being eaten as food, doctors and herbalists noted an increased incidence of leprosy. While the varieties of potatoes and tomatoes consumed today are larger, weaker, and less bitter than those formerly available, regular consumption of these foods in the modern diet
is a contributing factor to loss of natural immunity and may lead to a wide range of extremely expansive conditions ranging from colds and flu to skin rashes and itches, loss of sexual vitality, polio, and others. This is beginning to be confirmed by modern science. For example, Dr. Norman Childers, a professor of horticulture at Cook College in New Jersey who has worked with solanaceous plants all his life, has found that regular consumption of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants is a primary cause of arthritis. In his book The Nightshades and Health, he reports that in many arthritic patients symptoms of this potentially crippling disease go away usually in a period of several weeks to several months when they stop eating these foods.
Historically, Europeans, Americans, and other modern people have been attracted to excessively yin foods like potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and spices in an effort to offset their high consumption of meat, poultry, eggs, dairy food, and other overly yang items. However, such an extreme balance is unnatural and inevitably leads to illness and unhappiness. As foodstuffs, the solanaceous plants are best avoided altogether. However, their medicinal properties are still useful. In macrobiotic home care, for example, potatoes are often used externally as a compress to help draw out accumulated toxins from the body, and eggplants are baked and ground into fine powder for use as a toothpaste called dentie.
Another type of plant usually reduced or avoided in the macrobiotic diet is the goosefoot family and its members. These vegetables of generally semitropical origin include spinach, Swiss chard, beets, lamb's-quarters, and rhubarb. They are usually astringent to the taste, cook up dark, and do not combine well with other foods. In addition, they contain oxalic acid which prevents the body from properly absorbing calcium into the cells and tissues. In extreme cases, oxalates can lead to the formation of calcium deposits or stones in the kidneys.
Other tropical or semitropical species that are preferably avoided in temperate climates are artichoke, asparagus, avocado, breadfruit, cassava, okra, plantain, sweet potato, and yam. In their own environment, these foods are perfectly fine and form an important part of the traditional diet there.
On rare occasion, when eating out or preparing exotic vegetables in the home, the adverse effects of tropical and semitropical vegetables can be somewhat reduced by counterbalancing their extreme yin energies with more yang methods of food preparation. These include salting raw foods or marinating them with tamari soy sauce or brown rice vinegar; whenever possible cooking tropical foods rather than preparing them raw and using mqre long-time methods such as strong boiling, stewing, or baking; and seasoning dishes with slightly more sea salt, tamari soy sauce, or miso than usual."

From Chapter 3: Variety with Vegetables and Soups, in The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods by Kristina Turner
http://69.94.78.222/Self-Healing-Cookbook.php :

"Nightshades and Other Stressful Vegetables
Nightshades (which include tomato, potato,
eggplant and peppers) are one group of veggies you may want to minimize--especially in times of stress.

Studies show they speed the heart-rate and slow down digestion. They're high in alkaloids, which block B Vitamin absorption (key vitamins in coping with stress). And they may contribute to arthritic and rheumatic symptoms (see The Nightshades & Health, by Norman Childers).

Other veggies that are potentially stressful on the body include chard, spinach, beets, and rhubard. These contain oxalic acid, which binds calcium and eliminates it from the body-increasing the risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones.

All these yin vegetables are an appealing balance to extremely yang foods like meat, eggs, and cheese. But on a Self-Healing Diet, you may want to temporarily avoid them, while your body gains strength and learns
a new, more gentle way to stay in balance.
(For a great tomato-free spaghetti sauce, see p. 166)."

Are you convinced, now?

Be Well.

Cool Dude