I need cookies!!

[Denise]

Has anyone ever heard of Rapidura as a sweetener? I found it a local health food store (Earthfare). I saw the rice syrup but decided to try this. It is completely unrefined and unbleached natural sugar. It looks like dirt!! But it is delicious with the natural molasses flavor. Do you think the rice syrup is still better, is so, why?? I have a sweet tooth and love to make cookies and want them to be as healthy as possible. I don't have a grinder yet to grind my wheat, maybe soon...

[Bruce Paine]

Denise,

Look again and you will probably find that it is called Rapadura.

It has already been covered here

You can use Rapadura if you want and if it has no negative effect on your health, you can use it all you want.

Most people who have been eating a diet centered with whole grains (especially organic brown rice) and temperate climate vegetables for a good while might find regular consumption of Rapudura to be too (yin) strong for them, so they might find using (more yang) sweeteners like rice syrup, barley malt, amasake, and cooked temperate climate fruit to be easier for them to eat in occasional desserts.

Does that make any sense to you?

Thank you, very much.

Be well.

Bruce Paine

[Denise]

Hi, thanks for writing. Yes, it does make some sense to me, but I am wondering, how do you decide if something is yin or yang? I mean, how did you come to the conclusion that rapadura is yin and rice syrup is yang? Do you just see what makes your body react positively to certain combinations? Or is it more of a long term decision based on what condition your body is in? When I joined this forum I did not realize Macrobiotics was all that it is. It's confusing to me but very interesting. But anyway, back to the sugar, have you seen negative effects with people using unrefined sugar rather than rice syrup? I guess I should just try both and see how I feel. I would like to know, ultimately, exactly how your body reacts to both (short term and long). Then I can make a sensible decision, do you know what I mean? I just want to do the best thing for my family, healthwise. Thank you, Denise p.s. I did look again, and the box I bought is by Rapunzel, and it is spelled Rapadura!

[Denise]

p.s. as far as the whole grains, I would like to get some brown rice, but there are tons to choose from. Could you suggest what to buy? Organic, perhaps, and will it just say "brown rice"? Sounds like a silly question, but there is so much to choose from and if I am going to try it, I want to get the right stuff and also know how to prepare it. I heard someone say they use a pressure cooker to cook it? Or maybe she was referring to something else because that doesn't sound right. Thanks again, Denise

[Bruce Paine]

Denise,

Draw a horizontal line across the page and put a small triangle with one angle attached to the center underside and it's opposite flat side parallel to the horizontal line.

Organize the following foods:

fruit
grain
salad
meat
sugar
nut/seeds
beans
salt
vegetables

from far left (yang) to far right (yin) organize the foods (you can write the food names perpendicular to the horizontal line to fit them closer together if you like!)

Yang is contractive, condensing, fusing (centripetal) energy and Yin is expansive, dissipating, difusing (centrifugal) energy.

Here, look at a chart that explains more of what yin and yang are!

A wonderful little book that explains yin and yang quite thoroughly is Pocket Guide To Macrobiotics by Carl Ferre and a cookbook that gives you both a intellectual and intuitive way of understanding macrobiotics is The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods by Kristina Turner

Is sweet yin or yang?

Which is more sweet, Rapadura or rice syrup; organic rice syrup or non-organic rice syrup?

Since you and your husband live in London, my guess that it is a bit cooler and more moist than most of the temperate United States so you could probably eat organic short grain brown rice as often as we do, but when the weather get real warm every day, then you probably will want to eat more organic medium grain brown rice, and during the hottest period of the year you might want to eat more organic long grain brown rice.

If for some reason you can't get any of the suggested books and food products locally, the you might ask any friends who are traveling to the States to pick them up here and bring them back to you with them.

Okay?

Thank you, very much.

Be well

Bruce Paine

[Denise]

looks like I have alot of reading to do. I do not live in London, by the way. Maybe you are thinking of someone else(?) I live in Tennessee (US). Looks like I should now get the organic long grain, and then medium grain after the summer months. And just prepare as directed on the package or do you do something different? Thanks so much for your help. Denise

[Bruce Paine]

Denise,

Besides The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods by Kristina Turner there are many macrobiotic cookbooks that will give you pretty much the same advice about cooking brown rice.

Boiling one cup of rice to two cups of water but less water is used for larger batches of rice (3 cups of rice to 5 1/2 cups of water).

Pressure cook 2 cups of rice to 3 - 3 1/2 cups of water (if batch is too sticky use slightly less water but if the rice is too dry or browns at the bottom use slightly more water next time.

Less water is needed if using an Ohsawa Pot to pressure cook your rice (and other foods), 1 cup of rice to 1 1/4 cup of water.

Regarding understanding yin and yang, here's one of the first explanations that I read 32 years ago (and it still applies, today!).

From Healing Ourselves: A Book to Serve As a Companion in Time of Illness and Health by Naboru Muramoto with Michel Abehsera:

"Yin and Yang

THE YIN-YANG PRINCIPLE is simple. Fundamental to it is the assumption that the elements of nature are ephemeral and that, once aware of this, we must conduct our lives accordingly. These two forces are always opposite and antagonistic, and yet at the same time they are complementary, for they are forever combining and cooperating, both within the body and without. Thus the principle of Yin and Yang developed in the Orient is one of "dualistic monism."

Yin

In the Far East, Yin is the name given to that force which produces expansion. Water, air, trees, flowers, etc. are all "expanding" elements in nature, since their essential tendency is to forever fill up the dimensions of , space. Certain fruits grow quickly and yet are larger than others which take time to grow. The force within these fruits which makes them grow faster and larger than others, is Yin. Therefore, we consider as Yin anything that grows to a relatively great size in a relatively shon time. .

Something termed "Yin" is not labeled such solely because of its superior size. True, size is often the identifying attribute of Yin; however, this is only one of its qualities. Yin, as we have said, is that force which causes expansion. Drugs, for example, tend to make us expand in all ways, physiologically and mentally. Alcohol tends to produce the same effect. In other words, Yin dissipates. Elements which make us dizzy or "light-headed" when taken as food or medicine, are Yin.

It takes a great binding force (Yang) to balance the great expansion created by Yin (drugs, alcohol, sugar, etc.). It is due to this difficulty in maintaining equilibrium that all kinds of sicknesses arise.

In summary, the Yin force is the opposite of the binding force. Yin always tends to expand as contrasted with the Yang force, which tends to contract.

Yang

Now that we are somewhat acquainted with the idea of Yin, we can understand what Yang must be. Yang is that force which tends to make things contract, to be dense and heavy. It does not extend things spatially; on the contrary, its tendency is to cause elements to contract to the utmost of their potential. Any given element will continue to contract as long as the Yang force is still dominant. When that force is exhausted, the element then tends to expand, since there is no remaining force to keep it from expanding.

For example, salt is Yang. Pickling vegetables in salt is a Yang process which tends to shrink the vegetables. As long as there is salt around and inside the vegetables, they will continue to shrink. If too little salt is used with the vegetables, they will spoil and eventually rot. The Yang quality of the salt is what preserves them, and the longer they are pickled, the more Yang they will be. Time and salt, along with heat and pressure, are very strong Yang forces in nature.

Fruits generally are not dominated by the Yang force. Roots are mostly dominated by Yang. The famous ginseng, for example, is an extremely Yang root. Some roors are more Yang than others. Usually, the smaller the root, the more Yang it is, But char is not always the case. Some roots are large but, because they grow in a cold and mountainous region over a long period of time, they are still Yang.

Yang does not cause dizziness as Yin does. Salt, soya sauce, ginseng, ete. are rather effective in eliminating dizziness. However, they should not be raken in exaggerated amounts. Too much of anything will produce its opposite.

You can now see the fundamental difference between Yin and Yang. Yin has a tendency to expand, Yang to contract. We shall see that an individual needs the contrasting effect of both ro maintain balance.

Yin and Yang

We have already said thar activity is Yang and passivity is Yin. This principle is well illustrated by the sun's heat and activity as opposed to the moon's coldness and passitivity. Thus the sun, daytime, heat, and summer are all called "Yang," and the moon, nighttime, cold, and winter are called "Yin." The activity of Yin and Yang can be demonstrated in thousands of ways. For example, there is more "visible" activity taking place in summer than in winter. This is not to say that in winter there is no activity at all. There is activity, but it is more subrle than the visible kind taking place during the hot days. On a hot day the air is electrified, the fruirs are blossoming, people fill the streets and beaches. When the cold days arrive, people enter the home and the counrry is silent,

Energy is Yang. Let us take the example of boiling water, Heat (Yang) creates a dynamic movement, a complere change in rhe structure of the molecules and elements found in water. Inertia, on the other hand, is Yin. There is no visible activity taking place.

Most of the fruits that grow in a warm climate are more or less Yin, whereas plants, especially roots which grow in a cold climate, are Yang. This reciprocal relationship berween Yin and Yang can be illustrated by the following. A cactus tree thrives in a hot climate. It grows on dry land, yet has a great amount of liquid in it. One can see from this why a hot climate (Yang) produces juicy fruits (Yin) such as oranges, papayas, avocados, ere. On the contraty, a colder climate produces smaller fruits or no fruit at all. That is why most plants die in the winter. Activity is seen again with rhe approach of warmer days; nature begins to murmur the coming of new plants and fruits.

The activity of both Yin and Yang affects man in his innermost being. When it is cold, man builds a fire to warm himself. When it grows warm, he searches for water ro refresh himself. This change from Yin to Yang can affect man adversely if he does not acclimatize himself ro the ever new conditions. That is why man should be careful ro change his diet whenever he moves from a cold place to a warm one, and vice versa.

Whatever man eats affects his condition to some degree. Just as the wearher from rhe outside affects him, so food, whether liquid, spicy or acid, is a "weather" inside him which can produce a sensation of cold or warmth.

Some food produces more thirst than other types. Salt, which is Yang, certainly does so. That is why a good cook balances it with other ingredients, such as oil, in her cooking. The reverse is also true; a salad prepared wirh oil bur without salt lacks taste as well as balance.

The good cook knows one simple secret, that Yin cannot be delicious without a bit of help from Yang. Salt, when added in the correcr measure, helps create the ideal taste. A potato without salt does not taste like a potato! One's opposite is always needed to enhance one's quality.

We have already seen that there is a mutual attraction between Yin and Yang. For example, we tend to drink a great amount of liquid ro remedy the simple irritations or painful contractions brought about from the consumption of too much salty food. Conversely, the consumption of excess liquid causes saIt to be removed from the body and results in a srrong desire for more salt.

This attraction of Yin for Yang and vice versa can be controlled, depending on who is experiencing it. The wise and understanding man, aware of the natural attraction between Yin and Yang, is careful not to let his desires overshadow his wisdom. Only the fool is governed by the sudden attractions he brings upon himself-when he is hungry, he eats until full; when thirsty, he drinks until he aches.

Thus we learn that a free man is one who accepts these two forces as an expression of natural law, yet is neither controlled nor overwhelmed by them."

Thank you, very much.

Be well.

Bruce Paine