My journey thus far....

[Bruce Paine]

Don,

In macrobiotic healing we seek a simple balance, devoid of any extremes.

Slightly yin and yang is an easier balance than extreme yin and yang.

Green tea is caffenated, and therefore is somewhat yin, whereas, bancha twig tea (kukicha) is much less yin than green tea and therefore closer to a simple balance with whole grains and temperate climate vegetables.

Studies represent science.

Yin and yang represent macrobiotic understanding.

Science and macrobiotic understanding are two different things.

One can use both but neither one replaces the other.

In macrobiotics, we are trying to facilitate the body's healing with diet using yin and yang and our understanding of it.

Chemical components of extreme foods such as wasabi and green tea might work in a scientific approach but are somewhat difficult to translate into macrobiotics.

I suggest that a person not try to do science and macrobiotics at the same time.

Choose one and if that does not work after a lengthy time, then one can try the other, but don't complicate things by trying to do both at the same time!

One can practice macrobiotics while seeing a physician but if one has not started medication for a condition, then it is wise to choose a direction to go in the beginning and follow that path until it either resolves the condition or is concluded that the direction is not working.

One can also decide to do macrobiotics after one is convinced that the scientific or medical approach is not working

But, one should not switch back and forth between one mode of healing and another, if one wants consistent results (especially results that are easy to understand).

And if one can't easily understand what to do based upon what is written or advised in a macrobiotic book or online at a macrobiotic site, I suggest that one consider seeing a macrobiotic counselor, so that all of one's concerns can better be addressed.

Do you understand?

Thank you, very much.

_||_

Bruce Paine

P.S.: The tiny waterfall may not provide the negative ions to offshoot the cathode ray energy but it may be relaxing to look at and listen to.

Try it and see what happens.

[AgentX]

Originally Posted by Bruce Paine

Don,

In macrobiotic healing we seek a simple balance, devoid of any extremes.

Slightly yin and yang is an easier balance than extreme yin and yang.

Green tea is caffenated, and therefore is somewhat yin, whereas, bancha twig tea (kukicha) is much less yin than green tea and therefore closer to a simple balance with whole grains and temperate climate vegetables.

Studies represent science.

Yin and yang represent macrobiotic understanding.

Science and macrobiotic understanding are two different things.

One can use both but neither one replaces the other.

In macrobiotics, we are trying to facilitate the body's healing with diet using yin and yang and our understanding of it.

Chemical components of extreme foods such as wasabi and green tea might work in a scientific approach but are somewhat difficult to translate into macrobiotics.

I suggest that a person not try to do science and macrobiotics at the same time.

Choose one and if that does not work after a lengthy time, then one can try the other, but don't complicate things by trying to do both at the same time!

One can practice macrobiotics while seeing a physician but if one has not started medication for a condition, then it is wise to choose a direction to go in the beginning and follow that path until it either resolves the condition or is concluded that the direction is not working.

One can also decide to do macrobiotics after one is convinced that the scientific or medical approach is not working

But, one should not switch back and forth between one mode of healing and another, if one wants consistent results (especially results that are easy to understand).

And if one can't easily understand what to do based upon what is written or advised in a macrobiotic book or online at a macrobiotic site, I suggest that one consider seeing a macrobiotic counselor, so that all of one's concerns can better be addressed.

Do you understand?

Thank you, very much.

_||_

Bruce Paine

P.S.: The tiny waterfall may not provide the negative ions to offshoot the cathode ray energy but it may be relaxing to look at and listen to.

Try it and see what happens.

So are you saying I should try a little green tea because the good it does my immune system and health will out weigh the more yin value it has?

I ate some wakami in my rice yesterday. I prefer to folllow a macrobiotic way. Since I am a analytical person I have usually examined the comparisons between science/religion, science/macrobiotics with surprising parallels.

[Bruce Paine]

Don,

Caffeinated beverages are advised against when one is healing most types of cancer, whereas kukicha is considered to be a more balancing tea.

Wakame, as well as most sea vegetables, are best consumed in miso soup and other high moisture dishes, because of it's relative yangness and after many years of use has been determined that a balanced macrobiotic diet does not need a great quantity of sea vegetables at many meals.

You might consider for taste, a condiment made from wakame, kombu, kelp, or dulse, to be added sparingly to your grains and vegetables, if you so desire.

Thank you, very much.

_||_

Bruce Paine

[AgentX]

I currently enjoy "Choice" brand "Twig Tea". Isnt "kukicha" a Twig Tea from green tea leaf plant?


Thank you for helping me grow in my experience.

[AgentX]

Found this web site regarding green tea twigs. Hope the address helps others source out same tea.

http://www.bodyofmine.com/tea/Green_...ha/kukicha.htm

[Bruce Paine]

Don,

"All tea comes from the tea (Camellia sinensis) plant, but not all tea are alike. Tea may be made from the buds, leaves, twigs, or stems of a tea bush. the season when these are harvested and the way they are processed determine the quality of the tea. Black tea, also known as red leaf tea, is most popular in the West. It is fermented, highly processed, often dyed, and high in caffeine and tannin, the reddish substance which gives the tea its strong, astringent flavor.

Common types of red leaf tea include Orange Pekoe and Souchong. Green tea is unfermented, steamed, and much less processed but also very high in caffeine. Typical types include Gunpowder, Young Hyson, and Imperial. Oolong tea is a combination of black and green tea and usually is scented with gardenia or jasmine.

Twig tea, made from the stems and twigs of the tea bush, is known as bancha or kukicha tea in Japan. It is picked at the end of the summer or fall when the caffeine has naturally receded from the tea plant. Bancha means ‘late growing tea.’ Unlike black, green, or oolong teas, which are acidic, bancha twig tea is slightly alkaline.

Twig tea is very good for digestion, serves as a buffer to acids in the stomach, and has many medicinal uses.” ( from Aveline Kushi’s COMPLETE GUIDE TO MACROBIOTIC COOKING FOR HEALTH, HARMONY AND PEACE by Aveline Kushi with Alex Jack)

There are a variety of cha (teas) to choose from in Japanese cuisine. Shaded by slatted bamboo from direct sunlight, to maintain their tenderness the small, delicate, earliest leaves are picked to make Gyokoru, the highest quality leaf green tea. When ground to a fine dust, it become matcha, used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

Then the blinds are removed and the larger, lower leaves are picked to make sencha, the medium grade green tea. Lower on the bush, older leaves and small twigs are picked to make bancha a lower grade green tea. Less expensive than sencha, bancha is usually served in Japanese restaurants and goes well with food. Hojicha a lightly toasted “roasted tea” that unlike other green teas that become bitter when cooled, makes a refreshing cool summer drink.

Kukicha derived from the final cuttings: twigs and stems are not considered to be green tea. Containing little caffeine, the lack of leaves, kukicha has some calcium, and is calming to the digestive tract.

You can find many of those teas mentioned at Simply Natural:

Beverages

Choice Organic Teas

Thank you, very much

_||_

Bruce Paine

[AgentX]

Wow! Then I am drinking right on the mark already. Thanks for clearing up my issues about Tea. You are most informative. In turn when appropriate I will pass on what I have learned to help others in time.

Thank you so much.

[AgentX]

I have heard that Shoyu and Barley Miso are quite similar. Can anyone share similarities in properties, what they each do aside from each other?

I like Shoyu in my rice, would Shoyu be equally healthy for you as Miso?