"no oil" regimens

Hello: I have a chronic, but not life-threatening, condition I'd like to "treat" with macrobiotics. A macrobiotic counselour recently advised me to begin my practice with a period of consuming no oil. He explained that I should have no oil at all for ten days, then a little bit, then go on in cycles like this for 30 days. He said this would make me discharge the oil. I'd like some opinions on this practice. I'm female, late 30's, not overweight, though I can see the need to clear out old fats from the body, particularly liver/gallbladder system. Still, this sounds a bit extreme to me, as does the advice to eat protein at only one meal. Is it possible to discharge over time without adopting such extreme regimens as "no oil," etc.? Can such a regimen do a person harm? I've heard stories of women going into premature menopause, for example. Please advise. Thanks.
--Lulu

[Klara]

Hi Lulu,

Again I'm not the address for technical mb knowledge, but am so amused always by the word "extreme." Extreme is all relative to where you are at. There was a time I didn't think it was possible to cook without using oil. Today I hardly use it except when cooking for others. My same experience with protein, I eat so very little today compared to what I used to. I truly understand now that we humans do indeed need very little protein.

My impression is that your counselor is not being extreme as he has set it to a limited time and then slowly incorporating oil back into your diet. My question to you is do you trust him? I think it's very very important that you feel comfortable with your counselor and "play" with his advise and see how you feel, and if you have concerns afterwards when you've tried, then be able to work with him. It is important that both of you are flexible, you with his advise, and he with readjusting your diet depending on how you respond (that is, how your body responds, but do know that how your mind works can very much affect how the rest of your body responds!).

Hopefully your counselor has already had much experience and it's based on his knowledge and experience that he is advising you.

I wish you well.

Klara

Thanks Klara. My next question is how long should I play with a recommendation before I will know how it makes me feel? Should I feel a feelingn of wellbeing after a few days, or longer? Then again, if the recommendation is wrong, how much damage would a few weeks of it do? Thanks again.
--Lulu

[Klara]

Lulu,

Super important question - and I feel like a heel that I don't know!!!!

This is a lifelong search for getting in touch with our intuition, and improving on it always. I sense you are very uncomfortable doing what your counselor advises, so I would guess that is your intuition. Such a balancing act, if we are not ready to take on what others advise, what to do????

I resisted for the very longest time re not using oil in my cooking. I can't remember why I accepted it, but it was after many classes with this wonderful counselor that comes to visit us every few months. I feel things take me a long time, and now her latest advise to someone else in our group, that people need to realize change does take time and it isn't good to change fast.

Otoh, those who have a serious condition? I would think would want to try changing, but I'm not in your shoes and can't answer what is comfortable for you.

We just had Jessica Porter of The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics fame on the chat here this week. Throughout her book she talks about her adventure in experimenting things for herself - the good and the bad. And she highly advises all to try to find out for themselves also. At the end of each of the chapters she has a section called "Exercising Your Inner Compass."

We all go at different speeds and when someone is suffering it must be very difficult to try to balance what you feel inside with new information from someone else.

And just to make it more confusing for you (sorry) please be aware, that however you've been eating/living is what got you to your condition, so trying something new might help.

Whether it will harm? I don't know. and how long to give it? I don't know. There are so many personal factors involved, how deep and how long you have had your condition, and how many other areas are helping you besides food (lifestyle and mental, spiritual).

And the biggest obstacle to health, in my opinion, is fear, but how to get rid of it, I don't know.

I got a feeling I may have muddled it up for you, but again, if you feel a good connection with your counselor, go and talk to him about all these things. Again, in my opinion, once a counselor does a consultation, it shouldn't stop there. That's my opinion. Sure hope it's your counselor's too.

Klara

[Blue Dolfin]

meeso - no question about it, we need fats in our diet. Problem is, prior to becoming health-conscious and balance-conscious, most of us overindulged in fats by consuming excesses of meat, dairy products and junk foods like chips and doughnuts and the fats in these foods are not always good for us even in small quantities. I disagree, though, that avoiding all cooking oil will do much good and might even be harmful. What we need is good quality fat. Macrobiotic counselors will tell you that whole foods contain enough fat, and they do... grains, beans, seeds, nuts and fishes contain fat... however your body is accustomed to having more fat and it is going to crave fat when you stop using oil in your cooking and don't eat fatty foods. If you can put up with this for a while you'll be OK but if the craving gets serious you may find yourself bingeing out of control on some fatty foods and it will be "two steps forward and three steps back" which in the long run will worsen the situation. I would rather see you take "three steps forward and two steps back" which is steady slow progress. Just be careful what kind of oil you use, stick with sesame if you can.

What I personally recommend is probably different from what your counselor says but if someone came to me with a non-life-threatening condition I would tell them to use the following oils (in this order of preference): sesame, rice bran, unrefined corn, grapeseed, sunflower, almond, extra virgin olive and peanut in small quantities (e.g. 2-3 tsps. per day total). Definitely avoid soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed, palm, safflower and all hydogenated and partially hydrogenated fats, lard and butter for the time being.

Above all, make sure whatever oil you use is FRESH. Always store cooking oil in a cool, dark place and discard it the moment you notice the least bit of rancidity.

If you get to craving fat you will be much better off using a little more of the better quality oils than consuming any of the "no-no" fats. Try some wild salmon rather than going for a pork chop or cheeseburger. Make some tempura at home rather than going for McDonald's fries.

Hmmm. . . interesting, if conflicting, advice; thank you. Actually I decided to (at least) try the advice for a bit, in part because very quickly I have found that my "fat" cravings are going away (at least for now???). Last night I went to a chinese restaurant and ordered the steamed veggies with sauce on the side (wasn't going to eat the sauce), and found that the veggies were somehow steamed with a bit of (probably poor quality) oil! I ate them anyway, and felt strange afterword. could be psychological, since I hadn't been at the "no oil" thing for more than a few days, but something is clearly changing. That said, I think the "point" of the no oil for ten days, then a "tiny bit" regimen is that it is supposed to make me discharge oil in some way. I do fear discharging--not sure what will happen. Also I'd never heard of this before, and can't find anyone else who has. I'm not sure, and need to ask the counselor, who is unavailable this weekend. Anyway, this is definitely an adventure, seemed to get easier with the drinking of sweet vegetable tea, which seems to be keeping many cravings in check. Thanks again.
--lulu