dental work

[cathbe]

can anyone recommend some web sites that discuss macrobiotic views on dental work such as crowns, laminates, even cavity fillings... etc.? Or books are good as well.

Thank you!

cathbe.

[Bruce Paine]

Cathbe,

There used to be websites linked to the Kushi Institute's website that talked about some various dental concerns such as mercury amalgrams and dental care but alas in the modernization of the site they cut out the links.

Read about root canals, for instance in "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford (1) and also "The 3 1/2 Year Success of Root Canal Cover-Up" ( http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/Rootcanal.htm ) , about mercury amalgams and fillings in "How to Save Your Teeth:Toxic-Free Preventive Dentistry" by David Kennedy, D.D.S. (1),
"Mercury Free" by Dr. James E. Hardy (2), and
"The Complete Book of Dental Remedies" by Flora Parsa Stay, DDS (2).



Holistic Dental Services ( http://www.holisticdentists.com/services.htm )

Contact Gale Jack through this webpage: ( http://www.amberwaves.org/#cu ) and she might know of macrobiotic friendly dentists in your area.

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[cathbe]

thank you Bruce for this response!

I enjoy reading the pottenger web site and reading about dentin, etc.

I'm sad that Kushi web site removed dental info. However, I feel like biological and holistic dentists ... all agree on no-mercury but they still do all the 'other' procedures regular dentists do - laminates, crowns, even root canals... I know there has to be more 'to' it than using biocompatible materials - which I'm sure is a good thing, if nothing else. What about this incessant drive to 'grind' down teeth for laminates and crowns? So many people are getting sick ... what does this grinding down do to the rest of our bodies? Also the whitening of the teeth ? I find this little to not at all discussed by 'holistic' dentists. Are there actual macrobiotic dentists ... and what would that entail? Thank you! Cath.

[stiffnsore]

Well, I come here almost crawling on my hands and knees, except that they hurt, too.
I am green (probably fluorescent) about macrobiotics, but I'm finding the reading very interesting.
I am sore a lot, have joint & muscle aches, swelling & pain in left ring finger, diagnosed osteo and rheumatoid (sp?) arthritis. This morning was painful, muscles, joints a little, and my neck a lot, range of motion in neck is not good, about the 10 o'clock range from side to side, and up and down is also limited, and cannot make any fast movements with the neck turning.
I want to learn all I can about how to eat properly, as I can tell from the pain, thinking processes and reading here that I definitely am not. I am lactose intolerant and react to caffeine, so I leave them alone mostly.
I take a multi and several supplements and taking an antidepressant for a chemical imbalance, is prescribed by primary care doctor.
Last night's dinner was meatloaf made with standard supermarket beef, an egg, tomato, bread crumbs, onion, with side orders of corn and sweet potato.
This morning was an english muffin and 3 maple flavored sausage links and grape juice to drink. I usually have Silk brand soy milk, but we ran out. This is the time when I take my supplements and medication. Help!
I live in central Massachusetts and would like some advice on how to locate a practioner of macrobiotics in my area. I will be getting a job soon, and would like to be on my way to good health soon. I read that it should take up to a year, and that's fine. Will the process hinder my ability to work? Will I become ill during this process?
Thank you for any and all advice. I am open-minded, but pretty overwhelmed by so much info, why I want a practioner to help me move along with the process change. This web site is a godsend!
Again, thanks. Lace

[Bruce Paine]

Lace,

Check out Warren Kramer
( http://www.macrobioticsnewengland.com/ )

and also Sudbury Valley Natural Health
( http://www.sudburyvalleynaturalhealth.com/ ).

For starters.

Of course you have the Kushi Institute in the Berkshires
( http://www.kushiinstitute.org/ ).

Maybe theres someone closer to where you live but I don't know where that is.

Also you can go to Masao's Kitchen
581 Moody Street in Waltham
781-647-7977

12 to 8 mondays through saturdays.

Read Non Credo magazine for free (donations accepted) ( http://www.yogenkushi.org/noncredo/ ) and

If you need in house care you can have someone like Will Klenk come cook for you and teach you everything

Top Ten Ways To Maximize Vitality Through Food
( http://www.byregion.net/articles-healers/
Healing_Foods.html )

Okay?

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[Roy Collins]

Hi Lace.

Japanese macrobiotic emmisary, George Ohsawa used to say:
"Philosophy without practice is useless, and practice without philosophy is dangerous." I agree with this line of thinking and believe it is necessary for you to look at angles regarding macrobiotic philosophy and practice -- read whatever you can get your hands on and talk to as many people you know who follow the macrobiotic lifestyle.

Its basic tenets are sound and rooted in Taoist natural thought that seeks to maintain balance in all realm of life, beginning with the foods grow in yoour surroundings. Right now your problems stem from extremes in yin and yang intake, and mainly too much animal fat and simple sugars. So you will need to begin working on gradually eliminating these to components from your diet and replacing them with more moderate alternatives. Rather than eating red meat on a daily basis you can change over to fish and organic fowl three times per week (during cold season) and then over time cut back on the fowl all together.

In a like manner, do the same with the sugars. First quit all the artificial sweetners and then replace refined sugar with a natural alternative and use half the amount you were used to using. Then over time, gradually phase it out and learn to enjoy whole foods in their natural unadultered state. Make sure that you also begin eating whole grains (at least one cup) on a daily basis and seek out someone who can teach you how to cook macrobiotically. This is an important area that needs to be learned from a hands on experience with a real person, not a book.

In due time you will start to feel more centered in your thinking and in your actions and the yin residue that is making your joints swell and painful will become neutralized and the swelling and pain will diminish. I have witnessed this occurance numerous times. Good luck.

In peace, Roy

[Nancy]

Dear Lace,

I am jumping around the Forums and see your post regarding joint pain and swelling, --also the foods you are eating. In many ways, your diet is very yin and missing elements that would alkalize your system and detox inflammatory reactions. We can look at yin/yang in many ways and one of them is acid/alkaline. Yin being acid and yang being alkaline. An overly acid bloodstream, which bathes our cells and the inner workings of our bodies, can certainly cause joint pain and swelling. You are wisely avoiding caffeine, which would exacerbate your symptoms tremendously.

Given the fact that you have listed many foods that you are now eating, I am going to pinpoint those that stand out to me as extremely yin/acid.

Firstly, the alarming elements that stand out are your regular and high dose use of supplements and drugs (anti-depressant medication). Pills made chemically in a laboratory are extreme yin and highly acid. Do not be afraid to wean yourself off all supplements and drugs as soon as you possibly can. Use your own wisdom in eliminating these substances. Do not shock your body, but do not take an overly long time with it, either. As you learn macrobiotic principles of eating, you will learn that the addition of sea vegetables (various seaweeds) to your diet will give you an excellent supply of nutrients and minerals that will replace the need for pill supplements and be a natural foods addition that your body will assimilate with much more ease.

As you begin to eat whole grains, --go to a natural foods store and check out the bulk bins, you will see grains like brown rice, buckwheat, wheat berries, etc. upon learning how to cook these grains you will see visually that they are round whole grains that take a lot of chewing locally in the mouth to break down as a first digestive process. You will know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are consuming, healthful whole grains, with all the goodness of the ---whole grain--- intact and not processed by man-made machines or broken down nutrient-wise (i.e. white rice and worse yet, white bread!) --these wonderful whole grains are food that cause an even burning of fuel for your body that gives long sustained energy for hours after consumption. This equals a very balanced state of blood sugar that is not spiking continually with simple sugars like fruit juice or donuts.
The balanced blood sugar levels equal emotional balance,
sustained concentration, and emotional peace. Once you are off the up and down jag of poor eating habits, and adding whole grains, you will find any need for anti-depressant medication sharply curbed or eliminated completely.

The healing macrobiotic diet includes whole grains that equal 50-70% of your complete food intake. This shows how important a large consumption of whole grains is to healing disease conditions. Your plate should visually show 50-70% whole grains. The higher your whole grain consumption the quicker your healing will be, and the faster your system will alkalize and detox from the acid that is hurting your joints, causing pain and swelling.

You are fortunate to be lactose intolerant, because dairy foods are not healthy for human consumption as a food group, contrary to advertising by the Dairy/Milk Advisory Board. Got Milk? --no, and don't need it. Brocolli, beans, nuts, grains, sea vegetables, and many other vegetables supply an adequate amount of calcium and protein from natural sources. As many say, cow's milk is for baby cows/calfs, in order to build a cow's muscled body, --not for humans! It is amazing the fractured logic that human's practice apart from the intentions of the creator.

Regarding your Meatloaf Dinner: The following foods are too yin for your condition: tomatoes are a nightshade vegetable which you should completely avoid, as are sweet potatoes and white potatoes. These are particularly acid foods, as well as, green peppers, eggplant, and spinach. Your logic tells you tomatoes and green peppers are very acid. Those not so well known are the other nightshades.

The ground beef and egg are very yang foods, what would be classified as extreme yang. When healing any disease condition the optimum is to stick with balanced foods in the middle range, which is where whole grains and most root vegetables fall. Eating at the extremes is not healing. This type of eating creates dis-ease in its many varieties.

English Muffin Breakfast: An English Muffin is a white flour denatured product, without the nutrition of whole grains/bread.
This is empty calories/nutrition that are not contributing to your overall health. The grape juice is again, a highly sugared/acid item and not a good choice for your overall condition. Alpha-Hydroxy Acid Creams are made from fruit acid for the skin, which tells you fruits have acid that effectively peels the rough outer layer of the skin. On the other hand is the extreme yang again, of maple-flavored sausage links. This is a conglomerate of meat by-products and has no doubt undergone a curing process, as ham and cured meats do.

The good news is that in MA, you are in an area to connect with many others practicing a macrobiotic lifestyle and have access to the Kushi Institute in Beckett, MA. Continue to look, learn, and grow, --you are now on the healing path and able to reverse your current condition. There are many wonderful sites available on the Internet regarding macrobiotics, tons of books to self-educate, and many case studies available, by just putting the word " macrobiotics" into your search engine and clicking "go".

Look into meeting people in your area who are long-time macrobiotic practitioners and definately look into one-on-one cooking classes or group classes, as Roy Collins suggests.

A good book to begin with and master is "The Macrobiotic Way" by Michio Kushi. If taken to heart and practiced faithfully, you will learn much and be well on your way to a healthy, new, lifestyle peopled with some the world's most responsible and concerned citizens.

Enjoy,
Nancy