cold turkey or slow transition?

[vertigo]

Hi! My husband and I are seriously interested in trying to better our health with macrobiotics. Neither of us are 'sick' and are rarely sick, but I tend toward high cholesterol and he has a strong family history of colon cancer. We've got a few of the Muchio Kushi books and are reading through them. We've been eating brown rice daily for about a week and are trying some of the new recipes and pretty much sticking to the diet for all meals, maybe fudging a little on one meal a day (by substituting ingredients we don't yet have). We don't have a friendly macrobiotic store, or even anything close to a natural foods store just around the corner so it takes a little planning to drive the 45 minutes to Harry's. It's also a little different cooking than the standard american fare we're used to . We're also interested in this because our 3 year old son is autistic. Our other 3 sons (:0) are normal and appreciate french fries on an occasional basis. So my question (for now) is this...is it better for us to empty out our cupboards and stock them with all the 'correct' foods or should we go slowly? Are there any recommendations regarding kids (pre-teens specifically) and getting them on to this diet-if not wholly, then mostly? It's hard to envision our household as completely macrobiotic but can it be done? Any advice would be appreciated. After following this diet for a few days I felt extememly tired. I'm assuming that's a transitional thing also?

[qzw52]

Hi,

I'm not a father unfortunately, so will not comment about children or young people because that is not my area of experience.

I'd vote for the slow transition.

You may want to start by first off avoiding all sugar COMPLETELY with the exception of fruit. A little raw, a little cooked.

Add grains as you are doing.

When and if you eat chicken or turkey, use organic free range choices. Avoid farm raised fish if you eat fish.

And most especially be true to yourself and follow you intuition about what is right for you.

There are many so called macro foods that I cannot eat. When I tried to use macrobiotics twenty years ago, I became ill because some of the foods were not right for me as an individual. I wanted so badly to fit in, that I did not follow what I knew was intuitively right for me.

Finally, after a very long time, I figured out how to eat macrobiotically for my particular, unique needs.

I like Ohsawa's dietary levels better than Michio's pie charts. Regardless, the idea is to eat in a balanced way.

It's a journey and it's worth it because the judgment of the US where I live is so troubling and this is a way to improve things both at the cellular level and in philosophical/spiritual ways.


Dave

Originally Posted by vertigo

Hi! My husband and I are seriously interested in trying to better our health with macrobiotics. Neither of us are 'sick' and are rarely sick, but I tend toward high cholesterol and he has a strong family history of colon cancer. We've got a few of the Muchio Kushi books and are reading through them. We've been eating brown rice daily for about a week and are trying some of the new recipes and pretty much sticking to the diet for all meals, maybe fudging a little on one meal a day (by substituting ingredients we don't yet have). We don't have a friendly macrobiotic store, or even anything close to a natural foods store just around the corner so it takes a little planning to drive the 45 minutes to Harry's. It's also a little different cooking than the standard american fare we're used to . We're also interested in this because our 3 year old son is autistic. Our other 3 sons (:0) are normal and appreciate french fries on an occasional basis. So my question (for now) is this...is it better for us to empty out our cupboards and stock them with all the 'correct' foods or should we go slowly? Are there any recommendations regarding kids (pre-teens specifically) and getting them on to this diet-if not wholly, then mostly? It's hard to envision our household as completely macrobiotic but can it be done? Any advice would be appreciated. After following this diet for a few days I felt extememly tired. I'm assuming that's a transitional thing also?

[jinenjo]

Hello,

I would like to help you out by recommending a moderate approach.
However, more importantly, check out Denny Waxman's book "The Great Life Handbook."

He is 30 years macrobiotic and is, in my opinion, one of the best in the country. Very solid.

Without going into too much detail, he emphasizes eating habits. Sitting down to eat (always) while NOT doing other things. Proper habits dictate what one eats. In other words, having your children develop good eating habits will immediately be a healthier choice. No matter what they're consuming.

Check out his website to order a book or take classes.
www.strengthenhealth.org

Good luck!
Lear Blitzstein

[Bruce Paine]

Hi,

I feel that if it was just you or your husband, and you both like to take great leaps, then, yes, you could go "cold turkey", clean out the pantry and refrigerator, restocking them with organic macrobiotic staples and vegetables, and you would have little problem.

But, unless you are a family whose kids will jump out an airplane or walk on fire after you, then you might consider a slower transition for them.

Both you and society (through schooling and possibly television and other media) have been programming your children to go in one direction in this early stage of their development.

You could really upset them and be met with a great resistance if your younger family members don't want to change direction midstream while living with you.

I've lived in numerous macrobiotic communities and situations and seen some negative results in children whose family changed "cold turkey" based on the needs and desires of one or both of their parents.

I feel that if you and your spouse just change your diets and achieve great and very visible positive results from a change in your diet and lifestyle then your children my feel more attracted to trying some of the foods and even the diet sometime in the future.


I attended a lecture by Denny Waxman http://www.strengthenhealth.org/ faculty.htm given at the Macrobiotic Summer Conference http://www.kushiinstitute.org/confer...ummerconf.html a couple of weeks ago and I'm convinced enough of some of his methods to attend an macrobiotic intensive with him in the near future.

Another teacher I saw at the conference that I would recommend is Lino Stanchich author of POWER EATING PROGRAM (PEP), You Are How You Eat , and MACROBIOTIC HEALING SECRETS, VOL. I http://www.macrobioticconsultation.c...Products.shtml.

His story in PEP on how he came to learn about the importance of chewing is very inspiring and has helped me a lot.

Besides brown rice, what are you eating and what is your daily activity?

I imagine that if you are not getting enough of the right kind of protein foods such as beans and legumes, then you might be suffering from fatique because of that.

Just remember to not make the protein foods the center of your diet.

Recommended quantities are between of 5%-10% of your daily food by weight (bean and bean products) http://www.kushiinstitute.org/whatismacro.html

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine