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Greetings! I hope you don't mind that my questions are more related to day-to-day macrobiotic practice than to "philosophical" concepts or discussions, which I have been pleasantly following in your forum. The reasons for this are: 1. At present, I don't feel at ease giving "answers" to questions posted to other people, because of a lack of experience in macrobiotics, in spite of having read several books in the past, and also consulting East West magazine, and also trying to follow a balanced diet. 2. My knowledge of english is perhaps insufficient to discuss topics as "supreme judgement" or "new world order" as I would have done in portuguese. After this introduction, I would like to ask some questions: 1. As a chemical engineer, I am very interested in knowing the macrobiotics approach to chemistry, namely the properties of elements and their position in the periodic table. For example, sodium and potassium are considered group I elements, sharing lots of chemical and physical properties, but in macrobiotics they are considered as opposite. How can we order the elements in terms of yin and yang? 2. Speaking of yin and yang, I think that, for someone with a background in science (maths, physics, chemistry, engineering), it is very hard (and sometimes even a paradox) to understand some of macrobiotics conclusions about the yin or yang character of people, food, behavior and other things. For example: take oranges - they grow in temperate countries like Portugal, they are orange, they can be stored for quite a long time without deteriorating, and they appear in winter. I think all these factors could be considered yang-based. I know they have liquid inside, but this is perhaps the only yin characteristic I can find. Why are they taken as a (extreme?) yin food? Did anyone tried to develop a quantified scale for yin and yang characteristics (if it is at all possible)? 3. Finally, I would like to know your opinion about what to eat when you go on vacation, or even when you go to work (as it happens to me). Here in Portugal we don't have almost any macrobiotic or vegetarian restaurants. Either we cook our macrobiotic food at home, or we must take it with us. This latter option is, for me, a little bit clumsy, so I have resorted to go to a "conventional food restaurant". What should we do in a situatioon like this? Eat a cheese sandwich with wholewheat bread and a vegetable and bean soup? Or eat baked chicken with potatoes and white rice and, at night, try to compensate at home? I can't help to think, after eating in a conventional restaurant, that I am guilty of neglecting my health. Thank you very much for the time you took to read this message. Helder Durão Porto Portugal |