I'm sharing the online article which you can get by clicking here:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20081201/NEWS06/812010309
What's great is the printed copy has a picture of Matt Gaines teaching his World Vegetarian Cooking class on Tuesday nights at Mudita Yoga Center in Kingston, New York. There are also beautiful pictures of macrobiotic dishes that he teaches you how to make. Yum:
Here's the article:
Macrobiotic Nutrition
If you're searching for a healthy, structured diet that's satisfying, too, macrobiotics may be worth exploring.
Macrobiotics, from the Greek for "long life," was developed by a Japanese philosopher named George Ohsawa. Considered a way of life - not only a way eating -Ohsawa created macrobiotics by integrating different schools of thought, including Asian and Western medicine, Buddhism and Christianity.
In the 1960s, Michio Kushi, a student of Ohsawa's, expanded on his ideas and, in 1978, opened the Kushi Institute. Located in Becket, Mass., the institute works to promote the macrobiotic lifestyle.
"Kushi came to the U.S. and basically started getting the natural food movement going here," said Warren Kramer, a macrobiotic counselor and a lecturer at the Kushi Institute.
"He was interested in the application of food in relationship to creating world peace. He understood that a good diet affects our minds and emotions, as well as influences what goes on in the environment."
Wary of toxins
Macrobiotics is a high-fiber diet emphasizing vegetables and whole grains. It combines dietary principles with philosophical thought, and it aims to avoid toxins that come from eating meats, dairy and foods rich with oil.
"It's a balance between the environment and your body," said Kathy Sheldon, a registered nurse who facilitates a monthly macrobiotic group called Miso Happy Cooking Club at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston. It is for people with cancer and anyone interested in learning about macrobiotics.
"It's an orderly approach to diet and lifestyle, and I like the fact that it is geared to the individual. We call our group Miso Happy, because miso soup is an important part of the diet and it just sounds joyful."
Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans and is a common component of the macrobiotic diet.
Today's standard macrobiotic diet consists of 50 percent to 60 percent organic whole grains, which includes barley, millet, brown rice, rye, corn and others. About 25 percent of the diet consists of locally grown fruits and vegetables, while 10 percent of the diet is made up of beans and bean products, such as tofu and tempeh. As far as animal products, some fish or seafood is consumed a few times a week. Proponents of the diet discourage eating meats, refined sugars and dairy.
A specific diet prescribed by a macrobiotics expert takes many things into consideration, such as the individual's gender, age, stress level and native climate.
"It's not one size fits all," Kramer said. "A child who is 5 years old would not eat the same as someone who's 75, and when it's summer, we don't eat the same as winter. A macrobiotic diet depends on a number of different factors, including health, environment, age and work."
Yoga, cooking come together
Shawn Harrison studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, a school that teaches different ways of eating. She and her partner, Matt Gaines, recently bought Mudita Yoga Center in the Rondout section of Kingston, where they offer yoga as well as cooking classes.
"With macrobiotics, there's a structure and awareness and thought process that you bring to what you're putting in your body," Harrison said. "It's had obvious positive effects on my health. I feel balanced and relaxed, which brings a sense of peace and ease."
Barbara Stemke is a breast cancer survivor who has been learning about macrobiotics for four years and is part of the Miso Happy group.
"It requires discipline," the Kingston resident said. "It's an orderly, very specific way of eating, as opposed to vegetarianism. There's a great structure and one can follow it as little or as much as they want."
Stemke said she can feel the difference in her body after only one macrobiotic meal.
"If I start the day with a macrobiotic breakfast, I feel more balanced, energetic, focused and ready to go," she said. "It really has to do with clarity."
Macrobiotic eating also includes specific ways of preparing food. Pots, pans and utensils should be made from natural materials, including wood, glass and stainless steel.
"For cooking utensils, more natural materials are better," Kramer said. "Things like aluminum and Teflon can be toxic to the body. The substance of the pot goes into food."
Practitioners of the diet usually do not use microwaves, and the food is chewed very carefully to help with digestion.
"Macrobiotic food is easily digestible, where something like bacon and eggs strains the body," Stemke said. "But the diet is satisfying. You're not so likely to binge."
Preventive power uncertain
At this time, there are no published randomized clinical studies showing a macrobiotic diet can be used to prevent or cure cancer; however, diets consisting mostly of plant products high in fiber and low in fat are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, as well as cardiovascular disease.
"When I'm following the diet less closely, I don't feel as well," said Constance Rudd, a retired court stenographer from Kingston. "I have less energy and am more fatigued, and I get more headaches. It also affects my mood. Macrobiotics has definitely improved my outlook. When I'm following it, my moods are much more even."
The National Institutes of Health, Office of Alternative Medicine is funding a long-term study to determine if a macrobiotic diet can prevent cancer.
Most followers of the diet fervently believe it's made them healthier in a variety of ways.
"When there's imbalance in your eating, disease and unhappiness occurs," Harrison said. "The macrobiotic diet helps you meet the challenges of daily life in a more relaxed manner. It seems subtle at first, but the more you practice it, the more obvious it becomes."
Lauren Yanks writes about healthy living for a number of publications and teaches English at SUNY New Paltz. She can be reached at laurenynks@aol.com



