MACROBIOTICS AND MACROVegan

The macrobiotic dietary principles have been developed over the past 60 years in America, Europe and Asia. They are based on the philosophy of Asian medicine as practiced in China and Japan. These concepts reflect physical, environmental and social observations for a period of over 5,000 years.  On the surface the philosophy bears little relationship of Western nutritional science yet the conclusions are remarkably similar. While the diet associated with macrobiotics is usually the Standard Macrobiotic Diet this way of eating is not a “diet” in the strict sense of the word.  Macrobiotics is a way of understanding the effects of different foods and making choices according to individual needs. The modern macrobiotic way of eating is a dynamic and flexible approach to nutrition and general health that can be applied by anyone who is committed to increasing his or her personal health and vitality.

Standard Macrobiotic Diet

Michio Kushi developed the standard diet in the early 1980’s with assistance from Bill Tara, Ed Esko, William Spear and Murray Snyder. The standard diet was presented to offer a general model of macrobiotic eating. It was not a “diet” for anyone but a rather a set of guidelines. The model was helpful to the growing number of people seeking help with their health who were dealing with cancers, heart disease and a variety of serious illnesses. While thousands of people found assistance in recovering their health using variations of the standard diet, the association of macrobiotics and healing is often misunderstood.
While specific dietary patterns may be suggested to suit specific health issues, the application of macrobiotic principles to nutrition is not an attempt to therapeutically cure the illness.  The macrobiotic approach to eating is focused on assisting the body to recover from nutritional stress, often the result of the modern diet, and return to a healthier state of biological balance.  In the process of returning to a more balanced state the body is able to recover its own self-healing capacity. This process makes it possible for many people to experience a natural recovery of health and in some cases a complete remission of serious symptoms. Specific cooking techniques, home remedies and simple external treatments may be used to speed this process.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s macrobiotic practitioners were criticized by some nutritionists as being “unscientific” and mistaken in the view that there was a direct connection between diet and serious disease. The focus by conventional nutrition on nutritional deficiency ignored the fact that the degenerative diseases of modern society are diseases of excess. The macrobiotic view has been proven true.

World-Wide Macrobiotic Community

The overwhelming evidence of contemporary science is that food is a major contributing cause of many cancers as well as stroke, diabetes, heart disease and a variety of major illnesses. The particular dietary factors most implicated in this relationship are over consumption of meat, dairy and simple sugars. Diets that are dominated by these foods are also usually devoid of whole cereal grains, vegetable protein, adequate fresh vegetables and fruits, seeds and nuts. The world wide macrobiotic community has played an important role in advocating dietary reform, promoting organic farming, introducing Asian soy products and encouraging individuals and families to become more conscious of food choices and return to meals prepared in the home.
It is the unfortunate truth that even though governments and health agencies recommend plant based diets almost identical to a macrobiotic program their official recommendations are overly friendly to the food industry. Even where the relationship between food and disease is unmistakable the easy road is always taken.  A perfect example of this is obesity.
Obesity is a symptom. The real problem is an increase in diabetes, cancers and heart disease. These are the result of the modern diet and reflect a major shift in eating patterns throughout the world. One of the most accurate signs of this change is world meat production. The 400% increase in production far out runs the rise in population. People who ate meat in 1961 are eating more and an increasing number of people world-wide are being introduced to meat (as well as dairy foods) as a sign of wealth and promised nutritional improvement. Promoting a high animal protein diet runs contrary to the overwhelming epidemiological evidence against it.

MACROVegan Approach

The macrobiotic approach to diet that we use at MACROVegan is focused on the use of whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to provide a diverse and healthy diet. Our program avoids meats, dairy and simply sugars that have been shown to have a direct relationship to non-communicable disease. An approach that improves disease prevention can also be helpful in times of illness if the diet provides complete nutritional needs.
Hundreds of international studies have shown that meat and dairy consumption dramatically increase the incidence of heart disease and many cancers. The old theories about the essential use of these foods is obsolete. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund, from their 1997 report on diet and cancer prevention:

“There is no essential lower limit of intake of any type of meat, and diets including no meat are not only compatible with good health and low cancer risk, but may be preferred in some settings, especially when plant foods are abundant, reliable and varied.”

The MACROVegan approach to diet acknowledges the overwhelming proof for dietary reform. It also recognizes the positive opportunity to change existing dietary patterns in line with a healthier and earth-friendly way of eating. It is the future of nutrition.
In good health

 

Diet and Human Ecology

Diet and Human Ecology
The biosphere is a delicate and dynamic system of energy, organic and inorganic matter. When we disrupt any part of it, the results ripple out and have far-reaching effects, often seemingly unrelated to their source. We search in vain to find some alien cause. Our attitudes regarding degenerative disease are a good example. When we focus on specific nutrients in our diet we fail to see the bigger, truer picture. We often fail to see how our food choices are driven by emotional and social influences and not physical need.
In 1943 the famed psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper called 'A Theory of Human Motivation'. This groundbreaking work laid the foundations for the next three decades of developmental psychology. Maslow was looking for defining principles of human happiness, for what makes us feel complete. His conclusions were simple yet profound.
In identifying what he called a hierarchy of needs, he established that we must meet our basic physical requirements before addressing other areas of fulfillment and joy. The first level of need includes Air, Food, Water, Shelter, Warmth, Sex and Sleep. When these needs are attained we seek the second level - Safety, Protection from the elements, Security, Order, Stability and Freedom from Fear. Our desires for love, esteem, self-expression, creativity and the realization of our full potential rest on the foundation of these first two levels. If they are not met, we risk living with constant anxiety, stress and ill health. It would be fair to say that those first two levels are all about health. These considerations need a particular attention now more than ever because we are living in an environment of our own creation.

The number of people living in urban areas exceeded 50% of the world’s population for the first time in 2014.[1] It looks like it will be 70% by 2050. The WHO report lists resulting health challenges such as poor water quality, environmental pollutants, violence and injury, increased non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases), unhealthy diets and physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and increased exposure to disease outbreaks. In an unintended irony one of the few advantages of urban living is listed as access to better health care.
When I started studying food and nutrition, I was intrigued by the connection between what I was eating and the environment. I discovered that many of the foods that had questionable or negative effects on health also had an adverse environmental impact. This should not have surprised me. We do not need new products or even more studies to create a wholesome way of eating. What we need is a new way of looking at the whole issue of food and health. We need a user-friendly, common sense approach to understanding food that is healthy and sustainable for society and the environment. To accomplish this requires us to question everything we have been told about nutrition, and review some very basic questions about the role of food in our life and in our culture.
The word 'health' originates in old English, and means to be complete. Food is certainly an important part of being whole – being connected. To be healthy we need to eat food that allows us to operate at our full potential. That potential includes the sensitivity and capacity to adapt to environmental change. Health enables us to nurture the bond between nature and ourselves. Ecology is a central theme of the ancient systems of understanding food.
Ecology is rarely acknowledged when discussing nutrition, and yet is central to understanding our food choices, and how different foods affect us, both directly and indirectly. Rachel Carson, the American biologist, author of The Silent Spring,[2] and the accepted mother of modern ecology, says:
'If we have been slow to develop the general concepts of ecology and conservation, we have been even more tardy in recognizing the facts of the ecology and conservation of man himself. We may hope that this will be the next major phase in the development of biology. Here and there awareness is growing that man, far from being the overlord of all creation, is himself part of nature, subject to the same cosmic forces that control all other life. Man's future welfare and probably even his survival depend upon his learning to live in harmony, rather than in combat, with these forces.'[3]
This view of our relationship with nature is more crucial now than ever. Carson's vision of an evolution in biological science that unifies human life with the environment has been steadily sidelined. If man is 'a part of nature, subject to the same cosmic forces that control all other life', then natural law exists for us, as well as for every other creature, plant and aspect of the planet. If we do not learn to cooperate with the laws of nature, we will harm ourselves. We don't need a degree in environmental science to understand natural law.
We tend to view the world we live in, and all other life except perhaps domestic animals, as 'other'. But we do not exist outside of the intricate composition of the biosphere. When we examine nutrition as a fundamental aspect of our relationship with the planet we come to a better understanding of the problems surrounding the human diet.
Our belief in human supremacy, often referred to as Anthropocentric thinking, allows us to place ourselves at the center of the universe. We view our uniqueness as a sign of separation from the rest of life that swirls around us and within us. The belief that we are superior to other life forms permits us to use the natural world according to our desires and whims.  As we pull away from any physical interaction with nature we fortify those mythologies that lie at the foundation of our most harmful behaviors.
In ecological studies there are several kinds of relationships between an organism and its environment. The first thing we need to know about any new creature we discover is how it procreates and what it eats. These are the driving forces of evolution; they dictate physical form, function and most behavior.
One class of relationship is called 'commensalism', from the Latin 'to eat at the same table'. These are relationships where one organism gains benefits and the other is not affected. Another type of relationship is 'mutualism', where both organisms benefit. In sharp contrast is the 'parasitism' relationship, where one organism benefits while the other is harmed. Creating a commensal relationship with the planet is primary for humanity. Our well-being is inter-dependent with the well-being of the planet. It is also the key to a comprehensive vision of human nutrition.
Planet Earth is host to human life. The natural world makes human life possible. Our current relationship with the planet is almost entirely parasitic.  The famous British naturalist, David Attenborough recently referred to humanity as 'a plague on the planet'.[4] The chemist and co-creator of the Gaia Theory, James Lovelock, said that humans are “too stupid to prevent climate change”.[5]  What does our casual disregard for the environment say about us?
We like to imagine that our relationship with nature is a kind of benign mutualism, one where we take from nature in exchange for nature having the pleasure of our company. The conundrum we face is that our whole economy is based on endless consumption; we are eating up the environment.  But as economist E.F Schumacher said “Infinite growth of material consumption in a finite world in an impossibility”.
Protein provides a good example of a human obsession becoming an environmental problem. Obtaining adequate protein in our diet is easy. A diet with a variety of grains, beans, vegetables, nuts and seeds provides more than sufficient protein for health and vitality. (You can refer to Section Two for some great, protein-rich recipes.) Asians (who eat less meat than westerners) have produced concentrated, vegan, protein-rich foods for centuries, such as miso, soya sauce, tempeh and tofu.
Increasing numbers of people understand that meat is not a good food choice. Some avoid meat for ethical reasons (abuse and killing of animals), some because of environmental impact, and some due to health concerns.  Changing to a macrobiotic vegan diet affects social and personal habits. What if you understand all that but like the taste of meat? What if you like the texture of meat? Don't worry, a solution is at hand.  Food science is on the way to your door with fake 'meaty stuff'.
Yes, we can make and sell you soya hot-dogs, lunch meats, imitation steaks and pies and burgers. They can taste like beef, chicken or pork. These products are perhaps culturally fun, but they do not address the issues of good nutrition. Soy is difficult to digest, that is why the people of Asia fermented it. We have to use additives, excessive salt and extensive processing to get the 'meaty' taste that mimics flesh. All because we love to indulge our senses.
Bill Gates has recently backed a company called Beyond Meat. The young entrepreneur who started the company is busy producing all sorts of fake meat in his factory. He outlined his idea in an interview with Business Insider magazine[6].
"Meat is well understood in terms of its core parts, as well as its architecture. Meat is basically five things: amino acids, lipids, and water, plus some trace minerals and trace carbohydrates. These are all things that are abundant in non-animal sources and in plants." 
Here we are again in the 'food as a chemical delivery system' world. Beyond Meat has manufactured artificial chicken (it tastes just like chicken) and beef in its facilities in Southern California. Ethan Brown, the brains behind the company, has attracted investment from other big shareholders. In addition to Gates and the co-founder of Twitter, the ex-CEO of McDonalds is in the game as an advisor.
I will lose many of my vegan friends here who think that fake meat is the best thing since sliced bread (and we know how that worked out). Fake meat is being marketed as a solution to the 'meat problem'. But we don’t have a meat problem. We have a human problem. According to Food Research International, manufactured faux meat uses an equal amount of energy to produce as meat products.[7] Bill Gates is a dangerous guide to environmental concerns, given his enthusiastic support of Monsanto’s GMO’s as the way to feed the world.
Fake meat is highly processed, manufactured food. It includes canola oil (which is always chemically processed), soy protein isolate (a commercial waste product that populates many vegan and vegetarian foods) and several common additives. It is not a solution to creating a healthy diet.
 
[1] World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory data
[2] Silent Spring (Penguin Modern Classics), original publication 1962
[3] "Essay on the Biological Sciences" in Good Reading (1958)
[4] The Guardian, September 10, 2013
[5] The Guardian, March 29, 2010
[6] Business Insider, August 15, 2015
[7] Environmental Impact of four meals with different protein sources, Food Research International, Volume 43, Issue 7, August 2010

The Carnivore Karma

THE CARNIVORE KARMA

Many American and British people are repulsed by the idea that people in China, Korea or other parts of the world eat dogs. The practice is called a barbaric habit and uncivilised. Horse meat is consumed in France, Belgium, Hungary as well as in Mongolia and Japan. The English speaking world is horrified – these are our pets!
In 2013 when horse meat was found in supermarket beef patties there was outrage. In some cases, the meat patties were 100% horse meat.[1] The legal issue was that it illustrated the difficulty involved in tracing the origin of any meat product. There was no health concern, the horse meat would have actually been healthier than beef from a standard nutritional point of view. The public concern was that they were HORSES!
We domesticate cats and dogs to provide amusement and companionship. Foxes, minks, rabbits and chinchilla are raised so that we can skin them and use their fur. We would not eat a fox we would only wear it, we have decided that some animals are off limits for eating and others are OK.
Most people would agree that the killing of wild, rare animals is wrong. It is not wrong to put them in cages with concrete floors, behind bars or in confined spaces. Putting them in a zoo is OK, it’s educational. African elephants in the wild may require up to 2.7 million acres as a ‘home range’, this is a healthy habitat.[2] A captive elephant in a zoo may be given 2 or 3 acres if lucky. This would be like letting you live in your bedroom closet for the rest of your life. So what about the animals we raise in order to eat?
Science has acknowledged that meat and dairy are unnecessary and indeed damaging to good health. Our only rationale for eating these foods is pleasure. Our taste for fat and blood drives our desire.  We are killing 56 billion land animals[3] each year (estimated to double by 2050) to feed this craving. The number of aquatic creatures killed defies counting and can only be measured by tonnage, but a conservative estimate is well over 100 billion sea creatures. We might imagine that with increased awareness about both the health and environmental consequences of this slaughter we would stop, but we don’t. We might imagine that we would never kill without a valid reason, and yet we do. What stops us?
I have taught and offered health counselling in over twenty 'developed' countries.  When I ask people to describe their diets, they commonly respond "I eat a traditional diet". All their imagined 'traditional' diets include meat and/or dairy foods. They are seen to be an important part of the social fabric. Celebrations and holidays are routinely associated with eating animals.
Americans fire up the grill on the Fourth of July and eat hamburgers, a food that would be very alien to the Founding Fathers. In Ireland, Easter somehow requires a baked ham or lamb. Every year the President of the United States 'pardons' an individual turkey brought to the White House by the National Turkey Foundation. (No one has yet identified the specific crime the turkey is being pardoned for.)  The turkey is saved to live another day while its brothers and sisters are in the oven. Forty-six million turkeys are eaten every Thanksgiving in America. Tradition?
As with any habit, tradition should be assessed as either improving or diminishing the quality of individual and social life. Some traditions fill an important need and are worth retaining, others certainly outlive their use, or may simply be based on ignorance. It doesn't make sense to retain a tradition through misplaced nostalgia. We can love our grandparents and still leave many of their prejudices and beliefs in the past.
Karma is subtle. There is perhaps no single act that more clearly illustrates our distance from nature than killing in order to enjoy specific foods. When we do that we put ourselves outside the vibrant community of life that surrounds us. We cannot pretend that our food choices are simply a personal matter any more than it is a personal issue if we dump garbage in the local well.
 

“Each meal has very real effects on the lives of people around the world, on the environment, biodiversity and the climate that are not taken into account when tucking into a piece of meat”[4].

 
When we ignore the laws of nature and moral considerations, the results are disastrous. Some of the results are very direct and concrete and some are more distantly linked, more abstract.  I am not talking about angry spirits here, only karma.
When we force chickens, cattle and pigs into cramped and crowded quarters, they breed new strains of viruses that jump species. Viruses do not simply drop from the sky; they require an environment that suits their needs. Bird flu (avian flu) breeds in the unhealthy, overpopulated environment of factory farms[5]. Bird flu is lethal, and easily jumps species. Two of every three people it infects die[6].  These diseases are a direct result of our abuse of animals.
Infectious diseases that start in animals and can be naturally transmitted to humans are called zoonosis. It is estimated that 61% of all known pathogens that infect humans are zoonosis’, including many serious diseases such as Ebola virus disease, Salmonellosis and influenza.[7] We know factory farming presents both direct and indirect health challenges to us all. Even if we were only focused on the direct effect on human health we should be worried. These diseases are a direct result of the sicknesses we impose on the animals that live in captivity. Millions of pigs, chickens, cows and increasingly farmed fish not only suffer but live in an environment that makes them ill and diseased. Eating diseased animals is not an idea we care to entertain.
Some imagine dairy cows contently grazing in green fields. It is an image that often features in television advertisements. These ads are designed to make us feel that the cows are happy to share their milk with us. The cheese, milk and ice cream are a cheerful gift willingly given. I remember a company that advertised their milk as coming from ‘contented cows”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Dairy cows are artificially inseminated, made pregnant, give birth and are milked for up to 10 months, including during their next enforced pregnancy. After being raped and confined their children are then taken away so that their milk is not wasted on the animal it is intended for. Anyone who has lived near a dairy farm knows the sound of a mother cow howling with anguish when her calf is taken away so that we can use her milk as a product, rather than let it serve its natural purpose.  Female calves are kept for future use and males are most likely sent to veal processing or left to die.
One outcome of this unnatural condition of constant milking is mastitis, which is responsible for one in six cow deaths on American dairy farms. The disease is reflected in the quality of the milk through an increase in somatic cells. Somatic cell counts in milk are referred to as abnormal. When a cow has mastitis, up to 90% of the somatic cells in the milk may be neutrophils, the inflammatory cells that form pus.[8]  We don’t want to consider this when we order our cappuccino or spread butter on our toast. And whether the cow was pasture-grazed, lived in a private shed with a heater and listened to classical music, or was the product of a cattle factory.  She is still abused and she is still slaughtered when her usefulness is done.
Since the animals are kept in confined and cramped conditions viral infection is constant. In the USA, roughly 29 million pounds of antibiotics -about 80 percent of the country’s total antibiotics used - are added to animal feed yearly. This contributes to the rise of resistant bacteria, making it harder to treat both animal and human illnesses.[9],[10] Karma!
The conditions in factory farms and feedlots around the world are horror shows of inhumanity. The animals are tortured. They feel the fear, and they feel the pain. We try to persuade ourselves that they are unfeeling, but we know that isn't true. Our 'man the hunter' mythology, speciesism and desire for a tasty treat distorts our finer human qualities.
The issues around meat-eating not only span the health and environmental impacts of the food we eat but permeate our collective psyche. Historically, the ethics of eating animals was usually addressed as part of a philosophical or spiritual inquiry but we seem to place secular morality off to the side. Increasingly we are faced with moral decisions that are not defined in ancient texts or fear of punishment of angry gods. These decisions are driven by a desire to evolve the finer attributes of human potential and all of them lead to the world that balances the needs of humankind with the environment that we have grown out of. The quest to live in balance with the laws of nature is fundamental, regardless of how we imagine those laws to have been created.
[1] Findsus beef lasagne contains up to 100% horsemeat, BBC News. 7 February 2013.
[2] Globalelephants.org
[3] U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "Meat and Meat Products," Food Outlook, June 2008
[4] The MEAT, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, Germany, and Friends of the Earth Europe, Brussels, Belgium
[5] J. Otte, D. Roland-Holst et al: Industrial Livestock Production and Global Health Risk, FAO Report, John Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health
[6] The Monster At Our Door, The Global Threat Of Avian Flu, Mike Davis, Holt Paperbacks
[7] Taylor LH, Latham SM, Woolhouse ME (2001). "Risk factors for human disease emergence". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
[8] National Mastitis Council, “Guidelines on Normal and Abnormal Raw Milk Based on Somatic Cell Counts and Signs of Clinical Mastitis,” 2001.
[9] Natural Resources Defense Council – Facts About Pollution from Livestock Farms
[10] National Mastitis Council

Bad Medicine

BAD MEDICINE
Conventional medicine has a sad and dysfunctional relationship with nutrition. Growing evidence on connections between diet and disease means doctors are asked questions they have evaded for decades. Many of my clients experiencing the benefits of a healthy plant-based diet ask “Why didn’t my doctor know about this?”
I fully respect the good work that most doctors do. Modern medicine can do many wonderful things. But the profession is rarely criticised or assessed rigorously from the outside. We seem much more interested in who pays the bill rather than the quality of the service. There are mythologies surrounding medicine that are deeply embedded in our culture, and that profoundly affect our attitudes to health.
Since the 1950’s medical shows on television have been a standard entertainment; at last count there have been 93 successful shows (32 in the UK) with a medical format. From 'Dr Kildare' and 'Ben Casey' in the 60’s to 'ER' and 'House' in the 21st century, television doctors have portrayed the power of medicine over suffering and death. But it is a mistake to believe that this power indicates that doctors understand health. They are sickness experts - not health experts.
An analogy of the comparison is this: imagine a highway with hundreds of cars speeding along. Suddenly a bridge collapses. Standing by the road, you see cars hurtling off it, into the canyon below. What do you do? Do you go down into the canyon and help those injured? Or do you stop the traffic?
Medicine has chosen to go into the canyon and help the injured. And maybe they put up ambiguous warning signs such as 'Speed Kills', 'Watch Out!' or 'Use Caution'.
Someone has to stop the traffic. The medical establishment has not taken on that role in the past, and there is no sign that they will in the future, although a few brave souls venture out to stem the traffic flow.
It’s hard to get out of that canyon once you are down there. Things are not going so well at the crash site. As the traffic increases the services and personnel become more overworked, and resources are constantly under stress. There is an endless demand for more money and new technologies - but extra resources don’t seem to help.
In America just under 18% of the GNP is spent on health care; in the UK the figure is 9.6%[1].  Yet in an exhaustive survey done by the United Nations, published in 2000, America only ranked 37^th  out of 190 countries and the UK ranked 18^th.[2] Something is seriously wrong and money isn't fixing it. One problem is that the growing demands and increased complexity of treatment creates an environment where mistakes are unavoidable. A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine reported that there are 440,00 preventable deaths from medical errors annually in America.[3]  That makes medical error the third leading cause of death following heart disease and cancer.
The focus at the crash site is the prescription of pills.  We live in a culture where every complaint, real or imagined, requires medication. Driven by the pharmaceutical mentality, the abuse of prescriptive drugs grows yearly. An estimated 48 million Americans have abused prescription drugs - nearly 20% of the U.S. population. Deaths by prescription drugs are more common than deaths by car accidents in America, and far outstrip deaths by illegal drugs. Disturbingly, the non-medical use of prescription drugs has been rising steadily for adolescents, particularly prescription pain relievers, anti-anxiety medications, stimulants and steroids.[4]
What about antibiotics? Sometimes a doctor prescribes antibiotics under pressure from a misguided patient who demands medication. Common colds, flu (influenza), bronchitis, most cough’s, most sore throats, some ear infections, many sinus infections and stomach flu (viral gastroenteritis) do not respond to antibiotics.  Yet antibiotics are regularly prescribed for these cases. Doctors may even write the prescription before receiving test results that identify the infection.
The long-term and combined effects of our romance with drugs is making us sicker. Antibiotics are specifically designed to kill microorganisms - but it is almost impossible to target a single species. Antibiotics are literally 'anti-life'.  In using them, we may kill the bacteria we want to kill. We also kill or damage our beneficial bacteria, and mutate harmful ones.
As antibiotic use increases, bacteria adapt to them and become resistant. A 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that at least 2 million people annually "acquire serious infections with bacteria that are resistant to one or more of the antibiotics designed to treat those infections." [5] At least 23,000 people die annually in America from antibiotic-resistant infections.
The human body is home to billions of microbes. They inhabit every part of the body from the eyelash to the gut. They perform essential tasks in protecting us from potential pathogens. Microorganisms are crucial to our digestive system. The colonies of microbes that form the microbiome in our gut are the key to good digestion - and more. When we eat, it is these tiny creatures that increase the efficiency of metabolism, fine-tune immune response and even synthesize some vitamins.
It seems clear that the overuse of antibiotics is having a negative impact on many indigenous organisms in the gut. These microbes have established a commensal (mutually beneficial) relationship with their human hosts. Their disappearance, under the onslaught of antibiotics and the modern diet, seems to promote conditions such as obesity and asthma.[6] The use of antibiotics dramatically alters digestive function. Think of the common side-effects of nausea and diarrhea. This is part of a vicious cycle: our diet makes us more prone to disease, and then we take drugs that hamper digestion and compromise immune function.
A recent study in the British National Health Service found that nine out of ten General Practitioners in the UK feel pressurized by their patients to prescribe antibiotics. Ninety-seven percent of these patients are prescribed antibiotics regardless of their illness.  When the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggested that doctors who over-prescribe be censured,[7] doctors were upset.
Antibiotics first arrived on the medical scene in 1932. They were the first medicines labeled 'wonder drugs'. The introduction of the sulfa drugs meant the U.S. mortality rate from pneumonia dropped from 0.2% each year to 0.05% by 1939. This was indeed a wonderful treatment and saved many lives. Penicillin, introduced a few years later, provided a broader spectrum of activity, and had fewer side effects. Streptomycin, discovered in 1942, was the first effective drug against tuberculosis, and came to be the best known of a long series of important antibiotics. The root causes of the diseases treated were lost in the celebrations.
Tuberculosis can be directly traced to individual and social behavior. This was also the case with whooping cough, pneumonia and other diseases of poverty. They originate in crowded and unhygienic environments where malnutrition is common. Now that we were able to cure the illnesses with antibiotics, we stopped focusing on cleaning up the slums and the provision of healthy food.
Taking medication is a huge act of faith. We believe that the healer knows about invisible forces - and knows how to control them. It doesn’t matter if the healer is a shaman on the Mongolian tundra, a Wise-Woman herbalist in the forests of ancient Europe, or a doctor in modern America. The healer's naming of the evil spirit indicates special wisdom. If the name is in a foreign language all the better (Latin is a good start). Doctors unwittingly support and encourage this fantasy. We may mock other cultures for their superstitions, but are our own illusions really that different?
The relationship between the healer/doctor and the patient is based largely on the faith of the patient, rather than knowledge.  It is an infantile bond, disempowering to the one seeking help. We are uneducated about health, and the doctor is unlikely to have the time (or perhaps the inclination) to educate us. That is not their job, they just want to treat us. So we continue thinking that we must hand over the care of our health to our doctor - and that they know what they are doing.
Disease is generally described as an enemy. Invisible and mysterious adversaries surround us.  We are 'fighting' heart disease; we are 'battling' cancer we will 'conquer' diabetes. Who or what are we fighting? As long as the enemy is concealed behind a cloak of mystery we can leave the battle up to the wizards and hope for the best. In order to discover the culprit all that we need is a mirror. Our major antagonist is hiding in clear sight. We like to think that responsibility for our illnesses lies outside us. If my illness is caused by a virus, bacteria or genetics, then I am blameless. But change my daily habits? Surely not! It can't be that simple, can it?
[1] Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Health Data 2013
[2] World Health Organization, World Health Report 2000
[3] As reported in Forbes Magazine, September 23, 2013
[4] National Council on Alcoholism, and Drug Dependence
[5] Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Antibiotic Resistance in the United States, 2013, cdc.gov
[6] Nature Reviews Microbiology 7, 887-894 (December 2009) What are the consequences of the disappearing human microbiota?
[7] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Report, Aug, 2015

DIET AND DISEASE

DIET AND DISEASE
The relationship between disease and diet has been well documented over the past five decades. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, over 80% of human cancer is caused by environmental factors. Those factors include smoking, diet, exposure to environmental toxins and alcohol. In other words, they are avoidable causes.
Even though this is well known the vast majority of doctors seem unwilling to make demands on politicians and business leaders to improve health in the most direct and effective ways. Could it be that there is a vested interest in keeping the sickness service running smoothly? The disease is big business. The corporate side of treating cancer is in a golden era. Spending on cancer medicines has hit a new milestone: US$100 billion in 2014 out of global sales of 1 trillion. Why would anyone be inspired to prevent a sickness that is such a cash cow? There is little doubt that the pharmaceutical industry is the driving force in forming medical policy.
A study published in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition showed that the average medical student was given 23.9 hours of nutrition instruction[1]. That’s one day out of 15 years. Nutrition, like prevention of illness, gets pushed to the side in modern medical training (and therefore practice). Doctors don’t know much about nutrition, but they act as if they do. I regularly hear from clients, students and friends about absurd statements regarding diets and health made by doctors. We simply need to look at the facts to see that simple changes in daily habits could create profound improvements in public health.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women.  We know the causes of heart disease.  It is the one of the most preventable, and probably the most studied, of all of the non-communicable diseases.  Over the last few decades, study after study has shown that the two main causes of heart disease are smoking and diet.  A reduction of smokers has resulted in lower rates of heart disease, but we have done almost nothing to address diet and heart disease except allow misinformation and commercial influence promote “heart healthy” products.

• About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year. That’s one in every four deaths.[2]
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men.
• Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing nearly 380,000 people annually.
• Every year about 720,000 Americans has a heart attack. Of these, 515,000 are a first heart attack and 205,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack.[3]

Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year.[4]  This includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.
The World Heart Foundation says:
“The role of diet is crucial in the development and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Diet is one of the key things you can change that will impact all other cardiovascular risk factors.
Comparisons between a diet low in saturated fats, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the typical diet of someone living in the developed world show that in the former there is a 73% reduction in the risk of new major cardiac events.”[5]
Diabetes
The number of adults in the U.S. with diabetes has tripled between 1980 and 2011. It is the seventh leading cause of death in America. Worldwide, the number of adults with diabetes will rise from 285 million in 2010 to 439 million in the year 2030.[6]
We know a lot about diabetes.  For instance, we know that type 2 diabetes accounts for between 90% and 95% of diagnosed adult cases. We are seeing more and more adolescents presenting with symptoms of type 2 diabetes. We know that diabetes contributes to heart disease, blindness and is the main cause of kidney failure and lower limb amputation. It causes over 73,000 amputations a year - that’s 1,400 a week[7].  'Management' of the disease does not prevent these complications. It simply delays them. Yet we also know that diabetes is not only preventable, it is reversible.
Researchers at the University of Newcastle (UK) showed that using a low-calorie diet could reverse diabetes.[8] It has also been shown that diabetics who had bariatric surgery and reduced their weight by 15kg showed signs of recovery.  Thousands of people using alternative health care have experienced a complete reversal of type 2 diabetes.
Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, is one of the UK's leading diabetes researchers. He sees successful management of type 2 diabetes as a curse.  “It is moving us away from serious attempts to cure the problem. We're getting pretty good at keeping people alive longer," he says. "And we're seeing more and more obese younger people going onto tablets ever earlier. That means the population living with diabetes is rising.” There is too much focus on management, and not enough on prevention.
My own experience with people with type 2 diabetes is that those given a good diet and good exercise programme always see a dramatic improvement in their condition within two or three weeks. Most of them have reduced or completely come off their medication and are free of the disease.
Cancer
When medical people talk about cancer they focus on the survival rates so they can give us good news. Survival from cancer has doubled over the past 40 years, the death rates have fallen and over half of all patients now survive at least ten years. We can now keep people alive with the disease. What we hear less regularly is that the occurrence of cancer is continually rising.

“It is predicted there will be 23.6 million new cancer cases worldwide each year by 2030, if recent trends in incidence of major cancers and population growth are seen globally in the future. This is 68% more cases than in 2012, with slightly larger growth in low and medium HDI (Human Development Index) countries (66% more cases in 2030 than 2012) than in high and very high HDI countries (56% more cases in 2030 than 2012)”[9]

The following figures are from a study that analysed statistics from 1975 to 1994 on the incidence of all cancers. The findings indicated that while the incidence of some cancers was decreasing, others were rising at an alarming rate. (The most dramatic decline was in cases of lung cancer, as a result of fewer people smoking.) There are some shocking figures in the report.[10]

• A contemporary black woman's risk of breast cancer is 54% greater than was her mother's at the same age. A white woman's risk is 41% greater than her mother's.
• Men today are three or four times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than their fathers.
• Excluding cancers linked to smoking, or where trends are confounded by changes in diagnostic procedure (breast and prostate; see below), relative to the previous generation, rates increased on average 13% in black women, 52% in white men, and 67% in black men. There was little change in white women.
• For non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which was analysed separately, the rates today relative to 25 years ago have almost doubled in white women, nearly tripled in black women, more than tripled in white men, and more than quadrupled in black men.

We can start looking at preventing cancer or we can continue to find ways to try and extend our lives with drugs by 6 months, 8 months or even some years. This 'living with the disease' usually means that the quality of life is extremely compromised. Living with the disease is also increasingly expensive.
Numerous studies from the past thirty years link breast cancer to dairy food. Prostate cancer has been linked to the consumption of animal foods, particularly barbequed foods.  But this is not a popular message for media to cover - and it doesn't go down too well with food producers or pharmaceutical companies either.
Organised medicine presents its successes to us with a flourish, and brushes its’ unfortunate failures under the carpet.  If medicine were really successful in creating health we would need fewer hospitals, and medical services would not labor under stress.
We are not condemned to continue feeding the money machines that both medicine and nutrition have become. There are things we can do to get out of this mess. We could stringently investigate the pharmaceutical industry's hold on the health care industry. We could independently test all drugs and assess their value. We could insist that all approaches by the pharmaceutical lobbies to physicians and politicians are transparent. (Pharmaceutical lobbies have spent over 2.3 billion dollars to directly influence law-makers and 183 million on political contributions since 1998.) At the time of writing, the industry has already spent nearly $10 million on the 2016 American elections and is expected to spend more.
Diet is a major cause of disease. This is good news - we can change our diet pretty easily. In the late 1960’s a revolution was brewing that challenged medical and nutritional mythologies, and it wasn’t generated from within the professions. A rebellious public were asking increasingly difficult questions that generated some stunning changes. The dietary principles we teach at MACROVegan Centre are aimed at the prevention, and reversal of the major diseases that plague our society. We also teach the practical life skills on how to make your healthy diet a practical and tasty one.
[1] American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, April 2006
[2] Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD. Deaths: Final data for 2010. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2013;61
[3] Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, Blaha MJ, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014 ;128
[4] Heidenreich PA, Trogdon JG, Khavjou OA, et al. Forecasting the future of cardiovascular disease in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011;123:933-44. Epub 2011 Jan 24
[5] World Heart Foundation, 2014 Report
[6] Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010; 87:4-14
[7] National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014, American Diabetes Association
[8] Newcastle University, Reversal of type 2 diabetes: normalisation of beta cell function in association with decreased pancreas and liver triacylglycerol. July 31, 2013
[9] Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, et al. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013.
[10] Dinse, GE, DM Umbach, AJ Sasco, DG Hoel and DL Davis. 1999. Unexplained increases in cancer incidence in the United States from 1975 to 1994. Annual Review of Public Health 20: 173-209

DIETING IS OUT - HEALTHY EATING IS IN!

DIETING IS OUT – HEALTHY EATING IS IN!

Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. Its prevalence has tripled in many countries of the WHO European Region since the 1980s, and the numbers of those affected continue to rise at an alarming rate. In addition to causing various physical disabilities and psychological problems, excess weight drastically increases a person’s risk of developing a number of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
Over the past two decades, in particular, as to why we are ‘gaining weight’ despite so many ‘silver bullet’  ‘diets’ hitting the market there has been little movement toward any improvement to the obesity epidemic.  Many nations of the world continue to pile on the pounds.  What I am going to share with you is based on solid science.  What makes me different from so many of the health professionals is that my Weight Loss Nature’s Way Course is unique in that it is not a DIET. It’s about taking responsibility for your own health and that learning that healing and weight loss start in your own kitchen. You in charge of what you eat on a daily basis. You are your own doctor.
You simply can’t change your life, without changing your life. No matter what the latest fad crazy diet food, pills or others tell you, trust me…. The only path to sustainable weight loss and good health is by eating a wholefoods plant based diet. Anything that is new is generally not good for you, anything that is old is.  I have been teaching the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Macrobiotics for decades.  TCM is thousands of years old, and these cultures have no weight issues until they adopt a standard western diet.

There are many books currently on the market ‘Grain Brain’ and Wheat Belly’ being two of the many that quote such dishonest information to the general public.  They are big fans of meat (of course) so they demonise all grains for all people…..and tie it in with gluten problems and coeliac disease.
Complex Carbohydrates (sugars) are where we get our energy that sustains our life.  I have counselled hundreds of people with ill health who have been eating high protein diets.  The only way forward for human health, planetary health and sensibility are by adopting a wholefoods plant based vegan diet. Pure and Simple.
Next up with his nonsense was the food writer Mark Bittman from New York who had the world in a frenzy with his article on ‘Butter is Back’ (he has been discredited for writing that article).  Of course, people always love to hear good news about all their life-long bad habits, it makes them feel good.  The articles that sweep the internet and create huge confusion among consumers grow daily and weight Loss is at the top of the pile.
I have compassion and understanding that so many are unaware of the addictive additives placed in food and my vision and mission are to inspire as many people as I can to start learning simple home remedies and cooking techniques to take control of their weight problems and health.
I am not bogged down by an overriding ‘theory’ to prove.  I teach what I teach with fun and an open mind.  I have a no-nonsense approach to what works because that is what I continue to see year after year with clients who adopted this way of living. The information I share is simple, direct and hugely effective.  If you follow my advice you will be better for it and that is what I guarantee.

ARE YOUR HORMONES OUT OF BALANCE?
Hormonal balance is an important part of understanding how weight loss works and the results sustained. You can change everything you believed about dieting because hormones control your fat burning switch!  There are hormones that create weight gain and hormones that keep you lean.  I refer to this as having your fat burning switch in the on or off position.
There is so much cutting edge data now equating hormonal imbalance with weight problems. Eating a hormone balanced diet is the way forward to not only losing weight but also creating great health and vitality.  My Weight Loss Nature’s Way programme is in line with the recommendations from organisations such as the Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.  In this article, I am addressing two major hormones in particular – one that stores fat – and one that burns fat.
SO HOW DO YOU BURN FAT?
Insulin is the hormone responsible for allowing sugars to be used for energy.  Insulin rises and falls according to blood sugar levels and is greatly influenced by what you eat. Carbohydrates are broken down in the digestive system and converted into glucose (blood sugar) to be used as energy in your body.
When glucose enters the blood stream the pancreas produces the insulin that allows the billions of cells in your body to open up and receive this energy to use for their various functions.  If you eat too many refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, pastries and sugar rich foods, the sugars in these foods cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. The flood of sugar stimulates the pancreatic production of insulin over long periods of time. This causes your cells to remain receptive. These excess sugars are stored as fat.  Normalising insulin levels is essential to stop this storage from happening. Dramatically reducing or eliminating these ‘refined’ carbohydrates is the best way to accomplish this.
Insulin has a sister hormone, and its name is glucagon.  This hormone is a critical component of your fat-burning biochemistry.  When you need more energy and there is not enough glucose, glucagon is secreted. The purpose of this hormone is the exact opposite of insulins. Glucagon stimulates the release of stored fats to be used as energy.
Reducing the consumption of simple sugars and refined carbohydrates stimulate the production of glucagon and stimulate the burning of stored fats. If a healthy diet is combined with even moderate exercise the combination of less fat storage and better fat burning is promoted. The dietary advice below describes some of the main features of a diet that promote hormonal balance and healthy weight loss.
Balance is the key to life at all levels.  Here are some simple explanations on how to balance the four hormones that cause you to gain weight and increase the three superheroes to help us burn fat.
THE FOUR FAT STORING HORMONES
TO BALANCE INSULIN

1. Cut out refined carbohydrates
2. Remove sugar from your diet and replace with grain syrups like rice and barley malts.

TO BALANCE ESTROGEN             

1. Cut out processed foods
2. Increase your daily intake of fibre
3. Cut down on coffee and alcohol
4. Do not use a microwave
5. BPA is an oestrogen compound found in plastic cups and leaches into the food particularly when heated.
6. Assist the body in breakdown and elimination by eating a natural foods diet

TO BALANCE CORTISOL

1. Reduce stress in your daily life
2. Elevated cortisol levels lead to higher insulin levels (create hunger pangs)

TO BALANCE LEPTIN

1. Cut out MSG and all commercial seasonings
2. Low levels of leptin signal the body to store fat
3. Sleep well
4. Eat slowly – chew well
5. Increase your consumption of sea vegetables

 THE THREE FAT BURNING HORMONES
TO INCREASE HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE

1. Get a good night’s sleep - Sleep deprivation almost completely abolishes HGH production.
2. Eat HGH Building Blocks. These include foods high in the B vitamins, like whole grains (quinoa), legumes, vegetables and proteins, and the mineral zinc which is found in seaweed.
3. Go Organic – Many of our foods are loaded with pesticides and chemicals which lower HGH.
4. Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Workouts improve your body chemistry, including levels of HGH.   You can dramatically slow down the ageing process, increase your strength as you age and eliminate the many risks of so many diseases that come about through lack of exercise.

 TO INCREASE TESTOSTERONE

1. Eat Testosterone Builders, foods rich in beta-carotene (yellow and orange vegetables and green leafy vegetables, foods high in B vitamins and foods containing boron (fruits, nuts and legumes.  All of these foods cause your body to produce more testosterone.
2. Other testosterone boosters are amino acids.  They are the building blocks of cells, antibodies, muscle tissues and enzymes.
3. A diet high in fat alters testosterone levels.  Good fats are important for keeping testosterone levels up so eating more monosaturated fats from nuts, avocados and polyunsaturated fats is a good idea because they are burned for fuel and don’t make your fat.
4. Caffeine and alcohol affect your testosterone levels.

TO INCREASE PROGESTERONE

1. Progesterone enhancing foods include B vitamins in particular vitamin B6 found in beans, as well as many fruits and vegetables like avocados, spinach and tomatoes.
2. The other key nutrient in progesterone production is magnesium. Eat plenty of organic dark green leafy vegetables, and sea vegetables, almonds, seeds, nuts and beans which are all good sources of magnesium and also keep your liver healthy.
3. Poor liver function suppresses progesterone.

As you will see from the above it really is very simple to adopt a hormone balanced ‘diet’ into your life and alleviate weight problems once and for all.
MARLENE'S HORMONE BALANCING FOOD PLAN

• Eat at least 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks
• Focus on portion size, not calories – chew well
• Maintain a constant blood sugar level
• Eat natural foods rich in phytoestrogens
• Include good sources of vegetable protein; beans, legumes, tofu, tempeh,
• Drink filtered water, green tea or herbal teas
• Eat cooked foods
• Lightly cooked fresh vegetables
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Sprouted seeds such as alfalfa, lentils and mung beans
• Pressed salads and pickles
• Colourful fruits in season
• Almonds, walnuts, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds
• Seaweeds
• Shitake and maitake mushrooms
• Miso - shoyu - tamari
• Wholegrains – short grain brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley
• Soba & udon noodles
• Naturally sweetened desserts (occasionally) using barley malt or rice syrup
• Go Organic
• Good fats in moderation and used sparingly

EAT HORMONE FRIENDLY
ELIMINATING THE FOLLOWING FOODS

• Refined carbohydrates
• Processed foods
• Alcohol and caffeine
• Non-organic fruits and vegetables
• MSG soy sauces
• All commercial seasonings
• Coffee (try grain based)
• Sugar-laden drinks and juices
• Meat
• Dairy
• Fish
• Eggs
• Sugar

FOODS TO USE REGULARLY FOR BETTER HEALTH AND WEIGHT LOSS
Whole grains: Whole grains are low-calorie; complex carbohydrates that haven’t been processed or milled like white flour or white rice. This means they haven’t been robbed of their essential nutrients or dietary fibre so essential in keeping weight down.
Vegetables: Bite for bite, vegetables and whole grains provide more nutrients and fibre with fewer calories than any other food group, making it easier to control your weight.
Sea Vegetables: They are a rich source of many trace minerals. Seaweeds break down and digest slowly compared to processed foods. This actually allows hormonal balancing to occur. Research shows that seaweed is not only an amazing health food but speeds up weight loss by blocking fat intake and promotes fat burning.
Beans and Bean Products:  Regular bean eaters are less likely to be overweight and have smaller waistlines than those who pass on legumes. Beans release energy slowly into the body, making them a great weight loss food. They are also high in protein and fibre, which satiates the appetite and helps keep you full for longer periods of time.
Along with Fruits, Nuts and Seeds and my Medicinal Teas you have a winning combination.
FOODS TO AVOID FOR HORMONAL BALANCE, WEIGHT LOSS & RENEWED HEALTH
Sugar
Tropical Fruits:
Deep fried foods:
Refined grains
Highly processed foods with chemical additives:
Cheese and dairy:
Red meat, pork and chicken
Fish
Eggs
My Top 3 Exotic Foods for Natural Weight Loss
‘Turn on Your Fat-Burning Switch’
Sea Vegetables
Seaweeds break down and digest slowly compared to processed foods. Seaweeds are also nutrient density, especially minerals; contribute greatly to hormonal balance too. Research shows that seaweed speeds up weight loss by blocking fat intake and promotes fat burning. Alginate the natural fibre found in sea kelp blocks the body from absorbing fat far more effectively than anti-weight treatments currently sold over the counter. A 2010 study by Newcastle University demonstrated what has been known for centuries in the Far East – Sea Vegetables are a powerful tool for weight loss.
Shitake Mushrooms
Dried Shitake mushrooms have traditionally been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an aid to the immune functions of the body and for breaking down fatty tissue. Japanese researchers discovered that this is because of eritadenine, a substance that reduces cholesterol. Researchers S. Suzuki and Oshima found that a raw Shiitake eaten daily for one week lowers serum cholesterol by 12%.
Daikon Radish
This magical vegetable is superior to anything I have used for years with clients to achieve amazing results.  It is a fantastic natural diuretic with a very gentle action that is excellent for managing the fluid retention that so often accompanies weight gain. The more fat cells we have, the more fluid we store. You can see me making this amazing tea using the fresh and dried version on my ‘youtube’ channel.
Marlene’s Fat Burning Tea
Daikon, Shitake and Kombu Drink
This tea helps the liver to open up and discharge smoothly.
1 dried shitake mushroom
½ cup dried daikon
1-inch strip kombu seaweed
3 cups spring water
Place the shitake, dried daikon and kombu in a small bowl, rinse and then cover with water. Leave to soak for about 10 minutes.  Discard the water.  Slice the shitake and place the ingredients into a pan.  Add the water, cover and bring to a boil on a medium flame.  Reduce the flame and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Remove and discard the ingredients.  Drink the tea whilst hot. All of these ingredients are readily available in natural food stores and many supermarkets.
In good health

 
 
 

The Amazing Power of Wholegrains!

The Amazing Power of Wholegrains!
The most important dietary change you can make is to integrate whole cereal grains (particularly short grain brown rice) into your daily diet. This should be a staple for everyone.
Simply put, whole grains and grain products are the cornerstones of any healthy, whole foods diet. In our friend Verne Varona's fantastic book 'Macrobiotics for Dummies' he explains the power of grain in a way that a five-year-old could understand.
We can supplement whole grains with fresh fruits and vegetables from land and sea, beans, nuts and seeds. With the abundant variety of grains available to us, however, we could, in theory, survive on whole grains alone.
Grains are the link between the plant and animal kingdom from which we, as humans, draw life. Of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) carbohydrates are needed in the largest amounts. Here are seven reasons complex carbohydrates have such superstar status.
They are the main source of fuel for your body They are burned most efficiently as a fuel source. They are required by your central nervous system, brain, (your brain runs almost entirely on glucose and can’t use fat or protein for its energy needs), muscles (including your heart), and kidneys. They provide glucose to all of your body’s cells and tissues for energy. They can be stored in your liver and muscles for future energy needs. They can be found in whole grains, grain products, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Whole grain foods support good health.
Eating whole grain foods reduces the risk of digestive disorders, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. Whole grains are high in complex carbohydrates and fibre that help fill us up and delay hunger. Weight control is made easier by eating the whole grains instead of higher-calorie foods.
Grains are the seeds of plants, and whole grain foods include all three parts:
Composition and Nutrition
Bran – forms the outer layer of the seed and contains fibre, B vitamins, minerals (magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, copper) and phytochemicals;
Endosperm – is the kernel and bulk of the seed containing complex carbohydrates, protein and B vitamins;
Germ – produces the sprout and contains B vitamins (niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin), vitamin E, minerals, unsaturated fats, phytochemicals and antioxidants.
Other nutrients in whole grains include tocopherols, beta-carotene, vitamin C, folate, glutamine, phytoestrogens, lignans, flavonoids, oligosaccharides, inositol, phenolics, saponins, lectins, and protease and amylase inhibitors. These nutrients may prevent diseases, lower blood cholesterol, stabilise blood sugar and improve immune function.
Fibre is the part of plant-based foods that the body does not digest. Whole grains have both soluble and insoluble fibre. Oats, barley, and rye have soluble fibre that slows stomach emptying and nutrient absorption, reducing the rise in glucose and insulin to improve blood sugar control. Bran has insoluble fibre that adds bulk to stool and shortens transit time through the colon, reducing the time the bowels carry waste products.
Wholegrains are indispensable to health by regulating bowel function, stabilising blood sugar, discharging toxins, decreasing cravings for sugar and fat.
A note on fibre; Dietary fibre from whole grains is divided into two groups, insoluble and soluble fibre. Both bind with the body’s harmful toxins, cholesterol, and fat (from which oestrogens are made) to remove them from our system via the bowel. Removing excess fat before it enters the bloodstream keeps oestrogen formation low. This is a positive quality because oestrogens can stimulate the growth of abnormal cells, which eventually leads to the growth of cancer cells. Known cancers that are stimulated to grow from oestrogen excess are breast, uterine, fallopian tube, vagina, prostate and ovarian as well as head and neck cancers.
To learn more about cancer prevention, my friend that I mentioned above, Verne Verona’s other book ‘Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods’ is a wonderful book to read and should be a household item. His book also contains a great eating plan with many tasty recipes.
Pressure-Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice
Marlene's Power Packed Nutritional Breakfast 
Take two cups of rice, place in a sieve and rinse well with water. Soak the rice overnight. Discard the soaking water and place in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water to the rice and a pinch of sea salt.  Seal the pressure cooker and bring to full pressure over the heat then reduce to a low simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow the pressure to be released naturally about 25 minutes. Remove the lid and hey presto!!….. You now have perfectly cooked whole grains.
You can use this batch of rice for your morning porridge just as I do and have done for years. Simply warm the required amount of rice in a pan on the stove by adding some water, rice or almond milk and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes until creamy. For a sweet taste, add some dried fruit, chia seeds, nuts, shelled hemp seeds, ground flax seed or linseed. If you prefer a salty taste, add a small drop of shoyu or tamari (naturally fermented soy sauces), some ground seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, gomashio or sunflower seeds.
Alternatively use the leftover rice by adding to stir fried vegetables, breaking up clumps of rice with the edge of a wooden spoon once you have added it to whatever you are cooking or make grain burgers and bake in the oven.
I store my rice in a glass container for up to five days in the refrigerator and use as I need it. If you do not have a pressure cooker – follow the instructions above, bring the rice to a boil and then simmer at a low heat until the water is absorbed and the rice is slightly sticky.
In good health