Why do we eat food?  Why is food important to us?  How does food affect us physically and emotionally?  How do we decide which foods to eat?  Taking a quick glance at the newspaper, I get the impression we are unable to answer these questions.  We follow fashion food trends that change like the wind.  One day, the newspaper says, "Eating grapes can reduce cancer" and the next day "Drinking green tea can reduce your blood pressure."  What is the underlying philosophy of eating?  Should we change our eating habits everyday hoping to reduce cancer or lower our blood pressure?

I grew up following these news articles too until one day I got fed up.  There must be a reason for choosing certain foods and quantities over others.  Sure, materialists have argued we choose foods based on the level of vitamins and minerals in them, and, while, that may sound natural to our ears, the more I thought about it I realized there are two problems here.  One is that the amount of vitamins changes by temperature, time, and age. That is, raw foods will have more than cooked foods.  So food gurus argue for a raw food diet, based on the fallacy that more means readily ingestable.

Another problem is that each individual is different, born with a different constitution and energy make-up, and is a whole being with his/her own differing health conditions.  Thus, raw foods may be helpful for someone with lots of yang, or physical energy, but would be disastrous for someone yin, with a more expanding constitution, or state of health.  Thus, current food "science" for what to eat only confuses us.!   Eating more grapes or green tea can be helpful or detrimental depending on factors that are not explained, and thus many without thought are left to consume as much as possible of tea today, or grapes tomorrow.  The health effects could be far worse than the previous diet.

After research, I stumbled upon Macrobiotics, which means longevity, and is the ancient oriental practice of food based on the two opposing energies of yin and yang. Food medicine precedes all other forms of medicine, including herbals.  In traditional Asian society, village elders would make recommendations to cure illness and prevent disease just by food alone using the yin/yang method.  Yin and yang are principles of expansion and contraction.  All food can be classified as yin or yang as well as people and movement and so on.  Based on the food's energy, and also confirmed in new studies on chemical properties, we can say yang foods! are such as meat, oil, eggs, fish, soy sauce, vegetable roots, salt, and grains; yin foods are potatoes, fruits, alcohol, leafy greens, medicine, sugar.  If you are yang, meaning of a more contracted energy, strong, physical, manly, you should eat yin foods to balance your energy; whereas yin people, of more floating, womanly energy are attracted to yang foods.  I am obviously overly simplifying.  Most importantly, the use of yin/yang theory keeps body balance, and, because it does not over stress the body, it gives time for natural body healing and spiritual healing.  Yin/yang is clear and concise.  There is no reason to wait in the dark for answers on how to eat or what our body needs.  It is different for each person.

The traditional Asian diet of macrobiotics was based fully on grains as the stable, with various fresh, cooked vegetables and roots, and occasional meat or fish.  There is a direct correlation in Korea between the introduction of western meat eating habits and the rise of cancer.  Korean dietary habits have reversed; before, fully vegetarian and grains with occasional meat; now, fully meat eating with occasional grains and vegetables.  Meat introduces toxins into our blood and speeds up the deterioration process of our organs, as do milk and eggs.  Extreme yin (drugs, alcohol) and extreme yang (meats, eggs, too much oil) draw energy ou! t of our body and put enormous strain on our body, distracting it from normal healing. 

If we follow the 10,000 year-old philosophy of longevity we can protect ourselves from illness, restore healthfulness, and avoid the food "medicine" fads.  Simply, we should eat according to our constitution and present health, following yin and yang principles.  Korean traditional foods had this balance, but with the introduction of sugar and red peppers and MSG over the past one hundred years, the diet no longer has its strong bonding balance.  However, many people are rediscovering macrobiotic principles and applying them to their lives with great success. The aim is long life and natural death without disease or sickness.  Why not apply them to your life?