Dry Skin From Winter? Read On…

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Spring tomorrow!!

What an incredible, record-breaking winter in Boston.

I don’t know about you, but I ate a lot of comfort foods to get me through it:

  • Pretzels
  • Cereal
  • Potato Chips
  • Corn Chips
  • Garlic Bread
  • Nuts
  • Chocolate

Due to eating all those dry foods, and being exposed to the wind and dry winter weather, some of us experience dry, chapped, maybe even cracked skin.

Perhaps you have a favorite ointment, there are many. Dry skin is very common this time of year. Diet obviously plays a big role. Here are 10 Tips For Moister, Prettier, Wrinkle-Free Skin:

  1. Eat boiled brown rice, millet, barley, quinoa, oats, corn, buckwheat, etc. every day
  2. Drink a glass of water upon rising, :30 before meals, :60 after meals, and before bed
  3. Avoid dried foods such as chips, pretzels, crackers, beef jerky, etc.
  4. Avoid table salt
  5. Use a humidifier
  6. Steam your face (we use dishwasher steam!) in the bathroom, etc. and wear gloves when you moisturize your hands at night
  7. Have plenty of green plants in the house
  8. Minimize the use of chemicals as cleaners, in cosmetics, in foods, and on the lawn, etc.
  9. Eat less beef, pork, poultry, cheese and the like
  10. Do a daily body rub

 

 

Spring Is Coming, Lighten Your Diet

Posted on by
Reply

Wow, what a winter it has been! Greater Boston has had more snow than anyone can remember, and also colder temperatures.

But the end is near. Hopefully, without flooding to add more problems to our lives.

In regards to eating, we are turning the page from more animal foods, and well cooked dishes, and bean soups, to lighter fare such as medium grain brown rice and lentils, onions and scallions, and of course blanched and pressed salads.

As the stress and separation of winter lifts, we can go outside more, and do more physical work, to help us get rid of the toxins we have accumulated.

Foods to help us cleanse include:

  • Radish and Daikon
  • Brown Rice
  • Sweet Vegetable Drink
  • Carrot Juice
  • Herbs such as dandelion, marshmallow root, and milk thistle

Enjoy Spring!!

 

Bipolar Disorder Is The Same As Hypoglycemia

Posted on by
Reply

examples-of-low-vs-high-GI-foods

Bipolar Disorder Is The Same As Hypoglycemia

Think about it—when they eat chicken and pizza, they get frustrated and angry, and when they eat ice cream and soda, they explode.

Here’s the cure, when you are ready for it. 10 foods to avoid, and 10 foods to enjoy, and a few lifestyle tips to not experience hypoglycemia/bipolar disorder:

Foods to Avoid
  1. Chicken/Beef/Pork/Tuna/Eggs, especially barbecued, roasted, baked, fried
  2. Hard, Salty Snacks such as pretzels, chips, crackers, and all white flour and pasta
  3. Cheese and milk (cream and butter are not great, but not as bad)
  4. Cold Foods such as iced tea, ice cream, ice cubes, etc.
  5. Sweets, especially sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, aspartame, splenda, etc.
  6. Alcohol, coffee, tea, soda, fruit juice (only drink filtered spring water, bancha twig tea, cooked carrot juice, sweet veggie drink)
  7. GMO foods: soy, corn, vegetable oils etc. and Tropical Foods, especially in winter (papaya, avocado, coconut, etc.)
  8. Nightshade Foods, especially in winter (tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, etc.)
  9. Preservatives and Colors, and other chemicals
  10. Raw fruit, especially in the winter, and especially watermelon, dates, etc.
Foods to Enjoy
  1. Brown rice, especially short grain, pressure cooked, with a pinch of sea salt
  2. Sea Vegetables of all kinds
  3. Mushrooms of all kinds, well cooked
  4. Well cooked veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard, cuke, carrot, onion, radish, turnip, parsnip, winter squash, etc.
  5. Chestnuts, Sesame, and other well cooked nuts (not salted, not sugared, not burned)
  6. Umeboshi plum
  7. Miso Soup made from Barley miso
  8. Pressed and Blanched Salads, with no dressing
  9. Chew Very Well
  10. Do not overeat, eat late, or eat standing up or watching TV etc.
Lifestyle Tips
  1. Do a Daily Body Rub
  2. Talk a walk in the woods daily
  3. Go to sleep by 11pm and rise by 7am
  4. Work on a regular basis
  5. Do Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi, Chanting, etc.
  6. Run, Lift, Swim or Bike
  7. Keep plenty of plants in the home
  8. Avoid arguments
  9. Live in the present
  10. Go for a massage, chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, etc.

Heal Your Liver

Posted on by
Reply

Winter is tough!! There comes a lot of bad eating, in order to get the energy to face the stress that comes with weather, Patriots games, rising prices, violence in the world and other difficulties in this competitive world.

Foods-for-Liver

The world’s most widely-acclaimed Macrobiotic healer, Warren Kramer, has told me in the past that I “know a lot” about Macrobiotics. This is a slight dig that I don’t practice Macrobiotics well, which is mostly about habits, willpower and stress managment. However, when I get desperate, or when I’m coaching another, my knowledge is powerful.

Right now I’m healing my liver from the period of bad eating between Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl. Here are my symptoms:

  1. Frequent Headaches
  2. Cuts that don’t heal easily
  3. Dry skin, Wrinkles, Forehead Lines, Liver spots
  4. Trigger Finger and Thumb
  5. Pain On Inside of Big Toe
  6. Anger and Frustration Close to the Surface
  7. Tired In The Morning and the Evening
  8. Neck and Back and Shoulder Pain
  9. Blurry Vision and Darkness Under Eyes
  10. Sense of Doom and More Accidents

These are excellent signs for me that I need to work on my health for a few weeks. I do not want to get liver cancer, or any other health problem. Too many health problems come from a weak liver.

II commit to the following diet and lifestyle adjustments through my daughter’s birthday on March 6, by making

Heal Your Liver In One Month and Ten Steps

  1. Eat less, chew more. Eat at regular times, and not late
  2. Brown rice daily, millet, barley weekly, quinoa, oats etc. occasionally
  3. Sweet Veggie Drink Carrot juice, hot apple juice, bancha twig tea, miso soup
  4. More walking outside every day, and more plants in the house
  5. More relaxing, meditating, chanting and yoga every day
  6. No fast food, sweets, fake foods and chemicals, and less spices
  7. Limit animal foods to white fish and occasional seafood; Avoid dairy
  8. Go organic, especially with greens, and eat plenty of beans, seeds, and herbs
  9. Eat superfoods: sea veggies, ume plums, shiitake mushrooms, sesame, kale, etc.
  10. Healing such as chiropractic, shiatsu, acupuncture, compresses, body rubs, etc.

If you see me, offer encouragement and support. I will do the same for you. Particularly if you share your story with me!

 

 

 

Eat Less For Every Meal

Posted on by
Reply

felafel

I am an overeater.  I should eat less during every meal. My digestion would be much better.

Last night I went to Juniper with a friend, it’s a GREAT restaurant in Wellesley.

The lentil soup was the best I ever tasted–and I’ve had fantastic lentil soup many times.

The Quinoa Felafel was gorgeous and sublime. My friend’s Salmon looked wonderful too.

Trouble was, I should not have eaten all of my dish, but I could not stop. We finished eating at 7:30 last night, and now it’s 7am and I am still STUFFED.

I don’t enjoy bringing home leftovers. Don’t like asking, holding the bag, bringing it in my car.

I wish more restaurants had a choice to get a smaller portion of every meal. What do you think of that idea? What restaurants you go to do that?

10 Miracle Health Foods Americans Need To Know About

Posted on by
Reply

Last post I talked about the passing of Michio Kushi, the legendary entrepreneur, author, healer and teacher, who brought Macrobiotics into our lexicon, and save countless lives.

Today I will discuss some health foods that he promoted to support human health. How many do you already know about? How many do you eat on a regular basis?

EverythingMB

10 Miracle Health Foods Americans Need To Know About

  1. Umeboshi Plums, paste, pills and vinegar
  2. Various Sea Vegetables: Nori, Wakame, Kombu, Hijiki, Arame, Agar-Agar, etc.
  3. Shiitake, Maitake and other mushrooms, aka micoproteins
  4. Sea Salt in it’s many forms, which brings needed minerals and nutrition
  5. Shoyu, which is high quality brewed soy sauce
  6. Sesame seeds, good in condiments, sauces, oil and flavoring
  7. Organic Tofu, a tasty soy protein, much healthier than chicken or shrimp or steak
  8. Tempeh, an Indonesian staple food, great in stirfries, sandwiches, or as bacon, etc.
  9. Lotus Root, for the lungs, and Burdock Root, helps strengthen your chi
  10. Barley Miso, great in soups and on wounds, prevents and cures illness!

If you know about five out of ten, and use three out of ten regularly, then I applaud you, but you might want to email me or search this site for recipes (or go to Whole Foods).

If less, please contact me and I will work with you to make 2015 the year you discover how to heal with food.

Enjoy!!

 

 

Feeling Like A Mortal

Posted on by
Reply

When we are young, sometimes we feel immortal. I know I did.

  • I suppose there are many good reasons for this:
  • Lots of energy and everyone around you seems to care
  • Haven’t been to a lot of funerals or lost many relatives yet
  • Perhaps people don’t tell the truth, that we are going to die, and life is short!

KushiRIP

Now my son acts this way, and it makes me smile. I’m glad he can go about his business and not worry too much about the future.

I myself, feel mortal today. Michio Kushi, the father of modern macrobiotics, died almost two weeks ago, and if he could not save himself, there is certainly no hope for me!

I realize the above sentence is ridiculous, and for the most part, I have been busy living, and not busy dying, but at 50, on a winter’s day, having experienced many things in life, I feel mortal.

It’s certainly good to be able to feel SOMETHING.

RIP Michio Kushi

Posted on by
Reply

michio-kushi

On December 28, Michio Kushi, known as the father of modern Macrobiotics, passed away at 88 years old. He is credited with founding the organic farm movement in the U.S., and he also founded brands such as Erewhon. Many thousands of people have healed from cancer and many other diseases after following his advice, and that of his many disciples.

Path

I met him in 1981 at a cooking class, but did not have a personal relationship with him. He was a rock star to me. I have read about ten of his books from cover to cover, and am very grateful for everything I learned and enjoyed because of his efforts.

May his dream of world peace come true in 2015.

Holiday Overeating? Try Sweet Veggie Drink

Posted on by
Reply
  1. We all know that if we eat too much, we can gain weight, and feel lousy.
  2. We also know that if we eat the wrong things, problems can occur.
  3. Finally, eating late, and not getting exercise or tranquility can also affect our health.

The holidays are the perfect storm. We do all of the above! Why are we not all sick?

Of course, after the holidays, we can calm our eating, and take long walks, and our nerves finally settle down. But sometimes we need a little help.

This ultra-low sodium hot drink softens internal organs and balance the blood sugar. It's delicious, relaxing and helps heal when consumed in between meals.

This ultra-low sodium hot drink softens internal organs and balance the blood sugar. It’s delicious, relaxing and helps heal when consumed in between meals.

Sweet Veggie Drink can help.

Eat a good breakfast (or skip it if you ate late), and then have some hot broth at 11am, followed by a super-healthy lunch, another dose of SVD at 3, and a light meal in the early evening. Also get plenty of exercise, do a body rub and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. In one or two days, you will feel better, look better, and be better.

Contact me for the recipe or to get some delivered to you or a family member.

508.333.4153 or david@kagan.co

 

Bread Is Evil…How To Deal With It

Posted on by
Reply

sourdough

Everyone loves bread. We only stop eating it for three reasons:

  • We become gluten-free after a diagnosis of Celiac’s etc.
  • We learn about the detrimental effects from Macrobiotics, a cleanse, etc.
  • We die

The bottom line is that bread is not good for us. It can sustain us if we have no other food, but eating boiled grains such as rice, millet, barley, oats, quinoa, buckwheat, corn, etc. are a much better way to get carbs.

Unfortunately, pasta counts as bread also, although it’s not quite as bad, as it generally does not have yeast. But, it may have more sodium!

Don’t panic! If you are overweight, or have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other health problems, here are a few steps you can take, in increasing order of difficulty and results:

  1. Eat a maximum of one slice of bread per day, and limit to four days per week
  2. Eat a maximum of one serving of pasta per day, and limit to two days per week
  3. Eat brown rice daily, and also eat barley, millet, oats, buckwheat, corn, bulghur, etc.
  4. Only eat bread without yeast (sourdough is the most common), and sodium <100mg
  5. Only eat whole grain pasta (there are many different types)
  6. Eliminate all wheat from your diet (it’s GMO, not needed, and binds us up!)

Wheat, yeast, salt, chemicals, and bulk are not good for us. We need to eat less, chew more, and get more exercise and love in our lives.

Let me know if this post helps, david@kagan.co.

Peace!