Although there are many macrobiotic people (including myself) who are vegetarians, the macrobiotic way of eating does not require one to abstain from eating animal products. It does require that we recognize the energetic qualities of all the foods we eat and use them in proper amounts for the environment in which we live, the conditions of our current needs, constitutions, conditions and goals. For most of us, little or no animal food is required. Many people living in industrial societies have eaten so much animal quality food that they should abstain from all land animals and fowl, substituting white meat fish every seven to ten days if it is desired or craved. However, people living in extremely cold climates, such as the Lapps or Inuits, or people who are performing very hard physical labor may require more animal quality foods to sustain body heat or because of a lack of vegetable quality foods. However, it should be noted that in traditional cultures most of the animal was eaten in some form. When hunted, appropriate rituals were performed to acknowledge the sacrifice of the animal and strict rules were often in place to avoid depopulating those animals. Our modern pattern of animal eating is quite different!
There is enormous confusion about the issue of protein in the diet. The original source of all protein is the vegetable kingdom. Human beings also have the capacity to turn the vegetable kingdom into the animal --ourselves. In the macrobiotic diet, the primary source of dietary protein comes from whole grains. When supplemented occassionally by legumes and beans, it is easy to get plenty of protein. For those who desire it, occassional use of fish and infrequent use of some animal food may be appropriate, but rarely necessary.
The misconceptions about the amount of protein required in our daily diet stems from several possible sources, including the early studies of the subject performed by German chemists in the last century. Far more significant however may be the concerted advertising efforts of meat, egg and dairy food producers. These efforts, while effective, were flawed by the vested interests of the parties involved. By lobbying the governments of various nations, particularly the United States Congress, these organizations have been able to elevate the amount of recommended protein by a factor of two or three. These levels cannot realistically be achieved by a vegetarian diet, BUT THEY ARE NOT REALISTIC AMOUNTS! The unfortunate result has be an enormous rise in heart disease, kidney disease and cancers. No native culture ever approached the level of protein intake recommended by modern standards. The World Health Organization has much more sensible standards which can easily be achieved with a vegetarian or primarily vegetarian diet.
Seen macrobiotically, bananas are not appropriate daily or frequent food for people living outside the tropics. There are very YIN, meaning they are expansive and cooling. They are indeed very high in potassium content--too high for frequent consumption by healthy people. The amount of potassium required is easily obtained through a standard diet rich in grains, beans and vegetables. More important, potassium must be taken in proper proportion to sodium chloride (salt should be greater than potassium). Because of the generally poor diet most Americans eat, many are afflicted with high blood pressure. This is adjusted chemically with medicines which depleted potassium from the body, hence the banana mania. But bananas will NOT remedy the high blood pressure, and will create other problems as well. Simply returning to a pre-industrial whole foods diet will eliminate the high blood pressure and the need for unwise food choices.
Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers are members of the genus solanum also known as the nightshades. Interestingly, tobacco is also a "nightshade" plant. These four species have been propelled from the status of ornamental and inedible (or even poisonous) to that of several of the most widely eaten plants in the world, all in the space of several hundred years. Each has its own unique drawbacks, but as a class, they share several problematic characteristics. Most glaring of these is the abundance of directly poisonous substances found in them. These substances, called alkyloids include solanine, glycoalkaloids and`alkamines, which can create such effects in the body as red cell destruction, rashes, skin ailments and nervous disorders. They have also been implicated in kidney stone formation, calcium depletion, nausea, jaundice, muscle wasting, breathing problems, drowsiness, paralysis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Macrobiotically, they are regarded as extreme YIN, causing weakening of the body's organs. For a truly interesting discussion of the energetic qualities of the individual plants and their effects on the body, please refer to Steve Gagne's charming and informative book, "THE ENERGETICS OF FOOD".
While any food may be taken in small amounts by a person in good health, the nightshades are particularly damaging when overeaten. They are safest in small amounts on rare occasions, and prepared using traditional methods. For example, traditionally, they were heavily salted to draw out the juices (which are discarded), then cooked for very long periods of time at high temperatures. Trendy new preparations often disregard these intuitively correct methods of preparation in favor of salt-free, barely-cooked styles of preparation. Without the addition of salt, egg batters, salt-dehydration, frying or baking, these vegetables are too high in potassium, too acidic or have actively poisonous elements. When eaten in the amounts popular in our culture, they are responsible for much illness and suffering.
While some cultures have used these vegetables successfully to balance extreme eating habits, using extreme foods on either end of the spectrum (acid/alkaline or YIN/YANG) ultimately creates imbalances and ultimately illness. Once ill, they can effectively prevent progress in efforts to restore health.
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