Let thy food be thy medicine.... (Part 3/3 of My Healing Journey)
- Karen Claffey
- 2 days ago
- 12 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Just before we get into Yin & Yang and The 5 Elements, I'd like to share what prompted me to write this blog series.
I've had the pleasure and blessing to meet many people over the years as a yoga teacher and bodywork practitioner. When the food subject comes up its apparent that the way I think about food and health is very different to the mainstream.
My hope in sharing some of what I have learned and practiced for over 40 years is perhaps even one person might benefit.
Here's a funny true story of a recent food conversation (with permission, of course maintaining their anonymity). My patient contacts me for an appointment because they get a urinary tract infection after intercourse. They ask what can be done about it, and my response: a) eat an anti-inflammatory diet, and b) I can help with visceral and lymphatic treatment. So the patient comes in, and before we start the treatment I remind her about eating anti-inflammatory foods. She asks, "Like adding apple cider vinegar?" I reply: "Apple cider vinegar can help alkalize, along with colorful vegetables high in antioxidants, but it would also help to not consume foods that create inflammation and congest the organs." To clarify, I ask about her diet. She enjoys meat often, steak at least once a week, and has yogurt and cheese daily. I recommend to perhaps have salmon more often, and to try to "reduce your meat and dairy consumption while you are trying to clear this up."
Without skipping a beat, she replies: "I'd rather give up sex than give up meat." I laughed out loud. She also laughed, but she meant it!
I get it. Over the years I've encountered many forms of resistance around the concept of dietary change. People love to eat what is familiar. What mom or grandma made, family traditions and all that.
Writing this blog is an offering for those who are interested. It will not be everyone's cup of tea. For those who need to hear it, or for those who are looking to change but not sure how, or genuinely seeking a solution to their own issues, perhaps my story might inspire confidence that you can take your health into your own hands.
Another reason for writing this is, when I do visceral work on patients, it sometimes reveals painful organs, and/or tender points along the meridians of said organs. Yin & Yang, and The 5 Elements explains why our organs might be sore, inflamed, or suffering from adhesion.
In patients who mention that they deal with constipation, when I inquire if they're getting enough fiber quite often the response is: "Its not a problem. I use Metamucil."
The first time I heard this, it surprised my holistically-trained brain. But I've come to learn that many people rely on this product to keep their bowels moving.
If you are using Metamucil to stay regular, you're not getting enough fiber. Plain and simple.
Have you ever read the ingredients? Its not something I'd like to rely on for my intestinal health:
Metamucil's primary active ingredient is naturally sourced Psyllium Husk, a plant-based fiber that promotes digestive health. Inactive ingredients vary by product, including sweeteners (aspartame, stevia, sugar), flavorings (orange, berry), colors (FD&C Yellow 6 - a petroleum-derived orange azo dye), and sometimes vitamins (C, D, B12) or collagen / gummies use Fibersol (corn fiber) and inulin.
There are way more delicious and healthier ways to get fiber. For those who need gluten-free, welcome to the club!
Plant-based is a term that's become more popular. This is a great step in a healthy direction. Yet most people have no clue that there's a whole world of holistic knowledge about using food as medicine. Instead, people take bits and pieces of knowledge. Such as a spoon of apple cider vinegar or glass of lemon water in the morning. Or taking herbs and topical applications to cleanse the liver or for UTI's, etc. There's a pharmacy of supplements in the health section for every ailment.
My thinking is, this is just a band-aid. The source of the issue is what you are eating on a regular basis.
To go all in holistically is considered "out there" by many. It's not discussed in the mainstream media. They have to keep their pharmaceutical advertisers happy. I record our local 6 pm news daily and watch it at some point in the evening. Over the last fifteen years, since living in Ontario, there's been one segment about how "a plant-based diet has been proven to reduce chronic disease." That one news clip in 2025 lasted 40 seconds. Yes, I backed it up and timed it!
A total of 40 seconds on the subject in 15 years!
No wonder most people aren't clear about Macrobiotics, or have never heard of the Blue Zones.
At the Kushi Institute we learned about the Hunza Indians* in the Himalayas who live practically disease free until over 100 years of age, and some until 130! Their mostly plant-based diet consists of locally cultivated fruits (apricots, cherries, grapes, peaches) and grains (wheat, barley, millet, chapati). They consume small amounts of animal foods in the form of yak butter and cheese. They were discovered in 1970 when the road was built between Pakistan and China. National Geographic magazine described the tribe as the longest-living in the world.
In the '90's other regions with a high percentage of centenarians were discovered, and eventually were labeled as Blue Zones.* People in these Blue Zones are eating macrobiotically for them; what grows according to season in their local environment.
"I'm trying to eat more plant based," What does this mean specifically? At first, I had no idea what eating "grains, beans and vegetables" entailed. What are the components? Proportions? How do I cook foods I've never heard of before?
How do you construct a balanced meal, that not only provides essential nutrients from the microscopic view, but is balanced from the macro view and creates mental and physical harmony in ourselves, and by extension in those around us?
In recent years there's been great emphasis on increasing our protein. While it's important, the source of protein is paramount and can make or break our health! (Check out my blog: The Protein Debate. How I Went Through Menopause With Zero Hot Flashes)
Macrobiotic Philosophy, Yin & Yang, & The 5 Elements Theory
Yin and Yang are universal principles that encompass all aspects of existence, far more exhaustive in scope than I will cover here. So to keep it simple, we'll just focus on food, and how this affects our organs*
First, let's talk a bit about Yin & Yang:
Yin and Yang are opposite and complementary forces in the Universe. For example: the sky is Yin, expansive, moveable and light; the earth is Yang, contracted, solid and heavy. Like the carrot root and greens analogy in Part 2.
All foods contain some yin and yang, and some are more of one or the other. Root veggies are more yang (contracted), compared to leavy greens which are more yin (expanded). Meat is more yang (dense, solid, more protein and sodium), compared to fruits which are more yin (higher water content, less dense, less protein and sodium).
As you can see from the chart above, a diet high in yang foods at the end of the spectrum (eggs, salt, and meat) is balanced by the other end of the spectrum, yin foods (alcohol, sugar, spices, and tropical foods). The middle balance point of the spectrum is whole grains, beans and vegetables, with occasional fish. This is what macrobiotics recommends. This is also the foundation of foods eaten by people in the Blue Zones.
Balance is always the goal. What's balanced for me may be different for you.
Tropical fruits and vegetables have a higher water and sugar content than temperate climate fruits. They thin our blood and dilate blood vessels, creating expansion in our organs and tissues. Too much yin foods can weaken our blood and organs.
In excess, Yang creates heaviness or contraction, and makes us crave Yin to balance. For example too much salty foods (yang) makes you thirsty and crave sweets (yin). Meat and bacon are yang, low in water and fiber content, and higher in fat, sodium and protein. This can be hard on the liver and intestines. If you are eating a diet high in bacon, eggs and meat, you likely crave and benefit from tropical foods and fruits to balance.
To much heavy Yang foods bogs down our organs, which may lead to heavy emotions and thoughts, and creates the craving for Yin. Over doing Yin foods does the opposite, which in excess can make us feel scattered and ungrounded. Leading us to crave more Yang. And so goes the see-saw.
It's important to remain flexible and allow for certain Yin foods that aren't indigenous to our environment, whose benefits outweigh their detriments, such as tomatoes, lemons, avocados, olives, and olive oil to name a few.
The 5 Elements
The 5 elements of nature (according to Chinese Medicine, which is similar but different to the 5 elements based on Ayurveda): water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Each element is associated with specific seasons, organs, emotions, colors, and other natural phenomena.
Wood is associated with Spring, the liver, the color green, and the emotions of anger or frustration.
Fire corresponds to Summer, the heart, the color red, and the emotions of joy and love.
Earth relates to Late Summer, the stomach, spleen, pancreas, the color gold or yellow, and the emotions of anxiety or worry.
Metal is linked to Autumn, the lungs, the color white, and the emotions of grief or sadness.
Water corresponds to Winter, the kidneys, the color black or blue, and the emotion of fear.
In Part 2, where I explained how September was always a significant month. It all made sense when I learned about The 5 Elements.
September and October fall in the category of the Earth Element, Late Summer, which is associated with the stomach, spleen, and pancreas. The organs of digestion and nutrition. The stomach receives the food you eat and starts to break it down. The spleen and pancreas then distribute the nourishment throughout the body.
The pancreas regulates our blood-sugar levels. Hypoglycemic is associated with depression. Bingo!!
The pancreas needs healthy "sugar" in the form of complex carbohydrates that release energy slowly - don't spike and crash our glucose levels. In my self-destruction phase, I wasn't eating whole grains and vegetables that stabilize and nourish my organs, mind and body. Quite the opposite! I was consuming in such a way that was destabilizing and toxic.
When eating according to the seasons, it doesn't mean excluding all other foods from other seasons. Weather changes rapidly, and our blood quality and organs change more slowly. Therefore we need to lay the groundwork and be ready for each season before it comes. The recommendation is to eat: 70% for all seasons, and 30% for the actual season. For example its healthy to eat broccoli and leafy greens all year around, even though we can't grow them locally out of season.
Medicinal Food Preparation According to The 5 Elements
Medicinal food preparation considers which organ(s) you are targeting to heal. For example: for diabetes, the organs most affected are the pancreas and kidneys. Kushi's macrobiotic recipes for diabetics include naturally sweet vegetables, millet, and their signature dish: Adzuki Beans & Squash. The squash in this case is typically the Buttercup or Kabocha variety. Hard winter squash are naturally sweet vegetables that nourishes the Earth Element organs - stomach, spleen, pancreas. Of all the beans, Adzuki Beans are considered optimal to cleanse, strengthen and boost kidney vitality.
In the case of cancer, it depends on the organs affected. Lung and/or colon cancer recipes will focus on foods from the Metal Element. Cancers of the reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus, prostate) benefit from foods from the Water Element. Foods to address heart disease, and breast cancer would focus on recipes from the Liver and Fire Element, to both detox the liver, cleanse the blood, and replenish the cells of the heart and chest cavity.
Boosting our immune system with foods that both detoxify and strengthen our blood, goes a long way towards healing many issues.
Organs correlate to specific emotions. If one organ is particularly out of balance, those emotions will also display in an unhealthy way. Typically we won't be perfectly healthy in our whole body, except for one organ. Illness is usually systemic. Therefore we need to address our whole health, improving all our organs, and emotions.
We cannot separate our physical health from our mental health.
It wasn't until I discovered macrobiotic cooking that I truly understood the transformative healing power of foods.
To ensure the food preparation was as peaceful and medicinal as possible, considering the health of their sick and hopefully healing clientele, the Kushi kitchen had strict policies, both ingredient-wise and energy-wise. Here we go with the No's again: no electric appliances. Essentially, nothing with an electric cord attached as this disturbs nature's electromagnetic energy field in the foods, in our bodies, and in the kitchen environment.
This extended to no radios, and this was a big deal. If you've ever seen the movie Like Water for Chocolate, you understand that how we think and the energy we put into our food preparation transmutes to those who eat it. Radio waves and electricity aside, the music, the DJ, the commercials, including what they were thinking, saying or singing, were all considered toxic vibes they didn't want in their food.
Also, of course, no coffee machines or coffee on the premises. We used a hand food mill to purée foods, however pureeing was discouraged. It was a luxury for special occasions. Whole foods, as close to how they came from nature was always the goal.
If you've enjoyed miso soup in a restaurant, while it may taste delicious, its not medicinal by macrobiotic standards.
Commercial and restaurant brands of miso contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup to aid in the fermentation process, and are pasteurized which destroys the medicinal benefits. Medicinal quality miso is long-aged, naturally fermented, and unpasteurized.
Medicinal cooking with a peaceful mind, gentle harmonious movements, in a space free from chaos, with healing intensions of the highest consciousness.
And OMG the rice! They purchased brown rice directly from the farmer with the outer hard shell or husk still on it, in 50-pound bags by the pallet. Every few days we used a hulling machine to freshly hull the rice. These glistening shining translucent pearls of nutty chewy brown rice are the most delicious you will ever eat. Ok yes, they used electricity for this! But when you buy rice at the store it's already hulled, and typically packaged, unless you buy it in bulk. As time passes, after grains are removed from their outer hull, grains start to lose their translucence, become more opaque, and are on their way to going stale and rancid.
Christina Pirello's story* is an example I think of often. I met her and her husband at the Kushi Institute in 1991 when they came to attend a Spiritual Development Seminar I was also attending. Christina sat next to me and during breaktime got to chatting often. She had terminal cancer, leukemia, and by universal luck was introduced to and followed the advice of a macrobiotic counselor, Robert Pirello. He became her husband and partner in a very successful business of cooking shows and cookbooks.
We are what we eat. Literally. The quality of our food is creating the quality of our cells. Food is the building blocks of our blood, organs, emotions, cravings, thoughts and perspective.
As our blood quality improves, our organs literally rejuvenate at the cellular level. We can transform our health.
Organs are replenished at the cellular level in different time frames. Blood platelets take 10 days, while red blood cells 70-120 days. Our gut lining regenerates in 4-7 days, and liver cells in 150 days.
This kind of cooking takes time and energy. In my case, I felt it was worth the effort. It saved my life - emotionally and physically.
By most people's accounts, I've eaten a narrow restrictive diet for many years. Because of that, any time I add something new or different, I feel the effect: joints become more inflamed, certain meridians get flared up and ache, or my sinuses and/or chest are more congested the next morning, and my bowel movements are different.
Now that doesn't mean I'll abolished that food item altogether. If it's something I really enjoy, I'll just have it less often.
What works for me may not work for you. I encourage you to discover for yourself. Notice when you eat certain foods how you feel after, how well you sleep that night, and feel the next day, including your bowel movements.
It's important to remember that no matter our good intensions and efforts, we can't heal everyone.
I believe, sometimes it's just our time to go. A force greater than us creates the circumstances to facilitate our transition which can manifest in the form of an accident or disease. Until it is my time, I intend and hope to live as fully-functioning, healthily and happily as possible.
Thank you for your time and interest. I sincerely hope this was illuminating and provided food for thought - pun intended!
Join us and learn to cook delicious dishes that are immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory, naturally detoxifying and cleansing, while providing an abundance of energy and clarity.
Macrobiotic Cooking for a Healthy Heart, Mind & Body
Saturday February 28th at 2:00 pm.
Registration Deadline: Mon Feb 23rd.
Learn to make a complete balanced meal to boost your immunity, detox your blood and organs, and nourish your heart and soul!
Gingered Vegetable Miso Soup with Wakame & Tofu, Brown Rice, Adzuki Beans & Buttercup Squash, Arame Sea Vegetables with Carrots & Onions, Oriental Cabbage Quick Pickles, Steamed Broccoli with Tahini Lemon Miso Dressing.
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*Resources for Further Reading:
Hunza Indians:
Blue Zones:
Michio Kushi Books:
Christina Pirello
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