“Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.”
—Josh Billings
When we practice the 7 Steps, we can improve conditions ranging from high blood pressure to obesity to cancer.
GOOD SLEEP
Our sleep is regulated by our eating habits, diet, and activity. Sleep problems are the result of an imbalance in diet and activity. It’s understandable that sleep problems are common because overall we have poor eating habits, low-quality diets, and a lack of outdoor activity. In today’s world, the time we need to sleep is actually increasing as a result of poor diet—too much liquids or sweets, animal foods including meat, poultry, eggs, and hard cheese and other dairy products, hard baked goods, chips, salty foods, and cold foods and iced drinks.
Tips for Healthy Sleep
• Eat on a regular schedule (p. 77).
• Stop eating three hours before bedtime.
• Walk outside for at least a half hour a day. It can be a combined half hour. All outdoor activity is helpful especially in a park or natural setting (p. 119).
• Minimize use of televisions, cell phones, and computers before sleep.
• Don’t watch disturbing news programs or television shows before going to bed.
• Your bed is for reading, sleep, and sex only—not for working like paying bills.
• Have organic cotton bedclothes, sheets, pillowcases, linens, and comforters.
• Keep the colors and textures in your room quiet and soft.
• Eat a plant-based diet including a variety of unrefined grains and grain products, beans, vegetables, soups, and naturally pickled and fermented foods. This will help even if your diet is not exclusively plant-based (p. 95).
• Keep green plants in your bedroom (p. 140).
GOOD ENERGY
One of the biggest complaints in modern life is fatigue. That is because without regular eating and sleeping schedules and the lack of nutritionally dense foods and outdoor activities, the body cannot naturally detoxify, neutralize acidity, and eliminate toxins. As the toxins and acidity accumulate, the amount of oxygen combining with hemoglobin diminishes and there is less oxygen available for the brain and other vital organs. (Hemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that binds with and transports oxygen throughout the body.) Causing lack of energy, headaches, muscle weakness, and negativity. In addition, the lymph system uses an enormous amount of energy. When our eating and lifestyle practices are poor, a good deal of our energy goes toward cleaning and balancing our body and is not available for daily life activities.
We recommend the best way to feel more energized is to eat less processed foods and move toward a plant-based diet. A plant-based diet has the most energizing foods because they are high in fiber, nutrients, and minerals. The high fiber helps the body to detoxify the gut and digestion. Also improves the ability to absorb nutrients. The foods to eat for energy are whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and naturally pickled and fermented foods. The combination of these foods will improve the nutrition and balance in your body and eliminate toxins.
GOOD APPETITE
The most important aspect of these practices grows from a desire to be healthy. The approach that we take helps people rediscover their natural appetite that leads to lasting health. We stress eating habits as much as food choices so we can experience deeper satisfaction from our meals and greater enjoyment of our food. Introducing one healthy food develops our appetite for other healthy foods. Healthy people have a total enjoyment and satisfaction from healthy foods, which continually grows over time.
HEALTHY WEIGHT
Healthy weight is natural. It is like breathing; we don’t need to think about it. Weight itself is an indicator of our overall health and the balance of our diet and physical and mental activity. Trying or struggling to lose weight, count calories, or extremely restrict food choices or quantity rarely leads to long-term success. The most effective long-term way to get to your natural, healthy weight is through adding healthy diet and lifestyle practices. Base your diet on a variety of cooked grains, beans, and vegetables and eat a comfortable amount so that you feel satisfied. Your body will naturally adjust the amount of food over time as your digestion improves.
There are four general conditions that indicate that you have a healthy weight. First, you find healthy, plant-based foods delicious and satisfying. Second, you have natural (without the use of any laxatives) bowel movements once or twice a day. Third, you are physically and mentally strong with a “can-do” attitude. Fourth, you are energetic enough to live a creative, active, and engaged life.
Tips for Healthy Weight
• Try to create a regular eating and sleeping schedule. Lunch is the most important meal to keep consistent. Try to start lunch no later than one o’clock (p. 79).
• Sit down to eat without doing other things (p. 55).
• Focus on satisfaction, not restriction.
• Satisfaction can grow endlessly, whereas restriction leads to excess over time.
• See food as food, not as calories, ingredients, or nutrients. A few simple ingredients that are easy to understand are the best indicators that the food has been simply or naturally processed. A variety of plant-based foods and cooking styles provides all nutrients that we need abundantly. Breaking up food into its nutritional constituent parts deters us from finding our sense of taste, natural appetite, and satisfaction.
• Choose the most delicious and satisfying foods from the Healthful Foods List (p. 189).
• Enjoy and appreciate the value of daily activity in your life. It adds up when you think about it, and also nourishes your appetite for healthy food.
• Take a walk after eating.
BLOOD SUGAR
The macrobiotic way of eating is high fiber, balanced, and nutritionally dense. Meaning the foods are composed of complex carbohydrates (grains, beans, vegetables, etc.) that break down slowly and go through your entire digestive system before being absorbed into your blood. This process keeps your blood sugar, moods, and energy even and stable. Unlike a diet rich in sodas and soft drinks or processed and refined foods that are absorbed into your blood quickly causing your blood sugar to spike. White sugar quickly raises blood sugar and high fructose corn syrup and agave nectar tend to create insulin resistance where the insulin becomes ineffective in lowering blood sugar.
There is an extreme polarization in our society between people who have hypoglycemia or low blood sugar and people developing type 2 diabetes or high blood sugar. This problem has worsened over the years as our meal times and daily schedules have become more chaotic and people eat more processed animal and dairy foods, poultry, eggs, cheese, tuna fish, shellfish, refined baked foods, and cold foods and iced drinks.
Over time hypoglycemia causes us to feel pressured, stressed, highly impatient, aggressive, and emotionally up and down. In the case of type 2 diabetes we tend to lose our will power, discipline, and drive over time to improve our health.
Interestingly, these two types of blood sugar problems tend to stabilize and improve quickly through dietary, activity, and lifestyle changes.
Tips for Healthy Blood Sugar
• Try to create a regular eating and sleeping schedule. Try to not skip lunch and to start eating your lunch no later than one o’clock. This alone helps to stabilize your blood sugar (p. 148).
• Eat slowly and chew well (p. 59).
• Have a cooked grain and separate vegetable dish at every meal.
• Eat beans, lentils, or chickpeas daily.
• Eat a variety of sweet tasting vegetables and leafy greens.
• Walk outside at least thirty minutes daily.
• Give yourself a daily body rub.
BLOOD PRESSURE
High blood pressure is also caused by unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle practices. Following the 7 Steps will help balance and stabilize your blood pressure. The combination of fats, salt, and liquids cause the blood pressure to rise and become erratic. Salt alone will not necessarily raise blood pressure as in the traditional Japanese diet. In the past the Japanese had a high salt diet with little high blood pressure. Now that they have adopted the modern diet, blood pressure is a serious problem. The fat is mainly from the excessive consumption of poor quality animal and dairy foods that are naturally high in fat and lack fiber and minerals to digest and eliminate properly. Simple and refined sugars (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and agave nectar) can also turn to fat in the body. These products also break down into water and carbon dioxide further compromising the blood quality. Refined flour products further contribute to the problem. This combination makes the blood vessels, veins, and arteries rigid and lose their natural flexibility over time and further contributes to high blood pressure.
Tips for Healthy Blood Pressure
• Try to create a regular eating and sleeping schedule.
• Stop eating three hours before getting into bed.
• Eat slowly and chew well (p. 59).
• Have a cooked grain and separate vegetable dish at every meal.
• Eat beans daily.
• Eat quick steamed greens everyday.
• Eat a wide variety of vegetables from the Healthful Foods List.
• Walk outside at least thirty minutes daily.
• Give yourself a daily body rub for ten to fifteen minutes.
• Minimize hard baked flour products, chips and salty nuts, and seeds.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
The modern diet lacks fiber and vital nutrients, has refined salt and sugar, and is highly acidifying, making it tough on the kidneys, liver, spleen, and intestines to naturally eliminate harmful toxins, neutralize excess acidity, and produce vital nutrients for the body. When this happens, the intestines and kidneys become weak and the excess acidity moves to the joints and muscles to be neutralized. However, as you continue eating highly acidic foods, the acidity and toxins start to build up, causing inflammation and eventually arthritis and physical limitations. Remember, joint and muscle health are directly related to our diet, lifestyle, and gut health.
Practicing macrobiotics improves strength, movement, digestion, and flexibility. Eat a plant-based diet of whole grains, beans, vegetables, soups, nuts and seeds, and naturally pickled and fermented foods. These foods are alkalizing instead of acidic. And have fiber and nutrients to nourish the body, improve gut health, and reduce inflammation. The most effective fiber in reducing inflammation is grains, followed by beans and vegetables. Fruits are less effective. On top of it, when you find joint and muscle pain relief, you feel better emotionally as well. Dealing with inflammation is tough, as you feel restricted in what you can do and over-sensitive or drained emotionally. So getting back that independence and physical ability leaves you feeling positive, inspired, and ready to go.
The modern diet lacks fiber and vital nutrients, has refined salt and sugar, and is highly acidifying, making it tough on the kidneys, liver, spleen, and intestines to naturally eliminate harmful toxins, neutralize excess acidity, and produce vital nutrients for the body. When this happens, the intestines and kidneys become weak and the excess acidity moves to the joints and muscles to be neutralized. However, as you continue eating highly acidic foods, the acidity and toxins start to build up, causing inflammation and eventually arthritis and physical limitations. Remember, joint and muscle health are directly related to our diet, lifestyle, and gut health.
Anti-Inflammatory Tips
• Minimize or avoid the most inflammatory foods: refined flour products, fried fast foods, processed meat and dairy products, margarine, and sodas or soft drinks.
• Experiment to see if the nightshades—potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers—affect your inflammation.
• Eat a variety of leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, daikon, watercress, etc.), and naturally pickled and fermented foods including miso soup, sauerkraut, kimchi, umeboshi plums, and oil-cured olives.
• Body rub—Gently rub your entire body with a hot, damp cotton washcloth for ten to fifteen minutes at night or in the morning to activate circulation and deeply clean the skin. Do the body rub before or after your bath or shower.
• Topically bruised cabbage—take whiter leaves of cabbage and gently go over with rolling pin. Then place on joints to reduce arthritis inflammation and alleviate pain. Found to be better than ice for joint pain.
• Take a walk every day—important for joggers who have knee joint pain (p. 119).
• Do yoga—to increase flexibility and movement.
STRONG IMMUNITY
Following the 7 Steps will provide you with plenty of prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are the fiber in your food especially in grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. They act as food for probiotics to grow on. They also carry out toxins and maintain a healthy environment in your intestines. Probiotics are the microbial life that you continually supply through your food and environment. Probiotics are found in naturally pickled and fermented foods. Eating probiotics regularly nourishes and supports gut and overall health.
Having a diet full of prebiotics and probiotics creates a healthy gut with beneficial microbes that naturally keep unhealthy ones out and defend against sickness. Conversely, if you do not have enough healthy gut bacteria, the unhealthy ones can take over. A loss of diversity in your gut environment can also reduce the presence of healthy bacteria. Influences that decrease this diversity are animal and dairy foods, processed foods, chemicals in food and water, and frequent reliance on antibiotics.
Because we’ve largely destroyed the natural balance of our microbiomes with the modern diet and loss of contact with nature, we have often chosen instead to resort to artificial means to protect ourselves from germs and the environment. It is a self-protective, defensive measure that keeps us from connecting fully with nature, and further weakens our immunity. However, you can always rebuild healthy microbes in the gut with healthy eating and lifestyle practices.
Strong Immunity Tips
• Have a variety of grains, beans, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits.
• Use organic foods as often as possible.
• Consider installing or buying a high-quality water filtration system for cooking and drinking.
• Have naturally pickled and fermented foods. The healthiest fermented foods are naturally prepared miso soup, sauerkraut and kimchi, umeboshi plums, naturally cured olives, and vinegar (apple cider, brown rice, balsamic, and umeboshi).
• Create a healthy home environment by bringing in natural materials and green plants.
• Allow for plenty of sunshine and fresh air to circulate.
• Garden and interact with nature and healthy soil.