CALL 267-847-1713
to request an appointment today & startBeer Week in Philly has caused me to reflect on the history and nature of beer and other alcoholic beverages. I did not like to drink beer or any other alcoholic beverages until after I started to practice macrobiotics. As a teenager I preferred sweets and ice cream to alcohol. Over the years of eating [...]
I just finished reading the NY Times blog on the dangers of taking calcium supplements. This was very predictable because so many things recommended as being healthy or necessary by the medical profession end up causing more harm than good. It turns out that taking calcium supplements can increase your risk of having a heart [...]
When I wrote my book, The Great Life Diet, I decided to speak from my experience and not try to document anything I said. I knew in time the documentation would appear to me. The most important documentation in recent times has been The China Study by T. Collin Campbell. His research complements the [...]
Miso is a unique food. It is a fermented soybean paste often made with brown rice or barley as well. It is used as a seasoning in various types of sauces, spreads, soups, and for pickling other foods such as vegetables, tofu or fish. Miso soup has become very popular in recent years. A good [...]
I read, The Challenge of Going Vegan with great interest and agree with many of the points of the blog. Change is always difficult, especially with something so basic as food. I am not completely vegan since I do eat fish from time to time. In 1969, I started to eat brown rice and move [...]
The family meal has played an important role in the history of all cultures. A recent article published in the Daily Mail suggests that the family meal is disappearing. Our busy lifestyles are compromising this long-standing tradition. Snacks, alcohol, and microwaveable foods are replacing cooked and shared meals. I define a meal as a cooked [...]
When I first started to explore macrobiotics, I discovered George Ohsawa’s “7 Conditions of Health.” These conditions of health were a revelation to me. George Ohsawa divided health into three main areas: physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual. He assigned the most importance to spiritual health and the least importance to physical health. From the macrobiotic view, [...]
I had a dilemma. I wanted to start eating breakfast but I was addicted to coffee shops as well as coffee. I looked forward to starting the day outside my home to read and work on ideas before starting my day officially. It was starting to become apparent that I would have to give [...]
When we think about going on a diet to improve our health, we usually think about restriction and hard work. We think about cutting back on, or completely avoiding our favorite foods and activities. We want to schedule time to get over to the gym or health club for an intense workout. In my [...]
George Ohsawa is the founder of modern day macrobiotics. One of his guiding principles is that we are one with our environment. Based on this principle, the Strengthening Health Institute recommends that you choose foods that have originated in the same or similar climate in which you live. It is better to choose foods [...]
I started to eat brown rice in 1967 after years of indulgence in an almost exclusively junk food diet. Interestingly enough, one of the few foods that I liked in my junk food incarnation was kasha and bow ties, a typical Russian dish, which my mother made on a regular basis. Kasha or buckwheat is [...]
Paula Deen has brought the diabetes discussion to the forefront again. It is becoming less and less probable that one can live the modern lifestyle without developing diabetes or other serious health complications. Over the years our society has greatly increased its consumption of processed and unhealthy foods and beverages. The causes of diabetes are [...]
I have endless admiration for Ben Franklin’s accomplishments and the way he lived his life. It is a marvel that one man could have left us with so many wonderful things. At the same time, whenever I think about daylight savings time, I wonder if Ben Franklin made one mistake. All of life moves [...]
In my macrobiotic counseling practice, I often say to my clients, “if people say it is good, I say it is bad.” It is my automatic response to hearing someone praise the health virtues of a certain food. I know this sounds completely arrogant or at the very least contrary. To me it is [...]
Welcome to the last day of our Revolutionary Resolutions series. Today we’ll tie everything together with the seventh step. 7. Cultivate the spirit of health. We can move in the direction of health, or in the direction of sickness. Depending on the totality of our diet and lifestyle choices, we move in either the direction [...]
Only one more day left in this series! Make sure you check back and read over the previous posts on the other five steps. 6. Format is more important than quality. The format of your meals is more important than the quality of your meals. On Day 3 of this series, we learned that a [...]
Just in case you just started reading this series, each day I am focusing on one of my 7 Steps to a Great Life. Adopting one or a few of my 7 Steps is a great way to begin the New Year because they are resolutions that you can actually keep. Every one of the [...]
Welcome back to my series on the 7 Steps to a Great Life. Check my previous posts for other ideas for resolutions for a revolutionary 2012. 4. Make your daily life active. This isn’t about what you think it’s about. I am not suggesting that you subject yourself to a purgatory of Stair Masters and [...]