The face exhibits the health and condition of each organ and organ system. When a specific symptom appears on the face, it brings awareness of an underlying health issue. For this reason, facial diagnosis provides valuable health insights that can alert you to a potential health weaknesses and also be used to rebuild your health when combined with macrobiotic lifestyle and diet.

Each area of the face associates with a specific organ and/or system. Here is the facial diagnosis chart or also called face mapping.

Skin Tone

• If skin tone is yellowish or brown, there is a lack of light and refreshing foods in diet and may indicate a liver issue.
• If skin tone is pale, then an anemic condition.
• If skin tone is red on top of white, means too much dairy foods and sweets.
• If skin tone is overall rich color, there is a heart issue.

Forehead

• If lines on the forehead, shows stress and problems with the nervous system.

Temples

• If temples are very tight and refined or puffy and/or discolored then signals problems of the spleen and lymph system.

Between Eyebrows

• If one or two vertical lines show up or appears inflamed means liver and detoxification issues.

Eyes

• If under the eyes is dark, kidneys are exhausted and under stress.
• If the under eyes are puffy, signifies consumption of too many fluids and sweets or oily and fatty foods.

Nose

• If the nose is red, indicates issues with blood pressure and circulatory problems.

Mouth

• If the mouth and lips are tight, the digestive system is too tight from salt, overcooked or animal foods.
• If the mouth and lips are loose and swollen, the digestive system is weak from sweets soft diary and oily foods.

Since, the condition of the organs appears first on the face, facial diagnosis helps discover health problems quicker than medical diagnosis. A medical diagnosis could mean waiting until the problem becomes critical. However, with the knowledge of facial diagnosis and macrobiotics, you can learn to recognize a health issue, often long before it actually appears or can be diagnosed medically. You can then adjust your diet and lifestyle to create balance again, improve the condition of the organ, and restore health or avoid potential health issues. Remember health is a direction, not a fixed state. We teach facial diagnosis in SHI Macrobiotics Advanced course, On-Site Residential, and Principles of Diagnosis Module.

During a macrobiotic consultation, I use facial diagnosis to personalize my recommendations. I base recommendations 60% to 80% on my diagnosis rather than medical diagnosis. The goal of the session is to provide dietary and lifestyle guidance based on my forty years as a macrobiotic counselor helping people create lasting health. Keep in mind, providing medical information during a counseling session is important to establish current health concerns. (Macrobiotic Counselor Los Angeles)

In addition to facial diagnosis, I use meridian diagnosis. This is taking a look at the hands and feet. For hands, I examine overall shape, lines, and areas of the hand, fingers and nails. The hands show the condition of the heart, lungs, and intestines. With the feet, I inspect whether the toes are well formed or misshapen and areas that are swollen, dark or withered. The feet show the central organs such as liver, gallbladder, kidneys, bladder, stomach, spleen, and pancreas. Meridian diagnosis is mostly used in-person counseling appointments but sometimes I ask to see the hands on Skype/Facetime.

Even though hands and feet are useful, facial diagnosis is the most essential part of understanding someone’s health. It is all in the face. Make an appointment to meet me in-person or on Skype/Facetime to discuss your health problems and design a personalized plan for you to start feeling better.

For more interesting articles about nutrition, macrobiotics, and living a healthy lifestyle, please visit Denny’s macrobiotic blog.