Food And Emotions ~ Optimism and Health
This week’s menu has lots of luscious dishes on it, many with a real fall / winter theme. Just perfect for our current weather conditions where we want food with a more warming and strengthening quality in general, but at the same time balanced by touches of lighter foods as well. In other words, as I like to put it, we accessorize with the lighter foods in order to balance the heavier foods, such as the brown rice dish this week. Brown rice is a very powerful and strengthening whole grain food. It is particularly good for the lungs and large intestines. Eaten on its own it is somewhat heavy on the food scale. But lightened up - accessorized if you will - with some freshly sprouted mung beans gives it an uplifting and refreshing energy. The mung beans, especially when sprouted, are great for the liver and gallbladder, making their job a bit easier as they prepare the food for the large intestine. And the lighter, raw quality of the sprouts, are excellent for the heart. Each dish that we prepare has their own unique balance, and they are all orchestrated with each other to create even more balance as you mix and match them. The nishime vegetables are like a vegetable stew, made with very hardy and warming root vegetables, and are sweet and delicious, keeping the stomach and pancreas happy and relaxed, and the peanut sauce is the accessory to that dish giving it a lighter quality while imparting it's generous healthy vegetable quality oils to our South Florida bodies that are shocked by this sudden dry weather. I don't know about all of you, but my hair and skin look rather scaly with this sudden lack of tropical humidity, and I am looking forward to receiving some of that peanut oil.
When I speak of the different foods we use each week on the menus, and relate which particular body parts they are good for, it is all based on the ancient study of Oriental Medicine. And beyond the physical health aspects of each food, there are emotional aspects as well. Different organs of our body are associated with specific emotions. So if we eat foods that nourish and nurture the particular organ, it also helps us to heal and balance our emotions. For example, the emotions that relate to a healthy heart are love and joy, while some of the more negative emotions resulting from an unhealthy heart are hate and anxiety.
This week I actually found an article in my Harvard Health Watch Newsletter called "Optimism May Lower Your Risk Of Heart Disease". Very fascinating article comparing two emotions: optimism, and cynical hostility. The article states that " in the largest investigation so far to examine the possible health effects of optimism and cynical hostility, researchers have found that optimistic people are less likely to develop heart disease or die from any cause than pessimistic people. They also found that high levels of cynical hostility (harboring hostile or mistrustful feelings toward others) increases a person’s risk of dying from all causes". From the Journal of the American Heart Association (August 2009). The most cynical and hostile people, compared to the least, were 23% more likely to develop cancer, and had a 30% lower risk of dying from heart disease per the above study.
I don't know about all of you, but my body wants to eat food that imparts healthy and balanced body parts, organs, and emotions. It is the greatest gift that I can give to myself, and that we here at Wholly Macro can give to all of you.
One of our lovely clients sent me a nice quote by a Sufi master that I would like to share with you. She says to roll your R's and put on a thick Arabic accent when saying it.
"When You Meet A Negative Person, Run Away".
I think that just about sums it up for this week.
In thanks as always.
Gayle and Jaime
When I speak of the different foods we use each week on the menus, and relate which particular body parts they are good for, it is all based on the ancient study of Oriental Medicine. And beyond the physical health aspects of each food, there are emotional aspects as well. Different organs of our body are associated with specific emotions. So if we eat foods that nourish and nurture the particular organ, it also helps us to heal and balance our emotions. For example, the emotions that relate to a healthy heart are love and joy, while some of the more negative emotions resulting from an unhealthy heart are hate and anxiety.
This week I actually found an article in my Harvard Health Watch Newsletter called "Optimism May Lower Your Risk Of Heart Disease". Very fascinating article comparing two emotions: optimism, and cynical hostility. The article states that " in the largest investigation so far to examine the possible health effects of optimism and cynical hostility, researchers have found that optimistic people are less likely to develop heart disease or die from any cause than pessimistic people. They also found that high levels of cynical hostility (harboring hostile or mistrustful feelings toward others) increases a person’s risk of dying from all causes". From the Journal of the American Heart Association (August 2009). The most cynical and hostile people, compared to the least, were 23% more likely to develop cancer, and had a 30% lower risk of dying from heart disease per the above study.
I don't know about all of you, but my body wants to eat food that imparts healthy and balanced body parts, organs, and emotions. It is the greatest gift that I can give to myself, and that we here at Wholly Macro can give to all of you.
One of our lovely clients sent me a nice quote by a Sufi master that I would like to share with you. She says to roll your R's and put on a thick Arabic accent when saying it.
"When You Meet A Negative Person, Run Away".
I think that just about sums it up for this week.
In thanks as always.
Gayle and Jaime