Originally published March 2010

It was the craziest thing.  It seemed as if the moment I gave birth I became severely lactose intolerant.  All of my favorites, ice cream, pizza, cheese — seemed to work against me, in a major way.  I did some research and found that interestingly enough, 90 % of black people are lactose intolerant! Some theorize our bodies just aren’t equipped to handle dairy.

Now before you say, “Uh uhhh, I love cheese!” think about your experiences with it.  Do you ever get that bloated feeling after eating it — or joke about being in a food coma after eating a few pieces of your favorite pie? Guess what?  That’s not natural.

Last June I happened upon the book “The Hip Chicks Guide to Macrobiotics“ …and my life was forever changed.

Macrobiotics means – “macro” (large, long) and “bios” (life.)  Essentially long life.  It’s more than a diet, I look at it as a fundamental and spiritual way of looking at food.  The macrobiotic diet involves eating from the earth, grains as a staple food supplemented with other foods like vegetables and beans.  Highly processed or refined foods are avoided.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Porter,  the author of “The Hip Chicks Guide to Macrobiotics.” She also offers some tips you can use to better your health, life and relationship with food!

Macrobiotic Meal

NewNaturalista: What was the inspiration behind writing the book?

Jessica Porter: I had been practicing macrobiotics for about twelve years and it had done so much for me… kept me healthy, energetic, thin, spiritually connected and happy.  I had also seen it perform some outright miracles in the lives of people with serious health conditions, so there was just a point at which I was sort of brimming over with gratitude and bursting with information I felt compelled to share.  I had never planned to write a book because I’ve never considered myself a writer. But the universe kept knocking on my forehead, saying “write a book, write a book”. It took me a full year to follow the orders and sit down to write, and then another four years before I saw it in a bookstore. My goal was to make the philosophy of macrobiotics–the whole exploration of yin and yang–accessible and funny. I think it’s the most compelling and satisfying aspect of this lifestyle and I rarely saw it handled well in books. Often, people came away confused by the yin/yang stuff and I wanted to remedy that.

NewNaturalista: You describe the physical and emotional changes you experienced once adopting the macrobiotic lifestyle. What are some of the most gratifying changes you experienced?

Jessica Porter: I feel connected to myself. I feel comfortable in my own skin. That’s a pretty big deal these days because, without that, we don’t make good decisions, which make up bigger good decisions. In some ways, it’s the stuff I DON’T experience that illustrates what the macrobiotic lifestyle does for me. I don’t even own a bottle of aspirin. I’ve taken maybe one aspirin in fifteen years. I am not on prescription medication. I don’t live in fear of getting sick, and when I do feel off balance, or get ill, I can make changes in my life that bring me back to center. And they work every time. I don’t worry about my weight, and that is a true blessing.  On a more woo-woo level, my consciousness is really clear. I don’t feel mucky, or fuzzy, and I love that. I feel all my feelings–the good and the challenging. I really, really enjoy the people in my life… they are like gourmet meals to be savored. I love my life!

NewNaturalista: You have some pretty strong opinions about dairy. Describe for our readers why you feel this way?

Jessica Porter: Dairy is a very interesting topic. First of all, most humans don’t tolerate it. It is thought that some Europeans adapted to handle it in times of hardship so they could lean on their cattle herds as a source of food. But hey, I come from Western European decent and I don’t handle it very well, so maybe we didn’t all get that gene! But that’s a good thing. Dairy has some serious issues, even for those who feel they can digest it properly.

First of all, it’s pretty high in saturated fat–a major contributor to heart disease. Second, it contains no fiber, which helps it to sort of stick around in the body, clogging up things. Third, the protein in dairy–called casein–has some serious problems for the human body. Remember, this is baby food for a cow. We don’t continue to nurse at our mother’s breast… and cows get weaned too… so it’s not in nature’s plan for human adults to be drinking cow’s baby milk… so casein is recognized by the human immune system as an attacker; it literally sets off a mild allergic response. Next time you eat cheese, or frozen yogurt, or ice cream, notice if you have a stuffy nose five minutes later!  By eating dairy every day, your immune system is overtaxed from constantly fighting off a perceived allergen.

But more than that, there are studies conducted by T. Colin Campbell (who wrote The China Study) that show that dairy protein (casein) may also be sort of a light switch for turning on cancer. I really recommend your readers get that book–it’s amazing and illuminating.

Finally, dairy is high in estrogen, which contributes to breast cancer. It has also been linked with type 1 diabetes. Is that enough? Oh wait. Even though we tell people to drink their milk to prevent osteoporosis, it actually contributes to the condition (the Dairy Lobby in Washington is VERY strong so there is lots of misinformation). Did you know that countries that don’t drink dairy have the lowest rates of osteoporosis and vice versa?

Finally, these days, most dairy also contains antibiotics and excess hormones given to the cow to make her lactate like crazy. All of that goes into the human who drinks it. Yuck!

All that said, dairy food contains naturally-occurring opiates called casomorphins which are designed to make babies feel wonderful at their mothers’ breasts. So we get very bonded to dairy. Don’t get mad at yourself if, while reading this, you think: I CAN’T GIVE UP MY LATTE!! It’s okay. Those are the casomorphins speaking. If you give up dairy for 4 to 8 weeks, you will feel a real lessening in that addictive pull. After four months, you may look at cheese and feel a mild repulsion. That’s normal. We’re not supposed to be eating the baby food of another species!!

NewNaturalista: Macrobiotics is certainly a change in thinking about food. I look at it as a lifestyle and not a diet. What are 5 macrobiotic principles women can add to their lives right now that would be beneficial.

Jessica Porter:

1. Start eating whole grains. Just add some organic brown rice to your diet. And when that feels normal, try barley, and millet, and quinoa. Whole grains are packed with SO MUCH ENERGY and goodness, you will definitely feel it. As you eat them regularly, they will steer you to make better and better decisions.

2. Examine your relationship to dairy and consider getting off it. Do an experiment and quit for two months. See how you feel. See how you feel when you eat that slice of pizza after a couple of months. THAT will teach you more than anything I could say.

3. Replace white sugar with natural sweeteners. Sugar is like a crazy drug. Addictive. Makes us emotionally imbalanced, among a host of other problems. By switching to rice syrup, maple syrup, agave syrup or even stevia, you are making a big move in the right direction. Your body and mind will thank you.

4. Get outside. Mother Earth is truly our mother. Macrobiotics is about living in harmony with nature. Let if feed you.

5. Practice gratitude. I’m always amazed by what a terrific anti-depressant a simple gratitude list can be. It can literally turn around the chemicals in my mind! Life is short. We’re here right now. Let’s enjoy it.

For more on Porter’s book : hipchicksmacrobiotics.com

By: New Naturalista

I was raised in a home where vitamins were thought to be the first step in being healthy.  My mother has a basket filled with multivitamins, fish oil tablets, vitamin C, D, E…the list goes on and on.  I’ve followed the tradition — these days I take Isotonix OPC 3 and along with an Isotonix multivitamin with iron.

So while chatting with nutritionist and registered dietician Beverly Kindblade I was surprised to learn — not everyone needs a multivitamin – and that some people are wasting money!

“So many people are taking what they don’t need and not enough of what they do need,” says Kindblade.  For the last 18 years she’s worked with clients eager to get healthy, and she says the first thing she does is require they get a full physical and blood work makeup to see what they’re really deficient in.  ”Some people who eat a variety of foods don’t necessarily need a multivitamin.  I try to tailor their vitamin usage based on what they may be lacking,” says Kindblade.

Kindblade issued these tips for our readers :

1. The quality of multivitamins vary. When choosing a brand, look at the ingredients on back.  Kindblade says, “Some cheap vitamins use fillers like sugar, corn starch and sodium.”
2. If you’re taking other medication (ex. high blood pressure pills or some anti-depressants) check with your doctor before starting a multivitamin.  Kindblade has seen some patients with significant interaction problems.
3. Get off to a good start this new year by getting a full body blood workup during your annual physical.  In addition to the regular blood work, ask your doctor to test for vitamin D and iron deficiencies.
4. One of the best kept secrets is that some insurances pay for dietitian consultations.  Check to see if your insurance will!
5. Toddlers and young children typically don’t need a multivitamin if they eat healthy.  Instead Kindblade suggests a fish oil vitamin made for kids.  The essential fatty acids are good for developing young children’s brains and cognitive function.

Coco’s Plate

It’s about that time of the year where folks brag about their New Year resolutions.

If I were paid a dollar for every person who claims they will eat healthier and exercise on New Year’s Day, I would be rich.  You know why?  More than half of those people lose focus before the end of month.  No one is going to resist tangy, barbecue wings or artery-clogging bread dips, or nachos during a Super Bowl game.  Don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day with green-colored martinis (that’s me) or comforting corned beef and cabbage.  Then there’s baked goods for Fat Tuesday followed by an Easter feast.  By May, those goal setters are scrambling to lose pounds before the first day of summer.

I am one of those crazy mavens, who starts off on a good foot, but loses focus at the sight of a Chicago style or Coney Island hot dog.  But why wait until New Year’s Day to turn a new leaf?

I am willing to try anything new that will keep me healthy and fit.  I started two days before Christmas Day.  It’s not new, but raw juices are in.  Blue Print Cleanse is one brand that is popular these days.  You can choose your cleanse program, which consists of drinking raw juices to cleanse your system of impurities like those darn Starbucks lattes.  Think of it has an oil change.  You replenish your body with raw vitamins and rid the old stuff.

A popular cleanse is the 72-hour program were you drink six, 16-ounce bottles of raw juice.  Each bottle is numbered and packed with different kinds of veggies and herbs or fruits and nuts.  I tried the new option, two days worth of juice. Here’s how well I did on my first day.

Woman vs raw juice (Note: One of my favorite food shows is Man vs. Food)

8:18 a.m.

• Bottle No. 1 is a very leafy-tasting juice. I stopped after two gulps. Whew. I let my 2-year-old son try it. He stopped after one sip and returned the glass to me.

9 a.m.

• I was still sipping away on bottle No. 1. I know I am weak. I can down a shot of wheat grass, but 16 ounces is a lot of green love. However, I felt full every time I took couple sips. Drinking water didn’t help either.

2:19 p.m.

• I finished bottle No. 1, but I had five bottles to go. Good grief. I started bottle No. 2 and was drinking juice consisting of pineapple, apple and mint. It was lighter and tasted so much better. Still, I was feeling full and using the bathroom.
  

  Juice "Stare Down" at work

5 p.m.

• After rushing home from work, I drank No. 3 the green-leafy monster juice, while I cooked dinner for out-of-town guests.

6 p.m.

• I didn’t make it. I ate very small portions of dinner so I wouldn’t be rude, but I was so full from juice I couldn’t breathe in my jeans. I was done for the evening with three juices left.

Friend or Foe?

Blue Print Cleanse is painless and I am sure works.  I feel defeated, but I am inspired to include raw juices into my daily diet.   A cleanse program starts at $65 a day for New York City residents, and $85 a day for non-residents with overnight delivery.    For our review, we were given a discount for two days worth of juice.  But if you’re a budget conscious shopper like me you can save money and buy a juicer.  A Juiceman two-speed juice extractor is $60 at Target.   For more info on Blue Print: blueprintcleanse.com

Coco is a writer and a food blogger in Arizona.