The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health: A Complete Guide to Naturally Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders

by Alex Jack and Michio Kushi

Book Overview

"Food is the chief of all things, the universal medicine. . . . Food transmutes directly into body, mind, and spirit . . . creates our day-to-day health and happiness."
--from The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health

Even in medical schools, alternative medicine is blossoming. Two thirds of them now offer courses in complementary healing practices, including nutrition. At the heart of this revolution is macrobiotics, a simple, elegant, and delicious way of eating whose health benefits are being confirmed at an impressive rate by researchers around the world.

Macrobiotics is based on the laws of yin and yang--the complementary energies that flow throughout the universe and quicken every cell of our bodies and every morsel of the food we eat. Michio Kushi and Alex Jack, distinguished educators of the macrobiotic way, believe that almost every human ailment from the common cold to cancer can be helped, and often cured, by balancing the flow of energy (the ki) inside us. The most effective way to do this is to eat the right foods, according to our individual day-to-day needs. Now in this marvelous guide, they give us the basics of macrobiotic eating and living, and explain how to use this powerful source of healing to become healthier and happier, to prevent or relieve more than two hundred ailments, conditions, or disorders--both physical and psychological.

This encyclopedic compendium of macrobiotic fundamentals, remedies, menus, and recipes takes into account the newest thinking and evolving practices within the macrobiotic community. The authors integrate all the information into a remarkable A to Z guide to macrobiotic healing--from AIDS, allergies, and arthritis, to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. They also clearly explain what we need to know to start eating a true macrobiotic diet that will provide us with a complete balance of energy and nutrients.

Living as we all do in environmental and climactic circumstances that are largely outside our personal control, it is vital that we follow a healthy lifestyle, including a flexible diet that we can adjust to meet our own individual needs. The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health gives us precisely the tools and the understanding we need to achieve this goal. Use it to build a strong, active body and a cheerful, resourceful mind.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345439813
• ISBN13: 9780345439819
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

This is the ultimate health book ever - highly recommended!

This is the most comprehensive and most helpful book that I've ever come across with. I have used it for myself, my son, my husband in our day-to-day health conditions (dizzines, fever, cough, cold, poor memory, skin irritations, etc). I was able to use it literally everyday from the day I got it. It gives easy and simple remedies using ingredients that are usually found in one's kitchen - how can you beat that? You don't even have to run to the pharmacy to get well! And you will not have the poisonous side effects of drugs!

A profound and revelatory book

See my review of the paperback edition at The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health: A Complete Guide to Naturally Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders

very helpful

This book is like 3 books in one: one on theories behind macrobiotics, one on healing remedies through healing diets, and also one on key recipes. It's user-friendly layout can be read front to back or you can use the index in the back to look up specific ailments, remedies or concepts. There's also a self-referencing set up in that if a good food or recipe is mentioned in one of the chapters and is written in capitals, that means you can find the recipe in the back of the book. I got this book to simply develop my macro library, and I ended up not only healing a few aches and pains, but trying out a few new recipes that I now love. This book will always stay with me. It's useful to anyone at any stage of their macro adventures!

Insightful and empowering

It isn't written to offer dramatizations or win converts. This is a step-by-step manual for those who seek guidance to healing through macrobiotics. And you don't have to have a "condition" to benefit from the wealth of information found in this book. Use it for deeper understanding of your body's healing potential and see what it can do for you if you care to follow the advice. This book also offers guidelines on cooking and recipes, but buying a good cookbook as a companion will provide you with a well-rounded experience. Go ahead and try it. This is powerful stuff.

great book

I recommend this book highly. Only problem I saw with it was that sometimes the organization of the material was a bit confusing and the language seemed like it was written by a non-english speaker.