Macrobiotic diet

[francophonerobert]

Hello, folks

I just finished reading Jerry Dorsman's HOW TO QUIT DRINKING WITHOUT AA. He recommends a macrobiotic diet as a means for recovery from alcoholism. Has anybody here tried such a diet?

francophone

[Chillgirl]

Macrobiotic diet

Hi Franco

The macrobiotic diet is essentially a great diet whatever your circumstances are and of course if you feel good its going to help you quit drinking. I have followed a healthy diet for many years mainly consisting of low fat, high fibre, vegetables and fish however i have to say that since going AF I have experienced amazing changes in how i feel with food.

I think because I was hungover 90% of the time I was unable to actually gauge how my body reacted to what I ate. Now its absolutely incredible and I can tell when i deviate away to highly processed food by how my body feels. Im now majorly aware of exactly what it feels like to be healthy and if i OD on sugar on a particular day I suffer from mild depression the next day and feel slightly unwell as my bodies way of reacting. I try to steer clear of dairy produce and for instance, last night I ate out in a restaurant and had cheese, today as soon as I woke up I could feel the reaction, I had a sore throat and felt mildly hungover.

This over sensitiveness to food might sound like an inconvenience but Im delighted as its natures way of telling me what is right for me.

Id be interested to know Franco if you would recommend the book for other good tips on quitting.

Chill

[Stargazerlily]

Macrobiotic diet

Chill, I agree with you about feeling so well when eating unprocessed, fresh foods. I recently had fast food on a trip I took as there were few options, and I felt horrible. At home, veggies, broth, nuts, no sugar, white stuff, and after two days I feel so much better. My mood is stable again.

I agree that when hungover, comfort foods are eaten to try and feel better, but it never works.

Macrobiotic is raw foods, right? I wish I could no that for a week, and see how I feel. Good luck to you.

[francophonerobert]

Macrobiotic diet

Macrobiotic Diet

Chillgirl;929951 wrote: Hi Franco

The macrobiotic diet is essentially a great diet whatever your circumstances are and of course if you feel good its going to help you quit drinking. I have followed a healthy diet for many years mainly consisting of low fat, high fibre, vegetables and fish however i have to say that since going AF I have experienced amazing changes in how i feel with food.

I think because I was hungover 90% of the time I was unable to actually gauge how my body reacted to what I ate. Now its absolutely incredible and I can tell when i deviate away to highly processed food by how my body feels. Im now majorly aware of exactly what it feels like to be healthy and if i OD on sugar on a particular day I suffer from mild depression the next day and feel slightly unwell as my bodies way of reacting. I try to steer clear of dairy produce and for instance, last night I ate out in a restaurant and had cheese, today as soon as I woke up I could feel the reaction, I had a sore throat and felt mildly hungover.



This over sensitiveness to food might sound like an inconvenience but Im delighted as its natures way of telling me what is right for me.

Id be interested to know Franco if you would recommend the book for other good tips on quitting.

Chill

Hello, Chill

Yes, I would recommend the book for his advice on exercise, yoga and relaxation techniques. By the way, he is not as anti-AA as the book title suggests. Like RJ, he believes in a broad-based approach for overcoming alcohol addiction. The diet is very similar to the Pritikin Eating Plan as well. They both are whole foods diets.

Congratulations on your sobriety, Chill

francophone

[brightlite]

Macrobiotic diet

Very Interesting. Chill, that is good that you are now so sensitive to your body and it's reactions to food. I was just reading about how to eat food to control your health and boost your health. Here are a couple Quotes from Qigong Food Healing:

"Asparagus is very high in a phytochemical called "Glutathione". This all important substance is also produced by your liver and is responsible for what Naturopathic Doctors call "Phase-2 Detoxification"

"Certain foods like the Swiss Chard pictured right contain an insulin-like substance that, when eaten, naturally lowers blood sugar. This type of food helps the body naturally balance its blood sugar."

Does anyone make high potency "smoothies" I'm thinking about looking into that and have any recipes?

[PhoenixRising]

Macrobiotic diet

Stargazerlily;932435 wrote:

Macrobiotic is raw foods, right? I wish I could no that for a week, and see how I feel. Good luck to you.

No, you are thinking raw vegan.

Macrobiotics is big on combining foods and there's a lot of brown rice.

From Wikipedia:
Macrobiotics is a dietary regimen that involves eating grains as a staple food supplemented with other foodstuffs such as vegetables and beans, and avoiding the use of highly processed or refined foods.

[Rainyday]

Macrobiotic diet

I know this is an old post.... I've been reading this book. The foods Dorman suggest are "neutral" and by combining foods, as Phoenix sates, it makes contractive and expansive foods neutral. Contractive foods include red meat, eggs, nightshade vegetables like tomatoes peppers, and eggplant. Also - spices like cayenne and cumin. Expansive foods include alcohol, most vegetables, and I can't remember the others! It is true that when I am hungover I have to have an egg, potato, and jalapeno, the next morning. I just started this diet yesterday, although I cheated last night because we had leftover Indian Food (spice is not recommended). I am a die hard very spicy chic, who loves Mexican and Indian food, and tomatoes, and Italian foods so this is going to be interesting. I was a vegetarian for 12 years, and have to say, I didn't drink as much (but then, that was during my first years as an alcoholic).

[Rainyday]

Macrobiotic diet

Update on me (it's been a while since I posted). My husband finally admitted he needs help to quit. He's been going to AA. He's slowly starting to stop drinking because of the withdrawls. While I was doing really well in the Spring with the Topomax and hypnotherapy, I didn't stick with it, and got right back into drinking heavily. Now that he's on board, I am back. We literally have NO MONEY to buy booze, so that also has to be an incentive. We made the decision to put our kids in Christian School, and, although we got a good scholarship, it's still $250 a month. Plus the Booz and his 1 1/2 pack a day smoke habit. Plus a mortgage. Plus the fact that he was out of a job for 2 years and I was only working parttime. Anyway, I am excited about him being on board. I just wish we could go to AA meetings together. I think it would be a good husband/wife thing to do. I also wish he would try these other tools that I am using. (Topomax, Hypno, Diet, Exercise).