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Trigger Warning · Divas That Care Network

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's Divas the Care Radio.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Divas that Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is a global movement for women, by women, engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: To find out more about the movement, visit divas that care.com after the show.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Namaste, and welcome to the Divas That Care Network.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Gia Raquel Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, and you're listening to Above the Ground Podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: If this is your first time tuning in, our network is going into its 16th year and is listened to in over 30 countries.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I would like to personally take this time to thank you for giving me the gift of your time.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: As always, it is my honor to hold space with and for you.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And today, as has been a theme for this series of um, you know, overcoming your fears and you know, just getting on with it, essentially, when it comes to your life and the things that you know you will be faced with.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm gonna dive in again to things that are really big triggers for me as we talk about the diet nutrition episode.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna touch on a diet that I probably have mentioned in passing, but that I definitely don't necessarily ascribe to.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um again, triggered, triggered is probably one of the reasons why.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I will share that story.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so this episode is gonna be more about that story than the nutrition aspects, although we will, because it is a nutrition episode, we will touch on the macrobiotic diet.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it is it's akin to a vegan diet.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of similarities, but it's different because it's very strict.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it does allow for some rare but inclusive animal protein to be supplemented, um, which a vegan diet does not.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: So um let me get into the story because that's kind of the thread that has taken all of these episodes together, including the meditation episode and the original episode that was um that I recorded on Mother's Day, and that, you know, has talked about the the sea that we all hate, uh, the word cancer and those that are affected by it.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: And um, as I lost my mother to breast cancer, um, and I lost a friend to breast cancer, and uh, I've had many of people that I love uh affected by cancer, um, one way or another.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm gonna share a pretty triggering um aspect of my past with regards to this particular diet and how it is attributed, claimed to be, and again, like I love my mom, don't let her roll over in her grave, but here's the trigger.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, there was an element of fighting it from the body standpoint as opposed to medically.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's not to say that my mother refused medical treatment, but there is an element um brought in by my father that was very much holistic and anti-establishment, as I like to call it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so instead of going with what was a relatively aggressive diagnosis from what I was told, instead of going full tilt, which was my mother's choice, and anyone who has is un, I'll say unfortunate enough to um be the one diagnosed gets the right to choose, right?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is inherent.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: We all as human beings have the right to choose for our bodies and our health.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: At least to this point we do, and hopefully that will continue.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: But this particular choice of hers, um, I remember they went to a school out in California, I believe, my father and my mother, and uh were taught how to cook and follow a macrobiotic lifestyle.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And this is how my mother chose to battle cancer out of the gate.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Me being the Aries only child that I was, you know, would have gone the cut it all out, nuke it, zap it, like get rid of it.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: I would have gone that route.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would have gone the quote unquote balls to the wall route.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's me.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that was not my mother.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so when we talk about, even as I was kind of just refreshing myself on the diet, because I do have some experience with it, so I'm aware of the ins and outs of it.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: As I was looking it up, even now, you know, all a lot of the things you'll find online will say, like, this is not meant to treat or cure cancer.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there were, and you know, this was almost 20 years ago now that, or over 20 years since she chose this path.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so obviously there have been massive amounts of developments in science and in the medical field, and thank God for that.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, some treatments, I'm sure, remain similar in nature and the aggressiveness with which some certain cancers are treated, I'm sure have have you know been sustained.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't think any medical professional is gonna say, eat some, eat some brown rice and it'll go away.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's fine.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's not a thing.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, as I said, this is gonna be a different kind of episode, and I'm going a little bit feral on this episode, so please indulge me in that or forgive me for that.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: But it is, like I said, a trigger.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so I when I was kind of toying with again, as you try to tie all these ideas together, coming up with you know, victory over your fears, overcoming your fears, and when it comes to diet, it's kind of it's kind of hopefully no diet makes anybody fearful, right?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like dieting itself could be a fear to be overcome, right?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, like taking that commitment to yourself can be scary.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, making socially, especially, and that kind of ties into the macrobiotic aspect because I know for my mom that was one of the biggest things because food was such a big part of our lives.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as they they were part of a gourmet club.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: They, you know, we're Italian and Spanish, olive oil is everywhere, it's in everything, wine was in everything.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And my mom was a huge fan of coffee, and macrobiotic diets don't allow you to have caffeine.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it was a massive lifestyle shift.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I have to give her maybe, maybe I get this from her, hopefully.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love to say I'm my mother's daughter.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, the discipline that it took to just irrevocably alter her diet.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: And my mother was a heavy set woman for a majority of my life.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we definitely, she definitely ate her feelings.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think I had a little bit of that when I was younger as well, probably because that's you know, food was a big part of our lives coming from, like I said, a European background.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was Sunday dinners.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: It was, you know, there it was family dinners.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: We always Sunday was family day, and we always had dinners together.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And my mom was an amazing cook.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: My dad was an amazing cook.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So our our world, our home life really circled around food.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't unhealthy food per se.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it was sometimes, um, but overall, it was home cooked, rather delicious.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say, I was spoiled for choice as a young person growing up.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like I had a very loving, very supportive mother.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and I was just food was a part of our existence, right?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's like it's like the Italian or the Spanish mother, I wants like love is food, food is love, right?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: So for for her to kind of do a 180, like like food is health from food is love.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, I remember us going up to restaurants and I remember her, you know, not being able to eat much.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: And as I am now on a relatively strict, very different diet, um, I I get it.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like I get I get that aspect of the social, the social, well, I can't eat there, like, and that conversation happens for me all the time.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or you know, my friends are very kind and we go to places where I know that they'll accommodate.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, you never know what's happening when you go out to eat.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope that nine times out of ten, I'm being, you know, as respectful of the restaurant whilst also praying that there's no soy in my in my sauce, right?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So coming from that place of you know, putting yourself first, my mom was definitely a people pleaser, and I definitely have that tendency too, but I it was she was so supportive that I never thought of it as people pleasing.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: I just thought it was love and support, and I thought that's just that's she was amazing, and and that's how I hoped to be.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: So from that place of of giving, of outpouring, putting love into your food, putting love into your family, putting love into your hearth and your home.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: My mother very much was that.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so when she had to redirect her focus to herself, I can't even imagine the difficulty and the challenge that she had in doing so because she was such a giver, such a supportive person, and such a nurturer that that must have been very challenging for her.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's challenging for any probably maybe females more than males.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Again, no gender.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is just coming from that maternal instinct.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and I feel as though when it came to that switch for her, I mean, getting back to the she happened to be heavyset for an earlier portion of her life.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: One thing I will say about the macrobiotic diet, and probably a vegan diet too, is my mother always had a large posterior.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: That definitely runs in the family.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: I also, too, despite my diet and exercise routine, have a rather large posterior.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: We are built that way.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: When my mother went macrobiotic, that posterior shrank down to nothing, as she would say, me nada.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she turned into a very, very slight, slim, petite female that I had never seen her that thin in my entire existence.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I will preface that I believe some of that came from at a certain point, she did begin to implement some Western medical practices like chemo and radiation, which I only wish she would have done sooner.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: But she did, and so there was an element of that that I'm sure when she really lost weight, people started to ask questions.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that was very hard for her because my mother was very, very private and she did not share.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: So she'd probably she would definitely roll over in her grave now with me having this conversation about her as candidly as I am.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: So sorry, mom, please forgive me.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm not gonna get into how she handled her illness because, like I said, everyone is entitled, and I learned this the hard way with my mother, she was entitled to her choice.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone is entitled to their choice.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: As someone who is battling with cancer, oftentimes they don't want to fight anymore, and they're entitled to that choice too.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: And for the people that love them, you know, that's a hard pill to swallow.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, with respect to every human to choose a diet that supports their body and allowing them to change what that diet consists of over time when they when their body changes, when their hormones change, when their needs and priorities change.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: For women, especially, I think that there's a big distinction, and I do mean women's bodies versus men's bodies.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Again, we're not talking about gender here, we're talking about science.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: The female body goes through phases, made in mother crone, right?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's like the trifecta of how the woman's body goes through their existence at life.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And your body needs different types of exercise, different types of foods, different types of supplements, and or etc.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: And just as an aside note, supplements are also something that the macrobiotic diet kind of shies away from.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: It contraindicates, if you will.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about the changes that a female body goes, and I'm not saying males' bodies don't change, of course they do, but they do not have the cycles that women have, and they do not have the they may have metabolic slowdown, they may have their own host of things to deal with.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: I can't speak to that because I am a female.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: But that being said, women's bodies, when they start to be, when they become prepubescent, and then when they become perimenopausal and menopausal, there are huge life body system hormone changes in the female body.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: So as you're going through that and and coupled with cancer, because a lot of times, oftentimes, there will be a cancer diagnosis in and around that later stage of perimenopause into menopause.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: And that's, you know, do we not have enough going on, right?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is it is it is it war on women of a certain age?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: But but the body starts to, I think it's a matter of, you know, the same thing that I'll make it akin to the drinking conversation for people that still imbibe an alcohol.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you drink in your 20s, you can rally and go do, you know, go do a run a marathon the next day, get up on three hours of sleep and work a full day.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: You might not be at your best, but you'll make it in your 30s.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Not so much.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: You're dragging.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: That hangover is starting to take a couple extra days.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: And in your 40s, it's like it's killer be killed.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's just it's not happening for you.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that as we age, hopefully gracefully, with as much grace as we can muster, the self-awareness to check in with yourself and pay attention to what your body wants, needs, and roll with the changes, right?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I've said many times, as much as I would love to be vegetarian, not vegan, vegetarian, as much as I love cheese, and I get asked all the time, well, do you feel better on your diet?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm always like, well, I think I'd feel worse off of it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's my answer.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't have another answer because I don't feel 100% fabulous all the time.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I do think that if I were to go back to, I remember what happened when I went from paleo to vegetarian because I didn't want to eat meat.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: I still don't want to eat meat.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me very sad.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: I've had this conversation ad nauseum.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: I know my body needs meat.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's unfortunate, but it's true.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I will eat specific things in limited quantities, not every day of the week, because I know that I need to.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I have come to terms with that.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I while my moral, the moral, the little girl in me doesn't want to well doesn't want to eat the animal, the carnivore in me needs it.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm not getting into these semantics or the argument of you know the whole food plant-based.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not getting into any, like I'm people can survive and they can thrive on a vegan diet and bless them for doing so.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I fully applaud and support anyone who is willing and able to do that.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: When it comes to the macrobiotic diet, when we touch on kind of the main distinction between vegan and macrobiotic is obviously animal protein, right?
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Macrobiotic allows for very organic, fresh, specifically not canned.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's one of their regulations and stipulations.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, a happy fish or a happy chicken, right?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: But generally it's fish, is the main allowed, allowable protein.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it can't be, you know, uh, it can't be shellfish.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: It needs to be like, you know, uh a healthy, wild-caught fish, right?
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: Organic type fish.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that I will say is I like about macrobiotic is the idea, and Paleo follows this to a certain extent too, the idea of unprocessed.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that I've spoken about that numerous times.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I know that my friend uh Jason, who is whole food plant-based, one of the main things is unprocessed or minimally processed.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: And for macrobiotic, that is like the main point.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: So the idea is a is a lack of toxins in the body, in theory, and and I suppose a cleansing of of the body in this in this very kind of strict way of eating.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, there's nothing wrong with being strict, but essentially you're you're looking at a vegan diet with the bulk of your diet, your intake on a daily basis being whole grains and fruits and vegetables.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I touched last time on on some of the safe, the safe foods that are across that span across um the different the different diets like uh autoimmune paleo and low VOD map.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage you to go back and look at that because we're we are spoiled for choice on ways to limit our eating in in the first world country.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: And we should take a moment to be grateful for all of these options to be at our fingertips because it is it is a blessing and not necessarily a reality for the majority of the world.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: So take a moment, say thank you, um, and and and listen to your body, right?
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's always always what I'm gonna say in yoga, in diet, at life, listen to your body.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: So having the basis be, you know, this whole food, brown rice, barley, that kind of a thing, you know, the the soft, the gentle, the gentle grains.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, again, we're not talking about like the gluten-free Ronzoni.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's not that's not gonna be sorry, Ronzoni.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Don't mean to, it's just the first thing that came to my mind.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mean to to be mad, to get to anger the pastacods, if you will.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, the idea of coming from as local, as organically sourced, as you know, few hands and and less trucks that drove it there.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's the process in macrobiotic as much as it is the food itself.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: So they're also the the diet originally um was made up by a Japanese philosopher called George Oshawa.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it goes back almost actually, it goes back a hundred years now because we are in 2026.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: So it goes back about a hundred years.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: And essentially the idea is that plastic is plastic being bad is one of the things, I will say, because it is definitely one of you know the containers that we use the most, you know, when you purchase food.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: So how you store food, how you prepare food, how you cook your food, they don't aspire to microwaves.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually grew up without a microwave because my dad was not into microwaves.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: We had one, we only used it for popcorn.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was very, you know, he got wildly upset anytime went on.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't use a microwave just by default, which I don't have a problem with.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't really bother me.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, food tastes better, I think, when you cook it in an oven or in a frying pan or an air fryer versus a microwave.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: So there it's how you prepare it.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's the energy, and this is what I will say.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: So one thing that I I I applaud about the macrobiotic diet is it's about like the energy with which you engage with the food and prepare the food.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I really feel like, and I'm not gonna get this name right, so please forgive me.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: There was a woman, there was a scientist, I believe she was on the spectrum, and she was the one that created the I'll say humane method of animal unaliving, um, under the basis, and please look it up, and I'm sorry that I I didn't actually know I was gonna speak about this because I kind of just roll with it when I when I have our conversations together, um, or I would have looked her up.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: I will I will do so after the fact and get back to you guys.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: But the idea being the same theory of what you consume, you consume.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are consuming animal products that are unalived in a state of panic, fear, distress, sadness, you know, terror, which I think most of them are, unfortunately, then you are consuming that panic, terror, fear, pain.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not good for your body.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: So that's one of the arguments to veganism, that's one of the arguments to vegetarianism, that's one of the arguments to the macrobiotic diet, is and so I applaud the female that came up with the way to keep animals calm and I mean, I can't go far as go so far as to say blissful, but calm and have them unalived in a respectful manner where they are not aware of what's about to happen to them.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so they don't have that that they don't carry that energy with them as they cross over.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: So when in this idea of the macrobiotic diet comes to how you prepare your food so like don't cook in anger, um What you put out of you as you're preparing food is then held by the food and consumed by those around you.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw actually someone on Instagram recently talk about how they don't eat food in other people's homes, which, you know, coming from my background is kind of, you know, counterproductive because that's all we did.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but there's something to be said for them.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same principle of the energy.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know, same as a restaurant.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know the energy that went into the food that was being prepared for you.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you are then consuming that energy.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that's getting not too woo-woo for me, but I'm sure a lot pretty woo-woo for many.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: So the idea is that it's not just about the food that you're consuming, but it's about how you're consuming the food, how you're preparing the food, um, how you're storing the food.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: So for macrobiotic, you know, you're talking about having everything kind of be a natural, if you will.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: So when you are storing your food, it's in glass jars, it's in ceramic, stainless steel.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's minimal, there's no plastic, no plastic is allowed, essentially.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they always, you know, you're you want to have clear and pure water when you cook, when you drink.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can't have caffeine.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: So there were mom, I remember my mom drank an enormous amount of penalty, an enormous amount of penalty.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: And there were certain teas, green teas, I think, were acceptable, even though they had caffeine.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe it was a decaf green tea.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Don't quote me on that, but there were certain teas that were acceptable.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and this idea of peace, I feel I feel like it was peace.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I remember when when my parents came back from this, you know, they did make a like a ritual out of of cooking for my mom.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's beautiful.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is probably the most the blessing in a macrobiotic diet, because as you start to dive into what you're allowed to have and not have in this diet, then you start to realize that you know it's it's it's not a high protein diet.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can become deficient in many different vitamins and minerals on this diet.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can lose weight if you're struggling or suffering from cancer.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: People can struggle to keep weight on.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um it it's it's not necessarily an easy diet to follow.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, but I give her, I give my mother all the kudos for you know committing to her health in that way and and for sticking with it, because I'm fairly certain she was macrobiotic till the very, very end.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um and she did lose weight, and I I she fought in in the oh, in the early 2000s, she fought stage four cancer for seven years.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I can't say it did nothing.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it, you know, I think people may not have gotten that far had they not taken some of the holistic steps.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: But like I said, it's it's a matter of this particular diet, obviously being being cultivated by um a Japanese man, has a lot of that spin to it.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: So some of the staples also include miso soy, which I uh have a problem with, especially because of the link between soy and breast cancer.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: But apparently, if you I guess if you already have cancer, it doesn't matter anymore.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: Although I shouldn't I shouldn't say that a little tongue-in-cheek, but you know, there is an argument about soy and breast cancer.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: There's a link there as well.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: So just to be mindful.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: But obviously, legumes are included.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: So your chickpeas, your I'm I remember again, because you're coming from like a Japanese angle based on how the diet was created, um, mung beans were a big thing that were that were created in it.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: I shouldn't say created, but that were a part of it.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's a very seaweed was a big aspect of it.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, it's just it's a very it was very simple food.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I am a huge fan of simplicity, and so lack of processing, care and concern for how you cultivate your food, how where you get your food, how you store your food, how you prepare your food.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: I still have my mom's my mom's knife that she brought back um from her macrobiotic training, and that's the knife that I cook with whenever I chop something.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my little homage to my mom.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that the main thing that I agree with when it comes to the macrobiotic diet is the idea of the energy with which you source and prepare your food, the minimal processing.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and taking, you know, obviously, as I mentioned earlier, being grateful for the fact that we have these options too available to us, and also the flip side of that being the expense, right?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: So not taking for granted that not everyone has these options available to them, and not taking for granted that eating in this way is not cost effective, right?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Canned, remember, cans are not an option, right?
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't have storage of the food is very important as well.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: So buying fresh fish is not necessarily cheap.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: You might be able to find minimally processed locally sourced grains at a reasonably priced, but that takes extra effort.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, again, one of the things that I think is wonderful about this diet is simply the fact that it's conscious.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: You are making conscious choices, you are taking extra time, extra effort.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's sustainable, so it's helping somewhat with the environment if you're not buying processed, pre-packaged foods and you're bringing your own glass or ceramic containers, right?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's thoughtful because you have to kind of pre-plan what you're going to do.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's I don't want to say it's easily accessible, but in theory, it's easily accessible, right?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's not, it does eliminate mainly dairy and animal products and also oils.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things that macrobiotic is is not big on are oils and fat in general.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's a relatively low fat.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna say it's a no-fat diet, um, but it's a relatively minimal, minimal fat diet.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, the whole the oil situation is pretty much out the window.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was one of the main things that I remember being like a shocker because we were Italian and Spanish.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: We put olive oil on everything.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then another one of the big things that is not allowed on a macrobiotic macrobiotic diet is eggs.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've had we had a whole episode about the incredible edible egg.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so I again am I come from more of a like for lack of a better term, gym rat uh diet, diet ideology of high protein, you know, mindful high protein so as not to negatively affect the kidneys, but high protein, moderate fat, low carb.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I I am in I practice almost the exact opposite of a microbiotic diet.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I do try to practice at least to a certain extent, and it's not a hundred percent.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: So forgive me for not being like super strict with myself about it, but I do buy things in a can.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: I try to buy it in glasswood, but I do buy things in plastic.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, I do, I still do, and I've I've I will I will give a nod to Annie who's come on and talked about sustainability and chastise single-use plastic.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I've I've switched to bar soap in an effort to counteract the plastic that I purchased some food in, but I do think that it's really important, no matter the diet, no matter the lifestyle choice, to have these conversations with yourself about how much you can put thought and consciousness into your choices across the board at life.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: Not just with your diet, not just with your shopping, but how conscientious can you be with your own life and your lifestyle so that you're able to live as comfortably, as happily, as naturally, and as gently on the environment, the animals, the land, as you possibly can, with respect to your specific situation and understanding that that plays a factor in it as well.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: So winding down on the macrobiotic conversation and saying that it's not dissimilar to vegan, but it is very specific.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as I mentioned, the main staples are whole grains, fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, root vegetables are acceptable, beans and legumes are very much acceptable.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, limited nuts and seeds, limited, very, very specific, organic, clean, lean protein meat, mainly fish.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, seaweed is a big, big, big part of it.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: And again, soy and miso and um soups, warm things.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: And the one thing is another thing that I ascribe to most macrobiotic food is is cooked, right?
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's a big alignment with Ayurveda there in that the idea of the Agni, the fire in the body, the fire and the belly, that warm food is more easily digested and gentler on the body than cold food.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that there's an I now now I'm switching gears, but just to touch briefly, there's an Ayurveda principle about not eating water.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, not drinking water, not drinking water, and that when you don't drink water when you're eating a meal, the water puts out the fire in the belly that dig that is the digestion.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: And macrobiotic also, in alignment with that, has this idea of not drinking when you're not thirsty and not overdoing.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a I I would imagine the principle is coming from a similar place.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, warm beverages mostly, the teas, vental tea or otherwise.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: Think soft, think gentle, think easy to digest, think easy on the body, so that warmth um and that picking and choosing when to eat and drink, it's essentially, so that you're not negating the body's natural processes.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so there are there are things about the macrobiotic diet that are positive, that are beneficial.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you also have to be mindful of your own body.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: Always seek a practitioner if this is something that you're considering.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason that I I chose it for this week is obviously because I don't know that there's anything more fear-inspiring than our own mortality.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: And knowing the link between this particular diet and the claims that had been made in its name, um, that need to be addressed when you look it up online, I feel like it is important to note the intention is sound.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: And we talked about this when we spoke about the Mother's Day episode when we talked about standing in stillness and and mountain pose and just standing, being your own port in the storm, being your own lighthouse.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: My mother's choice for a macrobiotic diet was her choice to make, and it was her standing in her stillness.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are in a place of fear or you are in a place of contr confronting, maybe not your mortality, hopefully, but something, something that just knocks you on your you know what, on your on your rather potentially large posterior, how can you be kind to your body?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: And what does your body need?
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: It may not be a macrobiotic diet, may not be a paleo diet, but can it be a soft diet?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Can it be a gentle diet?
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: Can it be a mindful diet?
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tap into and tune into your own body and cultivate a sense of self-awareness that allows you to ebb and flow with the rhythms of your body as it moves and changes through time?
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: And can you honor what it needs as gently as possible on the earth around you, the animals around you, and with respect to your family, friends, wallet, the lifestyle, all of the things?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Can you choose to be gentle to yourself?
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: And in that, no matter how fearful you might be about whatever it is that you're facing, can you find a way to still be kind to yourself first and to stand in your truth, in your choice with as much discipline and grace as you can possibly muster.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: And can that be enough?
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think, I hope that it is and that it can be for you.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so that the simple act of self-care is in and of itself the act of overcoming or being victorious over your fear.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you for sharing this space with me.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I ask that you please feel free to share the same with your loved ones.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: For more goodness, follow me on all the socials at Above the Ground Podcast or visit my website, airsaboveyoga.com.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: As always, don't forget to check out all of my other episodes and my amazing sisters at the Divas That Care Network.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: You can find us on Spotify, Odyssey, Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, or anywhere else that you might feel guided.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: Again, my name is Gia Raquel Rose, owner of Airsabove Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground Podcast, where every day is a good one.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: This show was brought to you by Divas That Care.
• 36:44
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