FOOD AS MEDICINE
Heal Yourself With Natural Foods
by Gabriele Kushi
Author of the book
"Embracing Menopause Naturally” Stories, Portraits and Recipes.
A Guide to balancing your Midlife Transition with Macrobiotics.
CHOOSING TO EXPERIENCE A natural foods lifestyle for just one month will provide you with an unforgettable experience that could change your life. This experience can tell you that the food you eat and the lifestyle you choose affects your health. If a month seems too long, 
I have a home-remedy that will give you a profound experience by trying it once.
Choosing a natural food lifestyle is much easier now than when I started my journey in 1971. At that time society was just becoming aware of natural foods, sparked by the macrobiotic movement.
Today, my meals provide family, clients, and students with healthy whole foods nutrition. I use organic and seasonal foods, farmed and produced in a sustainable manner. One can expect the highest healing from such a quality harvest.
I choose my complete protein from bean and tofu dishes, fish, an occasional egg, or buffalo stew after ceremony. Every day I cook complex carbohydrate in the form of whole grains like brown rice, millet, buckwheat noodles, or I eat natural fermented whole grain bread.
Fresh vegetables like collard greens, broccoli, parsley, and carrots are a must. Wakame and dulse sea vegetables find their use in salads and miso soups. Apples and blueberries are my snack and fast foods.
Omega-3 rich oils from flax, sesame, or olive oil moisturize my inner and outer complexion. Almonds and walnuts, and sesame, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, I choose over refined and chemically treated, hydrogenated oil-enriched items.
Enzymatic supplements and foods like umeboshi plum, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and miso are my constant companions--making sure I digest all the good food I am eating.
One can reduce the risk of diabetes, colon cancer, leukemia, breast cancer, heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis and other illnesses. Therefore read labels and don’t buy foods that contain sodium nitrite (in meats), monosodium glutamate (in soups), aspartame (in diet soda), yeast extract (in snacks), hydrogenated oils, or high-fructose corn syrup.
If you are not convinced of the healing effect food has on the body, please try one of my favorite home-remedies “Ume-Sho-Kudzu.” This traditional Asian medicinal drink is used to strengthen and promote good digestion and restore energy. Ume-Sho-Kudzu gets the most use at my house during cold season. In combination with improving one’s diet, it works wonder.
To prepare a kudzu drink you need spring water, kudzu, umeboshi, soy sauce, and ginger juice. Each of these items has strong healing properties. All can be found at your neighborhood natural food store or online.
Kudzu, a white starch made from a prolific wild vine can also be used in thickening soups, gravies, sauces, and in desserts.
Umeboshi, a pickled plum, aged for several years, is my number one “first aid” food. 
Umeboshi has many health benefits. It can ease the felling of nausea and may take away headaches, and it has an alkalizing effect on the blood. I always have it with me. It also comes in a small compact pill form, which is easier to carry around.
Soy sauce is a natural product made from soybeans. It is distinguished from refined, chemically processed soy sauce. Some of its health benefits are improved digestion and acid neutralization. It is my all-time favorite seasoning.
The spicy, pungent golden-colored ginger root is often used in cooking and for medicinal purposes. Spring water, I hope, you drink daily. Now you have everything you need to make the Ume-Sho Kudzu drink. Let me know if it works.
Ume-Sho Kudzu Drink
Preparation: Dissolve one heaping teaspoon of kudzu in two to three teaspoons of cold water. In a saucepan add one cup of cold water to the dissolved kudzu. Bring to a boil over a medium flame. Stir constantly to avoid lumping, until the liquid becomes translucent. Reduce the flame as low as possible. Add to this mixture the pulp of ? to 1 umeboshi plum that has been chopped or ground to a paste. Add several drops to one teaspoon of soy sauce and stir gently. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add one-eighth teaspoon fresh grated ginger-juice toward the end and stir gently. Simmer for another ? minute. Drink while hot.
Article first published in tcwellness.com
About the Book:
Menopause triggers physical changes and emotional and spiritual issues that call for a redefinition of the feminine self. Gabriele Kushi’s book Embracing Menopause Naturally offers insight for this passage through courageous stories and stunning images of women from different cultural backgrounds. Supported by research, macrobiotic guidelines, and deliciously healthful recipes, this book is a true companion for any woman who wants to nurture her own spiritual growth, adopt natural foods diet, and enjoy good health throughout the midlife years and beyond,
About the Author:
GABRIELE KUSHI, BFA, MEA the founder of Kushi’s Kitchen, and author of “Embracing Menopause Naturally” is dedicated to excellence in teaching macrobiotics to support a healthy and peaceful world.
For more than thirty years, Gabriele has taught people from all over the world and all walks of life how to become healthier and more self-reliant by choosing natural foods and sustainable lifestyles. She has published numerous articles on healing with natural foods and has spoken about macrobiotics on radio talk shows. Gabriele is a certified Macrobiotic Category One Teacher and Counselor for all Health Conditions. She holds a BFA summa cum laude in Photography and Native American studies, and apprentices with Native American medicine women.
Embracing Menopause Naturally - Stories, Portraits and Recipes
A Guide to balancing your Midlife Transition with Macrobiotics
by Gabriele Kushi
Macrobiotic Health Expert Gabriele Kushi presents a Guide to Menopause That Can Help Women Maintain Balance in Their Lives—Mind, Body, & Soul.
Embracing Menopause Naturally offers insight for this important life passage through courageous stories and stunning images of women from different cultural backgrounds.
Embracing Menopause Naturally is a true companion for any woman who wants to nurture her own spiritual growth, adopt a natural foods diet, and enjoy good health throughout the midlife years and beyond.
Gabriele Kushi is a certified macrobiotic health educator, counselor, and cooking teacher. For more than thirty years, she has helped people from all over the world and all walks of life become healthier and more self-reliant by choosing natural foods and sustainable lifestyles.
paperback 160 pgs.
Price: $14.95
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