Whole grains, beans, fresh vegetables, sea vegetables and other whole natural foods included in the macrobiotic diet contain the proper balance (yin and yang), of nutrients that we need to keep the skin healthy and beautiful. Eating foods in their whole form is especially important. Whole grains include the outside skin, as do beans, many vegetables, sea vegetables, seeds, and other natural foods.
The outer layer of whole grains, including the thin, cellophane like skin, are especially rich in vitamins, minerals, oils, and protein that keep the skin firm, smooth, and supple. When grains are refined, however, these nutrients are stripped away, and when we eat them, we deprive the body (mainly the skin), of many of the essential nutrients it needs.
When whole grains and other natural foods are cooked properly their outside layer becomes soft and edible. However, each grain still retains its shape and definition. These qualities help keep the skin soft, smooth, yet firm and well-toned.
In contrast, animal foods are less eaten with the outside skin of the animal. The skin is either inedible, or in the case of chicken or turkey, much higher in cholesterol and saturated fat than the meat inside. These partial foods lack a complete balance of nutrients and energy. The same is true for white sugar, white flour, and other refined and chemically synthesized foods.
The foods we eat create us, and we become like them. (The saying is, we are what we eat). The conversion of plant foods into animal cells and tissue, or chlorophyll into hemoglobin that occurs in the human body is perhaps the most dramatic example of this dynamic process of change. Ultimately, all animals owe their existence to a similar process. When we eat plant foods, the nutrients and energy they produce are indeed converted into blood, cells, and tissues that are unique to human beings, in a dramatic example of yin changing into yang.
When we base our diet on animal foods, however the conversion is not as complete. Some of their components – especially fats and proteins- are broken down and then reassembled in a form not unlike that of the animal tissue from which they came. As a result, we begin to take on characteristics of the foods we are eating.
Eating a large volume of chicken or eggs, for instance, can make the skin take on characteristics of chicken skin. This is often apparent in the arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. The joints of the fingers and toes, for example, may become hard and knobby, and these digits may start to curl under (inward), so much so, that they resemble chicken feet.
The skin on the fingers often becomes hard, dried, and even shriveled, not unlike the skin of chicken legs. Similarly, a diet high in beef or cheese often produces dry, tough, and hard skin that resembles the tough hide of a steer.
These and other degenerative changes do take place over a period of time, and are usually more noticeable after age 35-40. If we do not change our diets, they become more pronounced with age. I have seen dramatic changes in 3 to 6 months with clients who have given up the superficial approach of a quick cosmetic fix, simply by adapting a more balanced macrobiotic approach to life and living.
A naturally balanced diet, based on whole grains, mixed beans and peas, fresh locally produced vegetables, sea vegetables, and other whole foods is the best way to avoid degenerative changes such as these and keep the skin soft, supple, flexible, and naturally beautiful throughout life, as Almighty God intended for it to be. Moreover, a naturally balanced diet can help melt away deposits of cholesterol and fat, and over time, reverse these degenerative changes and restore the skin and body as a whole to its healthy state of oneness – balance Yin and Yang. Of course, let us not forget exercise, deep breathing, rest – the skin loves it, daily care, including body scrubbing with luffa or body brush, which can help speed up the renewing effects of a naturally balanced diet.
By Ted Emanuel
Naturopathic Practitioner
Skin, Body and Health-Care Specialist
Ted Emanuel Wellness /Solutions 