If I were a novice to the health food industry and what to eat to achieve better health and vitality, I would be as dizzy as can be. Gluten-free diet, zone diet, raw food vs. cooked food, no carbohydrates, high protein, a-potato-a-day to counteract sugar cravings...need I say more? Fortunately, I came across macrobiotics many years ago and discovered first-hand the healing power of wholefoods as I passed through a 7-year recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Learning first hand about your body and how it responds to wholefoods vs. refined foods is the key. As everyone's condition is unique, no foods are categorically excluded in macrobiotics - however traditional natural foods including whole grains, vegetables, legumes, seaweeds and fruits, nuts and seeds as well as fermented soyfoods such as tofu, tempeh, tamari and miso are emphasized. Learning the balance of yin/yang in foods is also necessary to achieving health; however there is a factor that is often overlooked in any approach to healthy eating and that is the balance of acid and alkaline.

Perhaps you didn't know that our blood is meant to maintain a certain pH balance ideally 7.4 which is a mildly alkaline state. Viruses and bacterias need acidic blood to thrive. Return the blood to slightly alkaline, and these little beasties no longer have a suitable environment in which to thrive. They check out - makes sense! Eat more alkaline food and good health prevails and immunity returns. Unfortunately many foods that people eat now are primarily acid-forming. So which foods are acid-forming? Primarily all the refined white flour/sugar foods are acid forming. So are meats, most dairy, eggs, fish and poultry. Grains (except millet and buckwheat) and legumes are mildly acidic however proper chewing balances this factor. Saliva is highly alkaline and chewing must be relearned when beginning a wholefoods diet. Similarly, soaking grains and beans begins the sprouting process which is also alkalizing. Other factors contributing to acidity are lack of exercise, stress and negative thinking!

So which foods are alkaline? Primarily all fruits and vegetables, seaweeds, umeboshi plums, sprouts, barleygrass and wheatgrass. Any stress-reducing activity such as yoga, meditation and exercise increases alkalinity. So breathe deeply and think fresh wholefoods, and don't dismiss unrefined grains and beans as their nutritive and balancing factor in the body is great.

We really are what we eat and our food quickly becomes our blood. A person following a wholefoods diet should be able to clean their blood in about 3 months and notice the difference - more energy, deeper sleep, more positive moods and a healthier, fresh feeling inside each and every cell!