Ginsukapaapdee Finale

For a while when I was mb I wrote this blog. For this reason I transferred blogging to my website (so this finale is here and not at wordpress), but I also stopped writing because my attitude to healthy eating changed – for health reasons. This finale is about perspective leading to the 3 ginsukapaapdees:-

1) Know your body.
2) Your body is continually changing esp age-related
3) The best diet advice comes from the old or traditions.

First of all I am going to begin with a case study, and this case study concerns 1) and 2); it is my own diet and health as an adult:-

Stage 1 – Alcohol addiction until I was 35 – mostly vegetarian. I was vegetarian because the way our society prepares meat for sale is so extremely cruel. But in my vegetarianism health was greatly limited by the excessive amount of cheese I ate – very few beans. But because of the alcohol addiction I was not too concerned about diet, hangovers dominated health issues. Work stress was high at an inner city school. Lived in London highly toxic environment – toxic load very high. Limited health consequences because I was young – bad health input showed in migraines, regular flus and some stomach stress. Started Tai Chi but not serious; no meditation.

Stage 2 - Alcohol free until I retired at 54. Throughout this time I was mostly (bad) vegetarian. Toxic load was high because of work stress, and over this time my health deteriorated leading to GERD just before I retired. There were some not-so-toxic external environments in my travels esp Botswana but in Botswana I ate meat. Those increasing health problems I associate with getting older, and my body being less capable of coping with an unhealthy diet. Developed Tai Chi but no meditation.

In stages 1 and 2 I never ate for health, unconsciously I relied on the strength of a youthful body to overcome input deficiencies.

Stage 3 – healthy until I was 66. When I retired I expected the GERD issues to disappear but GERD and migraines continued for a year until a naturopath told me to begin macrobiotics – that was when I started ginsukapaapdee. To begin with I felt complete detox symptoms, these reduced to a slow detox; then my body began to feel good. I was full mb for about 5 years, and then I found my own personal underlying condition – a congenital heart condition. I didn’t recognise the heart problem for a further 5 years associating the issues with hormones and andropause. I had low toxic load – my input was healthy although after 62 not perfect mb. I lived in rural Thailand with regular trips to the sea swimming for health. I was also doing Chi Gung and meditation, so my body loved it. At this stage I was pretty close to BDI+ - see below.

Stage 4 – 66 until now. The underlying heart condition struck. I was unable to continue with the physical exercise because exercise strained my heart and I would get “heart things”. I even had to stop external Chi Gung because of the physical strain. I continued meditation that included internal chi gung, so that was good for my body. From advice I started to eat a limited amount of meat because of my heart – sadly free range meat is not available in my part of the world. The new lifestyle reduced the heart things but my poorer diet gave me digestion issues.

The reason for this finale blogpost came from two factors – diet and complacency.

Diet:– Once the heart condition became fully active in my daily life I was frustrated. With all my mb health efforts my lifestyle was still dominated by the heart condition. With digestion issues associated with GERD (that had mostly disappeared with mb) my diet became what I could eat without digestive problems – the diet’s toxicity was high especially as I was forced to eat meat.

But there was a huge input problem that I was unaware was affecting my digestion. When I started mb I had to focus on increasing liquid intake. Apart from when I was a beer-alcoholic my liquid intake was very low. I would have coffee or whatever as a break rather than health-conscious liquid intake. My new mb understanding at 56 was that I required 2 litres a day and this was hard to reach. But in my healthy period 56-66 my liquid intake seemed to be balanced. I became conscious that some of my previous migraine issues were caused by low liquid intake.

In the last 2 or 3 years I have developed digestion issues that I associated with bad food, my diet became eating whatever food would not cause me digestion issues. Only the last few days have I realised that my liquid intake was low and that it should be 3 litres a day. Already digestion issues have improved. Psychologically this is good as it means I will try to eat more healthily. Recognising there was a water issue makes me feel I can be less toxic with my food intake and my body will benefit, digestion issues will be improved by proper water diet - how many of my digestion issues are caused by age will take me time to find out. As you get older it is necessary to pay more attention to the input – what you do to the body because there is no youthful vitality left to cope with input/diet deficiencies.

Basically in terms of dietary input do not get involved with health fads or whatever fashionable panacea is the current explanation. Based on my understanding the recommended diet would be as close to mb as possible, a plant-based diet with whatever personal considerations you need to take to cope with B12 and drink 3 litres of water. In terms of input this will fit in with all healthy fads, and help more; personal issues need to be accounted for in your diet. But diet is not enough. Work and family environments have to bring stress so stress-calming has to be a part of your life and the best way for that is meditation. Not only does meditation help the body but if meditation is geared towards the path then it will bring integration and ensuing health. Exercise is part of health. Forms of exercise that develop body and emotional integrity such as yoga or chi (Tai Chi, chi gung etc.) are the best forms but do include some form of cardiac exercise as well. What I have recommended in this paragraph I will refer to as BDI+.

But this overview of diet is not enough, however it is the basic on which to build. What you can know however is that this basic input will work in most situations. But you need to take account of the 3 ginsukapaapdees:-

1) Know your body.
2) Your body is continually changing esp age-related
3) The best diet advice comes from the old or traditions.

Knowing your body is the first ginsukapaapdee. Within the basic diet input you might need to focus on certain healing aspects. What are the best foods and herbs for your health and the best source for specifically working with your body is “Healing through Whole Foods” with Paul Pitchford. On medical advice I have personally included meat because of my heart.

When you are young do you need to follow the basic diet input (BDI+) described above? Yes is the best answer but let’s examine that. Following BDI+ (assuming there are no personal conditions) is the best for all bodies. When you are younger the need doesn’t feel as imperative because youthful vitality can cope with weaknesses in BDI+. But the less vitality we use in coping with diet the better our bodies age.

We are here to follow our paths – live our lives. Living to eat is not a path and if we focus on “living to eat” there isn’t balance. We are here to follow our integrated paths and in following our path we make the best effort to follow BDI+. We do the best we can with our diets.

Unfortunately in society we do not know BDI+ because there are interests within patriarchy that militate against this input. BigFood makes its profits from food that does not fit BDI+. BigPharma makes its profits from drugs to heal a ill-health that arises from our failing to follow BDI+. Even simple eating and drinking within patriarchy requires a level of conscious awareness that we are being conditioned to eat unhealthily.

BDI+ can be demanding and when we have the demands of family and work it becomes difficult to follow BDI+. We can be encouraged by fads to compromise, and this compromise can appear to be working because youthful vitality can cope with weaknesses. In terms of the path BDI+ will be part of your path and as such you will enjoy the best out of life. However most are not aware of the path or choose not to follow it fully or otherwise for a myriad of life reasons and compromises. In terms of health alone BDI+ can be coped with by using vitality (chi), and many younger people find workarounds using fads. Sometimes these compromises can be conscious and other times egoic or unconscious. What is important to try to understand is that BDI+ provides the best health and well-being – personal issues aside, but other compromises that use youthful vitality can give the delusion of health and well-being. Having said this what is important is to feel good about what you do:-



This is a summary of the path, BDI+ fits in well with this. But we have to be gentle with ourselves. Abide gently in what we do. If we are aggressive and demanding in any aspect of what we do including diet, then the resulting stress can be counter-productive.

Macrobiotics (mb) is a traditional dietary practice that has worked for all people including the old. Now the old are totally reliant on diet etc because they cannot compensate with vitality. Their healthy diets and lifestyles are what keep them going rather than depleting youthful vitality. Listen to the old and the traditions. Avoid fads. Unhealthy fads can be driven by patriarchy – BigFood and BigPharma. Healthy fads - limited forms of BDI+ - can be driven by other factors. The individual presenting the fad can be earning money in presenting the fad and therefore choosing not to see the benefits of the path, the well-being of BDI+. This might be by intention, ego or simply finding a niche that gives them money even though they are good-hearted. Try not to be influenced by fads. Know your body. Choose BDI+ gently. Be comfortable with your compromise so long as it fits in with your path.

The path is integrated. Integrate your life around your path and in that integration include your compromise with BDI+. Patriarchy demands that impose on our own basic desires for family and the need for work will affect your path and well-being – do the best you can to gently fit in with BDI+.

1) Know your body.
2) Your body is continually changing esp age-related
3) The best diet advice comes from the old or traditions.