a disturbed calcium metabolism to calm down, and could lie behind the apparent success of macrobiotics in restoring joint flexibility and in shrinking spurs, plaques, and stones. One of the nightshades, tobacco, is known to be involved in causing cancer. There’ s another question to consider: Potatoes and tomatoes reproduce quickly, growing easily and fast— could there be a connection between them and fastgrowing cancers, farfetched as it may seem? Macrobiotic recommendations aside, there does seem to exist a relationship between our widespread use of potatoes and tomatoes and our high intake of milk and milk products. They are often almost irrevocably paired: tomato sauce and cheese, potatoes and cream. Which came first, the dairy or the nightshades? If the nightshades affect our calcium metabolism, then the milk products could be needed to provide us with extra calcium; or, conversely, our excessive calcium intake from milk products may create a demand for a food such as tomatoes, to break up the accumulation. To keep us balanced, then, do tomatoes need cheese, or does cheese need tomatoes? The answer is yes, to both. You will find it easier to give up nightshades and dairy both, than either one or the other. Conversely, a dairy-free diet that does use nightshades to an appreciable extent could result in calcium loss, as happened to one of my students who had that condition clinically diagnosed. When she eliminated the nightshades, the calcium loss was reversed. Let’ s take the question of nightshades a step further. Why have potatoes and tomatoes, once regarded as poisonous, taken up such a large space in the Western diet? I’ m thinking now not in nutritional, scientific, or economic terms, but in“ cosmic holistic” ones. I believe in a rational universe, one in which things happen not by chance, but for a good reason, whether we can discern that reason immediately or not; I also believe that societies often act like whole organisms, with a collective consciousness and a collective unconscious. Thus, for an answer that satisfies my belief in the interconnectedness of all things, I’ ll turn once again to my favorite food philosopher, anthroposophist Rudolf Hauschka. He says that the potato and tomato are“ gifts of the Western Hemisphere” and appeared at the beginning of a new phase in the development of consciousness, namely, the Age of Reason. They may be viewed, Hauschka contends, as foods that stimulate intellectual activity, abstract thinking, and materialism. They also“ bolster up a certain egoistic self-satisfaction.” Such an attitude lies behind the rise of the double-edged sword of Western science and technology; the price we had to pay for our giant strides in knowledge and in our ability to influence our environment was“ a temporary side-tracking into a materialistic point of view.” This phase may now be coming to an end. The nightshades, Hauschka writes,“ have helped us on our way through a materialistic phase that now leaves us a heritage of capacities which, if we lay hold on them, can be the foundation of a new scientific outlook.” 42 And indeed many people are replacing potatoes with whole grains even as they move from a materialistic worldview toward a more holistic and spiritual one, while at the same time retaining the information and skills attained during the“ materialistic” phase. SEA VEGETABLES
• Contractive
• Alkalizing
• Cooling
• Promoting both buildup and breakdown Many societies living near the sea have used sea plants as an important food source, as well as for their medicinal properties. They were in use in China, Japan, and Korea as early as 3,000 B. C.; Pythagoras referred to edible species in his dietary treatises, and they have been a staple in the diets of Aztecs, Vikings, Irish, Scots, Maori, and many islanders in the South Pacific. In our society, sea vegetables have long had a great many industrial uses— in fodder and fertilizers, as thickeners and emulsifiers, in ice cream and other processed foods, in beauty aids such as creams and lotions, in paints, paper, and many other products. But it is only in the last twenty years or so that they have been used in any appreciable quantities as food. This increase in consumption is probably due to the increased popularity of the macrobiotic dietary system, which in turn is based on traditional Japanese cooking. The most popular sea vegetables available, usually in health food stores or Oriental markets, are kombu or kelp, wakame, hiziki, nori( used in sushi making), and kanten or agar, a seaweed that acts like gelatin. Irish moss and dulse, extensively used in the British Isles, are also increasingly available, as are some seaweeds like alaria and kelp, harvested off the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts. Sea vegetables are extremely concentrated sources of nutrients. Dried dulse and nori are 20 to 34 percent protein, and all seaweeds are rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, sodium, zinc, and of course iodine because they grow in sea water. They also contain appreciable amounts of vitamins A, C, and the B complex, including B 12. Because of this, sea vegetables are especially valuable in diets low in or devoid of animal protein and dairy. Small amounts, maybe a maximum of a tablespoon or two daily, are an excellent addition to a dairy-free vegetarian regimen. Seaweeds are known to aid the healthy growth of nails, hair, bones, and teeth; ensure proper metabolism; reduce blood cholesterol; stimulate the reproductive organs; act as antiseptics; help digestion; and keep the endocrine glands, especially