the thyroid, functioning well. 43 An additional bonus in our nuclear times is that the sodium alginate in sea vegetables appears to neutralize radioactive substances in the body, such as strontium 90, by chelating— or binding— and then harmlessly excreting them. I have found it particularly comforting to have a bowl of miso soup with seaweed after having had X rays for something or other. It is of course possible to eat too much seaweed. This leads to an excess of minerals in the body, which can negatively affect certain organs, especially the skin and the thyroid gland. In one case I observed kelp tablets caused a series of welts on the arms and face; apparently the body couldn’ t handle the excess concentrated minerals and simply pushed them out through the skin.( The problem disappeared when the kelp was discontinued.) Thyroid problems can arise from an excess of iodine as much as from a deficiency. Considering that we are already ingesting large quantities of this mineral because of its presence in fertilizers and table salt, the situation definitely bears watching. Early warning symptoms of an excess of iodine might include underweight, hyperactivity, rough skin, acne, mental and emotional imbalances, and a“ spaced-out” feeling.( It is interesting, I think, that a fast-food“ junk” meal of hamburger, french fries, and chocolate shake provides 200 percent of the RDA of iodine. Bad news, perhaps, for acne sufferers.) HERBS AND SPICES
• Usually expansive
• Usually alkalizing
• Either warming or cooling
• Stimulating general metabolism Herbs and spices are unusual because they belong to two worlds: that of cooking, by virtue of their being flavor enhancers; and that of medicine, by virtue of their healing properties. In fact, a moderate amount of aromatic herbs and flavorful spices can be quite healthful: They can aid in digestion, prevent flatulence, help in fat breakdown, tonify, stimulate, relax, and generally please our soul with their aromas. Because herbs and spices are used in such minute quantities, their nutritional significance, in terms of nutrient density, is negligible. In traditional dietary systems, however, they are viewed as important mediators of metabolic processes. Ayurveda, the ancient Hindu art of medicine and life prolongation, holds that the presence of a condiment can completely change and greatly enhance the physiological effect of a foodstuff. As a result, Indian cooking is redolent with aromatic spices such as ginger, coriander, cumin, anise, and cloves, all of which are said to promote digestion and help assimilation, especially of starchy vegetables, beans, and grains.( The use of the fiery chili pepper, a nightshade, is not truly traditional in India, for it is only a few hundred years old, and the peppers were originally imported from the Americas. They are now used with great abandon by insensitive or overzealous cooks, a practice that has led to much gastric inflammation and irritation. I myself have found that if I eat an abundance of cayenne and chili-spiced foods, the result is muscle trouble, such as spasms in my back and charley horse in my calves.) Green herbs, such as dill, chervil, parsley, the mints, summer savory, marjoram, and thyme, lighten and lift otherwise heavy dishes. They calm and harmonize, and aid in the assimilation of nutrient substances by the blood. Aromatic seeds, such as coriander, caraway, fennel, and anise, aid in carbohydrate metabolism; interestingly enough, they are often used in breads and other baked goods. 44 Their aromatic quality marks most herbs and spices as“ expansive.” The“ contractive” ones are few and have bitter, acrid, or dry flavors: asafetida( Hing), juniper berries, and perhaps cinnamon, turmeric, and coriander seed if we go by their flavor rather than by their aroma.( Many of the healing herbs, as opposed to herbs that are used mostly in cooking, have these strong,“ contractive” flavors; for a more thorough discussion of these than the present book can provide, please consult one of the many fine herbology texts now available. 45) Taking a position opposite to the Ayurvedic, macrobiotics recommends avoiding all aromatic herbs and spices because of their“ expansiveness.” 46 In truth, such abstinence is at times quite appropriate for people who are trying to correct an overexpansive condition, either mental or physical. The most dramatic example I encountered of such a situation was that of one of my students. She had signed up for a year of classes, so I saw her weekly and watched her change. She started out as a puffy, ungainly, mentally scattered person and then decided to go on a contractive diet. She became very strict in her eating habits: only whole grains, beans, cooked vegetables, and seaweeds. She touched nothing expansive: no fruit, no juices, no sweets, no condiments. For a time she became so sensitive that even a pinch of oregano in a dish made her high. This phase lasted about eight months, at the end of which she slowly returned to a more varied eating pattern, adding salads, fruit, and more seasonings to her meals. After another year she also added some animal protein again. Over a period of two years, she transformed herself into a slim, elegant, well-focused woman— one of the more dramatic cases of personal alchemy I have