When I think about our children I worry. We want our children to grow up to be healthy and happy. We want our children to live long, exciting and hopefully prosperous lives. Despite claims about our increasing longevity, this generation of children is the first that will live shorter lives than their parents.

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last thirty years. It is estimated that one third of the present generation of our children will develop diabetes. Diabetes greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, nerve system disease, blindness and amputations. It is not a pretty disease.

I just finished reading the NY Times blog by Mark Bittman, “Is Alzheimer’s Type 3 Diabetes?” Mr. Bittman’s blog makes perfect sense to me. The pancreas is our deepest organ. The deepest parts of the pancreas produce and secrete insulin. In diabetes the pancreas is not producing enough insulin or our cells are not using it properly.

In macrobiotics as well as Oriental medicine all organs are seen as having a complementary organ or being part of a system. Problems in one side of this complementary relationship effect the other. For example, the lungs and large intestine. The lungs process gas, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The intestines process liquids, the absorption of water and water soluble vitamins (B & C) and then form our bowels for elimination. Problems in one side of the pair signal problems in the other as well. Digestive and lung problems are understood to be closely associated in macrobiotics.

The digestion system and our brain is another complementary system. Our brain processes vibrations, thoughts and memories. In other words, our ability to think, figure things out and remember. The ability of our digestive system to process solid and liquid foods, absorb the nutrients and eliminate the excess regulates our minds ability to process thoughts. The pancreas specifically is associated with our intellect.

The pancreas is harmed by strong animal foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, hard cheese, tuna and shell fish. It is also harmed by refined carbohydrates, simple sugars, especially fructose, soft dairy foods like ice cream and yogurt, tropical fruits especially bananas and iced drinks or cold foods and beverages. In other words, our modern, fast food diet.

The pancreas processes food into energy for life. It regulates our physical nourishment. Our brain process this nourishment vibrationally to guide our life. Our poor diets and lack of natural activity are destroying our health physically and mentally.

Simply speaking, excessive and poor quality animal foods overexcite and eventually exhaust our pancreas. Dairy foods dull our thinking ability and sugar, refined carbohydrates and tropical fruits consumed in colder, temperate climatic regions erase our memories.

Whether you look at this problem from an eastern or western view the end result is very similar. Our modern diet and lifestyle are destroying us physically and mentally and these two problems cannot be separated.

There is a solution to this problem that I discuss in my book, The Great Life Diet. My approach to health is based on adding, not taking away. Complex carbohydrates found in grains, beans an vegetables regulate our pancreas as well as our thinking ability and memory. Systematically reintroduce whole unrefined grains, beans, vegetable dishes, salads, soups, nuts, seeds and fruits into your diet. Start to get more natural outdoor activity. Then just let nature run its course. Health craves health. Eating more healthy foods helps to cultivate our appetite for more healthy foods. Healthy helps us to want more natural outdoor activity. Sound too easy to be true? Try it for a few weeks and let me know.