For thousands of years, this symbol has been recognized as two opposing forces in the universe working in harmony to achieve balance.

According to Chinese thinking, good Food is considered good medicine, and traditional Chinese doctors have always utilized the power of food to cure or relieve illness. Only if a disease is very resistant will herbs and other healing methods be considered.

Chinese philosophy breaks down food into yin and yang, combining the two for best effect. Yin foods tend to have a calming and cooling effect on the body, while yang foods warm and stimulate. Processed foods devoid of fiber and laden with additives, refined sugar, and salt are considered toxic and not beneficial in gaining nutrients.

If your energy is low and you are feeling tired, depressed, or sluggish, it makes sense to try these theories and increase yang foods. If you are stressed, anxious, over-excited, or angry, try the soothing yin foods. If life is in balance and you feel pretty good, then it may be best to adapt your diet by observing the external environment. If you are in a cold, damp, or wet place, then the predominantly yang diet would be best. If it is hot and dry, then the yin diet would be more suitable.

Macrobiotics, the practice of understanding the effect that food and lifestyle has on health, takes into consideration your individual health condition and physiology in relation to your geographical location and seasonal changes in climate.

Japanese teacher George Ohsawa cured himself of so-called “incurable” diseases at the age of 18 by eating a simple diet of brown rice, miso soup, and sea vegetables. These foods are in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum. He then devoted his life to the study, which he named macrobiotics.