Tendons are the cords that connect muscles to bones. Tendinitis is the inflammation of tendons. While this condition is occasionally caused by a one-time injury, most often it is caused by repetitive physical movements during athletic activities or in the workplace. Because conventional treatments often involve surgery or cortisone injections, some people try to treat tendinitis naturally by eating a whole grain, natural diet such as macrobiotics.
What Is the Macrobiotic Diet?
The macrobiotic diet emphasizes whole grains, especially brown rice, vegetables and smaller amounts of beans, fish, sea vegetables and fruits. The diet also emphasizes fermented foods like miso, which is usually served in soups, and vegetable pickles made without sugar or dyes. When sweeteners are used, they tend to be grain-based products like brown rice syrup or barley malt. Ideally, food should be organic and locally grown. People eating macrobiotically avoid refined sweeteners like sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, dyes, preservatives, dairy products and eggs.
A Macrobiotic View of Tendinitis
Macrobiotic theory, which is derived from traditional Chinese medicine, teaches that the condition of the tendons is strongly influenced by the condition of the liver. According to "Diet for Natural Beauty," by long-time macrobiotic teachers Aveline Kushi, Wendy Esko and Mira Tiwari, avoiding eggs, alcohol, vinegar, baked flour products such as breads and pastries and all meats, except fish, improves liver function. Foods that help the liver include leafy green vegetables, barley, green apples and winter wheat. Macrobiotic theory teaches that naturally fermented foods such as unpasteurized miso, sauerkraut and pickles benefit the liver as well. Be sure to rinse sauerkraut and pickles before eating in order to remove excess salt.
Supplementary Foods to Help the Liver
Two excellent supplementary foods to help the liver include ume plums and liver drink, a beverage created by Michio Kushi, a leading macrobiotic educator and founder of The Kushi Institute, in Becket, Massachusetts. Ume plums, according to macrobiotic theory, have a remarkable ability to balance the liver, but they are very salty and should be eaten in moderation. You can also buy ume concentrate, which is salt-free. Liver drink is made by finely chopping and simmering shiitake mushroom, daikon radish, daikon greens, bean sprouts and green onions. Often, buckwheat is added to this drink, although it may be omitted.
External Care
Conventional medical doctors often advise ice to reduce the inflammation that is a part of tendinitis. If ice is too cold for you, try a tofu plaster, which is made by mashing tofu together with enough white flour to make a thick paste. Apply this paste directly to the skin and cover with a clean cloth. When the plaster becomes warm, replace it with a fresh one. You can also make a plaster from finely ground leafy green vegetables and use it just like the tofu plaster.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Tendinitis
- "Macrobiotic Home Remedies"; Michio Kushi, et al.; 1985
- TCM Student: Functions of the Liver
- Kushi Institute Way to Health: You Are What and How You Eat
- "Diet for Natural Beauty"; Aveline Kushi, et al.; 1991
