Asthma and Macrobiotics 

by Anne Shaw

My Struggles with Asthma

When I was 13, I collapsed on the side of the pool struggling to breathe while I was trying out for the swimming team at my high school. I was taken to an allergist who diagnosed me with asthma and tested for reactions under the skin to discover my allergy triggers. This was followed by weekly injections to build up my resistance. He also prescribed an inhaler, but I didn’t like the way I felt when I used it, so I would use steam inhalation to help me recover from an attack, which could be triggered by such activities as a hayride or a change in the weather. Sometimes, I had no idea what had brought on the asthma attack. I didn’t notice much improvement from the weekly infections.  I just learned to cope.

Later, traveling was a challenge, especially if I stayed with a friend who had a pet. Dust and mold were also triggers, so I became very good at keeping my own home clean but couldn’t always control places where I was staying such as a hotel or a friend’s home. The doctor had advised me to live in a dust-free home avoiding cloth curtains and carpeting and recommended using a plastic mattress and pillow protector. This was good advice but was not always possible. After getting my degree in French, I traveled to France where I studied and worked for two years. The places I stayed were not always dust-free! I remember going to a new restaurant with friends where the main dish was brown rice. It must have been a macrobiotic restaurant in the old style. After the meal, my friends all wanted to go out for ice cream!

1980 in New York: A Warning

I spent a year in New York in 1980 and I stopped eating red meat at the suggestion of a doctor who said that a study had linked meat and caffeine to the development of breast cysts. I visited a nutritionist to see if any dietary changes would help my asthma as well as my tendency toward breast cysts. She suggested lots of supplements and upgrades to organic, but basically recommended that I continue to eat the diet that I had eaten all my life, including dairy, eggs, chicken and fish. If I wanted to go vegetarian, she suggested ovo-lacto vegetarian but told me there was one diet that was very dangerous and should be avoided: the macrobiotic diet!

Brazil, January 1989: The Recovery

I had been enjoying living in Brazil with its beautiful beaches and tropical climate. I taught English to Brazilians and enjoyed the warmth of the Brazilian people as well as the Brazilian way of life. I had always enjoyed getting to know another culture and learning a new language.  Preparing to return to the United States after 18 years in Brazil, I was faced with a health challenge that led to profound changes in my life. 

Two months before my scheduled departure from Brazil, I was surprised with the appearance of a rather large breast cyst. The doctor I consulted said it did not look like cancer, but to be safe, he suggested surgery to remove it and do a biopsy. I began to ask around about natural treatments and was told about a well-known person who lived nearby and who had treated and cured people of many diseases. He treated people with macrobiotics, I was told. I decided to ignore the warning from the nutritionist, and went to see him. His name was Flavio Zanata, and he had been working as a chemist for the Brazilian government in Paris years earlier when he met George Osawa. He became a student of Osawa’s, traveled to Japan, and returned to Brazil, where he had been treating people for many years.

Zanata gave me several lessons in macrobiotic philosophy and yin and yang.  His son came to my home to give me cooking lessons in some basic macrobiotic recipes. I learned how to make miso soup, cook adzuki beans, make seitan and prepare delicious condiments. I fetched water from a natural source nearby. Cooking in the macrobiotic style was an introduction to a new way of cooking and I enjoyed the tastes. Some of my friends were not so happy, though. They missed my dinner parties with Coq au Vin or another French dish.

Within a short time, I began to feel the profound effect of the diet and as the cyst started to disappear, I was amazed to notice that I no longer had symptoms of asthma. I no longer had to worry about struggling to breathe in the middle of the night and could enjoy traveling without the worry of an unexpected attack.  I had found my cure to asthma!

My Life Forward

I continue to live an asthma-free life. I do have some seasonal allergies to pollen and other outdoor allergens, but I no longer have asthma attacks or difficulties breathing. If I get too “wide” in my eating, my body soon lets me know. Then it’s back to the basics. Miso soup is my best friend at these times.

I am eternally grateful for having discovered macrobiotics in Brazil and to my other teachers when I returned to the United States. Thank you to all of them, and especially to my dear friends Lino and Jane Stanchich. The journey continues.