국제 의학 박사인 콜레트 타키가와 박사 (Dr. Colette Takigawa)는 프랑스에서 태어나 자랐지만 아프리카, 일본, 그리고 지금은 한국 등 여러 곳을 거쳐 일하며 살아왔다. 그녀는 강의를 통해 한국어로 “섭생”이라고 하는 (천연/자연식품)은 건강한 생활을 위한 치료의 힘이라고 명확하고 정확하게 설명했다.

그녀는 또한 그리스 ‘의학의 아버지’라고 불리우는 전문 내과의사였던 히포크라테스가 2,500년 전 그의 학생들에게 권고했던 “음식이 너의 약이 되게 하고 약이 너의 음식이다” 라는 말을 인용해 이점을 우리에게 상기시켜 주었다.

다키가와 박사는 건강한 섭취의 원칙에 대하여 제안하고 그것은 행복한 생활을 할 수 있게 도와줄 것이라고 설명하며 강의는 마무리되었으며, 이후에 ‘우리의 신체가 섭생을 통해 행복하고 건강하게 될 수 있는가’에 대해 소감을 교환하면서 Helen, In Keng, Lucilla, Vera, Mina, Michelle, Regina, Irene에 의해 준비된 맛있는 점심을 건강하게 나누면서 모임을 정리하였다.

April Coffee Morning – Report

Our April Coffee Morning brought to us Dr. Colette Takigawa, an international doctor of medicine who was born and raised in France, but who has lived and worked in such far-flung locales as Africa, Japan and, now, Korea, from which she “commutes” to Japan to see her family. In her clear and precise talk to us, Dr. Takigawa explained the therapeutic power of food that is part of a healthy living program known as “seob seng” (“natural/raw food”), “섭생” in Korean. She reminded us of the words of another dedicated physician, Hippocrates, the Greek “father of medicine”, who exhorted his students some 2500 years ago, to”Let food be your medicine and medicine your food!” Unfortunately, Colette noted, Western medicine over the centuries lost its connection to nature that had nourished the understanding of food as a major element of healing.

Dr. Takigawa related her personal experience of encountering the benefits of seob seng for the first time. In 1998 her husband, also a medical doctor who practices in Japan, was asked to evaluate the research and program based on seob seng which had been proposed by a Korean doctor of nutrition with the legendary name of Heo Jun. (As our Korean ladies know well, the first doctor named Heo Jun (1539-1615) was a court physician in the Joseon Dynasty in Korea and the subject of a popular Korean TV drama series.)

Both Colette and her husband were thoroughly impressed with Dr. Heo’s crystal-clear explanation of the importance of practicing healthy eating habits based on our body type. The concept of yin and yang is used to determine our body type and, thus, the kinds of foods that will help our body maintain its health. Nature follows this division of yin and yang and animals instinctively know which kinds of foods they should eat.

In nature, which is a perfect balance of harmonious elements, the sun represents the absolute plus, the “yang”, while the earth is “yin”, the absolute minus. The foods that represent the “yang” aspect of nature, for example, are those with big round leaves that want to receive lots of sunlight, and so those leaves should be enjoyed by people with a “yin” constitution. On the other hand, vegetables that produce thin, feathery leaves, like carrots, do not need lots of sunlight, nor does the ginseng root, which buries itself underground, since these are already very “positive” foods. The good eating habits that will produce the best results for us is to eat the foods that are opposite to our body type so that we can naturally complement and balance our bodies with our food.

What, then, will happen if we eat the foods that we may like, but which do not complement our bodily type? Very simply, our bodies will begin to exhibit symptoms of distress and we will eventually fall ill, especially as we get older. Since our health is connected to the foods we eat, the cells in our bodies, which last from between six months to two years, will make toxins that will harm us if we do not eat the right kinds of foods for us.

Knowing that this concept is difficult for Western people to accept, Colette decided to try out this theory herself. The result? An amazing sensation of feeling healthy and strong, losing weight and, especially, the disappearance of the headaches and rheumatism that had made her suffer for many years. She cited many other positive results from the many other people who are also following this healthy eating program.

Dr. Takigawa finished her inspiring talk by giving us many suggestions from Dr. Heo which, combined with following the principles of healthy eating, will help us live a happy life: laugh, be happy and optimistic; make mealtimes long, sit with good posture, eat slowly and chew food well, to decrease the chance of indigestion; eat foods in their original state, raw if possible, and eat the entire piece of food, for example, the whole apple, peel and all; during mealtimes, do not bring up topics that might upset family members. Finally, one surprising caveat: do not live above the seventh floor, or higher than a tall tree, since any higher than that will make us lose contact with the earth. If this is not possible, then we should have many green plants in our house.

At the end of her talk, Colette also introduced an important guest: Dr. Heo’s wife, a registered nurse from Japan who lovingly assists her husband in his work. Much interest was aroused by this new understanding of how to keep our bodies healthy and happy through seob seng, and so we happily exchanged our insights over a healthy and delicious lunch prepared by our loyal members Helen, In Keng, Lucilla, Vera and Mina, Michelle, Regina and Irene.

Please join us again on May 26, when husbands and men friends are cordially invited, for a morning with Mrs. Betsy Jones, marriage counselor extraordinaire, and her son Matthew, a lawyer and marriage enrichment counselor, who will be speaking on “Real Love in Marriage”.

Also, ladies, as you do your spring cleaning, please remember to save any items that you would like to donate to our “silent auction” to be held at our June Coffee Morning. Please do not bring them to our May Coffee Morning, as we have no place to store them, but please bring them with you when you come to our Coffee Morning in June.

Until then, all good thoughts in this month of the family,

Betsy Colford