Potassium and sodium balance:
the chemistry of yin and yang

Yin and yang can be scientifically measured by comparing the levels of potassium and sodium. These two elements are found in practically all foods.

Usually, yin and yang is expressed in terms of energy – yin is energy that expands and yang is energy that contracts. So plants, which expand upwards and outwards, are more yin; animals, which are compact compared to plants, are more yang. But one critism of this approach is that it is too philosophical and “not scientific”.

Herman Aihara thus proposes that yin and yang cannot be measured in an objective, scientific way by comparing the ratio of potassium to sodium as well as their different levels.

This article forms part of a series based on macrobiotic lectures that Herman Aihara gave in Singapore in 1995. Following that, I published an entire issue of The Good Life, summarising his key teachings in Singapore.

Herman Aihara passed away on 25 February 1998 and Cornelia Aihara passed away exactly eight years later, on 25 February 2006.

Potassium and sodium: Ratios and differences

Potassium (K) is a yin element, one that produces expansion. Foods that are classified as “yin” tends to have a high level of potassium.

Sodium (Na) is a yang element, one that produces contraction. And foods that are classified as “yang” tend to have high levels of sodium.

By comparing the levels of potassium and sodium we can determine whether a food is more yin or more yang.

We can compare either the ratio of potassium to sodium (K:Na) or the difference between potassium and sodium (K - Na).

Yin foods will have a high K:Na ratio, or a high value of K -- Na. Yang foods will have a low K:Na ratio, or a low value of K - Na.

Let’s look at some examples. First, we consider the ratio of the two elements:

Fruits are said to be very yin. Tropical fruits are more extreme yin, since they are softer, more watery and more loosely structured. Looking at the potassium and sodium ratio, K:Na, we find:

In his book, Acid and Alkaline, Herman Aihara suggests the following ways to classify foods according to their content of potassium and sodium:

Very yin

Balanced

Very yang

K:Na > 100

K:Na < 100 > 10

K:Na < 10

K- Na > 200

K - Na < 200 > 100

K - Na < 100

The two methods, however, can sometimes produce conflicting results. Many vegetables have a low K:Na ratio (yang), but a large difference between K-Na (yin). For meats, it may be the opposite.

For example, watercress has a low K:Na ratio of 5.4, which suggests that it is very yang. But the value of K - Na is 230, which is quite high, suggesting that it is very yin.

Moreover, comparing potassium and sodium does not always produce the same results as traditional ways of classifying yin and yang.

For example, meat is regarded more yang than vegetables. But when one looks at the level of potassium and sodium, meat seems more yin than certain vegetables. For example, beef (K:Na 12.4, K - Na 554) appears to be more yin than carrot (K:Na 7.3, K - Na 294).

Other elements

This apparent contradiction arises because sodium and potassium are not the only elements that determine yin and yang. Other elements, like iron, sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, etc, are also either more yin or more yang.

But not all foods contain iron, sulphur, phosphorus, etc. And with over a hundred different known elements, it gets very complicated if we try to compare everything.

Comparing potassium and sodium also fails to take into account the effects of cooking, pickling and other forms of food preparation. A baked banana is more yang than a raw banana. But the levels of potassium and sodium are the same.

Yet another difficulty with the chemical approach is that different analyses – by different researchers done at different times – produce different results.

For example, brown rice was found by George Ohsawa in 1938 to have a K:Na ratio of 5.0. But US and Japanese researchers found in 1970 that the K:Na was 28.0.

So we cannot rely on just one set of figures for reference. Perhaps some of the researchers had made mistakes in their measurements. Or, they could have analysed different parts of the same plant. One could have analsed the top end of a carrot (more yin), while another could have analysed the bottom tip (more yang).

Plants which grow in different soil will also have different levels of potassium and sodium.

Yin agriculture

Comparing the 1938 and 1970 figures, we find that overall, the potassium level has risen sharply. This is probably the result of modern agriculture, which uses massive doses of chemical fertilisers containing potassium. In other words, modern agriculture produces vegetables that are more yin.

Those who understand yin and yang in terms of energy can tell simply by looking: Chemically-grown vegetables tend to be bigger, softer and more watery; they have pale rather than intense colours – all yin qualities. An analysis of potassium and sodium will confirm this.

The chemistry of yin and yang therefore complements the traditional approach of understanding yin and yang in terms of energy. It does not, however, replace the traditional approach.

Ultimately, yin and yang is about energy. Because, as modern science reveals, everything is energy. Click here for an index of articles about energy and energy healing.

Potassium and sodium balance: the chemistry of yin and yang

Potassium and sodium balance:
the chemistry of yin and yang