Eat, Pray, Heal? - Prescribing Macrobiotic Foods in a Vietnamese Temple

This article draws on fieldwork among patients pursuing healing using macrobiotic diets at a Buddhist It examines the (re-)emergence of macrobiotic diets as a movement for "nurturing life" (duong sinh) in modern Vietnam. By examining the use of macrobiotic diets among this temples' patients and followers, the article unravels popular discourses of food and health, and their intertwining relationships with conceptions of chronic diseases in contemporary Vietnamese society. The popularity of this temple as an alternative therapeutic centre for people with chronic conditions also sheds light on notions of illness, healing processes, and religious beliefs. The rise of macrobiotics as an alternative diet amid many prevalent problems in contemporary Vietnam, such as food safety concerns. Altogether, "nurturing life" activities offer strategies for individuals to adapt to a rapidly changing social context.