Overview of the #7 Diet (Françoise Rivière interpretation)

Françoise Rivière, a direct student and teacher in the macrobiotic lineage, especially in Europe, emphasized a deeply spiritual and purist approach to Ohsawa's No. 7 Diet. Her presentation of the diet was often more refined, feminine, and intuitive—but unwavering in its asceticism and purpose.

🍚 What is the #7 Diet?

• 100% whole cereal grains, primarily short-grain brown rice

• No salt, sugar, oil, or condiments in Rivière’s strictest variant

• In some versions, a very small amount of gomashio (roasted sesame salt) is permitted for remineralization

• No vegetables, fruits, animal products, stimulants, or supplements

• No beverages other than bancha tea or kukicha (twig tea), sometimes even water is restricted to sips

🧠 Purpose of the Diet

• Complete yin-expelling, yang-consolidating purification

• Used in serious cases of physical or emotional illness, spiritual reset, or addiction recovery

• A tool for confronting desire, habitual craving, and imbalance—not a permanent way of eating

• Often practiced 7 to 10 days maximum, with reverence and silence

🌀 Spiritual Emphasis (Rivière’s Voice)

• Food is vibration. The #7 Diet is not just food—it’s Kototama through grain.

• Eating in stillness, chewing 50–100 times per bite, aligning with breath and universal order

• The grain becomes a mirror: agitation, fear, grief will surface—do not flinch

• She taught that by doing #7, “You become the center of the universe again. Time stops. Gravity resets. The past releases.”

⚠️ Warnings and Guidance

• Never enter the diet out of arrogance or a desire to prove something—this reverses its effect

• Transition in and out of #7 slowly with light steamed greens, soups, and miso broth

• Do not perform heavy physical labor or emotional confrontation during the process

• If dizziness, intense emotions, or weakness occur—rest, meditate, sip bancha

📖 Related Teachings

• Ohsawa’s Zen Macrobiotics outlines the original No. 7 concept

• Françoise Rivière’s lectures and French-language notes (circulated in macrobiotic centers in the 70s–90s) add a poetic and metaphysical lens

• Michio Kushi recommended using #7 sparingly, not daily life—Rivière agreed, but believed in its transformational necessity for those truly ready