Combine Macrobiotics and exercise for balanced health

Elías Manresa is a macrobiotic homeopath, sports trainer and ex natural-body-builder. His passion for health from an integrated perspective has led him to train for decades as a bodybuilder, study homeopathy, and vegan and macrobiotic macrobiotics, as well as to share his knowledge through La Botica Natural, in Cox, Alicante

La Botica Natural has been open to the public for three decades. It´s an establishment that sells 100% organic food products which, are mostly, as used to be the norm, sold by weight. Nowadays this kind of establishment is not common; in addition, it has a surprising feature: it is located inside a gym.

People have to understand how important it is to eat naturally and avoid processed food.”

Elías explains why: “from the beginning my philosophy has consisted of promoting a healthy life by means of combining natural organic food and physical exercise”.

By uniting under the same roof an organic food store and advanced gym training he has been able to develop a comprehensive health service adapted to each person´s circumstances and requirements.

“We usually sell by weight, which allows us to adapt our offer better to each person; in addition it is a more personal and traditional way of selling”.

Elías explains his vision. “We treat each customer individually. First of all I give them a short quiz to find out in some depth what they need. From that I get the information to provide them with a suitable diet and should they also want to get fit, a personal training routine that responds to their needs”.

The gym is called Milo Club, in honour of Milo of Croton, the most outstanding athlete of Classical Greece. He may be considered the first body-builder in history.

“At the Milo Club we try to generate a structure of balanced muscle mass that helps us to support the whole body properly. It is not a gym where we work on big muscle hypertrophy but on healthy muscle tone. It is essential to have this at any age and helps us to age well.”

We provide a health service adapted to each person´s circumstances and requirements.”

Even so, for many years, Elías went beyond just muscle toning. For 14 years running he entered in 100% natural body-building competitions which enabled him to obtain his main asset: something intangible – discipline.

“It was a wonderful experience that gave me a great deal at a personal level instilling in me a sense of discipline that I have tried to impart to the people who come to my sports centre. “

The Milon Club preceded La Botica Natural, as in the beginning Elías had only thought of setting up a gym. However soon the experience taught him that this was not enough if it was not coordinated with a parallel dynamic of good diet.

“A study on macrobiotics came into my hands that interested me so much that I went to study it in Barcelona for four years; and then in Pamplona another four years. It was a turning point for me and helped me to understand health from an integrated perspective” he says.

In this special gym there are no group training sessions. Each individual has his/her own structure and needs and must eat and exercise accordingly.

Elías recognises that “many people are shocked by the combination of gymnastics and macrobiotics since there is an image of gyms as places that are hardly consistent with organic food and a balanced Zen lifestyle”

Macrobiotic food is a way of eating that defines a lifestyle whose origins date back over 3 millennia in the Far East. It is based on concepts of balance like yin-yang, and on a consideration of the energy effect of food.

“It is everything to me; it is a philosophy of integrated healthy living based on a return to the natural and internal harmony, to tranquillity, to balance. Discovering it has been a lesson for me”.

Through macrobiotics, Elías made another discovery: the Moringa oleifera.”

“I discovered the Moringa at the Restaurante Macrobiótico 2Y, in Barcelona. They gave us an infusion to try made from this functional food. I did some research on it and understood that it fitted perfectly into the style of eating and living that I practise and promote”.

Elías has the following views on this nutraceutic:

“For me the Moringa is a path to health and well-being that helps prevent diseases and disorders.

If we want to be healthy it is essential to eliminate all the toxins that accumulate in the body and this is why the Moringa is a useful tool. It is high quality antioxidant and supplies oxygen to the cells.

I consider the Moringa crucial; on a day to day basis it substitutes water. The water we drink daily is more and more acidifying and the Moringa promotes a balanced, healthy PH. This is essential to the body”.

When I train in the gym I always carry a litre of Moringa herbal tea or cold-macerated Moringa.

While we exercise, free radicals are generated that are largely compensated by the Moringa´s micronutrients. I have noticed that my muscles recover much more quickly,

Its protein contains all the essential nine amino-acids, and helps replace the “bricks” of the muscle mass. It contains no toxins or acidifying substances therefore helps replace the “bricks” of the muscle mass cleanly”.

In la Botica Natural, cooking and sports nutrition courses take place once a month. “They begin in the morning and when the students arrive we have already prepared a Moringa drink. This is essential because it is in the morning when the body best assimilates nutrients.

It is great to start the day with the Moringa for energy and joie de vivre.”