What is the Macrobiotic Diet?

If you consider yourself to be a very spiritual person, the macrobiotic diet could be just what you are looking for.

More of a way of life than a weight loss plan, it is based on the concept of balancing your ‘yin’ with your ‘yang’. Translated literally, the Greek word Macrobiotic means ‘great life’.

Not a bad thing to strive for. But ‘what is your yin and yang?’, I hear you cry. Well, put very simply, it refers to types of food.

Yin refers to foods that are cold, sweet, or passive. Yang refers to foods that are hot, salty or aggressive in flavour. Keeping a healthy balance of these foods means not choosing foods that are too yin or too yang as that would throw you off balance.

Therefore it is fairly safe to mostly eat natural, organic foods that are neither yin or yang. These are typically whole grains such as brown rice, oats, whole wheat, and barley, which should make up more than half of your daily diet.

Fresh vegetables, specifically turnips, cauliflower, onions and bok choy, should make up 30%, while beans and sea vegetables make up the rest. Vegetables should all be steamed or sauteed in sesame oil.

So where’s the meat? Well, you are basically allowed a few servings of fish a week. And the meat? Okay, in keeping with the basic principle that what we eat not only affects our health but the planet’s health, it’s essentially a vegetarian diet (with some fish thrown in).

See, I told it wasn’t for everyone! But those who do choose to follow it will soon reap the benefits of a diet that is low in fat and high in fibre.

Some people have even took on the diet because they have heard it can help cure cancer. But there is absolutely no scientific basis behind that theory.

How long has it been around?

A Japanese teacher named George Ohsawa came up with the philosophy behind it in the 1920s. He believed that simplicity was the key to optimal health.

However, the original diet plan that Ohsawa recommended was based on 10 progressively restrictive stages. The last stage consisted only of brown rice and water. Funny enough, it did not catch on as much as he hoped, and the Ohsawa’s version of the diet is no longer recommended by Macrobiotic experts.

It did hit a chord with Michio Kushi, who developed Ohsawa’s theories and helped give it a Western audience when he set up the Kushi Institute in Boston in 1978.

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Pros

1) It tends to emphasise foods that are lacking in the Western diet, such as fibre-rich whole grains, vegetables and beans.

2) The diet is very low in saturated fat and high in phytostrogens, which some believe may help with the menopause, premenstrual syndrome and the prevention of breast cancer.

3) Restricts the consumption of refined sugars

4) Food is organic
Cons

1) Balancing the yin and yang may be appealing, but you may find balancing the finances a little harder. Using only organic food and purified water could make a trip to the supermarket a little expensive.

2) Extremely restrictive, which could be a problem for picky eaters or people who simply cannot find the products they need from their local stores.

3) There is very little modern scientific evidence to back up the effectiveness of this diet.

4) Would require a pretty dramatic change of lifestyle.

5) It is considered by some nutritionists to be lacking in certain nutrients, such as protein, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium and calcium. Lack of protein could lead to lack of energy.

What can I eat?

Brown rice,

Corn,

Broccoli,

Cabbage,

Kale,

Squash,

Onions,

Fish (in small doses),

Nuts (in small doses),

Beans

What can’t I eat?

It’s quite a list:

Dairy products,

Eggs,

Refined sugars,

Chocolate,

Tropical Fruits,

Coffee,

Hot Spices,

Anything with artificial preservatives or colours
Books

The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics: A Philosophy for Achieving a Radiant Mind and Fabulous Body (Paperback)

The Macrobiotic Way: The Complete Macrobiotic Lifestyle Book (Paperback)

The Quick and Natural Macrobiotic Cookbook (Paperback)