What is a Macrobiotic Diet?
A macrobiotic diet is a modified vegetarian diet. A person who is macrobiotic does more than follow a macrobiotic diet. Macrobiotics a total lifestyle, lived in harmony with nature and according to the principles of simplicity and conscious living. Macrobiotics seeks to balance the yin and the yang, the sweet and the sour, the hot and the cold.
A macrobiotic diet is a strict low fat, high fiber diet.
- 40 to 60 percent of the calories come from whole grains, especially brown rice and soba noodles (buckwheat pasta), but also barley, millet, oats, quinoa, and spelt;
- 25 to 30 percent comes from vegetables;
- 5 to 10 percent comes from beans and other legumes, especially tofu and other soybean products;
- 5 percent comes from sea vegetables (seaweed); and
- 5 percent comes from miso soup (soup made from fermented soybean paste).
You can eat fish and other seafood, nuts, seeds, nut butters, mild seasoning, and fruit two or three times a week. Poultry, eggs, and meats are considered dense, causing stagnation. They are not part of a day-to-day macrobiotic diet, but individuals can eat naturally raised meat products if they need them to create balance. Non-stimulating drinks are allowed. Bancha tea, or bancha twig tea, is a popular macrobiotic beverage.
Certain foods are predominantly yin and others yang. Yin foods are cold, expansive, light, and diffuse. Yang foods are dense, heavy, hot and compact. Whole grains are closest to a yin-yang balance.
Many foods are considered over-stimulating or extreme, qualities that can exhaust body and mind. They do not support the goal of achieving yin-yang balance and are excluded from the macrobiotic diet. Such foods include:
- Processed foods;
- Foods with additives, preservatives, or other chemicals;
- Sugar;
- Honey;
- Caffeinated beverages;
- Refined flour;
- Very hot spices;
- Chocolate;
- Drugs, including supplements;
- Alcohol;
- Hot spices;
- Commercial dairy products;
- Potatoes; and
- Zucchini.
The macrobiotic diet is not one-size-fits all. Combinations of foods are carefully considered in a macrobiotic diet. And what you can eat changes according to the climate and seasons. Your health, age, health, gender, and level of physical activity factor into what you can eat on a macrobiotic diet. Where you live and the general circumstances of your life also factor into your personal macrobiotic diet.
How to Follow a Macrobiotic Diet
A macrobiotic diet is highly restricted, but there is flexibility within the firm guidelines. The foods emphasized in a macrobiotic diet are chosen because they support balance. The modern macrobiotic diet allows you to alter your diet to support your personal wellbeing.
The foods you eat on a macrobiotic diet change with the seasons.
In spring you eat lighter foods lightly cooked. Wild greens, lightly fermented foods, and grains feature prominently in the spring diet.
In summer you also eat light foods lightly cooked. Maximizing seasonal vegetables, meals center on greens with large leaves, sweet corn, and fruit. You eat more raw foods in summer and lighter grains like barley and bulgur wheat.
The autumn diet includes more concentrated foods, which are more yang. This includes root vegetables (parsnips, carrots, turnips), legumes, and winter squash. Your grains are heavier: sweet rice and millet.
Winter brings foods that are even stronger and more concentrated, even more yang. Fermented vegetables, root vegetables, soy, and oils (high quality, unrefined vegetable oils such as sesame oil and corn oil) predominate. Grains are heavy, such as millet and buckwheat.
Macrobiotics emphasizes conscious living and conscious eating. All foods must be chewed thoroughly, and overeating is strongly discouraged. You will become more sensitive to the effects various foods have on your health and wellness, increasing your ability to choose the best foods for you. The foods that best support your wellbeing are likely to change according to the seasons and other factors mentioned above.
Advocates of macrobiotics recommend that people transition into the diet very slowly, changing their diet and eating habits a little at a time.
Benefits of a Macrobiotic Diet
With the right food choices the modern macrobiotic diet can provide adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and is in line with USDA guidelines for adults. All the soy foods make the diet rich in disease-preventing phytoestrogens.
Macrobiotics is a lifestyle, not just a diet. It emphasizes many healthy behaviors, like eating slowly and paying attention.
A diet high in whole grains and vegetables and low in meat protein has been shown to prevent many types of cancer. A macrobiotic diet may have other disease-prevention benefits, but these have not been scientifically proven.
Most people lose weight on a macrobiotic diet.
A macrobiotic diet is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
Concerns about Macrobiotic Diets
The transition to a macrobiotic diet can be very difficult, especially for individuals who make the change too quickly. The food can be costly.
Depending on your food choices you may not get enough of certain vitamins and minerals. If you do not eat fish, for example, you may not get enough vitamin B-12. Also depending on what you eat you may be deficient in iron, magnesium calcium, and protein.
It is not easy to follow a macrobiotic diet. It requires special foods that may not be readily available in local grocery stores and in restaurants. The diet is very different from what most people in the United States and other western countries eat. Because of all the food restrictions it may be difficult to socialize with people who are not on macrobiotic diets.
Is a Macrobiotic Diet for You?
For most people a macrobiotic diet is an extreme departure from their accustomed way of eating. Many people thrive on macrobiotic diets, but it is not for everyone.
Before you embark on the transition to a macrobiotic diet, talk to your healthcare provider. Based on your health and personal goals, he or she can assess whether a macrobiotic diet is a good choice for you. If you do decide on a macrobiotic diet, consult with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your health.