03/01/2018
How does the Macrobiotic way of eating?
- The macrobiotic way of eating was developed and popularized by the Japanese- George Ohsawa in the 1930s.
- The macrobiotic diet is associated with Zen Buddhism. The diet proposes 10 plans which are progressed through to reach a supposedly ideal yin/yang ratio of 5:1.
- Macrobiotics emphasizes locally grown whole grain cereals, pulses (legumes), vegetables, seaweed, fermented soy products and fruit, combined into meals according to the ancient Chinese principle of balance known as yin and yang [citation needed]. Whole grains and whole-grain products such as brown rice and buckwheat pasta (Soba), a variety of cooked and raw vegetables, beans and bean products, mild natural seasonings, fish, nuts and seeds, mild (non-stimulating) beverages such as Bancha twig tea and fruit are recommended.
- Brown rice and other whole grains such as barley, millet, oats, quinoa, spelt, rye, and teff are considered by macrobiotics to be the foods in which yin and yang are closest to being in balance. Therefore, lists of macrobiotic foods that determine a food as yin or yang generally compare them to whole grains.
Nightshade vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant; also spinach, beets and avocados are not recommended or are used sparingly in macrobiotic cooking, as they are considered extremely yin. Some macrobiotic practitioners also discourage the use of nightshades because of the alkaloid solanine, thought to affect calcium balance. Some proponents of a macrobiotic diet believe that nightshade vegetables can cause inflammation in the body and osteoporosis.
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