Macrobiotic: Ying and Yang foods and other Basics

"… It is needless to deal with the disease, it is useless because it is variable and is always there. We need to create in the human body a space in which it does not incubate." George Oshawa.

The Macrobiotics is a way of eating and living. The term comes from Greek and means' big (macro) life (bio). In short, this is a technique that seeks lengthen life by eating food that is based on natural products. That is, those that have been grown on land fertilized with natural fertilizers, without the use of pesticides.

"The macrobiotic philosophy offers a lifestyle that cover the large gap between humans and the natural world," says Michio Kushi, disciple of the philosopher and physician Japanese George Ohsawa (1893-1966), considered a precursor of modern macrobiotic approach.

The Macrobiotic can be considered an ancient technique. In fact, Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, already used this term in his writings to describe the long and healthy.

Back to the roots

"It's finding the right balance in the natural diet through consistency, trust and tranquility. The reasons for starting to practice are many: physical and psychological needs of a general nature, and dulling sensation of heaviness, clumsiness and slow reflexes…, already sensed that they were due to a wrong diet, " reports Irma Doria, author of macrobiotic cooking (Editorial De Vecchi).

A macrobiotic dietary reconstructing and purifying our blood, restoring health to the body. When we succeed in improving the quality of our blood, our health, immunity and well-being are strengthened. In this way "foundations or pillars" of our health are solid, strong.

Foods should therefore be biological, that is grown under the laws of the 'mother' nature and also clean of the impurities with which the modern food industry presents (food additives, colorings, preservatives… ).

The macrobiotic diet is based mainly on the intake of whole grains, including rice, barley, maize and wheat, which can eat boiled, stewed, in soup, cakes or croquettes. It is also essential to add the fruit and vegetable to diet, and for the animal protein that the body needs it is advisable to combine food with lean (no fat) beef as well as fish and skinless chicken.

Balancing yin and yang foods

It ranks to food in two categories: ying (passive) and yang (active). There must be a balance between yin and yang foods to achieve health and physical and mental wellbeing. For them, ying food are: carp, clams, watermelon, potatoes, prunes, sugar, honey and garlic; horsemeat, goose eggs and duck, pork and caviar are yang. Cereals and vegetables offer the best balance of yin and yang. Among the nutrients, most of the B vitamins and vitamin C are yin while the fat soluble (A, D, E and K) and B6 are yang. These ratings do not have any sense from a scientific point of view.

Macrobiotic system consists of a series of ten diets that are numbered from -3 to +7. The first five (-3 to +2) include reduced amounts of food of animal origin are virtually vegetarian diets. The others are exclusively vegetarian and contain increasing amounts of grains of wheat until the diet 7 which is composed exclusively of cereal grains crushed.

Basic rules

In the macrobiotic diet, there are some mandatory rules that Irma Doria says in her book 'The macrobiotic cooking’. Follow-up and you will get the best possible results:

• Eliminate sugar and cakes in general, including sweets.
• Dispense sugary drinks and the chemically treated and preserved.
• Remove coffee and tea with artificial coloring.
• Cook according to the macrobiotic food: natural vegetable oil or water, and salt with sea salt.
• Choose clay vessels for cooking, fire-resistant, stainless steel or enameled containers and discard as much as possible aluminum. Stir the food with a wooden spoon.
• Do not eat fruit or vegetables out of their time, and avoid products from distant countries, with some exceptions. Prefer products of the land, and even more the region itself.
• Do not eat fruit, vegetables and cereals grown with chemical fertilizers or disinfectants.
• Do not use chemical species or ingredients, and also avoid refined salt.
• Avoid as much as possible and replace animal protein with vegetable.

The Macrobiotic also provides that every bite must be chewed between thirty-fifty times. Eating becomes a kind of rite. "Although not eating for the pleasure of eating, we should eat with pleasure," says Doria.

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