The Macrobiotic diet
In nature there are plenty of contrasts: dark and light, which expands and shrinks, male and female. This principle, known in Eastern culture as Yin and Yang is the principle on which is based macrobiotic.
The macrobiotic diet, born in Japan, applies this knowledge and somehow summarizes the background that human beings on how they must take responsibility for their life and health, should lead to themselves, a natural metabolism and a life based on balance. This diet does not prohibit virtually nothing, and does not require any belief or religion to be carried out. It is based purely on the concept that food is the key point that determines our health and that all diseases are due to relationship with a gut flora that may be weak or irrigation with a blood that may be too acidic, poisonous or altered cells.
The importance of the quality of the blood in health
Blood is a vital element of the body, it is composed of cells that die and are born (around 280000) every second. The blood travels through the body at a speed of 9 m per second through the drive (pressure) cardiac output distributed to every cell and organ of the body, nourishing, sterilizing wounds, fighting pathogens, transporting and distributing chemical secretions obtained from food. It also collects the blood and removes toxins and cellular debris.
Critical values of the blood are determined by several factors among which is the quality of the food we eat. Indeed, no one can be healthy if the blood is not, and food plays an important part in developing a high quality blood. This is one of the basic principles to follow a macrobiotic diet.
What is it?
The macrobiotic diet balances both physically and emotionally through a balanced diet that divides foods:
Yang: if the "energy" of food is warm, invigorating and contractionary as cereals, legumes, fish, meat, salt, root vegetables, etc., is Yang energy.
Yin: if the energy of the food is cold and debilitating dispersant such as sugar, honey, dairy products and derivatives such as cheese, yogurt, etc., fruit (especially tropical and banana, mango, kiwi, papaya, pineapple …), vegetables such as potatoes, eggplant, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and beets, alcohol, etc., is Yin energy.
How to do it?
The macrobiotic diet remove from the diet (slowly) all products that have a low energy, harmful or obstructive, as the products of which are refined white sugar, bread, sausages, meat from animals, candy or food of industry, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks or sugary juices or processed.
- This diet shows the seaweed as a major food in the daily diet, the high quality of energy that holds the food.
- The macrobiotic diet retrieves the habit of consuming especially breads and cereals grown without pesticides (organic).
- The macrobiotic diet suits to each person according to their physical constitution, the country where live and the season that is.
- In this diet join a range of alternative health remedies and natural Shiatsu, reflexology, reiki, and so on.
- The macrobiotic diet considers and seeks emotional and spiritual balance of the person. The diet helps to establish an integral consciousness, where it makes think not only in food but in our spiritual and emotional states, which also affect our health and the care and balance that makes us live a more conscious, deep and satisfying way.
A macrobiotic diet menu
An infusion of tea of three years (Bancha tea, a very mild tea without protein) or Mu tea (a combination of sixteen plants) with a cream of millet or rice (put a cup of rice or millet with four or five of water and cook slowly for four or five hours. Then serve it with some sesame seeds on top. You can also cook with a little cinnamon and raisins). Alternatively
of cream of rice or millet usually take rice cakes with sesame puree or vegetable pâté.
Lunch (noon)
Miso soup is a vegetable soup with seaweed and soy seasoning with salt.
Take a second plate combined where there is usually boiled rice with a piece of Kombu seaweed and other of vegetable protein (legumes, Seiten or wheat gluten, tofu, or "cheese" soy, tempeh, a fermented soybean).
For dessert, you can take a bit of apple compote (fruit always cooked) or a little cake made with a base of cereal flakes or corn meal or wheat (cous-cous) with fruit jelly made with agar-agar seaweed.
It is often not normally a dessert but a cup of Bancha tea.
Snack
Tea with rice cakes and some jam or pie.
Dinner
Soup (which can be vegetable with Shiitake, a Japanese mushroom, and Daikon, which is like a turnip but very large). Usually take a few seconds to steam vegetables or stew.
If you have a good appetite may accompany with rice and a little protein.
Benefits of the macrobiotic diet are many, but if there are doubts whether one should always try to seek advice from a nutritionist or naturopath, and above all avoid the obsession with "purity" of the food or the time eating. We must remember that just this kind of diet promotes balance, and whenever one goes completely to one end, the harmony is broken. We must take into account also that food plays an indispensable part in health, but also the attitude before we make allowances which gives the values and the results to the diet.