Beginner introduction to macrobiotic diet.

Beginner intro to macrobiotic diet.

Initially, macrobiotic diet was first developed by George Ohsawa, a Japanese philosopher. Oshawa believed in a holistic approach to health that includes many lifestyle aspects such as diet and exercise, meditation and even the 'yin and yang' energy of certain foods.

Macrobiotics diet emphasize on choosing organic, locally grown and seasonal produce. In generally, the practice of macrobiotics diet can be divided roughly as follows:

About 40 to 60 % of your food consumption consists of whole grains like brown rice, barley, oats and buckwheat.

About 20 to 30 % of your diet consists of fruits and vegetables

Lastly about 10 to 25 % of your diet consist of bean and bean products like tofu, miso, tempeh and also sea vegetables like seaweed.

Some people also add small amounts of pickles and fermented vegetables in their macrobiotics diet. This include nuts, seeds and sometimes some meat or fish.

In addition to choice of food, macrobiotic diet also encourages several lifestyle recommendations, such as:

1. Only eating or drinking when hungry or thirsty.

2. Thoroughly chewing food until it liquefies before swallowing it.

3. Avoid using unnatural material when processing food and only use natural materials like wood, glass and china to cook and store food.

4. Avoid using microwave ovens and electric hobs.

5. Before drinking or cooking with water, it is recommended to purify it first

6. Avoid drinking flavored, caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.

Practitioners of macrobiotic diet  are allowed to adopt it in slightly different ways with some following very strictly to the rules on food preparation, cooking and eating, while other practitioners are more relaxed in their practice and follow the rules in moderation.

To summarize, like many other forms of diet macrobiotics diet have several rules in the practitioner's choice of food and emphasize on choosing organic, locally grown and seasonal produce. Macrobiotics diet also has several lifestyle recommendations. However the practitioner of macrobiotics diet is allowed to adopt the diet in slightly different ways.