Macrobiotic diet

Macrobiotic diet emphasizes a life of inner and outer balance. Specific dietary recommendations are based on the Chinese theory of Yin and Yang.

The word macrobiotics is composed of the Greek word macros, meaning big or large, and bios, meaning life. Macrobiotic diet can be described as the art of living in harmony with the "high life", the universal order, by following certain practical rules of life.

Macrobiotic diet is based on ancient Chinese and Japanese traditions. Two Japanese have recently developed the macrobiotic diet: in the 1950s it spread to the West by George Oshawa (actually Nyoichi Sakurazawa) and Michio Kushi. In Sweden introduced macrobiotics 1962nd

People living between the two poles of heaven and earth. Everything is the result of attraction between these two contradictory and complementary forces. One moves down and inward toward the center of the earth (yang), the other moves upwards and outwards towards the periphery (yin). Everything in nature is more or less yin or yang. The food we eat is yin or yang. Different parts of a plant are predominantly yin or yang. The same applies to different ways to prepare food on. There is yin or yang-types among men. The climate can be yin or yang - in Sweden, it is yin and is characterized by more cold and dark than the more southern climate, which is yang. Colors are too yin or yang: from violet (yin) to orange-red (yang). Thus, a carrot more yang than cabbage.

The macrobiotic approach to life is to eat a balanced diet. To know what is balancing must take into account what is yin or yang. There are air, food and water that is our chemistry and that determines how we function and how we feel. Most so-called diseases of civilization are the yin and occurs due to improper diet.

Macrobiotic diet can be seen as a way of relating to food, rather than a specially decreed diet. For the Lapps and Eskimos may be macrobiotic eating much meat, for a calf, it can be to drink cow's milk. Some basic advice is to eat any foods that come from areas with the same climate as you yourself live, and not to bring the body something that is unnecessary or that could interfere with its order. A council was already reading in the traditional Chinese script Nei Ching: "Basic premise for Health: Eat food after the season."

The grain plays a prominent role in the macrobiotic diet. One sees a connection between human development and the role of grain cultivated plant, and between man's upright posture and grain aspiring energy as it grows. The seed is the yin and yang tendencies well capitalized, and should therefore form the basis of the diet. Grain has also long been the backbone of most traditional cultures' diets. The grain should be supplemented by vegetables, pulses and oilseeds close to the human chemical balance point and has the same distribution of sodium and potassium (1 part sodium and 5 parts potassium). From the clean, white foods - sugar, salt, white flour - is considered the life force have bortraffinerats, and they do not occur in the macrobiotic diet.

Macrobiotics dealing not only with food, a whole aspect is emphasized. All body organs and functions subject to the same life force, ki. Physical and mental problems are interdependent. A state of health and wholeness includes properties that peace, stability, flexibility, good appetite, good memory, sense of humor, sincerity, patience, openness and humility.