The macrobiotic way of life is not only supposed to make the body healthier, but also to strengthen the mental faculties. The original form, as practiced and taught by its founder, was considered too one-sided shortly after its introduction and was expanded and supplemented with Western foods because of some bad incidents.
What is macrobiotics?
The main food of this diet is unprocessed whole grains. In addition, legumes, vegetables from the region and according to the season, soy products (tofu), sauerkraut and sea vegetables such as seaweed are consumed. The term macrobiotics originates from ancient Greece. At the time of the famous physician Hippocrates, people who reached old age and were still healthy were considered macrobiotics. Today’s macrobiotics is a nutritional doctrine founded by the Japanese Georges Ohsawa. It is intended to make people who practice this way of life so healthy that they have a long healthy life. The founder’s claim that it could even cure all diseases is now considered outdated. Macrobiotics is in the tradition of Taoism and Asian nutrition. It goes back to the basic ideas of the Japanese military doctor Sagen Ishizuka. According to his conception of healthy living, people should follow the traditional Japanese diet with its unprocessed foods and not consume animal foods. Only the restoration of the balance between yin and yang can make the sick body healthy again, he said. Ishizuka himself is said to have contracted tuberculosis at the age of 16 and cured himself with the macrobiotic way of life. Typical of the dietary form is that only whole pure foods from the region are used. In addition, the user should chew all food slowly to notice the feeling of satiety earlier.
Function, effect and goals
The goal of the macrobiotic lifestyle is to live a long healthy life by balancing the principles of yin and yang. It also aims to give the user a more refined perception, greater openness and flexibility. The main food of this diet is unprocessed whole grains. In addition, legumes, vegetables from the region and according to the season, soy products (tofu), sauerkraut and sea vegetables such as seaweed are consumed. The user may consume vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, sea salt, fruits, salads and occasionally some animal protein (white fish). Meat and dairy products as well as nightshade vegetables are not allowed. The latter contain too many alkaloids. Furthermore, all stimulants, sugar and tropical fruits are frowned upon. They have a yin quality and can increase susceptibility to infections. A balanced macrobiotic meal contains all 5 elements bitter, sweet, spicy, salty and sour. Each of the flavors is represented by specific foods that promote the health of specific organs. For example, bitter foods (wild herbs and green vegetables) strengthen the heart and small intestine. Most of the macrobiotic meal is dominated by complex carbohydrates such as cooked whole grains. With it, the blood sugar level builds up only slowly and also breaks down in the same way. The macrobiotic has a feeling of satiety without feeling too heavy at the same time. The vegetable protein contained in vegetables, tofu and legumes promotes muscle health. Vegetables should generally not be peeled and should be prepared in oil or water in the largest pieces possible. Most of the minerals come from sea vegetables and unrefined sea salt, so that the acids and bases are in balance. The macrobiotic obtains the necessary lactic acid bacteria from the consumption of tempeh, miso and tamari (food seasoning). The thermic effect of macrobiotic food is determined by the way it is prepared. Raw foods have cooling properties. Steaming, sautéing, etc. warm the food to varying degrees. The macrobiotic person determines the type, composition, and preparation of his meals according to the weather, his state of health, his age, the requirements of his work, etc.
All macrobiotic foods should be cooked or fried only with cookware made of wood, enamel, glass and stainless steel. Food supplements and the use of the microwave are also taboo.For macrobiotics, brown rice is the optimal food: in it, the ratio between yin and yang is 5:1 (corresponding to the ratio of potassium to sodium in brown rice). The macrobiotic lifestyle achieved good results in scientific studies as far as the prevention of cancer is concerned. Women who ate a lot of soy products as part of their macrobiotic diet had lower levels of estradiol in their blood than women who ate a conventional diet. High estradiol levels are considered to increase the risk of breast cancer. Many prominent practitioners of the diet have previously had type 2 diabetes, cancer, fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue, which they were able to effectively eliminate with the macrobiotic diet.
Risks, side effects and dangers
If the person practicing the macrobiotic way of life adheres too strictly to the original rules, he or she may experience deficiency symptoms if he or she uses the Western foods for this purpose. In the early days of macrobiotics, the “pure” nutritional doctrine, as propagated by its founder Ohsawa, caused some momentous events (deaths), whereupon the USA banned this form of nutrition. Also the much more moderate version according to Kushi should be applied absolutely only after careful composition of the food. Children, pregnant women and nursing mothers are particularly at risk of getting too little calcium, iron, vitamin B12 and D. Various studies have shown that children who were fed a macrobiotic diet during the first and second year of life had particularly pronounced growth disorders (rickets). In addition, with improper use, protein deficiency can occur with macrobiotics.
