According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, "Macrobiotic is a diet based on the Chinese cosmological principles of yin and yang that consists of whole cereals and grains supplemented especially with beans and vegetables." It is a comprehensive and effective approach of maintaining a life with good mental, physical and spiritual health. It is based on the habits that encourage people to live in harmony with nature through an active lifestyle and whole food diets. It is also a type of holistic as well as natural treatment method that implies all walks of life in it.
History
A Greek physician named Hippocrates used the word "Macrobiotics" in his essay "Airs, Waters, and Places" for the long-lived healthy people. In 1797, a German physician, Christoph Wilhelm Friedrich Hufeland described macrobiotics in his book "Makrobiotik, The Art of Prolonging Life" and tried to establish the macrobiotics as a new discipline of science. In late 1800s, a Japanese doctor Sagen Ishizuka attempted to cure several diseases with the help of macrobiotics diet and also conducted several clinical trails. George Ohsawa, the founder of the macrobiotic diet and philosophy, devoted his entire life in the development of macrobiotics after recovering from tuberculosis in 1911 by using a macrobiotics diet.
Diet
According to faqs.org, "The standard macrobiotic diet avoids many foods including meat, poultry, animal fats, eggs, dairy products, refined sugar and foods containing artificial sweeteners or other chemical additives." The preferable foods should be organically grown and employ the least processing. Macrobiotics diet also discourages the intake of genetically modified, processed, frozen, irradiated and canned foods. Foods encouraged under a macrobiotics diet include whole cereal grains, soups, vegetables, some beverages and occasional foods e.g., white fish, nuts, fruits and seeds.
Good Habits of Eating
Macrobiotics emphasize the good habits of eating along with a good diet, which can include eat when hungry and drink when thirsty; chew around 50 times/mouthful for proper digestion; always sit in a good posture, especially while eating; eat for a satisfied stomach, not for a full stomach; avoid eating late at night and sleep before midnight and avoid using the microwave ovens and other electrical cooking devices.
Good Habits of Living
There are some definite principles of macrobiotics that must be followed other than macrobiotics diet for living a healthy life according to macrobiotics, such as do not bathe for too long, otherwise minerals would wash out from the body; use only natural and non-toxic cosmetics; always prefer cotton garments, especially the undergarments; daily walk on grass, beach or soil with naked feet for half an hour and exercise regularly.
Warning
Usually, macrobiotics diets are low in protein, fat, vitamin D, vitamin B complex, folic acid, calcium, riboflavin, iron and energy. Faqs.org reveals that "Clinical cases of malnutrition and growth failure in children have been reported." Macrobiotics proponents claim the effectiveness of macrobiotics in curing the cancer. On the contrary, it has been alleged by some nutritionists that macrobiotics facilitate the progression of cancer by compromising the immunity of patients due to nutritional deficiency associated with the macrobiotics diet.
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