The macrobiotic diet, which focuses on whole grains and vegetables, with small amounts of beans, soy products, fish and Asian condiments, can easily be adapted to a diabetic eating plan. Because the macrobiotic diet discourages refined flour and sugar and emphasizes nutrient-dense complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and vegetables, you may find that this program is a natural way to manage diabetes. The American Diabetes Association, or ADA, supports primarily vegetarian diets as a healthy approach for preventing or managing diabetes, provided that you meet your need for nutrients that occur largely in animal products.
Managing Diabetes
Following a diet that consists of mostly low-fat complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits and whole-grain foods combined with protein-based foods such as fish, legumes, nuts and seeds can help you control your blood sugar and your weight, says the ADA. As long as you plan your meals carefully, a macrobiotic diet should meet your daily requirements for proteins, carbohydrates, fat, and essential vitamins and minerals. Checking your blood sugar regularly, taking insulin or oral diabetes medication as prescribed and exercising on most days of the week also will ensure that you stay healthy on a macrobiotic diet.
Macrobiotic Guidelines
Strongly influenced by Asian philosophy and medicine, the macrobiotic diet promotes simplicity and balance in your approach to eating. Minimally processed grains, organically grown vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, soups made of vegetables and beans, Asian condiments and herbal teas form the basic nutritional components of this diet. Non-vegetarians may include occasional servings of fish, and vegetarians may add small servings of milk, eggs or other animal-based foods. Proponents of the diet discourage foods made with refined sugar or flour, caffeine and alcohol, and certain vegetables or fruits that are considered overstimulating, such as zucchini, spinach, tomatoes and eggplant.
Nutritional Considerations
Some proponents of the macrobiotic diet discourage all animal-based foods. The ADA advises that you may need to add dairy foods or eggs to your diet or take dietary supplements to meet your daily requirements for vitamin B12 and vitamin D, two essential nutrients that occur mostly in egg yolks and fortified milk products. To meet your requirements for calcium and iron, eat fish, soy products, legumes and dark green, leafy vegetables. Fatty fish such as salmon, walnuts, flaxseed products, wheat germ and soybean oil offer omega-3 fatty acids, which may protect your cardiovascular health.
Macrobiotic Benefits
Early versions of the macrobiotic diet involved more dietary restrictions than the contemporary version, which includes a wider variety of food choices within its largely vegetarian guidelines. In an article published in a 1999 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," Dr. Lawrence Kushi notes that macrobiotic vegetarian diets have been associated with lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure and may offer cancer-preventing benefits.
Planning Meals
You can use the ADA's general meal-planning guide to balance carbohydrates and proteins on a macrobiotic diet. The ADA recommends that the largest portion of your meal should consist of nonstarchy vegetables, with smaller portions of whole grains and protein-based foods. A macrobiotic meal might include a large serving of steamed spinach or broccoli combined with smaller servings of steamed brown rice or bulgur wheat and lentils, fish or tofu. Work with your health care provider or a dietitian to develop a macrobiotic eating plan that helps you manage your diabetes while fulfilling your nutritional needs.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Meal Planning for Vegetarians
- American Diabetes Association: Nutrients Vegetarians Should Watch
- American Cancer Society: Macrobiotic Diet
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition": "Convergence of Plant-Rich and Plant-Only Diets"; Dr. Johanna Dwyer; 1999
- American Diabetes Association: Create Your Plate
Member Comments