The macrobiotic diet is an eating plan that encompasses a primarily vegetarian diet and some tenets of Japanese Zen Buddhism. More a way of life than a diet plan, macrobiotics require you to balance your foods based on their "yin" and "yang" qualities, and combine them based on flavor traits. While macrobiotics was once very restrictive, the modern Americanized version is much more flexible. There is no list of macrobiotic foods per se, but more foods you should eat more or less of, and specific amounts of your food intake that should be devoted to different types of food.
Whole Grains
Whole grains are one of the main ingredients in a macrobiotic diet. It is recommended by author and macrobiotics expert Michio Kushi that between 50 and 60 percent of your diet be whole grains, with an emphasis on brown rice. Other whole grains you are encouraged to eat often include barley, millet, spelt, whole oats, buckwheat, rye and corn on the cob.
Whole grains you should eat occasionally include bulgar, couscous, rolled oats, grits, cornmeal, quinoa, flaked barley or rye and amaranth.
Grain products you can eat occasionally but should not consume daily include wheat noodles like udon and soba, unyeasted sourdough bread, seitan, and homemade pancakes.
Vegetables
The macrobiotic diet includes fresh vegetables rich in phytochemicals -- the antioxidants and polyphenols found in plant foods that have been linked to the treatment and prevention of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to Breastcancer.org. In the macrobiotic diet, about 20 to 25 percent of your diet should come from phytochemical-rich vegetables, and some vegetables should be included in every meal you eat.
Eat green leafy vegetables such as bok choy, spinach, chard, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, collards, leeks, watercress and various tuber greens; and round vegetables such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, winter squash, turnips, pumpkin, onions, carrots, parsnips and daikon radishes.
Eat peas, mushrooms, cucumber, chives, celery, lettuce, green beans and snow peas only occasionally.
Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds
Beans and legumes should only be eaten about once a day, and should form about five to 10 percent of your overall diet. Beans to eat more often include green and brown lentils, chickpeas, azuki beans and black soybeans. You should eat black-eyed peas, lima beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, dried peas, soybeans and mung beans only occasionally.
Add nuts and seeds for their healthy oils. You should aim to eat 1 to 2 cups per week of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or tahini, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut and nut butters.
Fruits, Fish, and Fermented Products
While you do not need to eliminate fruit entirely, you should focus on eating only locally grown fruits while they are in season. Fruit should make up about 5 percent of your diet, and fruits you are encouraged to eat include berries, honeydew melon, and locally-grown tree fruits like apples and pears.
Eat fish only two or three times per week, and avoid fatty fish. Fish like red snapper, trout, carp, haddock, halibut and flounder is encouraged.
Fermented soybean products like miso are an important component of the macrobiotic diet and should be eaten regularly. Miso can be used to flavor other foods, or can be made into a broth. Drinking 1 to 2 cups of miso soup a day is recommended for the macrobiotic diet.
References
- "Modern-Day Macrobiotics: Transform Your Diet and Feed Your Mind, Body and Spirit"; Michio Kushi; 2007
- Breastcancer.org: Macrobiotic Diet
- "Macrobiotics for Life: A Practical Guide to Healing for Body, Mind, and Heart"; Simon Brown; 2009
- Cancer.org: Phytochemicals
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