The Macrobiotic Diet is a nutritional program designed to provide complete balance to your body, health and spirit by sticking with basic, natural foods that have a wide range of health benefits. While the original version of the Macrobiotic Diet included harsh restrictions that eventually found the follower eating only brown rice and water, modern nutritional knowledge has eased up the program so that it sticks with the core principles while providing all of the benefits and nutrients that your body needs.
A Macrobiotic Diet is essentially a version of a vegetarian diet, as you avoid all meats and dairy products. Some people take the Macrobiotic Diet to further levels and make it a completely vegan program, although this is an individual choice and not truly a requirement.
The majority of your daily intake, ranging from a half to two thirds of your calories will be whole grains. You need to cut out all of your processed grains from what you eat, which includes everything from white bread to even multigrain foods that can still be mostly processed. The occasional foray into pastas or other breads are allowed in most cases.
The next largest component of your diet is going to be from fresh vegetables. These can be consumed in raw or cooked fashion, as long as the cooked vegetables are made in a healthy fashion. Beans, including soy, have a strong presence in the diet as well. While meats and cheeses are avoided, some fish is eaten to provide protein and other core nutrients such as omega 3 fatty acids.
Soup is eaten commonly in the Macrobiotic Diet. This is because soup will help you feel full while consuming a minimal amount of calories or unhealthy products. Miso soup, made from soy beans and therefore containing many natural and healthy components is a favorite choice.
Fruits are eaten sparingly in the diet, with an emphasis being on local selections of fruits rather than exotic fruits such as pineapples or mangos. Fruit is also used as the sweet or desert foods in the Macrobiotic Diet, as you want to avoid any unnatural sweeteners and also want to avoid any naturally derived sweeteners such as sugar or honey which add many empty calories without providing any further nutritional value.
The Macrobiotic Diet is going to be very low in fat, it’s going to decrease your total calorie intake, have a lot of fiber from the whole grains and vegetables and be entirely natural. This makes it a great choice for many people in today’s culture who gain weight largely due to the unhealthy, processed foods that they eat and which are so readily available. Low fat, high fiber diets are in general recommended for many health conditions and symptoms, and the Macrobiotic Diet specifically will align with this recommendation for many people.
If you’re looking for a way to improve your overall health, the Macrobiotic Diet will probably be able to help. You’ll be focusing on natural, healthy ingredients while skipping out on processed, unhealthy foods. Your body and your spirit will both thank you.
