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It seems that everywhere you look, today, there is an enormous push for people to look with a concerning eye at what they eat, and how it contributes to their overall health and wellness. Do a simple Internet search on healthy diets and you will turn up numerous results, which points to the fact that many people are indeed jumping on the health and fitness journey. The Macrobiotic diet is one more healthful way a person can choose to become aware of beneficial foods that encourage a healthy and improved body.
The word macrobiotic is derived from the Greek prefix and suffix “macro” which means large or long, and “bios” which means life. The earliest recorded use of the word macrobiotic has been traced to the writings of Hippocrates, who was considered the father of medicine. Macrobiotics incorporates and encourages a wellness through living more harmonious in life, while building a balance in nature, eating simplistically, and actively. The modern day Macrobiotic diet can be credited to the Japanese educator George Ohsawa, who used a macrobiotic diet to cure and treat his own serious illness back in the 1920’s, and then delivered his teachings to North America in the 1950’s. As with most Asian influenced medicinal and dietary habits, they are generally based on the concept of yin and yang, and the macrobiotic diet is no different.
So, what is the Macrobiotic diet? This type of eating for wellness and balance consists of a diet that includes: Whole grains (brown rice, oats, rye, barley, wheat, buckwheat), vegetables, beans and bean products, daily consumption of Miso Soup, small amounts of seaweed, fish and seafood, seeds and nuts, fruits, and non-stimulating teas. Consumption of these food sources are taken in a specific daily percentage, which lends to the balance and harmony the diet is striving for. Also, the preparation and composition of the foods chosen are further adjusted and influenced by different aspects of life such as the season, weather and climate, life activities, gender, age, state of health, transitional stages, and must be organically grown.
The benefits of a Macrobiotic diet are obvious in nature. The foods chosen are organic, naturally produced, and prepared in ways that eliminate many of the bad eating habits most people have. There is a great deal of common sense eating implementing in this type of diet For example, refrain from cooking foods in the microwave, which we know tends to strip nutrients from the foods we cook. Only eat when you are actually hungry, which so many people do not discipline themselves to do. We live in a fast paced world where everything is done on the rush. This diet stresses the need to eat slowly and orderly, to sit properly, and chew food completely, which will encourage better digestion and absorption. By combining these common sense habits with quality foods from this diet, a person will find that dietary balance they need to encourage wellness.
In general, the benefits of a macrobiotic diet stem from the fact that most health risks for serious illnesses and conditions encourage a diet that is healthy and low in fats, fiber high, and includes more fruit and vegetable intake, which is exactly what the macrobiotic diet does. An important benefit of this diet is that it forces a person to truly think about what they consume and how it affects their health.
Like the saying goes, “You are what you eat”, is a good premise for the macrobiotic diet. The true benefit comes in the form of learning to eat well and live well, which will bring a harmonious balance to your life. Eat the good organic foods as opposed to the high fat, and overly indulged foods we tend to eat. This yin and yang diet causes you to consciously think about what you consume and how you live your life, and in essence that is the best benefit a person can receive from this diet, learning how to balance their wellness.
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