Macrobiotics is a diet concept promoted to the world by Japanese George Ohsawa as a way of eating a variety of Whole Foods that are energetically balanced between yin and yang.
After esoteric law or Taoism, everything has two poles which are YIN (woman) or YANG (man).
The hot weather is considered “yang”, and nature offers us “yin” foods such as watermelon to help us freshen up and stay hydrated.
The cold weather is considered “yin” and we are offered “yang” root vegetables to help us feel hot and rooted.
Yin foods grow upwards and outwards, like green leaves, which grow in an upward direction, and fruits that grow on taller plants like trees. Yin also represents the foods that make us feel elevated, so it also includes cereals. When consumed in balance, you will feel awakened, alert and light in your body. In excess, you’ll experience a high followed by a crash.
Yang foods grow inward and downward, like root vegetables which grow in the soil and become oriented towards the ends (i.e. Carrots, daikon, etc.). Animal products are yang because they are concentrations of the nutritional intake of the animal. When you eat products with more yang properties, you feel hot and relaxed. In excess, you will easily feel sluggish.
By eating a meal with foods that take both yin and yang, we can balance our food with climate, weather, and our own temperament/emotions…
What does a typical macro-biotic meal contain?
The most important ingredients of macrobiotics are brown rice, miso soup, and seasonal vegetables.
Whole grains with the peal. –
Brown rice is to Macrobiotic the Holy Grail. Because brown rice is the most energetically balanced food in macrobiotics.
And then we add to moderately balanced foods such as leafy greens, round vegetables (like pumpkin, cabbage and onion that are literally round in shape), root vegetables, beans, miso soup, fermented vegetables, …
The best way to think of a macrobiotic meal is to think of a Whole Foods Japanese teishoku — the meals consist of a little bit of everything for balance in energetics, flavor, nutrition, season, and appearance.
The macrobiotic diet is not necessarily a vegetarian diet, although, most people who practice macrobiotics choose to eat vegetarian style because animal products are considered to be taxing to the digestive system since they take a longer time to digest. The less stress you place on your digestive system, the more your body can restore digestive health.
Advocates of macrobiotics who consume animal products tend to stick to fish and seafood in small quantities. At the end of the day, the point is to eat in a way that is energizing and balanced, so consuming “yin” vegetables to balance out the “yang” animal protein is the goal.
In addition, we add Tempeh as an alternative to meat/fish. Tempeh is a fermented bean block (like soya bean, Azuki bean, chickpeas) that gives some variety to our meal, it is good for our digestion, because of the probiotics that our bowels need.
And we add Natto, specially fermented soybeans that are crucial for healthy bones, cheese-like flavor, and a Umebushi (fermented Japanese plum) for healthy digestion each day.
My Video: What is Macrobiotics? https://youtu.be/SnvWnmKFEHk
My Audio: https://divinesuccess.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/Podcast2/What-is-Macrobiotics.mp3