Info on Macrobiotic Eating

The following is taken from a fun website from the author of Hip Chicks Guide to Macrobiotic Eating.... www.hipchicksmacrobiotics.com


What is Macrobiotics?

The word macrobiotic comes from "macro" which means large, big or great, and "bios" which means "life". So to practice macrobiotics is to practice the art of a great life. Sometimes this means that your life is totally groovy, but it also means that the person eating macrobiotic foods begins to perceive things from a wider and wider perspective; we see the ups and downs of life and ride them like good surfers. When you perceive a bigger picture, you can let go of the small stuff.

What do you eat?

Most people practicing macrobiotics mix and match from the following foods: whole grains, beans and bean products (like tofu), organic vegetables (local and in season), soups, sea vegetables (a/k/a seaweed!), desserts (sweetened with rice syrup, barley malt, fruit and sometimes maple syrup), a little fish, a little fruit, pickles (to aid digestion), condiments (to provide minerals), nuts, seeds and non aromatic teas. However, every person has different needs depending on their age, gender, lifestyle and ambitions. Plus, the real spirit of macrobiotics is about freedom; one eats healthy food most of the time so that one can eat more extreme foods some of the time. So people in good health can go out and "play", having a glass of wine, or a piece of chocolate cake, or . . . whatever, when they feel it's appropriate to the occasion. They then return to their regular macro foods in order to maintain their health and eventually "play" again.

What are Yin and Yang?

Macrobiotic philosophy comes down to explaining everything through the lens of yin and yang. Yang force creates contracting and inward movement while yin force creates expansion and outward movement. From these fundamental forces we get everything: light and dark, speed and slowness, hot and cold, hard and soft, etc. All dualities can be seen through this lens. In macrobiotic thinking, it is believed that if we eat foods that are whole, local and in season, that our bodies get the perfect yin ness and yang ness needed for the natural environment in which we live. When we harmonize with nature, we experience strength, flexibility, freedom and happiness. Tropical foods are great for people living in the tropics; they provide the perfect yin ness and yang ness to balance the extreme heat. Likewise, blueberries are a great fruit for people in New England. When we start to eat really really yin foods like bananas, pineapples, yogurt and sugar (smoothie, anyone?) day after day in New York City, we lose touch with the natural world and eventually become weakened by all the excess yin force.

Why do people use the macrobiotic diet to recover from cancer and other serious illness?

In macrobiotic thinking, all illness begins with becoming out-of-sync with the natural environment. And the primary way that we do that is by putting food inside of us that has nothing to do with nature. Yes, there are other factors—lifestyle, emotional stressors and living next a to a nuclear power plant—and they all need to be addressed, but food is always either working for or against your health and freedom. Many people have found that when they return to whole, macrobiotic foods and respect the laws of yin and yang, their bodies rediscover a natural balance that supports their healing.