MACROBIOTICS The word macrobiotics( from the Greek macro,“ big” or“ long”; and bios,“ life”) was first used by the German physician Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland in the early 1800s to denote a European-style vegetarian diet. The Japanese scholar Sakurazawa Nyoiti, later known as George Ohsawa, in the late 1950s applied the term— which he translated as“ the art of longevity”— to his Oriental-style natural-foods philosophy and diet. Today, thanks to the work of his two main disciples in the United States, Herman Aihara and Michio Kushi, macrobiotics has considerable popularity as an alternative health regime. Arising from Oriental philosophy, or, more specifically, from Japanese culture and mores, macrobiotics offers a dietary viewpoint that is certainly different from the Western one. It is in fact a total philosophy of life, with food and diet only a small part of it, albeit the best-known part. a Briefly, macrobiotics considers that all aspects of our existence must be taken into account in determining a correct eating style: season, climate, location, ancestry, type of activity, agricultural practices, traditional customs, and of course individual condition and constitution. It is also strongly goal-oriented; the goal is not to eat only brown rice, as various nutrition writers and others have misunderstood but to be happy, healthy, free, humble, nonexclusive, grateful for all the bounties of life, and appreciative of our difficulties as our best teachers. To clarify its teachings, here are the Seven Macrobiotic Principles as stated by Aihara: 1. Ecology: Eating naturally cultivated, unsprayed, locally grown foods. 2. Economy of Life: No waste. Eating whole foods, avoiding partial, refined, and processed foodstuffs, which would include such purportedly“ wholesome” products as wheat germ, bran, and vitamin pills. 3. The Yin-Yang Principle: Discussed in chapter 3 as the theory of opposites. 4. An Art of Living: We need to be responsible for our own life and health, which is always changing, so we must always be ready to change and adapt.“ No absolute rules exist,” Aihara points out,“ or can be followed forever.” Thus, flexibility is the key. 5. Appreciation, or gratitude: Because, says Aihara, it is the root of freedom and happiness. 6. Faith: In the wisdom of nature, the balance of opposites, which manifests itself as universal justice,“ in the love that embraces everything without exclusions.” 7. Do-O-Raku, or Tao, the Order of Nature, the enjoyment of life:“ Anything we do is a game. It does not matter if we fail or succeed.… To live in perpetual ecstatic delight is Do-O-Raku. Those who do so are Do-O-Raku- Mono. If you are a Do-O-Raku-Mono, you are a macrobiotic, whatever you eat … 31 Michio Kushi, unlike Aihara, does consider food the prime mover:“ Without food, man as well as all life does not exist. From food, life has come as well as man.” According to his teachings, incorrect dietary practice lies behind virtually every problem we might encounter; a proper macrobiotic diet will help us solve most of life’ s difficulties, and that means eating grains, beans, vegetables, soy products( miso soup almost daily), no fruit except cooked, and a small amount of white meat fish once or twice a week. In addition to dietary advice, he offers some sensible“ way of life suggestions”: living happily; keeping active; expressing gratitude; chewing well;“ early to bed, early to rise”; avoiding synthetic clothing and opting for natural fibers; avoiding aluminum, Teflon, and microwave ovens; keeping the home in order; and many others. 32
IT CONSISTS OF:
• Whole grains( 50 to 60 percent of total daily food volume) and beans( 5 to 10 percent), as the protein base
• Vegetables( 25 to 30 percent), especially roots, leafy greens, squashes, cabbage, and fruit( 5 percent), in season
• Sea vegetables( 2 to 4 percent), nuts, and seeds
• Soy products, such as tofu; and fermented soy products, such as miso, tamari soy sauce or shoyu, and tempeh
• Condiments, mostly salty: gomasio( sesame seeds and sea salt), umeboshi( plums pickled in brine), tekka( a root-vegetable preparation baked with miso), sea salt, as well as unrefined sesame and corn oil
• Fish occasionally, or an egg here or there in the cooking
• Roasted Japanese twig tea— kukicha, or bancha are the preferred beverages
• For special occasions,“ anything” goes( barley malt, rice syrup( yinnie), and maple syrup are the preferred sweeteners) IT FORBIDS:
• Meat, eggs, poultry