When I was little, our food or diet was macrobiotic, as was the lifestyle we practiced. It is true that I remember little, since I was 3-4 years old. Maybe my dog’s name was tahini, he didn’t eat sweets, he was vegetarian, and he hated seaweed.
I do not usually go on a diet, and not really considered macrobiotic, although, I am interested in it.
Being an introductory post, they are general questions and answers.
1- What is macrobiotics? Philosophy of life, a diet or an eating style ?
Defining macrobiotics is complicated, as is defining life. Macrobiotics is a way of understanding all phenomena, from their subtle and energetic origin, to their physical manifestation.
External and internal phenomena, physical and emotional. A lot of attention is paid to food, since it is the basis of our health, but originally, it was not a “diet” to heal diseases, or to be more or less balanced, more or less alkaline, and so on. It was a way of understanding and approaching life (what you eat included, of course), depending on what the engine of life of the person was . It was part of a more philosophical and spiritual approach than a nutritional one.
Each one must eat, to achieve their dreams. Michio Kushi
2- What does it have to do with oriental medicine?
Its base of study and understanding is oriental medicine, although it is such a generic term that it should be clarified. The basis of macrobiotics is Taoist wisdom, the mother of current traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology, shiatsu, etc.
The common denominator: The understanding of the forces that interact and create life, their relationships and their physical manifestations.
3- Why do you talk about Yin and Yang?
It is precisely from the interaction of these “2 forces” that life arises. But it is not necessary to call it Yin and Yang, if it sounds too “Chinese” to us. Quantum Physics does not call them that, but it identifies them equally, as the creative forces of the Universe that we know.
4- Where does macrobiotics come from?
It goes so far back in time, it’s hard to tell. Hippocrates spoke of the subtle energies that created life and the importance of food for health. It even had certain remedies very similar to those we now know in “modern” macrobiotics.
Can you carry out a macrobiotic or close to macrobiotic cooking style and not practice the rest of the philosophy?
A macrobiotic cooking style? You mean eating miso soup, rice with gomasio and azukis? Sure! We can buy a book and follow its menus, reducing certain foods and incorporating others. And we will surely feel better, simply by choosing better quality foods.
But without a why, without an understanding of what we do and what we do it for, then it is when it loses all meaning and becomes just a “diet”. A diet that we will feel restrictive, demanding, strange, eccentric and that in the end we will abandon, as happens with all “diets”.
5- Can any type of person practice it?
Of course! Although each person will have to adapt it according to their “dream”, their lifestyle, their activity, their age, the climate where they live, their health condition, etc.
6- What benefits does eating this type of diet bring to a person?
From a “nutritional” point of view, it is a structure that provides the body with everything it needs, in the most efficient way possible.
7- In the macrobiotic diet, what is the division of food and why?
Food is divided (like all phenomena in life) according to these “2 forces” of which we spoke before, the Yin and Yang. There are foods that have a good relationship between the two, the so-called “centered foods. ” And there are foods that have a clear predominance of one of them, “extreme foods. ”
In general, the idea is that centered foods are the basis of the diet (as they have always been in all traditions) and extreme foods are a small part of the diet. Basically, it is common sense!
8- How should the assembly or elaboration of a balanced dish be?
It will depend a lot on the needs of each person, since preparing a balanced dish for everyone is very risky. The basis of our diet should be whole grains, legumes and vegetables, accompanied in lesser amounts of seeds and nuts, fruits and algae.
And leave the rest of the food, for that small part of the diet, in which the priority is not to give the body the most efficient food, but the one that makes it enjoy the most. Which, on the other hand, is also very important and in no case should we forget!
From this interview, I will be sharing recipes, information, tricks, new apichuskis and etc. related to the first level of my training, on food or macrobiotic diet. If you have questions, it would be wonderful if you tell us and help you!
For the recipes it is recommended to use quality food, better organic and biological.