Macrobiotic Diets Part 1
By Judi on Apr 23, 2008 in Natural Diet
While I don’t think I could live within the strictness of this diet. I certain intend to live within this diet as far as some of its theories.
Their diet is broken down into percentage of what is consumed. The largest two groups of food being 50-60% of fiber and whole grain and 25-30% fruit and vegetable.
There are those who will find fault with these numbers and those that fully endorse them. Let’s break them down a bit.
In recent studies it was shown that only 8% of Americans consumed the recommended daily allowance of whole grains. What is even worse is that 42% of Americans got no whole grains on a regular basis.
Whole grains are full of essential vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Studies have shown that consuming the Recommended Daily Allowance of Whole Grains lowers the risk of Heart Disease, Colon Cancer, obesity and Diabetes.
Whole grains add so much to your food. They have much more flavor and texture, not to mention they are full of fiber, which helps to keep things moving along smoothly.
Those on the negative side also have a point. People who implement the Macrobiotic diet often have intestinal issues. If you don’t have enough whole grain and fiber in your diet, and then have it make up 50% of your diet, intestinal issues may be an issue. It will take your system a while to adjust.
The answer to this? Ease into it. Even if you have no intention to eat the macrobiotic way adding whole grain and fiber to your diet will benefit you. Find ways to add them into your diet.
Oatmeal is something we all enjoy. Long cooking oatmeal is a whole grain. Don’t want a bowl of hot oatmeal? Toast a bit and add it to your yogurt. Popcorn is also a whole grain, and who doesn’t love popcorn. Grab an air popcorn popper and enjoy some naturally popped pop corn and increase your whole grains and fiber. When baking you can substitute 1/3 of the white flour for whole grain flour. You can also substitute half of the white flour for oatmeal. Try this in cookies and cakes. We even substitute in our waffles and pancakes.
Very good tips. I concur, that you don’t need to transition to macrobiotic diet completely from the start. Take it slowly. Every bit counts. And the intestinal problems with macrobiotic diet is something I haven’t heard of. There’s very important to chew the food (especially the gains) at least 50 times. Because the digestion starts at your mouth with the ptyalin ensyme. Without proper mixing of saliva with your food, it will be badly digested and will cause problems in the intestines.
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neon | Apr 29, 2008 | Reply