Macrobiotic Diet

This past weekend, I flew from coast to coast for my brothers wedding. While en route, I did some reviewing of the macrobiotic diet. Far from the fritos and cheeseburgers we were offered on the plane, instead the macrobiotic diet focuses on whole foods, mostly vegetarian and places an emphasis on sea vegetables and cultured soy products. As the stewarist went to pass me my meal, I kindly declined and kept reading!

The macrobiotic diet is based on the traditional Oriental diet which consists of local foods such as whole grains, sea vegetables such as seaweed, fresh vegetables, soups, beans, fish and small amounts of fruits, nuts and very occasional meat. People who adhere to this diet have demonstrated to have lower instances of cancer and heart disease and tend to lead healthier, less stressful and longer lives. However, I found that the macrobiotic diet doesn't only consist of diet as a means of promoting health and longivity, firm believers in the diet also live a "macrobiotic lifestyle" which emphasizes world peace, respecting nature, having a healthy relationship with one's emotions and involves taking part in a spiritual practice such as yoga, qi gong, breathing exercises, meditation etc.
Foods that are emphasized include whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley, amaranth, and whole wheat; key vegetables are broccli, mushrooms, onions, carrots, green leafy vegetables, cabbage, squash, celery and cucumber. The emphasized fruits include apples, berries, cherries, grapes, peaches, pears and plums. The main spices and seasonings are very important to the diet; food is mostly seasoned with brown rice vinegar, fresh ginger (can be sauteed into dishes), miso, and wheat free soy sauce.
Miso is a fermented paste made out of soybeans. There has been extensive research performed that has discovered the health benefits of miso, particularly in the prevention of breast cancer. Adding a teaspoon of miso to your daily consumption has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer by 50%!!!! An easy way to incorporate miso is to add some to stir fry's, make a miso sauce with vegetable broth, miso and water to season veggies, meats or fish, or make a cup of miso soup.
Enjoy!