September 24th, 2008 — diet, healthy eating, nutrition, vegetarian
As more stars jump on the macrobiotic band wagon, many of us wonder what this diet is and why it is so beneficial. A macrobiotic diet is not an easy diet, and it is not for everyone. However, it does contain some interesting principles that can be applied for any type of diet. Let's take a look at this diet to see what all the hype is about. Please note that the advice contained here in cannot replace the advice of your doctor. Always check with your caregiver to see if this is a diet that may work for you. They will be able to guide you on making smart decisions.
The main focus of this diet is to eat organic and fresh foods. These foods do not contain a lot of harmful preservatives and the majority are also low in calories and fat. The first focus of the diet is switching from highly processed white flour to whole grain flour. Next, you'll be focusing on numerous vegetables.
This is a largely vegetarian diet that can be very strict and hard to maintain. However, it does get results, and can produce them quite fast in many cases. The main issue though is fighting cravings since you are removing entire food groups from your diet. If you are strong and healthy, this should not be a problem, but suddenly switching to macrobiotic diet can be a shock to your system. It will take a little getting used to.
Foods that are allowed in macrobiotic diets include just about every vegetable under the sun. While you may be allowed to eat steamed or boiled chicken or fish every once in awhile, most meat is discouraged with this diet. This is probably the hardest thing to get used to when you got on a macrobiotic diet. Your body does need protein to survive, so if you cut out meat, replace it with soy or something else that contains higher levels of protein.
One very interesting concept is that foods that are considered to be tropical are not allowed in this diet. The main thought behind this is that they are grown in temperate climates and as such, may remove the body's natural immunity, if you are not from that particular area. Potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant all fit into this category according to the diet.
Most adherents to this diet try to consume 5 to 10% of their daily needs in the form of soup. Another 10% is recommended to come from sea vegetables such as wakame, and from beans. Many macrobiotics survive on nothing more that vegetable soup and beans, and this does get pretty boring after awhile for many.
While there are some really great features about this diet, it is one of the hardest to maintain. Some nutritionists worry that it is not a balanced diet and could lead to health problems, unless you make sure that you are getting enough protein and reducing the amount of bad carbs.
Photo Credits: 1
Related Articles
Related Stores
June 6th, 2008 — Book Review
This book is considered to be one of the most controversial diet books on the market and it certainly raises a lot of interesting issues that are normally avoided in the diet industry. Although a lot of people believe that metabolism and genetic predisposition can lead to weight problems, the author of this book believes that eating the wrong foods for your blood type may be the root of a weight problem. This is an interesting concept and unfortunately, there is not a lot of evidence around to support these claims.
The author does state that research was performed to come up with this plan, but facts are never cited and this research is never shared. This raises some major red flags right from the start. It's one thing to say that a diet can do something, but if it can't be proven, it's just irresponsible to make these kind of claims. While there are thousands that swear by this diet, there is a general lack of clinical proof in place to back up the author's claims and that is quite frankly, not good.
The book does not focus on lifestyle changes or the quest to get not only fit but also healthy. Instead, it claims that your blood type determines what kind of foods you can eat. For example, those with a type A blood type will need to avoid meat, dairy, tomatoes and peppers from their diet. This is no easy task and will take a huge level of long term commitment to keep weight off. The other blood types have similar restrictions, but they do vary a bit. For example, O Types are allowed to eat meat, but no carbs or dairy. The diets are just so extreme that they make even Atkins look easy.
The only real good thing that we can say is that the book makes it pretty clear what you can and cannot eat. Some people may find this refreshing since it really removes any question about grey areas. However, it is just not healthy to completely remove whole food groups from your diet. For example, if you completely stop eating both meat and cheese, you're going to be missing a significant amount of protein from your diet. Your body needs protein to function properly and without it, you can have some serious health problems.
In order to lose weight the healthy way, it's best to find the right balance of carbs, protein and fats. All are essential and should never be completely eliminated from a diet. When you do that, you end up feeling deprived and the cravings can be very intense since your body is trying to tell you that it is drastically low on protein or carbs.
We simply cannot recommend this book due to the fact that there is no research available to back up the author's claims. The suggestions are not healthy and adherents could be physically harming themselves by following this diet.
Related Articles
Related Stores
