What Is The Macrobiotic Diet?



Diet means long life, but otherwise follow up can have serious health consequences . This type of diet or rejects all processed food considered adulterated by being manipulated . The diet goes through ten stages of dietary restriction to carry exclusive feeding grain.

Foods are classified into two categories: Yin and Yang , having to be a harmony between the two to achieve the physical and mental wellbeing. Yin foods are all-natural foods: sugar, fruit, honey or alcohol. Yang foods should limit, some of them are: salty foods, red meat, poultry or coffee.

The diet consists of diets that are numbered -3 to +7. The first five animal foods eliminate progressively becoming more vegetarians. The rest is eliminating processed foods or processed until you reach +7 diet, in which only consumed cereal grains crushed. In addition, it reduces the amount of water consumed, which may lead to dehydration . this diet Features:
  • Foods should be cooked with vegetable oil or water, clay or iron vessel and only salted with sea salt, no salt refined and / or supplemented.
  • Non-consumption of fruits and vegetables treated with manure and fertilizers.
  • It prevents food from countries away from the place where they live.
  • Priority is given to seasonal vegetables.
  • We avoid vegetables like potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes.
  • Nothing spices or chemical ingredients.
  • As fruitive only supported natural Chinese tea or Japanese.
  • They are recommended for cereals with different preparation: rice, wheat, rye, corn, barley, millet ... However not recommend their meal.
  • It minimizes fluid intake.
  • Chewing each mouthful at least 50 times.

Nutritional consequences of diet adherence:
  • As we pass from -3 to +7 diet begin to appear deficient in protein, iron, calcium, vitamins A, D, C and B12.
  • Besides the high presence of philately decreases abosorción of the few minerals that may be, eventually emerging diseases such as anemia, scurvy, hypoglycemia or hipoproteinemias and thus malnutrition.

If you thought that follow a macrobiotic diet was easy you were wrong, to reach the stage -3 to +7 practically should you go to live in the country and cultivate yourself your own cereal and fruit .

Today the fashion of the macrobiotic diet is closer to -3 to +1 diet, which somewhat resemble the ovolactovegetarianas or vegan. What is clear is that strict monitoring part of this type of diet can lead to deficiencies, and follow-up today is virtually impossible, it is rather a part of philosophy that emerged at the beginning of last century, which today vestiges or substitutes.

Macrobiotic Diet


His supporters say the main factor to fight disease is food that nourishes the body and mind as they consider useless antidote use, whether allopathic, homeopathic or naturopathic, if not stop using "poisons" (saturated fats, high amount of sugar and salt, snuff, alcohol and drugs).

Therefore, states that practiced macrobiotics from discipline that aims to provide the means to get rid of bad habits, vices and food constraints imposed by a highly consumerist society.

Also, according to the fundamentals of this regime must be in harmony with nature, so the food choices must be made ??according to each season, climate and health. The macrobiotic diet is a way extreme vegetarianism combined with ideas from Zen Buddhist philosophy has found acceptance among believers in natural feeding and food "organic", and also many dissatisfied with the established social order and the modern food industry. His supporters traverse ten levels of dietary restriction until that feed grain only.

The macrobiotic diet is based mainly on the intake of whole grains such as rice, barley, maize and wheat, which can be eaten boiled, stewed, in soups, pies or cakes. It is also important to add to the fruit and vegetable diet, and for the animal protein that the body requires is advisable to combine the aforementioned foods with lean meat (fat) beef and skinless chicken and fish. addition, the scheme Eat less dairy products, which should be replaced by green leafy vegetables, as they contain lots of vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, iron and folic acid, which prevents nutrient deficiency. Notably, some say that this diet is prohibitive and can lead his followers to be malnourished, but actually allowed to eat all foods, the key is to choose the best quality balancing quantities.

Balance between yin and yang foods

Classify foods into two categories: ying (Food liabilities) and yang (active food). There must be a balance between yin and yang foods to achieve health and fitness and mental health. For them, some yin foods are: carp, clams, watermelon, potatoes, prunes, sugar, honey and garlic. Horse meat, chicken eggs and duck, pork and caviar are yang. Cereals, and vegetables offer the best balance between yin and yang. Among the nutrients, most B vitamins and vitamin C are ying while soluble (A, D, E and K) and B6 are yang. These classifications are meaningless from any scientific standpoint.

The system consists of a series macrobiotic ten diets that are numbered from -3 to +7. The first five (-3 to +2) include decreasing amounts of animal foods, are practically vegetarian diets. The others are exclusively vegetarian and contain increasing amounts of wheat grains to the diet until 7 which is composed exclusively of crushed cereal grains.

Dehydration problems

This system advises a limitation in the drinking water, which can lead to serious dehydration problems as highlighted in a publication originated precisely to step out into the diets recommended a drinking water restriction (Grande- Covián, 1993). Other ideas unfounded this doctrine is that the body is able to perform the transmutation of chemical elements, whereby, for example, can be produced from sodium potassium and oxygen, which is entirely feasible.

Its use as a slimming diet

According to his followers no disease can not be cured using "natural" food and restricting the drinking water, and any disease is easier to cure the cancer through the use of a macrobiotic diet, especially the grade 7, ie, composed solely of the grain. It is also recommended for use as slimming diet.

A typical macrobiotic diet would consist of:
  • 50-60% of grams of cereal. 
  • 20-25 & vegetables. 
  • 5-10% legumes. 
  • 5% soups.

Seaweed varying proportions

It avoids all types of meat, milk or dairy products, and is usually rare among his followers the vitamin supplements (Kushi & Jack, 1987) often appear so serious nutritional deficiencies. 
thus consuming a macrobiotic diet can lead a protein deficiency, quantitative and qualitative (protein intake of low quality) and a significant deficiency in vitamin B12, C and fat soluble vitamins (A and D). Also, is low in calcium and iron whose absorption is hindered by the presence of phytates. Among nutritional deficiencies detected by consumers of this diet include anemia, scurvy, hypocalcemia and hypoproteinemia. As already mentioned, the drinking water limit recommended by the macrobiotic system is another serious danger. No wonder, therefore, that some of his followers recommending forget everything we know about nutrition. "

Although the macrobiotic diet is a diet old, has been considered as a serious risk to the health of the population (Grand Jury of the State of New Jersey, 1966), knowing deaths among his followers. Currently re-emerged and even women's magazines disclosure presented as a true panacea.

The macrobiotic diet divides foods into two types:

Ying foods
are foods that should be eaten sparingly, because their energy is debilitating: sugar, honey, alcoholic beverages, tropical fruits like banana, mango, kiwi, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, plums, vegetables like potatoes, eggplant, tomato , garlic and beets, milk, white bread, sausages, meat, eggs, clams, vitamin C, spices, processed foods, preserved foods, dyes or chemical ingredients.

Yang foods
are the food needed, because their energy is invigorating: cereals (wheat, rye, corn, barley, millet, oats), vegetables, seaweed, fish occasionally, vitamins A, B6, D, E and K, and vegetables grown without pesticides in home gardens, which has found wide acceptance among food industry rivals. It is very important to prepare steamed food should be cooked with iodized sea salt.

Example menu

Breakfast 
A Bancha tea or tea mu 
A cream of millet or rice with cinnamon and raisins sesame rice crackers with sesame puree or vegetable pate

Lunch 
A miso soup or vegetable with seaweed and soy sauce 
A combination plate of boiled rice with kombu seaweed and vegetable protein (legumes, seitan or wheat gluten, tofu or tofu, tempeh or fermented soybeans) 
A little cooked apple or cereal (grits or wheat) with fruit jelly made ??with agar-agar seaweed 
tea bancha A

Snack 
A tea 
Rice cakes with jam or vegetable paté

Dinner 
A vegetable soup with shiitake (Japanese mushroom) and daikon (turnip species) 
Vegetables steamed rice or some fish

Disadvantages Beware

Take as little protein can lead you to a risk of anemia and malnutrition. With this power have been cases of scurvy and calcium deficiency. Furthermore, as drinking water is restricted, it may suffer from dehydration or renal insufficiency.

As you may have noticed, many of the foods are hard to come by being of Japanese origin (millet, soybean, algae, tempeh, tofu, etc.). And maybe bother you that by not eating much, you can limit your social and family life and surrounding yourself with pure finish macrobiotic friends.

It is convenient to carry out this diet without any medical supervision, because as prevents vitamin supplements, low in calcium and iron, the main allies of women, can cause you nutritional deficiencies.

If you decide to try this diet, it is important to get regular medical examinations to keep track of your levels of iron and vitamin B12.

Chicken And Noodles



Chicken And Noodles

This soup is a typical first course in Spanish households, regardless of the region. You are sure to be served a chicken soup with either noodles or rice if you visit a Spanish family for any length of time. Spanish love soups and seem to eat them whether it is winter or summer. This soup is perfect for those cold winter evenings when you need something to warm you from the inside out. Luckily, it is an easy soup to make.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients:
  • 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 2 Carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp virgin olive oil
  • 2 chicken backs
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/5 lb angel hair pasta
  • salt to taste

Preparation:
Peel and coarsely chop vegetables. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and sauté the vegetables for 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the chicken backs to the pan. Brown the chicken for 2-3 minutes. Add water and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Salt to taste. Chicken will be soft and practically falling off the bones.

Bring soup to a fast boil. Break dry noodles in half and add noodles to soup. Cook until noodles are done. Serve while hot.

Want to Speed up the Cooking Time?

The Spanish commonly use pressure cookers to speed up the cooking time of soups, stews and bean casseroles. Used according to simple directions, they are safe and can save you lots of time.

What To Eat For Breakfast Healthy



You've probably heard that breakfast healthy is one of the most important meals of the day, but eating breakfast is even more important than you think! To start, breakfast literally ends the fasting time you went to bed until the time of waking. Thus, the breakfast healthy provides energy for your body and mind with the fuel you need to think, work and play in better health throughout the day. 

What makes a healthy breakfast?
A healthy breakfast should have foods from different groups, such as two pieces of wheat toast with cream vegetable Becel, a glass of juice or a piece of fruit and a cup of yogurt or milk. These foods provide energy and essential nutrients such as omega 3 and 6, calcium, iron, fiber, vitamin D, B vitamins, folic acid, magnesium, and zinc. Those who skip breakfast lose these important nutrients for health and often fail to meet their daily nutritional needs during the rest of the day. 

Eating a breakfast with fiber can help regulate your appetite and minimize the consumption of large feed throughout the day. Both adults and children who eat breakfast regularly tend to have healthier body weights than those who skip breakfast. Being a healthy weight is important for keeping your heart healthy. Anyway, have a healthy breakfast can put you on the right path for other behaviors and healthy lifestyles. Studies show that those who drink coffee in the morning, regardless of age, tend to engage in regular physical activity, choosing healthier foods and not smoking. 


Beat the morning rush
When you're in a hurry to wake the kids and get them ready for school on time, it may seem challenging to sit and enjoy a good healthy breakfast together. The answer? Try to prepare as much of the breakfast the night before. Let bowls and spoons ready for cereal. Spread margarine on bread for sandwich with grilled cheese. Wash, slice and make portions of fruit. 

For older children and adolescents, have a selection of foods for breakfast style "do it yourself", such as granola bars, hot and cold cereal, muffins and rolls integrals, mixed nuts, cheese, peanut butter, milk and juice . 

Important: Always consult a dietitian for an individualized care. 

Tips For Cooking More Healthfully


Make A Healthy Food 

Make A Healthy Food

Here are some suggestions for healthy food confection that, in addition to highlight their flavor, also preserve its food value. 

foods provide nutrients to the man he needs. However, the way is prepared very important in perspective of a healthy diet. 

Since the discovery of fire that the man began to cook some of the food it consumes, improving its digestibility and altering its structure. 

Such changes may be beneficial or detrimental, being therefore necessary to know the most correct confectioner foods. 

We present some suggestions for healthy food confection that, in addition to highlight their flavor, preserve its  healthy food  value. 

A Healthy Food

Bake 
This type of cooking is very healthy confection. It should place the food least possible cut in boiling water and boil so that the intensity does not decrease during the cooking time. This strategy allows the exchange of nutrients in the water is low. 

Cooking in a pressure cooker with little water - just enough to cover  healthy food  - baked or steamed brings out the natural flavor of food and preserves its nutritional principles. 

Boil the potatoes in their skins prevents loss of vitamin C and enhances its flavor. 

The waters of cooking, because they are rich in nutrients that food drop out, can and should be used for grout - rice, pasta, soups ... 

A trick: adding a little vinegar, lemon juice or wine to the cooking water, the food will be stiffer, not risking to dispose (which may be fine, for example, in the case of fish). 

Roasting 
Meat and fish should cook with your own fat, so should avoid the addition of any fat during this type of culinary confection. If it is really necessary, it should be used lard or olive oil. 

Preparing a marinade time on the previous day, where (s) part (s) roasting should remain until such time being confecionada. The interior of the animals that are baked integers (fish, poultry or other) must also be tempered. 

The sauce used to baste the roast should be at own marinade. They cover up the pieces with aluminum foil until they are cooked - to "give color" to roast, you must remove it. If any (s) part (s) be burned must be rejected. 

Casserole 
This type of confection is similar to baking, but here, starts the process at low temperature. 

In a pan, joins onion, peppers and tomatoes, a little fat (or chorizo, for example) and some water leftover gravy or a stew. Then join the meat or fish, and only after they were half ready, add other  healthy food  (because they need less time to bake). 

Use leeks, cabbage white, flower and heart, or other greens enriches the dish at nutrition and flavor. Use of herbs adds pleasing palates and allows the use of very little or no salt. In this type of confection include the bib and stews that require less water. 

Fry 
the fritters The problem is a lot of fat using very high temperatures and the fat that is submitted. 

The elevated temperatures degrade the fats, transforming them into compounds harmful to health. These two reasons are more than enough in order to avoid this kind of culinary confection. 

However, it should be stressed in use frying oil, peanut oil or lard, at a constant temperature of approximately 180 ° - and while heating the fat to quit smoking. 

The potatoes should be cut as thick as possible and fish and meat should be lean. 

The dough for cookies, bait for cod or similar products should be rich in water and to prevent entry of fat. 

After frying, the food should be immediately placed on absorbent paper and you will get healthy food.

How To Natural Food Cooking



Natural Food Cooking

Any natural food cooking or warming affected the nutritional content of food. 

Nutritional Losses occurs for different reasons. Minerals are not destroyed but leached in boiling water. Vitamins are destroyed and leached but different amounts depending on the vitamin. When cooking a previously frozen product is slightly higher since the leach some degradation of the cell walls has already occurred. The energizing nutrients fat, protein and carbohydrates destroyed a negligible extent in normal cooking but rather may "increase" the water content of the food falls during natural food cooking.
  
Vitamins
The water soluble vitamins (B and C) are susceptible to oxidation by the action of oxygen, heat, light, and acidity. Food, comminution also play. The water-soluble vitamins are washed and dissolved in the boiling water. To take advantage of the leached nutrients, you can use the broth for sauce or soup or similar.

Leaching into the natural food cooking water makes you should cook food in as little water as possible, so that it barely covers. Other factors for an optimal treatment involves such a short time and temperature as low as possible. This applies regardless of cooking method such as boiling, microwaving, roasting or frying.

The estimated food in the "Search the nutritional content of food", factors used for loss of vitamins during cold and hot cooking. These figures are general and losses are dependent on the type of food. See Table Retentionsfaktorer.

The fat-soluble vitamins (A, D and E), these are mainly for degradation by oxidation. In industrial food production is often added an antioxidant such as vitamin C (E 300), or vitamin E to prevent oxidation. Antioxidants are substances which themselves easily oxidized and therefore protects for example, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A from oxidation. Antioxidants are found naturally in foods such as these are bioflavonoids, carotenoids and selenium. Antioxidants are often interact so that the total effect is greater than the effect of each of them. Especially in antioxidant-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, this synergistic effect particularly important and prominent. This is one of the reasons that it is better to eat fruits and vegetables than supplements.

When keeping warm is a further gradual reduction of the particular content of water-soluble vitamins. Keeping warm should be for as short a time as possible. Also the appearance, taste, smell and even affected by warming. For professional management Food Administration recommends a maximum of one hour Keep Warm potato and a maximum of two hours for other foods. For hygiene reasons, a minimum temperature of 60 degrees celsius held.

In some cases the natural food cooking and preparation to be positive for vitamins due to increased bioavailability. For example, plant-based foods with beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, making cooking that cell wall proteins relaxed and carotene in the cells can be released. Thus, it is positive to boil carrots. In the fermentation of vegetables is an increase of particular B vitamins according to the microbial synthesis.

The Natural Food Cooking

Minerals 
The largest losses of minerals occurs through leaching and leaching into the extracellular fluid and cooking water if not boiling and freezing performed optimally. Potassium which are mostly found in the cell walls, is the most loss-sensitive.

Positive effects of natural food cooking can be that oxalic acid in spinach and rhubarb is released during cooking and blanching and thus prevented from insoluble calcium compounds formed. This increases the availability of calcium. Phytic acid present in many cereals and can bind including zinc, iron and calcium may be affected and degraded by the enzyme phytase on the foodstuff is subjected to processing such as germination, fermentation and fermentation.

Sensor Energy 
When preparing and cooking affected the absorption of fat, protein and carbohydrates usually in a positive way in that cell walls relaxed and the food increases bioavailability. For example, potatoes are in the uncooked state contains very little of the human absorbable energy. Only after natural food cooking or gelatinized starch granules gelatinise and may be broken down in the digestive tract.

Fat 
When the fat in the food in contact with oxygen starts a form of oxidative rancidity. Fat oxidation taking place during transport, storage, cooking and even during freezing. The process is slow but eventually gets the food inedible, namely when the polyunsaturated fatty acids have härsknat and formed free radicals. Subjecting the oil to high temperatures for a long time, e.g. in frying härskningen can be faster. Nutrient losses in this case means a loss of essential fatty acids, taste and smell occurs, however, much earlier. Antioxidants are used to fat oxidation will be reduced and the durability is improved. Loss of fat can also arise from rendering frying and boiling.
  
Protein
Factors affecting protein foods include boiling, frying, low pH (pickled herring) and high salt and sugar levels (burial). This effect leads to denaturation, which increases the availability of protein, namely amino acids become free. If denauteringen progress at too high a temperature and for a long time, or for heavy mechanical processing, the protein loses its water storage capacity. The fluid then leaks following minerals and vitamins and also water-soluble proteins, and the food is dry and hard. Some of the essential amino acids lysine and cysteine ??becomes disabled or unavailable for absorption. In bread baking destroyed 70 percent of the lysine in the surface layer, while only 10 percent of the giblets.

Carbohydrates 
Carbohydrates absorption depends on the distribution of starch, amylose and amylopectin in different foods. Generally, natural food cooking or other effects of the starch increases availability. Other carbohydrates such as sugars and degraded starch is digestible directly and additionally soluble in cold water. Any loss may occur by leaching.

At fermentation temperatures greater than 100 degrees (bakery) is some degradation and loss of sugars. In the latter case arises caramelization and the formation of Maillardprodukter on the surface of the bread, but the bread crumb is not affected.

When cooking starch has a tendency to form resistant starch. This occurs, for example starch during cooking and subsequent cooling of the rice. Resistant starch is formed even when the bread aging. Resistant starch is not broken down until the colon which makes it can be considered as dietary fiber.