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The Microbiotic Diet – What Do I Need to Know?

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In this article we are going to take a closer look at the Microbiotic diet, it's origins, ending popularity and what exactly it entails on a day by day, and menu by menu basis .. 🙂 Read On!

The Microbiotic Diet is based on the Macrobiotic movement that started by Sagen Ishizuka who taught that most foods have either a yin or yang property. A proper balance of each energy is needed for the body to become and remain healthy. This teaching expressed that food quality affects our daily lives and that even our happiness is affected by what we eat. Natural foods are less processed and better for us because these foods are pure. Cooking in traditional methods means we are eating food that has been prepared with love and care and Promotes yin and yang as well. Of course mass produced food does not only provide good nutrition, it is unnatural and contains no care in the process.

The macrobiotic diet became popular in the US in the sixties through Michio Kushi. Kushi taught the way to eat was to consume more natural types of foods as whole grains, beans, fruit, seaweed, soy and vegetables. However Kushi felt that whole grains should be the center of the meal and diet as a whole. Of course eating rice and other whole grains can be boring so it is important for most dieters to add variety to the meals you prepare with this diet. Dressings on salads can add a ton of flavor to any meal on this diet such as lemon, lime, ginger juice, orange peels and fresh dill. Also to keep the heaviness that most feel when they eat too many grains is to use quinoa, bulghur wheat or whole wheat couscous which are lighter grains and cook faster as well.

It has been proposed to adjust your meals according to the seasons. During summer you may want to reduce the percentage of grain and increase the amount of vegetables and fruit. Leafy greens and salads can provide a cooling effect to the body. Be sure not to eat too many fruits because it can affect your blood sugar level. It is still important to eat a lot of whole grains in summer as well – but to keep your eating habits different and relate your diet to the weather, you can eat your grains chilled instead of heated as you would in the winter. You can just cook the grains in the morning and eat them for dinner after they have been refrigerated all day. Hatto mugi, buckwheat noodles and quinoa are great for salads and offer a cooling effect to the body on hot days.

Extra liquid can be obtained in the body when lightly cooked or even raw vegetables are added to a meal. Carrots, celery and cucumbers are best for keeping you hydrated. So eating vegetables not only give your body the minerals and vitamins it needs, vegetables also gives your body the extra water it needs as well. Any water you drink actually just flushes away those minerals and vitamins. An interesting approach and some unique theories as well, but as you know – the microbiotic diet remains a popular and evergreen choice for many. No pun intended .. 🙂

My number 1 recommendation for those of US who STRUGGLE to lose weight? Read on below!

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Source by Tina Bardo

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Weight Reducing Diet

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FREE FOOD

  • Beverages like clear soup, pepper water, tomato juice, tender coconut water, dilute skimmed buttermilk, rasam, soda, lime juice with salt.
  • All vegetables( including green leafy vegetables) other than root vegetables as salad or boiled vegetables.
  • Pickles without oil and sugar.

FOODS PERMITTED IN LIMITED QUANTITY

  • Milk (whole) not more than 300 ml. per day including that used in curd and beverages.
  • Oil not more than 4-5 tsp. per day
  • Non-vegetarian items like fish, chicken, can be taken one piece per day in boiled/ grilled form.(50 gm)
  • Fruits like oranges, sweet lime, apple, papaya, water melon can be taken- one or few pieces per day.(100 gm)

FOODS TO BE AVOIDED

  • Fats like vanaspathi, ghee, butter, coconut oil.
  • Sweets like puddings, payasam, burfis, laddu, desserts, icecreams etc.,
  • Bakery products like cakes, pasteries, biscuits, etc.,
  • High calorie fruits like banana, grapes, mango, custard apple, chickoo, etc.,
  • Raw banana and root vegetables like potato yam, colocasia.
  • Nuts like almonds, peanuts, cashewnuts, and dried fruits like figs, dates, currants, raisin, apricots, etc.,
  • Egg yolk, ham bacon, mutton, sausages, cheese, cottage cheese, etc.,
  • Aerated drinks
  • Fruit juices (with sugar) squashes, etc.,
  • Fried foods like chips, bondas, patties, etc., and foods containing lot of fat.

FOOD RECOMMENDED

  • Raw vegetables as salad, freshly boiled vegetables or green leafy vegetables at every meal.
  • Whole pulses, grams and cereals in preference to refined ones.
  • Raw sprouted grams as salads may be included atleast once in a day.

The above mentioned list does not necessarily implies that items not listed are either allowed freely or prohibited.

For quick reduction in weight, diet restriction alone may not be sufficient but combination with exercise the safest being brisk walks of ½ an hour in the morning and evening and gradually increase the timing, may be more effective

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Source by Mathi Devarajan

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Following A Plant Based Diet Is Easy With Home Gardens

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Many people today are turning to a plant-based diet as an alternative to diets too rich in saturated meat products, junk food, and highly processed foods. In some cases, it involves spending more time in the produce section of your local grocery store, looking for fruits and vegetables that are grown organically and spending extra money on them.

You can follow a great plant-based diet in an even better way while growing your fruits and vegetables in your own home garden. If you live in an apartment, you can start a container garden in front of a sunny window. If you have a plot of land to turn into a garden you can go big with a garden filled with healthy fruits and vegetables. You can grow almost anything in a small garden so you have the spring, summer and fall to eat off your own land.

Vegetables Easily Grown At Home

Tomatoes lend themselves well to container gardening and can grow like wild in the good earth of your back yard. They grow and ripen all season long so you can pick what you need for sandwiches, salads, snacks, fresh sauces and even for juicing.

You can grow your own peas or beans in a container or in your backyard garden. They are rich in phytonutrients that have their maximum potency if you simply pick what you need and eat them as soon as possible; you have the greatest amount of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants in the food shortly after picking them.

Peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and greens like Kale are great options for a home garden and allow you to reach for healthy and super fresh produce all summer long and into the fall.

Your Home Garden

If you decide to have a back yard home garden, you need to decide if you want to grow organic foods or not. Organic gardening is the best possible choice because the food is grown without pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. This means no harmful chemicals exist with the food you pick and you can even eat them straight out of the garden without having to wash them extensively.

Grow a wide variety of foods that become ripe at different times of the season:

Radishes, for example, take only a few weeks to become edible and, after pulling them up, you have room to grow a row of something else. Most people grow tomatoes and some people grow carrots, lettuce, and potatoes.

Both potatoes and squash need the entire summer to become available for eating so all you need to do is to keep them weed-free and watch them grow. In the early autumn or late summer, you can dig up the potatoes and harvest the squash. These types of produce can be kept at room temperature or in a cool place for many months so you have instant winter eating from vegetables you grew in the summer.

Lettuce and other greens can be grown and harvested all summer long for the best in salads that are high in phytonutrients and antioxidants. All you need to do is harvest some of the leaves, wash them, and enjoy them in a healthy salad with tomatoes, carrots, or radishes you grew yourself. This is the core of a plant-based diet that will give you benefits far beyond a meat-based diet.

Meat-based diets are low in antioxidants and high in saturated fats. You can get the nutrition you need from vegetables and fruits you grow yourself with a known reduction in fatty deposits in your arteries and a lesser chance for heart disease and stroke. There is a reduced risk of certain cancers with a low fat, plant-based diet.

Get Even Better Results With Composting

If you want an especially fruitful garden, consider starting a compost pile or box. All you need to do is put in vegetation and clippings from around your yard, add food scraps and paper, mixing everything with a little bit of soil. Worms thrive in the moist environment of a good compost heap so that you will soon have these things turned into rich soil that will make your organic garden thrive.

Get Started Today

There are millions of guides online for organic vegetable gardening, and many books on the topic. In reality, the best teacher is experience, so learn the initial steps, get the supplies and just do it! Remember to get the kids involved in the garden as well; it is a great learning experience, and a great opportunity to spend quality time together.

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Source by J Russell Hart