The macrobiotic philosophy is universal and the laws of nature of opposite but complementary forces that macrobiotics explains apply to everything in nature. The macrobiotic diet is the application of the macrobiotic philosophy to food and nutrition. The macrobiotic diet is only the nutritional aspect of this philosophy. The macrobiotic diet is composed mainly of whole grains, vegetables, fish, legumes, soups and pickles.

This is not a criticism of Japanese foods. Macrobiotic Japanese foods are excellent and many are delicious. Macrobiotics philosophy originated in the orient. The main teachers who carried macrobiotics from the Far East to the west (the United States, France, Great Britain and Spain) were Japanese named Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara among others. It was natural for them to teach people eating balanced Japanese macrobiotic foods. Broadly speaking, macrobiotics calls for understanding the world around us and applying its principles of balance in all aspects of daily lives including eating habits.

One of the fundamentals of nutrition in macrobiotics is eating locally grown food. This means that applying macrobiotics principle of balance in South Africa, one has to select South African balanced foods, and there are!

Applying macrobiotics principles in France, one has to eat balanced French foods, and there are!

Applying macrobiotics principles in Brazil, one has to eat balanced Brazilian foods, and there are! And so on.

Macrobiotic principles prove that food is best medicine. And every locale has its own balanced foods that cure when applied properly. There is no need to eat exotic foreign foods to recover from any illness.

We have received consultation requests from many countries around the world: Algiers, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain (United Kingdom), Greece, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA, Venezuela, Yemen.

Each region has its own balanced foods.

Food is always best medicine, no matter what the illness. If you followed the macrobiotic diet for a while (especially the number seven diet which consists of eating only brown rice and gomashio for a long time) and found no relief, it does not mean that food is not best medicine. It means that your choice of foods for your specific health condition(s) has been wrong.

Example: if you have heart disease and decided to eat a bowl of carrots and leeks soup, you will feel much worse. Or if you have diarrhea and decided to eat a parsley, cucumbers and lettuce salad, that will aggravate your diarrhea.

The standard macrobiotics diet developed over the years is general and not for everyone. It recommends eating plenty of vegetables, but it does not specify which vegetables will be helpful for each illness.

Your own health condition(s) requires you to do more research into what foods will cure you. You have to dig deep into the macrobiotics concepts of yin and yang and natural balance.

If you want to naturally treat any illness(es) you have but need help selecting the right foods for you, we provide consultations for natural treatment. To order a nutrition consultation follow steps 1-4 from the top of this page.

Applying the standard macrobiotic diet arbitrarily can be dangerous in some cases. A person's current state of health might mean that even some of the macrobiotic foods can be harmful.

Example: Salmonella poisoning (typhoid), a food allergy or advanced ulcerative colitis will not tolerate lettuce, chard or even brown rice and will have to rely on different foods until the condition improves. This person will have to follow a modified diet until the condition improves. Only then, the patient can move to the standard macrobiotic diet. The same logic applies to all diseases.

What to eat?

Do you know what foods you should start with based on your current state of health?

Do you know how each of the foods shown here will affect your body?

These food have different shapes and colors because they have different energies. Their effect on your body differs greatly.

Do you know when to eat and when to avoid each one of them?

If you do, then you are your own doctor!

You are a free person.

You are free from the need for a doctor or medicine

Your heart does not know fear of illness.

You know that food is best medicine

Where is the calcium in macrobiotics foods? 

One of the questions I get asked the most by patients is: "where is the calcium in my foods?"

A common misconception is that the macrobiotics diet does not provide enough calcium because it does not include milk and dairy foods.

The statement that Macrobiotics is a dangerous diet comes from some nutrition textbooks. It is natural that macrobiotics philosophy is met with hostility because it eliminates the need for a doctor.

Followers of macrobiotics, especially those with cancer and other serious illnesses are often warned by their doctors that macrobiotics is dangerous.

The people who make this claim overlook the disastrous, sometimes deadly, results that many drugs and medical procedures have had on countless patients. Cortisone, VIOXX, radiation therapy and thaledomide are only examples.

Macrobiotics is only foods. and there is nothing dangerous about foods. Many nations in Asia and Africa subsist on simple foods similar to the macrobiotics foods and enjoy good health and longevity.

Some people oppose macrobiotics because they claim it is a cult. Cults typically have a guru whose teachings are blindly followed by their disciples. Macrobiotics teachers like Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara are well respected, but they are not gurus.

A key teaching of macrobiotics is: Non Credo or DO NOT BELIEVE. Statements about diet and lifestyle are always given with explanations, not stated as absolute truths which followers are bound to believe. Followers of macrobiotics are encouraged to find out for themselves if such statements are true.

The late Joseph Campbell said: ... I do not have to have faith, I have experience ...

The macrobiotics teachings can help us all understand what life is all about. There is never any calling for following a particular prophet or believing in a particular God. Actually, the concept of yin and yang in macrobiotics is found in all major religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and all others. It is the basis of all knowledge and the laws of the universe.

When macrobiotics was first introduced to the west, it was popular with hippies who were attracted to natural things including natural foods. Because of this macrobiotics was called a fad diet.

This is not true and it is not a fad. Macrobiotics dietary recommendations are based on traditional ways of eating that humanity has followed for thousands of years.

In a broader sense, macrobiotics is not just a diet. It is a set of guidelines which we adopt according to our personal condition, our environment and other factors. But it starts with foods.

Common misconception is that vegetarians and macrobiotics followers do not get vitamin B12 because this vitamin is found only in meat products.

It is not true that B12 can only be found in meat products. This rare vitamin is actually produced by molds, fungi and bacteria. It can be found in several vegetarian and macrobiotics foods, including fermented foods such as soy sauce, tempeh, miso and home-made olives and pickles.