Microbiotic Diet

The microbiotic philosophy is much more than just a diet, and has its roots in ancient Japanese culture, which was researched and made more popular by a Japanese army doctor at the start of the last century. The philosophy is called microbiotic, or sometimes macrobiotic, because of the view that foods have a kind of life force which can influence other life forces.

This life force is believed by followers of this way of life to be able to cure many different diseases, and has been used in the fight against cancer, sometimes with good results, although it cannot replace modern medical treatment. Immune system diseases such as lupus and other autoimmune syndromes are also said sometimes to improve under the microbiotic regime. Psoriasis and asthma, which may sometimes be influenced by the large amount of additives and chemicals in the modern diet, have been treated by microbiotics.

In the microbiotic philosophy there is considered to be importance to the way in which food is cut and prepared, because this affects its energy signature and can change the way it is metabolised. Food is considered to be just one of the factors interacting to influence weight and general health, and must be considered in combination with all the other factors, such as stress, pollution, exercise and diagnosis according to Eastern medicine.

The microbiotic way of life is vegetarian, and relies on foods which have been refined as little as possible, includes a lot of beans and grains and a small amount of dairy produce if any. The most important tenet is the balance of forces, meaning that the body should be balanced from the point of view of Yin and Yang, the two opposing forces according to Eastern medicine. This means that strong tasting foods should not be eaten, and stimulants like coffee and tea are not considered healthy.

Although weight loss is not one of the important aims of the microbiotic diet, this is one of the classic low glycemic carbohydrate diets, probably the first, and will result in an improvement in blood sugar levels for most people if carried out properly. Often weight loss will occur naturally, as the body rebalances itself, and because it is a vegetarian diet, cholesterol and triglycerides will naturally fall.

This isn't just a diet plan though. The microbiotic way of life extends into all spheres of activity, and demands widespread lifestyle changes in order to get the full benefits of the philosophy. For instance, relationships which are upset or hostile should be improved as much as possible, and every day stress is reduced by meditation.

It is interesting to note that modern diet ideas have gone the rounds from being just diets,divorced from the need to exercise or reduce stress, and now are linked to psychology and general fitness, coming back to ideals which are centuries old. The microbiotic diet may be ancient wisdom whose time has come again.