Macrobiotics

Macrobiotics is an approach to self-improvement or self-management of health via a wholesome way of eating and via lifestyle amendments. The diet recommends mostly plant-based, locally sourced, seasonal whole foods, avoidance of preservatives, consistent timing and a well-rounded mix of food types at each meal. It also rejects processed foods and instead uses only a limited amount of sweeteners such as rice syrup or barley malt instead of refined table sugar.

Macrobiotics was a social movement, largely derived from the teachings of one Japanese man (George Ohsawa) in the United States. The movement really took off during the hippie movement in the 1960's and simultaneously took root in various others Western countries. Ohsawa recognized the unhealthy aspects of food production in the industrial age and was deeply influenced by health-promoting aspects of the diet eaten by Zen monks in Japanese monasteries. As taught in 2022, macrobiotics provides a complete system for promoting health and well-being. Its approach is somewhat comparable to that of Ayurveda, encompassing everything from daily exercise to self observation to adjusting diet for individual needs to spiritual development, and with an emphasis on prevention rather than remedy. The dietary recommendations originated in the cuisine served to the unusually healthy Zen Buddhist monks in Japan in the early 1900s; modern macrobiotic recipes have added and modified the original ideas considerably. The diagnostic roots of macrobiotics are close to that of Traditional Chinese Medicine's mapping of meridiens and far eastern yin-yang philosophy. Macrobiotics is still being taught in various training centers working in a loose coalition, with teachers in several countries, including the U.S., England, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Its cooking training, originating in Japanese cooking techniques, is especially useful as a style of low salt, plant-based, dairy-free cooking and avoidance of processed foods and food additives.

Root vegetable nishime (long-steamed vegetables), an oil-free dish especially recommended for cold weather.

Even for people who don't want to follow all the recommended practices, the macrobiotic community offers many opportunities to learn how to cook vegetables deliciously. Classes include a variety of cooking styles (steaming, sauteing, braising, stewing, etc), including a special Japanese technique almost never used in American cooking: long-steaming. Vegans, vegetarians and omnivores can benefit from learning macrobiotic cooking and seasoning techniques for vegetables. Macrobiotic meal plans will also ideally adjust cooking styles and food choices for each individual's condition, and according to outside weather and climate and season. Macrobiotic meals are nearly, but not a hundred percent, gluten-free, because some dishes prepared in the traditional way will use Japanese shoyu (soy sauce) and barley miso, and both have some gluten in them. Thus, macrobiotic cooking is not appropriate for people with Celiac disease, at least not without modifications. However, macrobiotic meals tend to be organic, seasonal, without sugar or other processed foods, and dairy-free. This way of eating uses less oil and salt than tends to be used in a stardard American diet.

The popular cooking show Christina Cooks, shown on some public TV stations and available for streaming on the web, features a streamlined macrobiotic cooking style which Christina developed after extensive training in macrobiotics. On each 30-minute segment, she cooks a complete meal.

Criticisms

Macrobiotics has been criticized because of extravagant health claims made by some proponents. Since macrobiotics is also a philosophy and a social movement, it attracts many people who are in ailing health, some of whom later publish health claims that are not backed by evidence and have been known to embrace extreme ideas that do not stand up to scientific scrutiny. There were cases in previous decades, where people became deficient in Vitamin B12 from eating a strictly vegan diet, including a macrobiotic diet. Now it is well known that vegans should take a B12 supplement. There is also a continuing phenomenon of some people over-claiming that macrobiotics can "cure" illnesses, and the naive belief of some practitioners and even teachers that leading a macrobiotic lifestyle will somehow make a person's immunity stronger such that their body is less likely to be invaded by viruses or infections. Since 2020, the macrobiotic community has been shaken by the passing away due to cancer of several revered teachers who were old but not very old, and some of whom may, in fact, have neglected to get regular health checkups by conventional doctors. Thus, any study of macrobiotics should be undertaken with the understanding that the macrobiotic lifestyle was never intended to be an alternative to medical care, but a supplement to it. Nevertheless, some zealous followers also try to equate macrobiotics with political stances such as anti-vaccine attitudes. The notion that eating a macrobiotic (or any other) diet makes a person invulnerable to pathogens, or able to spontaneously heal from advanced illnesses such as cancer without also taking advantage of some of the tools of modern medicine, does not hold up to scrutiny. All that is not to say that a seriously ill person might not benefit from improving their diet if their prior way of eating included, for example, lots of meat and processed foods.

As of 2024, the historic importance of the macrobiotic movement should not be discounted as a mere useless fad that is on the verge of dying out. One of the main ways it is historically important in the United States is that it arguably launched the natural foods industry as examplified by the still-extant Eden Foods. Before macrobiotics, there was a health food movement but without emphasis on natural (especially unprocessed) foods. Since around 2015, macrobiotics has even achieved some degree of recognition in the medical community for being a useful adjunct for sick people. Over-reaching claims by a few individuals should not prevent a clear-eyed examination of the system's preservation of traditional food wisdom and it many possible benefits in an age of highly commercialized, unhealthy food marketing. It is now widely recognized that eating a healthy diet that includes lots of organic vegetables can improve the symptoms for a number of auto-immune health conditions and can be a useful adjunct to medical treatment of those conditions. And, the use of food energetics in macrobiotics can prove quite useful in managing symptoms of poorly understood conditions such as asthma and migraines.

Foundational teachers Ohsawa, Kushi and Aihara

The macrobiotic dietary approach to health was conceived in Japan in the 1920's by George Ohsawa (1893-1966), who was inspired by earlier Japanese teachers, writers and texts. Ohsawa was an effusive and charismatic teacher who wrote many books (using pen names Musagendo, Nyoiti or Yukikazu Sakurazawa) in Japanese, French and English. He began introducing Western audiences to his ideas in the 1940's and 1950's, but his flamboyant style and far-reaching claims, advanced during an era of maximum idealism, can no longer be taken as verbatim advice. His books are still studied by macrobiotics followers for their useful foundational ideas, and he is called "the father of macrobiotics", but modern-day counselors have modified his original dietary recommendations substantially.

Many of the older macrobiotics teachers and counselors now active in the United States trained originally under either Herman Aihara (1920-1998) and his wife Cornellia, who moved to California in 1970 and established the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, or Michio Kushi (1926-2014) his wife Aveline who were active during about the same years in Massachussetts. Both the Aiharas and the Kushis were Japanese immigrants and benefited from extensive contact with George Ohsawa during his lifetime. As of 2024, the current generation of teachers are typically third generation teachers or more.

Conventions, Meetings and Gatherings

Macrobiotics practitioners regularly organize themselves into regional conferences. Since 2020, many have offered online options or been entirely online, and many include cooking classes.

• Ohsawa Macrobiotics' fall conference (online) will be held on Oct. 22, 2022
• See SHI's Third Fall Macrobiotic Conference 2022 (online) November 5-6, 2022 organized by the Strengthening Health Institute.
• See SHI Macrobiotic Summer Conference 2021 (online) July 17-18, 2021 organized by the Strengthening Health Institute.
• See PHI Macrobiotic Summer Conference 2021 (online) July 21-25, 2021 organized by Planetary Health, Inc.

Food Markets, Suppliers, Distributers, Organic Farmers

Oils and vinegars imported by Mitoku are made by traditional Japanese methods and are of high quality as compared with many domestic products, which may contain preservatives or may be made of non-traditional ingredients and flavors.

Since the 1960's, a variety of health food suppliers grew up around the macrobiotics movement. These included organic food producers, cooking schools, food importers, farmers, sea vegetable harvesters, urban health food stores and coops, some still extant today. This infrastructure has been important in making organic and healthy food items widely available at a time when mainstream foods were becoming more processed, chemically preserved, and tainted with fertilizer toxins and other environmental pollutants.

Blue Moon Acres organic farm (Bucks Co., PA)

Organic farm in Bucks County, PA and central NJ, Blue Moon Acres grows low-arsenic organic brown rice (Freshly-husked, certified organic, and grown traditionally not in water) and other organic vegetables and products central to a macrobiotic lifestyle. Since the 2020 pandemic began, they have been delivering their vegetable boxes to residents within about a fifty mile radius of their location. They offer shipping via UPS anywhere in the US via ordering on their website.

The Bridge

The Bridge makes tofu, seitan, amazake and other fermented macrobiotic foods.

Eden Foods

Eden Foods was founded as a coop by macrobiotic young people in Michigan in the 1960's to fill a void availability of healthy foods. Eden is now an organic and macrobiotic food packager and distributor with warehouses in Michigan and California.

Essene Market

Essene Market & Cafe was founded in 1969 in Philadelphia, PA, by macrobiotic counselor Denny Waxman. For about four decades, Denny's brother managed it, and it grew to be one of the premier health food markets in the region. Around 2010 (date tba), Essene was sold to a third party.

Gold Mine Natural Foods

Gold Mine Natural Foods was founded in California in the 1980's in an effort to make more organic food available to the public.

Maine seaweed

• Seaweed from Maine

Mitoku

This importer of Japanese oils, condiments and food used in macrobiotics was founded in the 1970's to meet macrobiotic needs in the U.S.

Past Markets etc.

Erewhon Market

The Erewhon natural food store opened in Boston in 1966, inspired by macrobiotics. It seems to have been one of the first natural food stores in the United States. A West Coast Erewhon also opened in 1968 and became a well-known health food oasis. Both acted as models for future natural food stores across the nation.

Training institutes

The Macrobiotic Association

Located in the UK, the Macrobiotic Association provides an accreditation process for macrobiotic health coaches, cooks and consultants to become MBA Professional Members and maintain the highest standards set by our code of conduct and ethics. In 2021, its directors included Simon Brown, Ariel Perea Diaz, Anna Mackenzie, Marion Price, Valentina Deva Ray and Shirley Roach.

The Macrobiotic Global Institute

https://www.macrobioticglobalinstitute.com/

Great Life Global

http://www.greatlifeglobal.com/

G.O.M.F. and Macrobiotics Today

The George Ohsawa Macrobiotics Foundation, aka G.O.M.F., was founded in 1970 by Herman and Cornellia Aihara in San Francisco. It was officially incorporated on March 2, 1971 and is still operating in 2021.

G.O.M.F. publishes a quarterly all-digital bulletin called Macrobiotics Today, which serves as an information hub to share news across all practitioners of Macrobiotics. The first edition of Macrobiotics Today was published by Herman Aihara as Macrobiotics News by the Ohsawa Foundation of New York in Mary of 1960. As of 2021, the newsletter's editor is Carl Ferre (California).

Strengthening Health Institute (Philadelphia, PA)

Owned and operated by Denny and Susan Waxman. Founded in 2002.

Macrobiotic Association

• The Macrobiotic Association (London, England) - active, provides classes and an accreditation process for macrobiotic health coaches, cooks and consultants

Past Training institutes

Kushi Institute (Boston, MA)

Established 1978, now defunct.

Natural Gourmet Cooking School

The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts was a mostly vegetarian cooking school in Manhattan, New York City, founded by Annemarie Colbin, Ph. D in 1977. The Natural Gourmet Institute taught cooking techniques from a variety of cuisines around the world, teaching that the food should be whole, fresh, traditional, balanced, local, seasonal and delicious. The menus were largely, but not exclusively, plant-based. In early 2019, the Natural Gourmet was subsumed by the Institute of Culinary Education, which announced its intention to keep the Natural Gourmet education track available as a separate option.

Teachers and counselors

As of 2021, third generation (or later) counselors of macrobiotics are older and originally trained at a time when macrobiotics became suddenly of more widespread interest during the upheaval of the 1960's. The following list is not complete, but contains important examples. A more complete and up-to-date list can be found at the back of any edition of Macrobiotics Today.

• Patricio Garcia de Paredes - a member of One Peaceful World, teaching in 2022 in the Whole Health Macrobiotic Forum in Israel and online.
• Mio Miyasato - teaching about Japanese cuisine in 2022 in the Whole Health Macrobiotic Forum in Israel and online.
• Annunziata Jyoti Cardona - teaching about Italian cuisine in 2022 in the Whole Health Macrobiotic Forum in Israel and online.
• Dr. Ronald R. Parks, MPK, MD - teaching about mental health in 2022 in the Whole Health Macrobiotic Forum in Israel and online.
• Saci MacDonald - teaching about breathwork in 2022 in the Whole Health Macrobiotic Forum in Israel and online.
• Melanie Brown - teaches macrobiotics in Spain.
• Simon Brown - author of Modern Day Macrobiotics and Macrobiotics For Life; macrobiotic consultant and teacher living in London UK as of 2021
• Bob Ligon - acupuncturist, herbalist, author, life-style counselor, life coach, practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Wendy Esko - macrobiotic chef, author, now employed by Eden Foods
• Carl Ferre - macrobiotics teacher, and editor of the Macrobiotics Today magazine published by the G.O.M.F. (George Ohsawa Macrobiotics Foundation)
• Alex Jack - * Alex Jack - co-author of The One Peaceful World Cookbook: Over 150 Vegan, Macrobiotic Recipes for Vibrant Health and Happiness (2017)
• Sachi Kato - co-author of The One Peaceful World Cookbook: Over 150 Vegan, Macrobiotic Recipes for Vibrant Health and Happiness (2017)
• Christina Pirello - whole food chef, author, macrobiotics teacher, and host of a public television cooking show ("Christina Cooks") featuring plant-based whole foods
• Patrick Riley - macrobiotic health counselor, shiatsu master, near Philadelphia, PA
• Michael Rossoff - acupuncturist and health educator
• William Speer - macrobiotic health counselor
• Bill Tara - macrobiotic educator
• Jamie Trevena - macrobiotic health coach
• Susan Waxman - Strengthening Health Institute in Philadelphia, PA

Past Teachers and counselors

• Annemarie Colbin, Ph. D. - campaigned against overly-refined food and taught about its connection to poor health; author of Food and Healing and other books, and founded the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts in New York City in 1977
• Edward Esko - macrobiotic educator; passed away in 2021
• Mark Hanna - passed away in 2021
• Bernadette Kikuchi - passed away in 2021
• Warren Kramer - macrobiotic health counselor; passed away in 2021 (cancer)
• Sheldon Rice - passed away in 2021
• Denny Waxman - macrobiotic health counselor at Strengthening Health Institute in Philadelphia, PA; passed away on 2/9/2023 (cancer)