Macro eating

By Rinky Kumar, Team iDiva

Madonna and Gywneth Paltrow follow it religiously. Back home, Katrina Kaif and Tabu swear by its healing qualities. We are talking about Macrobiotic food diet that has taken the world by storm. This diet, rich in complex carbohydrates and fibre, not only helps you knock off those kilos but also takes off years from a person's face and body.
What is it?

It is a wholegrain veg approach that includes more foods that are probiotic in nature. So it comprises of 50-60 per cent of whole grains like brown rice and barley, 25-30 percent of veg, 5-10 per cent of beans including legumes like chickpea, rajma and five percent of miso soup. It also includes condiments that aid digestion, alkalise food, maintain the PH balance of the body and flush out all the toxins. This diet, however, avoids the use of dairy, refined flour, sugar and preservatives.

George Ohsawa, a famous Japanese philosopher, coined the term macrobiotics in late 1950s. Macrobiotics means the way of longevity. Five of Ohsawa's students later popularised the diet in Europe. Michio Kushi, one of Ohsawa's students is considered as the pioneer of this movement in the US.

Expert talk

It's not just another fashionable diet, popularised by celebs. Even fitness experts swear by its benefits. Leena Mogre, director of Leena Mogre's Fitness Studio says, "These food items are rich in phytoestrogens that reduce the risk of cancer. Macrobiotic diet is famously known for avoiding cancer and promoting longevity."

Healthy bites

Dietician, chef and counsellor Shonaalii Sabherwal is a strong advocate of macrobiotic diet. In fact, she's the one who introduced the diet in India a year-and-half ago with her venture Enhance. She counsels and provides tiffin service to health aficionados. It covers multi-cuisine and Indian meals that include Greek Paella, Mediterranean taboule, Thai curry, Japanese sushi, seaweed soup and veg biryani. Even the desserts are made with natural sweeteners derived from brown rice or barley.

She tried the diet on her father, who was suffering with cancer. Eventually he died, but she saw some remarkable health benefits. She says, "Since macrobiotic is a lifestyle diet, it's known to create cells. So it works as a cancer curing diet. A patient who has not undergone chemotherapy and radiation usually shows good response after following this diet."

Why macrobiotic?

So how long does it take for the effects to show, after you start consuming macrobiotic diet? Sabherwal says, "The effects are visible within a month. You start feeling much more energetic, and within four months, your blood condition improves."

Long term benefits - "Follow it for two years and every cell in your body changes and within seven years, you are a completely new person," concludes Sabherwal.