Eat two or three meals daily.
Eat only organic food.
Choose foods that are grown locally or within about
a 400 mile (650 km) radius of home. Avoid imported
foods.
Adjust the energy of the food to the energy of the
seasons and the time of day.
Cook food over a flame, not with an electric burner
or microwave.
Use cast iron, clay pots, or stainless steel cookware.
Cook frequently with methods that use liquids (e.g.
pressure cooking, boiling, steaming, soups, stews)
instead of dry cooking methods (baking, broiling).
Eat nothing that is commercially processed and con-
tains food additives.
Take no dietary supplements.Resources
BOOKS
Bijlefeld, Marjolijn and Sharon K. Zoumbaris.Encyclopedia
of Diet Fads. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
Bliss-Lerman, Andrea.The Macrobiotic Community Cook-
book. New York: Avery, 2003.
Icon Health Publications.Fad Diets: A Bibliography, Medi-
cal Dictionary, and Annotated Research Guide to Inter-
net References. San Diego, CA: Icon Health
Publications, 2004.
Kushi, Michio and Aveline Kushi.Macrobiotic Diet. New
York: Japan Publications, 1993.
Ohsawa, George edited by Carl Ferre ́Zen Macrobiotics: The
Art of Rejuvenation and Longevity. 4th ed. Oroville, CA:
George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, 1995
Rivie`re, Franc ̧oise,–7 Diet: An Accompaniment to Zen
Macrobiotics. 1st English ed. Chico, CA: George
Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, 2005.
Scales, Mary Josephine.Diets in a Nutshell: A Definitive
Guide on Diets from A to Z. Clifton, VA: Apex Pub-
lishers, 2005.
ORGANIZATIONS
American Cancer Society. 1599 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta
GA 30329-4251. Telephone: 800 ACS-2345. Website:
<http://www.cancer.org>
American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza,
Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995. Telephone:
(800) 877-1600. Website:<http://www.eatright.org>
Kushi Institute, Kushi Institute HR Department PO Box 7,
Becket, MA 01223 Telephone: (800) 975-8744. Fax: (413)
623-8827. Website:<http://www.kushiinstitute.org>
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Med-
icine Clearinghouse. P. O. Box 7923, Gathersburg, MD- Telephone: (888) 644-6226. TTY: (866) 464-
- Fax: (866) 464-3616. Website:http://nccam.
nih.gov
Ohsawa Macrobiotics. P.O. Box 3998, Chico, CA 95927-3998.
Telephone: (800) 232-2372 or (530) 566-9765. Website:
<http://www.gomf.macrobiotic.net/Info.htm>
OTHER
American Cancer Society. ‘‘Macrobiotic Diet.’’ American
Cancer Society, June 1, 2005.<http://www.cancer.org/
docroot/eto/content/ETO_5_3X_Macrobiotic_Diet.asp
Harvard School of Public Health. ‘‘Interpreting News on
Diet.’’ Harvard University, 2007.<http://www.hsph.
harvard.edu/nutritionsource/media.html>
Trevena, James and Kasia. ‘‘The Macrobiotic Guide.’’ 2007.
<http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/>Tish Davidson, A.M.Macronutrients
Definition
Nutrients are substances needed for growth,
metabolism, and for other body functions. Macronu-
trients are nutrients that provide calories or energy.
The prefixmakrois from the Greek and means big or
large, used because macronutrients are required in
large amounts. There are three broad classes of macro-
nutrients: proteins,carbohydrates, andfats.Purpose
The main function of macronutrients is to provide
energy, counted as calories. While each of the macro-
nutrients provides calories, the amount provided by
each varies. Carbohydrate provides four calories per
gram,proteinalso four while fat provides nine. For
example, if the Nutrition Facts label of a given food
indicates 12 g of carbohydrate, 2 g of fat, and 0 g of
protein per serving, the food then has 12g carbohydrate
x 4 calories = 48 caloriesþ2 g fat x 4 calories = 8
calories for a total of 48þ8 calories = 56 calories per
serving). Macronutrients also have specific roles in
maintaining the body and contribute to the taste, tex-
ture and appearance of foods, which helps to make the
diet more varied and enjoyable.Proteins
Proteins, from the Greekproteiosmeaning ‘‘first’’,
are important biological molecules (biomolecules)
that consist of strings of smaller units called amino
acids, the ‘‘building blocks’’ of proteins. These amino
acids are linked together in sequence as polypeptide
chains that fold into compact shapes. Proteins vary inMacronutrients