macrobiotics

/mak'roh buy ot"iks/, n. (used with a sing. v.)

a philosophically oriented program incorporating elements from several ancient cultures and emphasizing harmony with nature, esp. through adherence to a diet consisting primarily of whole grains, beans, vegetables, and moderate amounts of seafood and fruit.

[1860-65 for general sense "the science of prolonging life"; see MACROBIOTIC, -ICS]

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Dietary practice based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing yin and yang (see yin-yang).

It stresses avoiding foods that are classified as strongly yin (e.g., alcoholic beverages) or yang (e.g., meat) and relying mainly on near-neutral foods such as grains. In addition, foods that grow naturally in one's climate should be the mainstay of one's diet. Macrobiotics was first articulated in Asia in the 1930s and swept Europe and the U.S. in the late 1960s. Adherents maintain that not only can the quality of life be enhanced but that serious ailments such as cancer can be healed; critics counter that uninformed attempts to practice such a diet can lead to malnutrition.

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