Customer Reviews

The Macrobiotic Way: The Complete Macrobiotic Lifestyle Book

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Michio Kushi is considered one of the fathers of the macrobiotic philosophy to life. This is a valuable book because it includes much information about the rationale of the eating philosophy. It does have recipes, but is more of a philosophy of eating and cooking book. I would recommend purchasing a cook book by Christina Pirello ("Cook Your Way to the Life you Want" or Cooking the Wholefoods Way") or Kristina Turner's "Self-healing Cookbook," in order to have access to a wider range of recipes that include more easily found ingredients, to complement "The Macrobiotic Way."

The Macrobiotic Way also includes guidelines to implementing macrobiotic living in other areas of life, such as reducing your exposure to electromagnetic forces, the importance of cooking with gas, water temperature for bathing, and exercises (stretches and yoga-like poses) that improve circulation to the meridians (such movements are best incorporated in Bikram's yoga series, and some vinyasa forms of the sun salutation; methods of exercises that I prefer to Kushi's static approach, but macrobiotics is finding what works best to meet your body's needs). In the realm of exercise he also highlights the benefits of walking.

This is a good reference because it has a wide range of information about the philosophy behind the macrobiotic eating system and the exercises are not often well described elsewhere. However, it was the first macrobiotic book I purchased, and when I first read it, the impression I had was macrobiotics was a very complicated approach to food, that encompassed mostly special ingredients that I could not find and that it required many special appliances and tools to start the program. I also thought that the dry writing style made it difficult to retain the information. It was not until I read Jessica Porter's "Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics," that I felt macrobiotics was accessible to every one anywhere, that I was able to return to Kushi and better understand the material. It is a good reference for some one has started macrobiotics and wants to know more, but if you are looking for a book to explain macrobiotics to the uninitiated and make them feel enthusiastic about the possibilities of the life style to empower their lives, I think Porter, Pirello, or Turner's books (in that order) are better gifts.

Excellent comprehensive book on macrobiotics. This book explains macrobiotics as a way of life from how we eat to how we conduct ourselves. This book is recommended to anyone who wants to live a more balanced life with less stress, healthier eating, and more caring for others and the planet. Other excellent macrobiotic books include the Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics and The Cancer Prevention Diet.

I am completely new to the Macrobiotic way of life (it really is more of a way of life than a diet per se from what I gather). I had heard of it for years, and decided to read the book to determine if this is something I would like to give a try.

Wow ... the book is chock full of the overall philosophy ... and it sure seems complicated as well. And the emphasis on *process* as much as *food* is very VERY Japanese, and attractive on a a number of levels. I would recommend another book for recipes and menus, but this one introduces you to the concepts ans such.

The book is wonderful - and explains very well and clearly the Macrobiotic lifestyle. For this reason alone, I give the book high marks and say that if you want to know what it is about, this is a good starting point.

This is a very unconventional approach (as compared to the Standard American Way) to living and eating - as unconventional today as during its peak in the pop culture in the 1970's. I believe its lack of adherents, at least the apparent lack, is due to the lengthy cooking and preparation requirements (the ingredients are simple enough to get these days) as well as the unfamiliar cuisine (very Japanese based).

Also, there are a number of Macrobiotic councilors - really required in order to embark on the diet as it is somewhat customized to your needs.

I am undecided after reading the book if I will try this or not, as the preparation intensiveness and the unfamiliar cuisine (I love Japanese food, but I am not sure I will like it every day) as well as its overall complexity make it somewhat daunting. And you really need to find a councilor to do this "right" and unless you live in a major metropolitan area (usually coastal or progressive oriented place) it might be difficult to find someone to meet face to face with.

Overall great book - well written - 4 stars because I am unsure if this is right for me, but 5/5 as a book!

I was new to macrobiotics when I bought this book. I've found it to be a clearly-written, informative guide with one key inadequacy.

The book covers the key principles of macrobiotics, as well as discussions of the major food groups and their role in the macrobiotic diet. It also includes engaging testimonials from some well-known converts to the macrobiotic way. This is not a recipe book, but it does have several easy to prepare recipes.

The issue I have with the book is its discussion of vitamin B12. It is a fact that there are no adequate sources of B12 in plant-based diets. The authors falsely claim that soy foods such as tempeh are good sources of B12. This is not true; the B12 found in tempeh is not real B12 but an "analog" which is unavailable to the human body. However, if the reader includes in their diet some of the shellfish recommended for occasional use, the B12 issue can be resolved.

This book is due for a revision. Buy it along with a more extensive macrobiotic recipe book, as well as a B12 supplement if you're going to follow a vegan macrobiotic diet.

I understand the philosophy of microbiotics and thought that the book was more a cookbook. But I enjoyed reading it and now I have it as a reference.

By the way. Did the author once mention about calories? The book said Macrobiotics isn't a diet, but rather, a way of life. I grew up in Japan for 23 years and had a lot of exposure to Macrobiotics, not because it was my way of life, but rather, because the foods were readily available and inexpensive at my local Japanese grocery stores and nearly all restaurants. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend Macrobiotics for everyone.

If you're a tofu, miso soup, and sushi lover then by all means - dive into this book. However, this book does not provide recipes but will provide an insight on balancing your diet for optimum health.

A few things I disagreed upon while skimming through some of its chapters is one scenario case of an obese individual who was constantly suffering from bouts of fatigue, aches & pains until someone came up to him and told him that sugar was poison that's why she'd never put it into her body or keep it around her house. I call her a friggin' idiot. Sugar is the very stuff we're actually made from, it's what makes up our DNA structure (aka: our genes). We still need sugar for our activity level. The sugar we consume converts to glycogen for us to utilize into energy, otherwise, if we don't use it - it'll get stored in our liver to be utilized into energy for the latter. If we continue not to use the sugar we consume, eventually, the sugar gets stored in our body as fat which will contribute to the cause of sluggishness, fatigue, and eventually lead to the threat of other diseases. The number of calories that we need to consume should also equal the number of calories we expend into energy throughout our daily activities including exercise.

And what's this sample recipe where tea is served for breakfast and coffee for dinner? Shouldn't that be the other way around? How will you possibly fall asleep at night when you consume coffee in the evening? It takes approximately eight hours for our bodies to rid itself of caffeine. Not only is caffeine bad for our bodies and our health, but caffeine has been proven to even raise blood pressure? Yep ~ that's the Macrobiotic way of life alright. But hey ~ I love my American coffee, especially early in the morning, and I'm willing to take that risk for my health and well-being.

If it weren't for my major in Biology, I would've readily believed everything this book had to offer. If you really want to live the Macrobiotic way ~ I say - Live your life to the fullest and eat happy and don't judge anyone! Of all the hypes I've seen in commercials: Macrobiotics, Atkins, Vegetarian, High-protein, etc...I'd say the most delicious recipes so far that I've tried were the Mediterranean recipes w/c happens to be the most well-balanced diet of all the other diets combined.

Again, I've given this book a 3-star rating at least for posting its workout illustrations. Although, I've been a Yoga practitioner for a good two years. I'd also have to say, while Yoga provides wonderful health benefits for the young and elderly, NOT all Yoga positions are highly recommended for everyone. So please practice with caution.

AND

Learn to Practice in moderation...


Breathe & Meditate...


Eat....


Sleep...

This book was purchased as a gift. I don't know much about the book, but the recepent requested it. The service from Amazon was
good, as usual.

eating any thing to often can cose alergys

Shortly, as I see it, is the best for beginners.