What is Macrobiotic?
from a member of ivu-sci: According to Donna Secker and Stanley Zlotkin writing in Essentials of Human Nutrition, “macrobiotic diets consist of unpolished rice, pulses and vegetables with small additions of fermented foods, nuts, seeds and fruit; animal products are not consumed” (not sure about the last phrase – I thought that fish was allowed in the macrobiotic diet). The authors warn that “in infants consuming a macrobiotic diet, a clear relationship has been demonstrated between diet, nutrient intake and physical and biochemical evidence of deficiency for several nutrients including iron, vitamins B12, D, and riboflavin. Slower growth rates and higher incidence of nutritional diseases such as rickets, kwashiorkor and anaemia have been reported.
