The basis of the macrobiotic lifestyle is nothing new — it is based on principles established by the world’s most long-standing civilizations. For that reason, it should be considered the best, most natural way of life. Let’s look at how some of these practices evolved and ignored some of the disturbing changes to how humans interact with their food.
About 12,000 years ago was the retreat of the Ice Age in Northern Europe. Food was scarce so trading amongst neighboring societies helped to diversify the diet. Especially after ship building made such large improvements.
10,000 years ago we see the first evidence of agricultural villages that had the capability of cultivating a plethora of different grains and cereals. These grains started the modern day breads, bulgur, chapatti, couscous, pita, rice that we are all familiar with as a side dish for even the most extravagant meals.
There have been many changes between the earliest humans and modern day diets. For brevity, let’s just mention the outcome of the USDA Basic 7 food groups, which were released after WWII. Chemicals were being introduced to agriculture and technology and transportation were exponentially improving. So, unfortunately, the spread of this philosophy also grew rapidly and the diet of most humans changed drastically.
We focus on the older civilizations that thrived and incorporate their practices as our own. In some macrobiotic circles, you may see a very heavy focus on either Japanese or Mediterranean diet practices. For the SHI approach, we use things from all of the world to craft good diet and lifestyle practices.