Talk:Macrobiotic diet

Porter?

In the Concept section a reference "Porter" is cited without details. Further, this reference should be replaced:

• Nancy Stalker (2009) "The Globalisation of Macrobiotics as Culinary Tourism and Culinary Nostalgia", Asian Medicine 5 (2009) 1–18

since the rubric "macrobiotic" is international, attracting patrons to known dishes. Rgdboer (talk) 02:04, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

Just checked the history of this article. The book is by Jessica Porter *Porter, Jessica (13 September 2004). The hip chick's guide to macrobiotics: a philosophy for achieving a radiant mind and fabulous body. Penguin. ISBN 9781583332054. Retrieved 22 March 2011.

I have not read this book, but from the title alone it does not sound reliable to me. If a replacement can be found I would be supportive. Veg Historian (talk) 14:10, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for digging this book out of History. GB link has only the Bibliography, which shows Macrobiotic.org.uk, demonstrating broad acceptance. The article might be split into "Macrobiotic cure" and "Macrobiotic fare" since the criticism is so strong for disease treatment. The Porter citations include Yin/Yang foundations, which appear weak to me. Looking for better sources. The shoddy treatment of a widely used vegetarian scheme denigrates this Encyclopedia. The suggested split would give a culinary gloss, and a separate medical disclaimer. — Rgdboer (talk) 22:45, 30 January 2026 (UTC)

Looking led to this statement from Shimacrobiotics.org: "However, George Ohsawa, the father of macrobiotics, changed principles of yin and yang to structural and physical characteristics. Based on his definitions of yin and yang, Earth is solid beneath our feet and compact than it is more yang. While, heaven is wide and expansive so more yin." Such a shift undermines the whole premise of yin/yang nutrition. Hexagram 1, called Heaven, is all yang lines, while hexagram 2, called Earth, is all yin lines. Ohsawa reverses this polarity! Still seeking a source that presents the primordial chemistry of food in terms of yin-yang. — Rgdboer (talk) 01:43, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

German orgins completely ignored?

German version of this topic mentions: "The modern Macrobiotics as “Lehre von a long life” was written in 1797 during the work of Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland." ("Die neuzeitliche Makrobiotik als „Lehre von einem langen Leben“ wurde im Wesentlichen 1797 durch das Werk von Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland geprägt.")

Dutch version of this topic mentions: "Macrobiotics is a nutritional and health philosophy developed by the Germans Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland and Theodor Hahn in the 19th century." ("Macrobiotiek is een voedings- en gezondheidsleer en is ontwikkeld door de Duitsers Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland en Theodor Hahn in de 19de eeuw.")

This has basically been integrated into [Anthroposophy] - which is also not mentioned anywhere?

If this is a different subject, in english, then at least at reference it? ~2026-31877-92 (talk) 10:21, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

Any good sources? It sound wrong. Bon courage (talk) 11:53, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

Safety claims and degrees of restriction

This article seems to have quite varying claims about how extreme the elimination involved is, which causes issues especially in the case of the safety claims.

Much of the article gives the impression that it's not far from a normal east-Asian vegetarian diet but with some woo about nightshades and mystical justifications for ratios, while other parts describe it as more restrictive, and some go as far as describing a 10-stage elimination culminating in only eating rice.

This is a very broad range, and I think any claims about safety must take this into account, since on the mild end it seems similar to vegetarian or vegan diets which are capable of being safe and nutritionally sufficient, whereas on the extreme end it seems quite clearly unsafe and nutritionally lacking.

A specific example where this could use more clarity is when the claim "A macrobiotic diet does not contain the nutrients needed by growing children" is made, the source material is discussing the extreme end where "animal products, fruits, and vegetables are gradually removed [...] until the ultimate goal is achieved of consuming only brown rice. Fluids are also severely restricted." The source is good and explains the danger of this, but because the degree of restriction isn't connected to the safety claim in the Wikipedia article, it would be very easy for the reader to conclude that the source is making a broad claim inclusive of the less restrictive versions which the majority of the Wikipedia page discusses.

In addition to being more specific about the type of diet which the various risk claims are connected to, I think the article would benefit from a better explanation of the range of dietary restrictions that "macrobiotic diet" can refer to and where most who partake in the diet fall on this range. TheAubergineMary (talk) 12:35, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

Any sources in mind? Bon courage (talk) 12:37, 3 August 2026 (UTC)