The macrobiotic diet originated in Japan in the middle of the 20th century, not as a cure for any disease, but rather as a lifestyle aimed at enhancing physical and spiritual well-being. It consists primarily of whole-grain cereals, such as wheat, barley, buckwheat, and brown rice, as well as fresh organic vegetables, beans, and nuts. The central concept of this diet is “balance equals health” a belief that optimal health is the natural result of eating, thinking, and living in balance. The concept of balance extends not only to the selection of food, but also to its preparation.
The original macrobiotic diet was developed by a Japanese teacher, George Ohsawa (1893-1966), who reportedly recovered from a serious illness by changing from the refined diet that had gained popularity in Japan to the traditional Japanese diet that consists primarily of brown rice, sea vegetables, and miso soup (made from soybeans). Ohsawa believed that a simple diet was the key to good health. His plan proceeded in 10 stages, from least stringent (30% vegetables, 15% fruits and salads, 30% animal products, 10% whole grains, 10% soups, 5% desserts, and few beverages) to most stringent (60% cereals, 30% vegetables, 10% soups).
In the 1970s, Michio Kushi, one of Oh sawa’s students, took the helm of the macrobiotic movement in the United states. He replaced the 10-stage program with the standard macrobiotic diet practiced today. Kushi uses traditional Chinese medicine’s concepts of yin and yang to explain cancer development and to provide a framework for cancer treatment. He maintains that the primary factor responsible for cancer is the consumption of foods that are too in (expansive) or too yang (contractive). Extremely in foods include dairy products, tropical fruits, refined sugar, coffee, and alcohol; extremely yang foods include meat, poultry, fish, salty foods, cheese, and eggs. Whole-grain foods are considered ideal neither too yin nor too yang.
Reported uses
Today, the macrobiotic diet plan is one of the most widely practiced alternative nutritional regimens in the United States, used by healthy people to maintain good health and by patients with serious illnesses, such as cancer, who haven’t been helped by conventional therapy or who are combining the diet with conventional medical treatments.
Proponents believe that cancer is the result of prolonged exposure to dietary and environmental toxins, a sedentary lifestyle, and other social and personal factors, most of which are attributable to the patient’s own unhealthful practices.
How the treatment is performed
According to Kushi, cancers are classified as predominantly yin or yang (or a combination), depending on where the primary tumor originated. Tumors located in peripheral or upper areas (esophagus, breast, upper stomach, and outer parts of brain) as well as lymphoma and leukemia are considered those in deeper or lower regions (colon, rectum, pancreas, prostate, ovaries, bone, inner parts of brain) are considered yang. Once the cancer is classified, the diet is modified appropriately-emphasizing yang foods for yin cancers, and vice versa-to bring in and yang back into balance within the body.
Additional measures include engaging in regular exercise; avoiding electromagnetic radiation, chemical fumes, and synthetic fabrics; and maintaining a positiv attitude. This essentially vegan regimen emphasizes the intake of complex carbohydrates, high-fiber foods, unsaturated fats, and unrefined foods. Proponents view the plan not simply as a diet but as a sensible approach to daily living.
Hazards
Although the standard macrobiotic diet allows small amounts of fish, people who forego all dairy products and meats may develop frank deficiencies of calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. For children, who need vitamin D for proper groWth and development, Kushi advocates fish liver oils, exposure to sunlight, and other foods that contain the vitamin. For teenagers and adults, he advises exposure to sunlight and no supplements unless deficiencies develop.
Clinical considerations
- Suggest periodic blood tests to check for anemia (from protein deficiency) and vitamin and iron deficiencies.
- Be sure patient understands the diet and knows that other treatments may be available.
- Advise patient to notify his health care provider that he is on this diet.
Research summary
By the early 1980s, a number of books (including Kushi’s The Cancer Prevention Diet) were beginning to claim that the macrobiotic diet could be used not only to enhance well-being but also to prevent cancer and even induce remission. Since then, numerous reports have appeared in the popular media claiming cancer cure after patients switched to the macrobiotiC diet. In his book, Kushi says cancers of the breast, colon, cervix, pancreas, liver, bone, and skin have responded best to macrobiotics. Despite substantial anecdotal evidence, to date there are no clinical data in support of these claims.
Most mainstream doctors and nutritionists are skeptical about claims that the macrobiotic diet (or any other diet) can cure cancer or other diseases. However, Barrie Cassileth, a founding member of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM) Advisory Council and currently affiliated with Harvard Medical School, says that certain aspects of the diet “have merit if not carried to extremes.” Like oth er low fat diets, she says, the macrobiotic diet can lower weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels and may help prevent heart disease and possibly certain cancers. And, like other vegetarian diets, it requires the use of supplements to make up for certain nutritional deficiencies.
A 1993 editorial in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition suggests that the macrobiotic diet may be worth examining as a treatment for cancer because of its nutritional inadequacy, nothing that “a nutritional regimen clearly deficient in growth promoting substances might actually be helpful in controlling otherwise untreatable diseases.”