The Macrobiotic Diet: Basic Principles and Effect on Cancer and Diabetes

This article provides an overview of the available research evidence on the application of the macrobiotic diet. It is based on a critical review that clarifies the main postulates of the macrobiotic diet, and a scoping review of studies of the effects of the macrobiotic diet on chronic disease, with an emphasis on diabetes and cancer. The results show that the macrobiotic diet has great potential to combat chronic disease. There is scientific evidence to show its beneficial effect for diabetes, and although specific studies proving its effect on cancer are lacking, recent publications about the optimal diet for the prevention of this disease indirectly endorse the main postulates of macrobiotics. Although more research is required to corroborate the full potential of this diet, this study shows it could be a very helpful adjunct to the medical treatment of not only cancer and diabetes, but most chronic diseases.