The Macrobiotic diet and breast cancer
J.R.E. Harger
References
(note: I highly recommend Amazon.com as
a source for these books)
Books relating directly to subjects treated here can be obtained through this secure-link in association with Amazon.com and additional reviews of suitable volumes will added from time to time.
Cooking and meals
Hit the Amazon.com button (above) and use the "search"
feature to get full details of the books indicated below
Cooking the whole foods way:
Christino Pirello, HPBooks, 1997
Review: This is a primary cookbook for our household. I depend on
it regularly. The author, a professional cook, used the
macrobiotic approach to lead herself into a cure. This is good
because it has good and workable macrobiotic recipes but it also
has life in it being not confined to a continual succession of
boring "brown-rice" type dishes. It contains a very
good array of desserts. There are lots of mixed recipes using
both vegetables and grains so that out of a single recipe one can
produce a whole meal. (HH)
Practically Macrobiotic:
Keith Michell, Healing Arts Press, 1988
Review: Macrobiotics is the logical extension of the current
movement towards sustainable development – from the
community and down to the level of the individual. In a word it
represents a practical way to achieve individual sustainability
in an increasingly dangerous world governed by degenerative
diseases such as cancer, heart disease and the like many of which
are induced by negative aspects of the degraded environment in
which many of us currently live.
The philosophy behind macrobiotics is clearly presented and the argument for following the approach, already adopted by traditional populations to ensure freedom from such diseases, is presented in a compelling manner. Macrobiotics owes its core foundation to the dietary practices of traditional Japan. However, macro (great) biotic (life) diets can be linked to many traditional, grain-rich cuisines. The basic elements of the Japanese-based components of the diet are well described and illustrated in color. The resulting account is sufficient to enable a novice to start the diet and an old hand will find endless enjoyment in the suggested dishes.
More to the point, the recipes are sophisticated and mouth-watering while at the same time complying with the essence of the macrobiotic philosophy which advises eating only whole foods (no refined products) and maintaining around 40%-50% intake of whole (or FRESHLY broken-down i.e. flaked, kibbled etc.) grains.
The book represents an excellent introduction to the practicalities of a macrobiotic diet and only immediate tuition by a macrobiotic chef could improve on the presentation. I recommend this book most highly to all those seeking to find their way towards living in a healthy manner on the macrobiotic pathway. JREH
The Macrobiotic community cookbook:
Andrea Bliss Lerman, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park,
NY, 1989.
Review: This has a large number of nice recipes from restaurants
and chefs primarily from the USA. Case histories of the people
that have generated the recipes are provided which makes it very
interesting. The recipes are really good with particularly
satisfying soups. The grains are not well emphasized - i.e. it is
not so good in the grains department. (HH)
The book of whole meals: Annemarie Colbin, Ballentine Books, NY, 1983
The macrobiotic brown rice cookbook: Craig Sams, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont, 1988
Whole World Cookbook: from Editors of East West Journal, Avery Publishing Gp Inc, Wayne, New Jersey, 1984
Macrobiotic
Rationale/Philosophy
The macrobiotic way:
Michio Kushi, Avery Publishing Group, 1993. Michio Kushi is the
student of George Ohsawa who played the greatest part in
introducing macrobiotics to north America.
The Cancer Prevention Diet: Michio Kushi, St Martins Griffin, NY, 1993. Specific diets based on the macrobiotic approach are suggested for different types of cancer.
Zen Macrobiotics (The art of rejuvenation and longevity), George Ohsawa, George Ohsawa Macrobiotic, Foundation, Oroville, California, 1995.
Essential Ohsawa: George Ohsawa, Avery Publishing Group, 1994. Records some of the most important episodes in Ohsawa's life and recounts the historical and philosophical steps in the introduction of macrobiotics to the West. (JREH)
Directly Related
Cancer, its causation,
prevention and cure: John Harger, MSc., Ph.D., C.
Tinling & Co., Ltd. (pub), Victoria Street, Liverpool. 1924.
Review: This book was published in 1924 by my Grandfather, a
chemist (Ph.D., U of Heidelberg by age 21). He had it right even
then and our family was raised in the tradition of natural foods:
fiber reduced animal protein, no water at the table, vegetables
etc. My grandfather had very good credentials for adopting this
view after careful research since he (together with a colleague
from Princeton University) was responsible for the creation of
the (organic) nerve gases later named Taurban and Sauran on
behalf of the British War Office, towards the end of the First
World War. This exercise was accomplished in the summerhouse of
his garden at "Gatacre" in Liverpool – he held
that the smallest drop if placed on human skin would result in
almost immediate death. He said "the Germans thought they
had the better of us with Chlorine gas but we surprised
them". My Grandfather also developed the formula for
Sunlight Soap, which he sold to Lever brothers. I surmise that
from this background he was easily able to recognize that most
cancers arose as the result of environmental contamination and
that food was the primary vehicle. The environmental analysis
that he did was impeccable, encompassing a very impressive
presentation of the data available at the time. If one reads this
book closely it can be seen that very little has changed in terms
of the basic analysis from that time to this. He knew then that
the basic cause of cancer was environmental, he formulated the
correct dietary solution and above all he identified the
resistance offered by the biomedical community to implementation
of the approach. This same resistance is still widespread today
although it is not by any means universal as our experience with
our medical team in New Zealand has shown. (JREH)
You can heal your life:
Louise L. Hay, Specialist Publications, PO Box 143, Concord, NSW,
2137, Australia, 1988.
Review: "Think about the mental cause of a sickness in
seeking a cure" is the admonition that sums up this helpful
book, awareness is the first step in healing or changing. Ms Hay
tenders the thesis that one must carefully examine ailments to
see how to deal with them, both in mental and physical space.
This is not a book that deals solely with mental healing but
rather it presents a fundamental outlook to be adopted by the
whole person. It is an excellent book, heavy on the emotional
side but perhaps a bit light on the technical side. However, this
is not really a problem as most books on health are concerned
exclusively with the purely physical aspects of health. The
discerning reader can readily find an overall balance between the
two approaches. There can be little doubt that mental and
emotional states predispose a person to physical illness. For
this reason an appreciation of the initial mental state that
leads to an illness is an absolutely necessary prerequisite in
successfully applying a cure and obtaining healing. Once the
original mental state has been redressed the appropriate physical
inputs can be applied in order to obtain a successful cure. As a
summary, Ms Hay regards the probable cause of (the initial mental
state preceding) cancer as "Deep hurt. Longstanding
resentment. Deep secret grief eating away at the self. Carrying
hatreds. What’s the use?" (JREH)
You can conquer cancer (prevention
and management): Ian Gawler, Hill of Content,
Melbourne (pub) 1984.
This is an inspiring book. Mr. Gowler has operationally combined
the two major dietary approaches to controlling cancer: (1)
Macrobiotics; (2) the Gerson diet; in his achievement of
survivorship in the face of a savage bout with cancer. The roles
of self-analysis and meditation as assets in achieving a cancer
control-strategy are explored in depth. Highly recommended.
(JREH)
The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet:
Dr. R. Bob Arnot, Little Brown and Company, 1998.
Dr Arnot has produced a very interesting book summarizing much of
the information currently known about dietary approaches to
controlling cancer. He did this because his wife asked him the
question "how do you prevent breast cancer?" since her
mother had contracted the disease at an early age and she
considered herself to be "high-risk". Knowing the
indifferently successful approach (cut, burn, poison) adopted by
the mainstream medical profession, he set out to look at the
alternatives. There is one confusing passage dealing with
soy-beans but the book is otherwise very straight forward and
spans most of the positive thinking on current diet as an
appropriate approach to deal with breast cancer. He has of
course, been excoriated by a mainstream medical group.(JREH) Internet
ref (http://www.acsh.org/press/releases/Arnot111698.html)
A cancer battle plan: Anne
E Frahm with David J Frahm, Jeremy P Tarcher/Putnam (NY), 1998.
This is the inspiring account of a survivor faced with terminal
metastatic cancer originating from the breast. Anne takes the
course favored by the Gerson approach to dietary control of
cancer. This approach concentrates on the use of fresh juice
therapy, coffee enemas and vegetarianism generally. The Gerson
Clinic itself operates out of Tijuana, Mexico and counts
outstanding cures. I recommend the book. (JREH)
The breast cancer survival manual (A
step by step guide for the woman with newly diagnosed breast
cancer): John Link MD. Henry Holt and Company (NY),
1988.
A useful summary focusing on a sympathetic treatment of
mainstream options plus a section on "diet, exercise, herbs
and vitamins". (JREH)
Breast Cancer (What you should know
[but may not be told] about prevention, diagnosis and treatment:
Steve Austin, ND, and Cathy Hitchcock, MSW, Prima Health, 1994.
A husband and wife team fights breast cancer and analyzes the
options available from both mainstream and dietary approaches to
survival. (JREH)
Breast Cancer? Breast Health! (The
wise woman way): Susan S Weed, Ash Tree Publishing,
Woodstock (NY), 1995.
A very useful summary covering a wide range of natural remedies
with insightful and practical commentary.(JREH)
Some Internet sites
http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCI_Pub_Interface/raterisk/rates43.html
Current estimates of breast cancer and other cancer rates by
country
http://WWW.cancer.ca/stats/egb150.htm
More estimates of cancer rates by country
http://WWW.cancer-free.com/book888.htm
An excellent account of a cancer patient’s search for a cure
including his discovery of macrobiotics: see page 17
http://WWW.macrobiotic.org:80/health5.html
A number of excellent bio-ecological articles relating to
Macrobiotics
http://WWW.biosupply.com/whygrind.htm
Some of the equipment needed for preparation of grains – we
have two of these machines, a hand-grinder (stones) and an
electric (?) grinder (stones)
http://WWW.turk.com/balance/bart.html
An article about macrobiotics and "balance"
Hint: to find out more about macrobiotics simply insert the word "Macrobiotic" into any Internet search-engine and you will turn up many other references. Two search engines are available at the bottom of the page
Books relating directly to subjects treated here can be obtained through this secure-link in association with Amazon.com and additional reviews of suitable volumes will be added.
Find anything, even macrobiotics, on a good Australian search-engine: 