Here in Highland Park, New Jersey

Some snippets from Klara’s macrobiotics group:

Newbie asks: What to do about challah on a Friday night (or the lack thereof)?
Some responses:

As for challlah Friday night. I have two thoughts. First is the difference between the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. I think the blessing say thanks for the bread etc. So, I have no problem saying the blessing over a piece of whole grain, or sprouted bread. Extending even further, why not substitute one grain for another. Why just wheat, why not rice. I have said the “ chamotzie” over rice, quinoa, hato mugi etc. many times. The other thought, is that even though challah isn’t remotely macrobiotic, if it makes you feel good, spiritually, physically, or in any other way. Have some. I’ve done that many times too. Macrobiotics is supposed to fit into your life, not the other way around

Klara’s response:

my compromise is I buy a very small unyeasted roll – and even then won’t eat it all – I have a friend who used to make rice kayu bread – which is half flour and half rice – and she would steam it. Steamed bread I was taught was easier to digest.

I was quite surprised by Michael Rossoff’s suggestion that it’s ok for me to have 1 – 2 slices of bread a day – so you see, I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t go for counseling. As I said, each person had different needs.

Links from Klara’s macrobiotics group:

• Macrobiotic Healing Stories
• Recovery from Breast Cancer: But two of my favorite foods were pizza and ice cream with a topping of peanut butter.
• Battling Cancer: a common-sense regimen of grains, vegetables, beans and sea vegetables
• Choosing Foods by Michael Rosoff

A recipe from Klara’s macrobiotics group:

Fresh Tekka

Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced burdock
1/2 cup minced lotus root
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 cup spring water

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order, onion, carrot, lotus root and burdock.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for at least 1 hour or until soft.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and orange rind and stir gently.
Remove from heat and serve over hot brown rice.

Comment from the recipe writer: You could use any of these veggies instead – parsnip, turnip, cabbage or squash – failing that use carrots and onions on their own. The relish changes every time we make it and even more so with different veggies – how splendid and wonderful a few simple adjustments can be!

(Comment from me: I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll print it and put it in my recipe book to try soon).

•   •   •

Note: I only follow a bit of the macrobiotic diet myself, in that I try to eat many vegetables, brown rice and beans. Thus my title of “pick n choose”: perhaps you can find a part of the diet to adopt?

Another Note: if you just pick and choose a little of the diet, you aren’t going to experience its healing effects. However, many of us like to put a toe into a pool before diving in…

I finished Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD in about two days. I found it fascinating: what it did cover, and what it didn’t even mention.

First, it didn’t mention any specific alternative cancer treatments, such as the Macrobiotic diet or the Budwig diet. On the other hand, what it did cover was extensive: summaries of research studies, information about nutrition and cancer, mind/body research and the resistance of Western doctors to any cancer treatment beyond chemotherapy, radiation and pharmaceuticals.

If you want to read about Dr. Servan-Schreiber’s careful summaries of recent research and how they provide new hope for cancer patients, I recommend you read the book. He does give an analogy to the World War II battle of Stalingrad as a way to understand new approaches to cancer treatment. At Stalingrad, instead of attacking the powerful German army directly, the Russian army attacked the German supply lines, thus enabling the beginning of the retreat of the Nazi cancer. A Navy surgeon named Dr. Judah Folkman paved the way for attacking the supply lines of cancer in the human body.

One of the best parts of the books is Dr. Servan-Schreiber’s commentary on why so many oncologists are reluctant to refer to nutrition or diet as part of their practice. Here are a few of his notes:

• Western doctors receive little or no training in nutrition.
• Evidence-based medicine: “If it were true, we’d know about it.”
• “If there’s a problem, there’s a drug.”
• “People don’t want to change. It’s useless to tell them that.”

About doctors needing evidence-based medicine and why the nutrition studies don’t exist:

It is not financially feasible to invest such sums [as do the pharmaceuticals in drug research] in demonstrating the usefulness of broccoli, raspberries or green tea, because they can’t be patented and their sale will never cover the cost of the original investment… I am convinced there is no need to wait for such large-scale results before beginning to include anticancer foods in one’s diet.

As some of the best parts of the book are some nutritional and other anticancer suggestions, I’ll save those for later posts. Stay tuned.

Other books I would like to read:
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted
by T. Colin Campbell (recommended by my friend H.)
Foods to Fight Cancer: Essential foods to help prevent cancer
by Dr. Richard Beliveau (discussed in the Anticancer book)

A book I previously reviewed that is mentioned in the Anticancer book:
A Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis

Going through U.S. government sites is like going through spaghetti. Fortunately for you, I found some good information on this page of MedlinePlus about Cancer Alternative Therapies. The idea is there is so much information about alternative therapies, how does one sort out the useful from the quackery?

I decided to click on nutrition, my favorite first-try route for dealing with ailments. I end up on the American Cancer Society’s links on nutrition.

Here are some excerpts. On broccoli, one of my favorite vegetables that my kids will actually eat if freshly-steamed:

Some research has suggested that sulforaphane, which is present at much higher levels in broccoli sprouts than in the mature vegetable, may be a powerful cancer-preventing agent. The compound is thought to prompt the body to make higher levels of enzymes that protect against cancer-causing chemicals. One study showed that breast tumor development was significantly reduced in lab animals that were fed sulforaphane.

On garlic:

While some research on garlic is promising, it is very hard to determine the exact role a particular food may have against cancer. It is even more difficult when the food in question is often used in small amounts, as is garlic.

On Macrobiotic Diet:

The National Institutes of Health, Office of Alternative Medicine has funded a pilot study to determine if a macrobiotic diet may prevent cancer.

If someone is to try the macrobiotic diet, I would suggest a modified one, one that includes at least some animal products such as fish. And I question avoiding the tropical fruits.

From the ACS site, I found this article on Macrobiotics on a Univ. of Texas site. He mentions a book by Dr. Anthony Sattilaro called Recalled from Life. Another related book by Elaine Nussbaum: Recovery from Cancer.

On seaweed:

Despite claims that dried seaweed supplements, also called sea vegetables, are super nutrients that can prevent cancer and help numerous diseases, there is no reliable clinical evidence that this is true…Early studies of seaweed extracts, in the lab and on animals, suggest that certain compounds may one day be used in medicine.

A past post on a book about cancer, including a quote about waiting for clinical trial proof before trying an alternative therapy

Past post: What is a Colonoscopy? (thank you, Michelle, I should include this, too)

My mother died of colon cancer ten years ago. There is nothing I can do about that, but I can seek information that might help family and friends.

I’m rather fond of Dr. Mercola’s posts on nutrition and health. Here are two serious ones:

• My father has been saying this for years:
  Trans Fats Cause Precancerous Colon Growths (my mother died of colon cancer)
• Why Pregnant Women Should Avoid Perfume at All Costs

And here’s a humorous one, on what will happen when McDonalds reaches Africa.

Finally, there are shirts for nutrition nerds in in my shop.

This past week was the first Jewish Blogger’s Conference in Jerusalem. If you want to hear more about it, I suggest you read: Baila, Mother in Israel, Carl in Jerusalem, Jameel at Muqata, Joe Settler, Batya, WestbankMama and FrumSatire who were actually there, and then finish up with SuperRaizy who was in New York but blogged as if she were there.

I want to highlight one blogger in particular:
RivkA at Coffee and Chemo.
RivkA had the guts to ask the panel questions at the conference; I believe the question was about increasing blog traffic. But in general RivkA has a lot of guts. She writes about living with cancer. And she really lives. Her post about walking around the walls of Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av was particularly memorable. She talks about her support group, and how half the group doesn’t show up because they don’t feel well enough to come. But she clearly gets a lot out of the support. So, as I probably get different traffic to my blog than she gets to hers, I’m wondering if I can send you on over to Jerusalem and her blog to read a couple of posts on cancer survival. And about living.

I’m trying to find a post on her blog where she explains the capital A, as in RivkA, but I can’t.
Update: see Mother in Israel’s comment below, where she explains the accent is on the second syllable.

If you are over the age of thirty, it’s time to at least educate yourself on this important procedure. Ask your favorite health care professional for a recommendation on when you should schedule a colonoscopy.

• Wikipedia colonoscopy
• Web MD’s colonoscopy
• Cancer.org colonoscopy faq
• About.com: Preparing for a Colonoscopy

Oh, before you read those links, check out the newest Kosher Cooking Carnival. If you read all about a colonoscopy first, you might not feel up to reading about food.

Let’s cheer on Carl in Jerusalem for taking care of himself yesterday and inspiring me to (finally) write a post on the importance of colonoscopies. Another blogger wrote about hers recently (she knows who she is).

My mother died of colon cancer. The week before my most recent colonoscopy my father mentioned that one of the only early symptoms of her illness was she only had a bowel movement every few days. When I changed my own diet(I eat a lot of brown rice, vegetables and fruit in addition to some protein foods) soon after my mother got sick, I noticed my own bowel movements came more easily. When I eat too much of my delicious homemade challah, I get a bit constipated again. So also know your own body.