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In February of 2002, as part of an NIH (National Institutes of Health) research project studying alternative approaches to cancer recovery, the Kushi Institute presented medically documented cases of individuals who had used macrobiotics to support their successful recovery from cancer.

The NIH project, called The Best Case Series, was structured as a review panel of cancer experts, medical professionals and research scientists. The goal was to do a preliminary assessment of each alternative method studied, and if the method seemed valid, to look at how else validating the effectiveness of the alternative might be supported by the federal government. All the cases presented by Kushi Institute had been metastatic late stage cancers, the type of cancers medical establishments rarely see recovery, such as pancreatic or malignant melanoma metastasized throughout the abdomen and in the colon.

During the review panel members noted from the medical evidence that they would not have expected these individuals to have survived their cancers. The panel was quite impressed by the results and deemed macrobiotics warranted further study.

For more on the CAPCAM panel and their study of Kushi Institute cases go to http://www.kushiinstitute.org/html/government.html.

As a sequel to this major step forward, we are now ready to continue to bring science to macrobiotics and build increased credibility with the science community.

We are very excited to announce that the medical doctor who presented our cases at the Best Case Series, George W. Yu, M.D., has approached us to take part in a new study.

During the Best Case Series review of our cases it was noted by panel members that in all individuals reviewed there was a significant loss of internal visceral body fat which coincided with tumor regression. They attributed the visceral fat loss due to a lower calorie intake. Low calorie diets, also known as Calorie Restricted (CR) diets have been studied for over 70 years showing reduced risk of aging and disease.

A common feature of a macrobiotic diet and lifestyle is healthy weight loss, and though reasons for the visceral fat loss noted by the CAPCAM panel may be multiple (such as specific types of foods consumed, or not consumed, in the macrobiotic diet) it is the caloric restriction aspect of macrobiotics which Dr. Yu is specifically interested in, and is now developing a research project looking at the effects of macrobiotics and caloric restriction on people with melanoma or breast cancer with residual skin lesions of disease.

Participants of the study will need to meet certain requirements, including:

Be newly diagnosed and have had no previous treatment and do not elect conventional treatment.
All of the traditional treatment such as chemo therapy, radiation, and surgery have failed and they are not currently on medical treatment.
Must be active and have good performance measurements.

We will be part of this small but very important study, for which three participants will be selected. Research will include looking at gene expression changes before and after a 6 months period in which participants will follow a macrobiotic plan designed for them by Kushi Institute counselors. After an initial study period at Kushi Institute, where they will learn how to follow the counselor's recommendations at home, they will be monitored by Kushi Institute and research staff to support compliance to their diet, which is necessary to make this study worthwhile.

This will not be the first human study of this kind. CR studies began at Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Spindler of University of California Riverside UCR CA and are ongoing at present. This is a very exciting opportunity for us, and part of our long-held goal of showing the world that what we see every day at Kushi Institute can be verified by science.

We will keep you informed as preparations for the study move forward.

Health and Peace,

Olaf Fischer
Executive Director
Kushi Institute