In light of the recent New York Times article stating that there was no significant statistics regarding increased protection from cancer and heart disease after following 49,000 women for 8 years, I have felt compelled to offer my feedback. As one of my astute and intelligent students pointed out to me recently, this was a very extensive and thorough study and results should be taken seriously, I re-read the report and still I have strong feelings that I wanted to share.

First of all, nobody could ever convince me that eating a particular way (and I am not simply isolating “low-fat”) does not alter one’s quality of life, health or energy levels. I, for one, have had too many years of watching and observing that when I eat one way, certain results happen and when I eat another way, results are markedly different. This article is obviously dealing only with one aspect – that of low-fat - however that has been translated - and whether it showed any marked difference on the appearance of several cancers, heart disease and stroke.

One of my favourite aspects of macrobiotics is that it teaches one to think for oneself and to allow one’s genuine experience to guide one’s life and food choices – not relying on outside authorities. I cringe at all the people who may read this article and go “whew, let’s go out and get that ham and cheese croissant and cream cake and oh yeah, no need to hold the butter or cream on either or both, please…” For whatever reason, I was guided from within to read all sorts of information when I was first extremely ill in 1993 searching for what would bring my body back to health. When I stumbled upon my early macrobiotic readings, the big “yes” just happened and that yes became my guide. If I had relied solely on statistics and reports, I don’t know where I would be now. I guess what I am speaking about is the difference between scientific information vs. intuition or inner wisdom. No doubt the two can work together and if one thinks of the yin/yang symbol, they are in fact two sides of one coin and don’t need to be opposed to each other. They are simply two ways of approaching life.

Regarding this study, the first thing I think of is how on earth could they control what these women ate for 8 years – I know how difficult it is to restrain from occasional treats and for people who have always known good health, it is even harder. Yes, these women had 1 year of nutritional meetings every 3 weeks and after that 4 times a year for the next 7 years. I see people in weekly classes trying to reverse serious conditions and the frequency of times that one “cheats” or has something either higher in fat, sugar or alcohol, so I find it hard to believe that these women could sustain this diet sufficiently to provide accurate statistics. Of course, they are not going to confess to the once-a-week or fortnighly outings where they had just one little splurge. I am not condemning them for being human – I am just saying that to presume that so many women could follow a low-fat program for so long (and one that was so well-balanced in order to see health-protection show up statistically) is a feat that boggles my mind. I’m not disputing their credibility – I just find it hard to fathom when I frequently see food diaries and how the honesty is often stretched just a little bit.

That leads me to my next point, another factor that has always brought macrobiotics near and dear to my heart. There are many factors that lead towards health, recovering health and sustaining health. To isolate one and then expect significant results is ludicrous. Each person is individual and so many factors are relevant as to one’s present state of health. Low-fat is one but what sort of fat – we all know now that there are fats that are extremely dodgy (i.e. trans-fats as in margerine) and other fats that are very protective and beneficial to health (i.e. omega 3’s and 6’s as in fatty fishes and flaxseed). I presume they were advised to avoid saturated animal and dairy fats but were probably allowed many products with the label “low-fat” or “low-fat” milk. They may have been eating a high amount of processed foods with low-fat stamped on them and I don’t think that’s a beneficial trade-off. So many conditions, so many variables – I am sorry but I am not convinced regarding this point. Show me one month, even one week of 100 of the women’s food diaries and I would pay this report much more attention.

High animal protein is another suggested negative health factor for cancer and heart disease, yet if this were tested in a similar way without any other factors considered, perhaps results would be similar. Then there is the matter of what people are not eating but what about what they are eating. Were these women simply eliminating the butter on their bread and the cream cheese on their bagel but not having fresh organic vegetables daily. Possibly very few of them had any wholegrains in their diet (and I am not speaking of a highly processed breakfast cereal that states “made with wholegrains”.) There are so many dietary factors that help to heal and protect the body that to isolate one just seems a waste of time to me. Did these women overeat? Did these women get consistent exercise? Did they have sufficient minerals in their diet? I suspect that amongst the low-fat group, one could find such a wide variety of eating from more fresh foods cooked in a balanced way to more processed foods eaten chaotically.

There are many factors beyond simply the dietary ones that protect health. There are the stresses of life – of work, relationships. If someone is in a job they love, that is probably sending very good endorphins through their body throughout the day as opposed to someone simply enduring their work. Likewise in their relationships. I am certain someone on the best diet in the most dysfunctional relationship would not be doing themselves much good. Then there are the factors of environmental toxins that are perhaps more out of our control – more necessity to pay attention to the things we can control! Then one’s mental/emotional state is so very important. The old wounds/unresolved griefs and conflicts from our past that we carry in our unconscious. Certainly one’s mental and emotional condition is paramount to attracting health or lack of it…And of course there is this issue of genetics that always gets brought up. Yes, there are genes and certainly from a scientific point of view, some diseases have been inextricably linked with the appearance of a gene…yet not everyone with that gene develops the disease so what does that say – that there must have been a condition in the body/mind that made that person ripe to succumb to that genetic tendency and that condition could have been brought about by any of the previously mentioned factors i.e. a highly processed and chaotic diet, unresolved emotional issues, environmental toxins, difficult life situtations that were not being resolved. That is why the meaning of macrobiotics – Great or Large Life – has so much significance in that there is a big picture and so many factors are important in creating our life and our health. We have to look at our Big Picture and work out the puzzle for ourselves – which factors are the most important for us at any particular time and which ones need the most attention, knowing that things are always shifting and changing as we shift and change.

In summation, perhaps I am misunderstanding the point of this study and that we are both coming to the same results from two different sides: that health is the result of many factors coming together simultaneously and we are jugglers of this balancing act. Besides just the factor of low-fat, we need to look at the freshness of our food, the wholeness of our food, the cooking styles and presence of the cook. We also need to consider our lifestyle, our relationships, our work, our relationship to nature or existence. In addition exercise and participation in life is a factor that cannot be denied. Also, last but not least, we cannot forget the age-old macrobiotic ism that quantity affects quality. Even the most organic, whole foods can burden the body if taken in excess. So I wouldn’t suggest anyone go out there and load up on high-fat foods as a result of this study, but that they look to a larger picture and use one’s intuition to guide oneself as to what is appropriate and balanced for them. And finally, it cannot be denied that many people have improved so many conditions on a wholegrain/vegetable/bean based diet supplemented with seaweed, fish and fruits and nuts. I know, I am one of them!