It sounds too good to be true — a drink that aids in the success of cancer treatment, nourishing the cells and preventing them from becoming resistant to chemo? Rabbi Yaakov Kairy knew he had to tell the world

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t sounds too good to be true — a concentrated soybean drink that aids in the success of cancer treatment, nourishing the cells and preventing them from becoming resistant to chemo? When self-effacing Rabbi Yaakov Kairy, a cheder rebbi by day and medical research consultant by night, saw the success of the product with his own grandfather, he knew he had a mission to tell the world

By day, Rabbi Yaakov Kairy is a first-grade rebbi in a Brooklyn yeshivah. At night, back at home in Lakewood, he wears a different hat — that of a consultant specializing in cancer research.

“I’m simply a research consultant, who, b’ezer Hashem, provides people with useful information,” says Rabbi Kairy, who is quick to qualify that he’s not a medical professional. “What I do is counsel people about things they can do to maximize the benefits of their cancer treatments, and I’m there to support them through it. I always encourage clients to discuss this information with their doctor, and to do their own research as well.”

Rabbi Kairy has spent the forty-something years of his life within the walls of yeshivos, yet is comfortable analyzing scientific studies and speaking in jargon one would expect to hear in molecular biology and cell genetics research labs. How did an elementary school rebbi land in this rarefied stratosphere?

“It’s all siyata d’Shmaya,” he says. “The Ribbono Shel Olam gave me a strong interest in science, particularly in cancer, since unfortunately there has been so much of it in my family.”Both maternal grandparents passed away from cancer and his paternal grandmother had cancer as well.

The scope of his knowledge and his intense desire to help others notwithstanding, self-effacing Rabbi Kairy has always shunned publicity — people find him by word of mouth. In fact, it took three years of negotiation before he even agreed to an interview, and then only upon the approval and encouragement of Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, his rosh yeshivah from his years in Philadelphia.Rabbi Kairy advocates that cancer patients consider following a comprehensive program that incorporates nutrition, immune stimulation, and detoxification, in conjunction with their standard medical protocol. While he believes that following the complete program offers the best chance of a positive outcome, sometimes patients choose to implement only one or two components, which still have significant benefit. He stresses that whatever they choose to incorporate should have the approval of their physician.

A chief component of his approach is to encourage patients to consider taking a nutritional supplement called Haelan 951, a soybean derivative that has been shown in some studies to help patients through cancer treatment.

About 18 years ago, when his grandfather was struggling with recurrent colon cancer which had spread to the liver, Rabbi Kairy came across an article about Haelan, which, he emphasizes, was clear Hashgachah pratis. He called the Haelan Corporation to find out more, and was impressed by the supplement’s track record. “I called my grandfather and said, ‘Poppy, do you want to live?’ He answered, ‘Of course I want to live!’ I told him, ‘Let’s try something I think can help.’ ”

At the time, the FDA had approved Haelan as a safe nutritional supplement. There was no risk of toxicity build-up, so Rabbi Kairy figured that the worst that could happen was that it wouldn’t help.

“At this point my grandfather was in a lot of pain, weak, and basically housebound. He took Haelan for about two weeks, during which time his pain was greatly reduced and he got much of his energy back. I’m not suggesting he had been miraculously cured, but he was definitely feeling better. Due to certain circumstances, though, the Haelan was discontinued, and unfortunately he regressed and died a short while later. It was this experience that first convinced me of Haelan’s potential.”

It’s in the Soy

It might sound like magic, but Rabbi Kairy has a logical explanation for his grandfather’s brief reversal. “There’s a condition called cachexia, which is the wasting syndrome associated with advanced cancer, with loss of weight and muscle mass, loss of appetite, and weakness. It happens when cancer causes metabolic changes that rob the body of nutrition. Haelan intensely replenishes depleted nutrition and inhibits production of the chemicals that cause cachexia. It quickly fortified my grandfather, making him feel better.”

The product, he says, is a specialized, fermented soy preparation that provides a superior form of nutrition to the body’s cells. This nutrition not only helps reverse cachexia, but also allows patients to better endure chemotherapy and radiation.

“With this product, healthy cells become so well-nourished that they can resist the collateral damage caused by chemotherapy drugs, resulting in reduced side effects,” Rabbi Kairy explains. “And in addition to nourishing the cells, the nutrients in Haelan enable healthy cells to produce an antioxidant enzyme that helps protect them. Fermented soy has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties, and when chemotherapy is done in conjunction with Haelan, chemotherapy is more effective, with better outcomes.”

Rabbi Kairy, it should be noted, does not sell, nor does he receive any financial compensation from the sale or usage of Haelan 951, and does not represent the company in any way.

In 1989, the National Cancer Institute (an arm of the National Institute of Health, and the federal government’s primary agency for cancer research) funded a $20 million, five-year study looking for cancer-preventive nutrients in fruits and vegetables. They discovered that there are five broad categories of phytochemicals (chemicals found in plants) with anti-cancer properties — and the humble soybean was found to contain phytochemicals from all five categories.

So why not just load up on miso soup and soy sauce? That would certainly be easier — and cheaper — than drinking Haelan, whose foul taste makes it difficult for some people to swallow.

“There are over ten thousand strains of soybeans,” Rabbi Kairy explains, “and Haelan is made from a particular strain which has been identified as having the most nutrients and anti-cancer compounds. It’s then fermented in a specific way, which makes it potent and exponentially more usable to the body.

“The product’s single most important quality is the special fermentation process, which produces nitrogen — an essential component of Haelan’s mechanism of activity. The concentration is also vital to its effectiveness. A person could never consume the concentrations of soy needed to achieve these benefits — over 25 pounds of soybeans are used to produce one eight-ounce bottle.”

When patients have hormone-based cancers, such as some breast and prostate cancers, oncologists might specifically advise them to stay away from Haelan as it is made from soy, which is thought to fuel hormone-based cancers. Rabbi Kairy maintains, however, that this property is limited to non-fermented soy, while fermented soy actually correlates with reduced incidence of hormone-based cancers. Additionally, he says, the product has seen success with other degenerative diseases as well, such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and ALS.

Sammy Dayan* of Brooklyn is a walking testimonial for Haelan, having seen it help both his father and himself.

“My elderly father was in Florida with end-stage cancer, and the family was told to come say good-bye. Rabbi Kairy gave me 13 extra bottles of Haelan that he had from his grandfather to bring along to try. It was pretty awful, but my father managed to down it, and a few days later he felt well enough get out of bed and sit by the pool.”

According to his son’s account, the Haelan not only reversed his cachexia, but seemed to stop the progression of his cancer. He lived another eight months, feeling pretty good, and in the end died of unrelated pneumonia.

But that’s not the end of the story.