Have You Read The China Study?
We’ve been talking a lot about animals this week, from animal testing to vegan cappuccinos. Then this morning I came across an interview with Dr. T. Colin Campbell, one of the authors of The China Study.
Full disclosure: I only heard about this best-selling nutrition book, written by a father-son doctor duo, a few weeks ago. But since then it’s been following me everywhere: in the books and articles I read, in conversations I have, and at the Whole Foods checkout counter. Strange how that goes, isn’t it?
Needless to say, I’m intrigued. From the article:
The book focuses on the knowledge gained from the China Study, a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine that showed high consumption of animal-based foods is associated with more chronic disease, while those who ate primarily a plant-based diet were the healthiest.
Apparently, even Bill Clinton, now a most-of-the-time vegan, has cited the book in reference to his new lifestyle choice. In the interview, I really appreciate how Campbell Senior talks about food and health in a holistic way—something very important to another writing duo I know. A few highlights:
“The problem is that we study one nutrient out of context. That’s the way we did research — one vitamin at a time, one mineral, one fat. It was always in a reductionist, narrowly focused way.”
“What loomed large for me was that we shouldn’t be thinking in a linear way that A causes B. We should be thinking about how things work together. It’s a very complex biological system.”
“I don’t use the word “vegan” or “vegetarian.” I don’t like those words. People who chose to eat that way chose to because of ideological reasons. I don’t want to denigrate their reasons for doing so, but I want people to talk about plant-based nutrition and to think about these ideas in a very empirical scientific sense, and not with an ideological bent to it.
The idea is that we should be consuming whole foods. We should not be relying on the idea that genes are determinants of our health. We should not be relying on the idea that nutrient supplementation is the way to get nutrition, because it’s not. I’m talking about whole, plant-based foods. The effect it produces is broad for treatment and prevention of a wide variety of ailments, from cancer to heart disease to diabetes.”
Love that. And then, on their decision to go with a smaller publisher:
“I went to a small publisher in Texas who let us do what we wanted to do. I didn’t want to proselytize and preach. I didn’t want to write a book that says, “This is the way it has to be.” It’s a chronology. Here’s how I learned it, and let the reader decide. I say, “If you don’t believe me, just try it.” They do, and they get results. And then they tell everybody else.”
Had you heard about the book? Have you read it? The introduction is up on their site, so I’m going to start there.
just like it was in the beginning, meat should be harder to get! i think we DO need it for a balanced diet, but you should have to run and track and kill and butcher and cook. really FACE the process, respect it, work for it… not drive up to a window and gurgle an order! :)
A must read for anyone interested in holistic eating and whole body nutrition. Can be dry at times, but work through it. The findings are remarkable and what is truly shocking is that most people still have not heard of it nor read it.
Another favorite along the same vein: Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Revolutionary-Formula-Sustained/dp/0316829455
I haven’t read this, but it has been on my “to read” list for about 6 months. The waitlist to get this from my local library is quite long…. Maybe I’ll splurge and get a new copy from Chapters : -)
I can’t wait to reading this, and am very interested since it will go with my background in health science
Yeah, I read that interview the other day and it was very timely, considering my New Years resolution (which is still going strong!) I’ve “gone vegan” before, usually out of guilt at animal suffering, but it never took. This time though, I had decided to not say “vegan”, mostly because of the connotations that word carries, I feel like it’s like trying to live up to some unattainable ideal. I’m just trying to eliminate animal products. I had unwittingly done essentially that already, just because I feel better the more vegetable and less animal i intake and my diet naturally leaned that way, so I figured I might as well conciously do it, in an effort to benefit myself, the animals and the world in general. I’ll be interested to know what people think of the book, I thought of ordering it, but school starts on Tuesday and my “to read” stack is a foot high already…
We certainly do NOT need meat for a balanced diet.
Crazy – something I read or watched mentioned this study & I have been meaning to get my hands on it, but keep forgetting (since there are so many books i need to get my hands on). I’m going to bookmark it now so I won’t forget it!
I have not read the book but I plan on doing so. I have been reading David Wolfe’s “Eating for Beauty” which describes how a plant-based and raw food diet are the most healthy and inwardly beautifying diets. I recently began juicing and eating more whole foods and cutting out most animal food products and it’s all a little overwhelming but every little bit helps.
actually, the physics of our teeth suggest that we are meant to be omnivores,
I’ve read The Omnivore’s Dilemma & In Defense of Food, both written by Michael Pollan. The concept of nutrients working synergistically is nothing new. It is in both of these books as well. I like both books because they don’t demonize any foods and they further acknowledge the trendiness of certain hot foods or magic foods du jour. The first sentences in “In Defense of Food”: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.” Enough said.
I also read the Omnivore’s Dilemma and really loved it. That said, I’m about 60 pages into The China Study and I’m enjoying that the book is written by the person who actually conducts the studies. Not to take anything away from writers like Pollan and, ahem, us. But I’m loving the science lesson and the research so far is FASCINATING.
I stumbled upon “The China Study” after I already made the switch to veganism, and I think it’s probably the most compelling and insightful book, research-wise, that I’ve read thus far. I highly recommend it – it is a lot of information, but nicely organized by health issue and easy to understand. It’s also fairly shocking…and you’ll have many “how come people don’t know about this!?” moments. I have tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to get my loved ones to read it.
There is a movie coming out this March called “Forks Over Knives”, which Dr. Campbell plays a big part in…I definitely plan to see it!
China study is very good book,i learned a lots from this.