I heartily recommend this book.
I am a man of 70 years and in excellent health. I'm 5' 10" and weigh 150 pounds. I can still jog 5 miles and not feel tired or short of breath - even after two hours at the gym. My lab test results would suggest that I am a young man.
This is NOT genetic good fortune: My mother died of a heart attack at age 58. Heart disease and mental illness runs in the family on my mother's side. Alzheimer's disease and cancer runs in my family on my father's side. Fortunately for me, I was raised in Los Angeles foster care until I emancipated myself at age 15. In foster care, I hardly ever was fed meat or fish.
On my own, I simply had better eating hab8ts than most Americans For example, I don't eat butter or margarine. I hardly ever eat in a restaurant. I prepare my own meals that are fairly lite on animal portions and heavy on vegetables, whole grains, and fruit. I drink skim milk and rarely drink anything with added sugar or caffeine in it.
The last couple years I have been getting positive reinforcement for my eating habits from several books, written by physicians and PhD's. But after reading "The China Study" I find I can still improve my eating habits. I eat more added fats and more protein than I should, and I could make some better food choices.
"The China Study" not only SEEMS sensible, it is well documented. Every assertion is backed up using scientifically valid research methods, and every chapter has a long list of references near the back of the book - just before the index. And the reader doesn't have to have a college education to understand the contents. Of all the health improvement books I have ever read, this one is the best. It is more scientific, better documented, and broader in scope than any of the others - although most of the others were helpful.
Breakthrough study on diet and nutrition
This book can and will literally change your life and improve the quality of your existence. I found the subject matter and conclusions very compelling. I recommend this book not just to those interested in their health but also to those interested in improving their families' health.
Truth in a book
Everyone should read this book, and watch the documentary film Earthlings, so they can make a better decision on how they want to live.
Most Comprehensive Nutrition Study Ever
This book is critical for anyone studying nutrition. Why China? Because of "such a massive variation in cancer rates among different counties when genetic backgrounds were similar from place to place" (p. 71). Quite simply, it leaves no doubt that genetics aren't involved, but rather environment.
Though I have read hundreds of books on nutrition, I was blown away by the research herein. I had already known dairy was bad, but Campbell's research makes it practically the major culprit for cancer! Apparently the casein, the main protein in cow's milk, "interacts with carcinogens, the way DNA reacts with carcinogens and the way cancerous cells grow" (p. 65) and actually "allows more carcinogens into cells" (p. 348). Milk does a tumor good! Although I still occasionally indulge in raw goat's cheese, I am much more conscious of this fact after reading his book.
While other researchers have implicated carbohydrates in cancer (especially high glycemic ones), Dr. Campbell devotes an entire chapter to blaming a diet too high in protein. He found that a diet 5% in protein could reverse cancer, and implicated a diet high in animal proteins as being especially carcinogenic. He recommends getting no more than 10% of your calories in protein, which is low by USA standards.
A vegetarian diet was found to be superior in forming muscle over the long run ("slow and steady wins the race") as well as in allowing people to consume many more calories than omnivores, without getting fat.
Campbell also takes on big pharma and the food industries, leaving no doubt that their recommendations to us are purely for their profit.
My editor e-mailed Dr. Campbell to inquire as to whether any of the animal proteins eaten in the study were raw. Apparently not, he replied. It might have made a difference in the meat (since cooked meat forms carcinogenic heterocyclic amines if heated enough), but honestly: even raw dairy contains casein!
Shocking Truths Disclosed!
Excellent book! This book will challenge modern day thinking on food and pharmaceuticals. Campbell is an educated researcher who astonishingly comes to the realization that modern concepts of a healthy diet are actually not based on fact and research. Our love affair with meat and dairy have some significant implications for our overall health. Well written, well researched. It is worth having in your personal library.
(467 reviews)
