Book: The China Study

[Erudite]

Title: The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-term Health
Author: T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II
Pages: 368 (including 3 appendices)
Genre: Non-fiction

I have to say right up front that I was totally turned off by the final part of this book, so much so that it made me wonder about his somewhat extreme suggestions through the middle of the book. However, I think his findings in the middle of the book have validity. I think I'll review this book by parts and that'll help. This IS a book that I think everyone should read, thus the reason I'm reviewing it in such detail.

Part I: The China Study
This part is basically an overview of Dr. Campbell's early life, early research, and the conclusions he began to come to as a result of his research. He grew up on a dairy farm and thus believed that eggs, milk, and beef were the foundation of a healthy diet. But he began doing studies in rats that pointed to animal proteins as the catalyst for cancer and heart disease, but he was unable to generalize those findings to the human population without doing human studies. He was given the opportunity to do so in The China Study.

The China Study was a study of 6,500 people living in rural China. He and other researchers were able to create a "snapshot" of their dietary and health lives. According to Dr. Campbell, the findings of the China Stuy indicate that we Americans are killing ourselves with heart disease and cancer BECAUSE we consume way too many animal based products. He found that cancer was caused in rats, after they'd been exposed to aflatoxin, a bad carcinogen, when the rats consumed a diet of 20% protein, which is typical of most Americans. However, rats, who were also exposed to aflatoxin, did not get cancer when they consumed a diet of 5% protein, specifically casein, which is the protein makes up 87% of cow's milk. He found the lower the protein, the better the rats did as well...as in they were leaner, exercised more, and had better coats.

Part II: Diseases of Affluence
In this part he covers: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, autoimmune diseases, AND bone, kidney, eye and brain diseases--and tells us, by citing study after study after study, most of which he did not conduct himself, how animal based eating is CAUSING the above diseases. He calls this group of diseases "diseases of affluence" because they are almost never seen in the poorer parts of the world, including rural China. This section is absolutely profound in its implications.

One of the most surprising sets of information was about breast cancer. Occurances of breast cancer are so low in rural China that he could not actually do any studies on it, but in looking at other studies and how the rural Chinese live he made some conclusions. First, you need to understand:
1. average age of first period (menarche) is 17 in rural China.
2. average age of menopause is about 3 years earlier than in the West.
Thus, the time period that women are bathed in estrogen for child bearing is 6-10 years shorter in China than in the West. Estrogen is one of the risk factors for breast cancer...as is early onset of menarche.
Animal based diets are behind the early onset of menarche and later menopause, thus along with all the other diseases mentioned above, animal based diets are major cause of breast cancer. He also mentions that if we in the West didn't consume those diets, there would be no teenage pregnancy either. Fascinating, huh?

Part III: The Good Nutrition Guide
He gives 8 principles for Food and Health, but I didn't think they really applied to eating, more to how to think about what others are saying about eating. His "How to Eat" chapter can be boiled down to a single sentence. And I quote: "The recommendations coming from the published literature are so simple that I can state them in one sentence: eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, while minimizing the consumptions of refined foods, added salts and added fats." He does recommend a B12 supplement if you're not eating organic foods (B12 comes from healthy soils) and vitamin D if you live in a northern climate and don't see the sun often enough. That's it. He answers the "should I eliminate meat completely?" question with "yes" and a bunch more information.

Part IV: Why Haven't You Heard This Before?
In this section, he goes through some of his history with other dietary researchers and their connections to the dairy and meat industries and details how they were often swayed by those connections into giving recommendations that were not in any way consistent with what unconnected researchers were finding. After 4 long chapters of it, I was tired of reading his paranoid diatribe. This section turned me off because it became so apparent how much of the whole book really is HIS take on the findings of the China study and what other researchers have said.

HOWEVER, I don't discount what he said in the previous sections. It is WAY too close to what my personal beliefs (LDS, D&C 89) are and I was very struck as I read the first 3 sections at how my understanding of "sparingly" changed. After finishing the book, I went to D&C 89 and reviewed it carefully and found that Dr. Campbell's paranoia is mentioned in verse 4 (evil designs of conspiring men) and his "no animal products" recommendation is in verse 13 (not to be used). I still want to do more research for understanding, but I have now dropped as many possible animal products from my diet as I can and am working toward changing my family's diet as well.

I do HIGHLY recommend reading this book. Just skip the last section. Sorry this was so long, but I think you can see it is PACKED with much more than what I could say here.

[bookworm]

Thanks for sharing, E, I will see if this book is at the library. I'm sure my husband would be interested, too. The last time I read D&C 89:13 I stopped and thought, "okay, but HOW do I change our diet to not include meat?" Seriously, I don't know how to become vegetarian. I guess I could take a class or something...

Also, do you think the "no animal byproducts" includes eggs? Cheese? The D&C specifies with the word 'flesh' of beasts and fowls. Flesh sounds like meat to me- And it specifies beasts and fowls but doesn't mention fish- can I eat all the fish I want?

I know, I know, it's up to me to decide, I'm just asking what you and others here think it means.

By the way, D&C 89:13 references D&C 59:20, which says, "it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things (referencing earlier verses which talk about herbs, all good things of the earth, the beasts and fowls) unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgement not to excess, neither by extortion"

I'm not trying to sidestep the law in the D&C 89, I'm trying to understand it more accurately. I know it's not winter, nor is it famine right now, so meat should be used very little if at all, right? hmm... so... no more bbq?

---------- Post added at 09:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 AM ----------

I've tried to add this as an edit three times and it keeps kicking me out to some other page, so I'm going to do it here.

I looked up 'flesh' in the BD and found some interesting things in the references: Genesis 9:3 says "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you." And D&C 49:18-19 says, (footnote correction added)"And whoso biddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God; For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment and that he might have in abundance."

So, I'm guessing that section 89 was given for clarification regarding meat- eating... also, it doesn't sound to me like it means all animal byproducts are forbidden, but I certainly could be wrong!

At any rate, it's good to re-assess our eating habits, since so many of us are unhealthy and even unhappy. Now if I could just figure out how to make multiple meals without any meat...

[Erudite]

Originally Posted by bookworm

Thanks for sharing, E, I will see if this book is at the library. I'm sure my husband would be interested, too. The last time I read D&C 89:13 I stopped and thought, "okay, but HOW do I change our diet to not include meat?" Seriously, I don't know how to become vegetarian. I guess I could take a class or something...

There's also a ton of information online. I've started by making a list of all those meals that didn't include a lot of meat in the first place. Then I went to a vegetarian site (can't remember which) and found a two week menu. I went through it and it gave me a bunch more ideas. Last night we had enchiladas made with beans instead of meat, but it did include cheese. And we had cheese ravioli the night before. Bean soup made with chicken broth the night before that. So you can see I haven't totally figured out how to cut it out, but I'm working on the "flesh" part right now.

Also, do you think the "no animal byproducts" includes eggs? Cheese? The D&C specifies with the word 'flesh' of beasts and fowls. Flesh sounds like meat to me- And it specifies beasts and fowls but doesn't mention fish- can I eat all the fish I want?

Dr. Campbell says no fish, no cheese, no eggs. NOTHING that comes from any animal. His studies worked very heavily with casein which is the 87% of the protein that comes from milk. He links type I diabetes and a couple of others with casein. So, that's why his recommendations remove all dairy products. He discusses eggs and fish oils, but I can't remember the details off the top of my head.

Going as far as no fish, no cheese, no eggs, no dairy is called vegan. There's lots of info on going vegan out there. I can't get there yet because I don't have enough knowledge. I'm VERY curious to see if eating such a diet would help my fibromyalgia. My aunt, who has FM too, said her doctor tried to get her to go on such a diet as a means of helping her, so I'm wondering if it would help me. The book does not discuss FM or CFS in anyway, so I don't have any real knowledge about that.

By the way, D&C 89:13 references D&C 59:20, which says, "it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things (referencing earlier verses which talk about herbs, all good things of the earth, the beasts and fowls) unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgement not to excess, neither by extortion"

I'm not trying to sidestep the law in the D&C 89, I'm trying to understand it more accurately. I know it's not winter, nor is it famine right now, so meat should be used very little if at all, right? hmm... so... no more bbq

I guess the unfortunate thing is that those verses do make it easy to justify meat and animal products at every meal and once you get there, you start to find them the centerpiece of meals...especially BBQ. At least that's what I've found. And if meat is the centerpiece...is it sparingly? I came to the conclusion that it wasn't. And reading what Dr. Campbell says makes it all the more clear why the "sparingly" and even the "not at all" recommendation might have been given by our Heavenly Father.

I wish that Dr. Campbell's studies had taken him into the "famine" and "winter" discussion so that would be clearer. I need to re-read the chapter on cancer initiation and then it might be clearer on why animal protein would be more necessary in those extreme times.

I looked up 'flesh' in the BD and found some interesting things in the references: Genesis 9:3 says "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you." And D&C 49:18-19 says, (footnote correction added)"And whoso biddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God; For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment and that he might have in abundance."

So, I'm guessing that section 89 was given for clarification regarding meat- eating... also, it doesn't sound to me like it means all animal byproducts are forbidden, but I certainly could be wrong!

At any rate, it's good to re-assess our eating habits, since so many of us are unhealthy and even unhappy. Now if I could just figure out how to make multiple meals without any meat...

You know, I remembered that "forbiddeth to abstain" scripture after I posted the above, but I haven't taken the time to really delve into figuring it all out for myself, so I'm glad you've given me some direction. The bottom line is that I don't know. I do know that I'm sicker than I want to be, fatter than I want to be, and there has to be an answer somewhere, somehow. I have often studied the WoW in hopes of it pointing me in the right direction, but as yet haven't mastered my mortal body. I do think that really learning from and perfectly implementing the WoW is a step of paramount importance, because of the list of blessings that it ends with. That list...run and not be weary, walk and not faint, hidden treasure of wisdom, etc...ARE blessings that are described by Dr. Campbell's book. His conclusions very closely parallel the WoW in startling ways. Even the paranoia at the end, which I don't like (can't stand conservative talk radio because it just all seems so paranoid!!), has its place in the WoW. And given all that, I'm attempting to change my family's eating habits to include MUCH fewer animal based foods and MUCH more plant based foods. I'm sure I need to give it a month or more before I'll see much difference, but it's a month I have to give. So I'm giving it a shot. Just gotta go to the grocery store and stock up on fruits and veggies and try some soy or rice milk.

---------- Post added at 11:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 AM ----------

BW, as an aside to this, I'm starting to think in terms of what can I grow in my own garden, and preserve, that would begin to negate the need to go to the grocery store. If I'm not going for eggs, milk, and cheese, I'm only going for fresh produce. I know you're a gardener too...have you thought along these lines at all?

[bookworm]

I don't think vegan is what the WoW means. I know it sounds like justification, but vegan is one lifestyle that strikes me as not being 'all things in moderation'. I think we're meant to use the good things of the earth, including animal products, but maybe only take in meat and poultry (flesh) sparingly.

Although, if a specific diet would help with illness or disease, that's a whole different subject. Good luck with your FM- I really hope this really works for you!!!

In the past, my DH read a book by John Gray and we were discussing it in depth and the conclusion I came to has held for every single self-help book I've ever read. That this author is NOT a prophet, therefore I don't need to follow his every word to the T. (In fact, Dr. Gray encouraged...um... self-gratification, whereas we know that's considered sinful by our church.)

Instead, I take what rings true to me (as in, the Holy Ghost testifies of its truth to me) and use it in my life, but the rest I set aside or completely discard. That is how I would take this kind of thing, too. If it's good, and feels right, do it! If it makes you squirm, or doesn't ring true, set it aside. My point is, although much of what this guy says runs parallel to the WoW, it isn't scripture, and you don't have to do it all 100%. You certainly can, but it isn't necessarily mandatory. Just sayin'... It sounds like almost all of it rings true to you, so that's great! It's like a WoW manual for you, if that's the case.

For the moment, I am simply working on the 'not to excess' part, not making meat the centerpiece, as you put it. I'm not doing very well yet But it all begins with thought and planning. I think I will look for some vegetarian recipes. It wouldn't hurt to start slipping them in here and there...

---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Erudite

[/COLOR]BW, as an aside to this, I'm starting to think in terms of what can I grow in my own garden, and preserve, that would begin to negate the need to go to the grocery store. If I'm not going for eggs, milk, and cheese, I'm only going for fresh produce. I know you're a gardener too...have you thought along these lines at all?

Yes, I have, but my garden space is tiny and I'm sort of... I'll admit it, lazy. Every spring I think, "this is the year I plant..." and a long list of veggies rattle off. We end up with tomatoes, cucumbers and squash every year. This year DH and DD grew sugar snap peas, so that was good, but nothing more. You are on to something, here, though, I think. I struggle with motivating myself to do more than I'm already doing- life is quite busy, but this should maybe move up the priority list next year...

DH even bought a juicer last year so he could 'juice' for breakfast every day, but we don't always have fresh produce for him to juice. If we grew more, we could at least juice all summer/fall...

[Erudite]

Originally Posted by bookworm

Although, if a specific diet would help with illness or disease, that's a whole different subject. Good luck with your FM- I really hope this really works for you!!!

We moved away from the book in our discussion, but what Dr. Campbell wants us to understand from his findings is that ALL disease (except viral) could have their beginnings in a poor diet, but he especially studied heart disease and cancer. It is those diseases that he found not happening when we reduced our animal protein intake to 5% or below. He has a whole section on the idea that plant based diets should help ALL diseases by strengthening the body's ability to combat them, often before they ever get started. He covers the point that heart disease is the number 1 killer, cancer is #2, and medical related problems is #3. With that he points out that if we didn't see doctors as often, meaning we're healthier, and #1 and #2 are wiped out by eating right, the top 3 killers in the USA would go away. That's a pretty astounding concept.

I just wanted to point that out, because he makes a special point of that concept in the book.

I totally get what you're saying about taking the good and leaving the bad. As I was pondering this over the last few days, my personal scripture study is in 2 Nephi right now and he says in chapter 2 verse 5 that we've been instructed sufficiently between good and evil. So as I was thinking about that in relation to what The China Study says, I think for me, it was a direction changer. Like you say, I don't see "vegan" as the path to follow; changing meal planning to a more plant based approach seems a more moderate approach. FYI, 5% or less of meat per day is something like 1 oz of meat per day.

BW, get the book. I really would like your take on it. My VERY brief overview is completely insufficient. If you'll read the book, you'll see why vegan even gets discussed.

[bookworm]

I would like to read it- our library out here doesn't have it, but I'll see if any of my sisters would get it for me in SL.

[Meticulous madness]

Wow guys. Very interesting stuff. I have heard some pretty startling statistics recently. Most of it has been about foods from hormone-enhanced farm animals and chemicals used in commercial produce. I have a really hard time buying organic stuff most of the time, but I'm finding myself getting more on the band-wagon as time goes on. it's just downright scary.

I'll have to read this book and start to make small movements in the right direction for me and my family. It will be very difficult I think, because DH is totally a meat man. I wouldn't say that we eat a lot of it, but we just can't imagine NOT eating it at all. I could do without red meat for the rest of my life, but I LOVE, love, love chicken (well, and I guess some fish) but even poultry and fish can be horrible.

Anyway, the book sounds fascinating. Thanks for the review.

[Stargazer]

Thanks for the review E. A lot of the information you have shared is consistent with what I read about natural healing related to cancer.

I, too, have a difficult time buying organic even though I know it is so much better for you (of course organic chips are still chips right?). It is so much more expensive and my budget is always limited. One way to get it cheaper in the summer is to do farmer's markets. Much of the stuff there is organic. Planting your own garden is of course a fabulous idea, if only the grasshoppers wouldn't eat it all. (btw E, how is your garden going?)

[Erudite]

The garden is growing. I need to go harvest all the peas before they completely wither. It's not as successful a crop as I wish it were, but I can try again in the Fall. I did have a fantastic crop of lettuce but that's all dying back now in the heat. I still have to do a better job at figuring out the cool season veggies, but it'll come. Thanks for asking!

So, SG, do you eat this way as a result of learning about this through your Mom?

[Stargazer]

I am much more aware of what I eat is doing to me - I firmly believe we are creating so many of our own diseases. Our foods are so processed and full of chemicals. Reading labels is a bit of a frightening experience. (I was eating some "healthy" rice chips the other day and read the label - they had msg, and they were gross. Vegetables are so key to healthy living, they are healers. Juicing is also really good for you (and not as bad as I thought it would betastewise - I always throw in some fruit. ). I don't juice as often as I like because it is such an effort to clean the juicer, lame excuse huh?

A lot of my food awareness actually comes from Sparkpeople. I'm able to embrace a lot of ideas because of the reading I've already done while my mom was sick. I still love my bbq - ok meat in general. I don't eat hot dogs. We used to eat a bunch. I know I need to cut out processed lunch meat - but I don't know what else to send my kids for school lunch.

We don't have a microwave (read up about it, it's interesting). We rarely drink soda and chips are scare around our house.

We still eat lots of crap - my kids more than me - but I have found that as I integrate the changes slowly my kids accept them.

---------- Post added at 09:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 PM ----------

E - do some reading on soy before you embrace it. The Dr. who treated my mom in TX wrote an article about it - I will try to find it and bring it tomorrow. Shortly after that my neighbor sent me an article that talked about soy. SP has a weird article on soy. The writer talks about how studies related to soy are inconclusive and don't prove all of the great things they say about it, then she ends by encouraging people to get 3-4 servings of soy a day. We used to give DS1 soy milk because he had milk allergies, but quit immediately upon my arrival home from TX. I haven't researched it much since then.

[Erudite]

Ok...looks like I have more research to do. It's a little frustrating because EVERYTHING in nutrition and health science seems to have some contradiction to it...all based in the views of the particular author. Using the scriptures as a guide is helpful, because I can say "well a high animal protein diet is definitely not in the Lord's plan", but there are so many other smaller issues that are not directly answered. I keep praying and trying to learn though!

I tried the soy milk and thought it was fine, but it is SO EXPENSIVE that I don't think it'll become a habit. My question is...if "technology" has brought us the ability to take the germ and bran out of wheat (for example) so that we have gotten away from the natural goodness of grains, how is turning SOY into a milk substitute much better? It seems to me that the whole foods, the way they were grown, is an obvious start to eating the way we're supposed to, but beyond that, I have to say I'm floundering a bit in knowing what to do. So far, I can't pin my own illness to food, which is the whole reason I'm studying nutrition. My illness seems more weather related...

[natickgirl]

Very interesting discussion! I've been trying to cut back on our meat consumption, too, and incorporate more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. It's very frustrating when overly processed foods are so much cheaper than healthy food.

I agree that "moderation" is the key. The scriptures don't say to avoid meat completely, nor do they mention abstaining from dairy or eggs. I wish I could afford to buy organic, because I think all the growth hormones & fertilizers used today are causing problems. I mentioned how pudgy & developed young girls seem to be these days to a friend of mine, and she pointed out that it may well be related to growth hormones. Interesting.

Basically, eating food in as close to it's natural state as possible is best. I plan to get back into gardening as soon as I can. I really enjoy eating foods that I've grown because I know exactly where they come from.

[Erudite]

I've been learning all about vegetarian eating have found some surprising things. Here's two:

- an egg substitute can be 1 TBS ground flax seed blended with 3 TBS HOT water. It takes the place of eggs in baked goods and performs a similar function PLUS it adds fiber and omega 3s. I made some cookies with it yesterday and they are quite good...very normal! Also, you can STORE flax seed for very long periods...like a year in the freezer...where you can't store eggs. That has always been a question I've had about our food storage, because eggs, cheese, and dairy can't be stored well for a year.

- yes, organic fruits and veggies cost more, but they don't cost more than it takes to buy eggs, milk, cheese, and meat. (We haven't given up on milk just yet, but we're working on it.) The price of those things, though, offsets the extra cost of organic veggies.

Anyway...there are two thoughts for you if you're thinking along these lines. I'm sure I'll find more!