From: "Robert Cohen" <notmilk@...>
Date: Sat Apr 2, 2005 12:08 pm
Subject: The China Study
..
The China Study
Oprah has a book club, and now, so do I! Each week, I manage
to read two or three books, and from time to time, I'll
be sharing my favorites with you. This past week, I
made the exception to my own rule, and read one book from
comer to cover--twice! This must-read book is "The China
Study," by T. Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas. T. Colin
Campbell (the dad) is a great writer in his own right, but
this new father and son team have synergized their energies
to create a classic in the genre of nutritional texts.
Early on in their brilliantly written book (page 21),
the Campbells tell their readers:
"So, what is the prescription for good health? In short, it
is about the multiple health benefits of consuming plant-
based foods, and the largely unappreciated health dangers
of consuming animal-based foods, including all types of
meat, dairy, and eggs."
That's a pretty good start, and it gets even better.
T. Colin Campbell's perspectives are simply amazing. On page
21, he expresses a contrarian philosophy to most modern-day
health gurus:
"One of the more exciting benefits of good nutrition
is the prevention of diseases that are thought to be
due to genetic predisposition."
Campbell has learned throughout his esteemed career that
disease can easily be reversed and cured by adopting
a plant-based diet.
By quoting Goethe on page 27, Campbell exposes America's
great protein myth, as promoted by the all-powerful milk
and meat industries. He writes:
"We are best at hiding those things which are in plain site."
Campbell's sense of humor is at its best in this upscale
well-documented book. His chapter on protein consumption
should be read by every American. Healthy people should
reinforce good physiology by Campbell's advice, and ill people
should be inspired to take the cure by eating a plant-based
diet. On page 30, Campbell asks:
"Can you guess what food we might eat to most efficiently
provide the building blocks for our replacement proteins?
The answer is human flesh."
Very funny! Of course, most are not willing to live on Mrs.
Lovett's human meat pies. Or are we? The trouble is, with
human and animal flesh, there are many dangerous byproducts
to consider. The urea, ammonia, and dirty residues of animal
proteins and saturated fats compromise carnivores.
Campbell is at his best when writing about "Broken Hearts"
on page 111. You will learn that during the Korean War, 77.3
percent of healthy hearts autopsied from American casualties
revealed advanced heart disease. These diseased hearts were
taken from the bodies of so-called healthy males who had
eaten the standard American diet. Campbell offers the hows
and whys of heart disease...and the cure-all.
On page 255, Campbell walks you through the American
government's relationship with milk and meat producers.
Conspiracy? Absolutely, and Campbell's detailed evidence
and research reads like a detective story. One smoking gun
after another overwhelms the reader into recognizing
that things could have been different for our children
had only those men in power possessed ethics. If only they
had respected real science and not the almighty dollar.
We have been betrayed, and T. Colin Campbell has survived
in an academic environment despite those pressures exerted by
bureaucrats with enormous financial conflicts of interest.
Campbell's commentary on nutritional training, or the lack
thereof for doctors is magnificent. On page 327, Campbell writes:
"The situation is dangerous. Nutrition training of doctors
is not merely inadequate; it is practically nonexistent...The
bulk of these nutrition hours are taught in the first year of
medical school, as part of other basic science courses...When
nutrition education is provided in relation to public health
problems, guess who is supplying the 'educational' material?
The Dannon Institute, Egg Nutrition Board, National Cattlemen's
Beef Association, National Dairy Council, Nestle Clinical
Nutrition, Wyeth-Ayerst Labortories, Briston-Myers Squibb
Company..."
Campbell then asks:
"Do you think that this all-star team of animal foods and drug
industries representatives is going to objectively judge and
promote optimal nutrition, which science has shown to be a
whole foods, plant-based diet that minimizes the need for drugs?"
The book is a must read for those who know a thing or two, and
those who have not a clue. I've read no better book on nutrition
than this one, which will arm you in nutritional arguments
presented by meat-eating doubting Thomases.
The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, with Thomas
Campbell is available on Amazon.com:
Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com