The China Study - A review of the most amazing book written on human nutrition!

By Alison and Jonathan Andrews

Now a chap comes along and says to you, ‘sorry old boy, the earth actually goes around the sun!’

What would you say to this person? Maybe something like ‘The insane asylum is up the road’? Or maybe you'd just burst into laughter! 

However, this situation indeed arose back then, and now of course we all know the earth is a big blue marble floating around the sun!

As we learned that fact, now it's time for us to face a modern day Copernicus – Dr Campbell.  And his information is just as relevant to our advancement (actually far more so) as learning that the world orbits the sun and spins around on its own axis! 

And just like in Copernicus's time, there are plenty who just don't want to know. 

Therefore Dr Campbell’s meticulous peer reviewed independent research and works are still the subject of disbelief and bewilderment, not to mention violent opposition. 

This is because the compelling evidence arising as a result of his research challenges the fundamentals of our culture – those deep seated beliefs that we don't question.  Just like those silly buggers in the middle ages thinking that the earth was the centre of the universe!

The China Study book is loaded with facts and evidence about the effects of nutrition on a host of western diseases.

But before you switch off, I mean who wants to read a textbook, Dr Campbell does not speak over your head. You don’t have to be a scientist to understand what he's on about.

The findings, procedures and research are all explained in easy to understand English and written in a friendly and easy manner that allows you to stay focused while not feeling like you have to write a paper on it! This is always good with nonfiction literature.

The China Study: So, what does the old timer have to say?

Right, I’ll stop dancing around the whole point of the book and just unveil it like a product on a home shopping channel – Dr Colin T. Campbell, professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, author of hundreds of peer reviewed research papers, director of the largest and most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted has this to say: 

"The human consumption of any animal protein advances the progress of a host of western diseases, from the various forms of cancers to heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis; Alzheimer’s and even some autoimmune diseases."

He found that there is a DIRECT LINK between the consumption of animal protein and the failing health and prevalent disease that is the prevailing, everyday truth of so many people around the world.

Wow.  If this is the first time this fact is coming into focus for you, then you’re in shock right now!

Copernicus has just come and told you the bloody sun is actually just sitting there and we’re the ones doing most of the moving!

But of course now you want to know the facts of this scandalous blasphemy! How could meat and dairy be bad for us? 

Well, let’s go through the book and find out.

The China Study book starts off giving a brief personal history of how Dr Campbell came to be in the industry of biochemical research. 

And for all those folks who have called this book 'Vegan Propaganda' take note that Dr Campbell continued to eat animal protein until the 1990’s, AFTER the results of this extensive study. 

In fact he began life living on a dairy farm, with cow’s milk being central to his and his communities existence.  Later he graduated college with a Ph.D. after studying animal nutrition. Dr Campbell’s doctoral research was aimed at making animals grow faster in order for humans to have greater access to animal protein.

His line of thinking was equal to what many people today believe, that a diet high in quality animal protein is of positive nutritional value.

Dioxin and Aflatoxin

Dr Campbell’s early career consisted mainly of studying the chemicals dioxin and aflatoxin, two of the most toxic chemicals in the world. Aflatoxin was of particular importance since it paved the way for his first breakaway observation.

Initially Campbell was tasked with a project in the Philippines to do with malnourished children, part of this project included researching a high incidence of liver cancer among Philipino children. It was thought that these kids were getting cancer from aflatoxin, a mould based toxin that forms on peanuts and corn.

Well, back then they still believed that protein deficiency was the major cause of malnutrition, so the main aim was to get the kids as much animal protein as possible. 

In the ten years of this project Campbell discovered that the kids getting the most liver cancer were the ones from the wealthiest families, the very children that were getting the MOST animal protein.

Campbell then happened to come across a study by researchers in India who had done experiments with aflatoxin. The results were completely unexpected and spurred him to begin his own studies.

The China Study: Experiments with Rats

He took two groups of lab rats.  The first group were given a diet consisting of 20% animal protein and the second group were given a diet consisting of 5% animal protein.

Both groups were given the same quantity of Aflatoxin.

ALL the rats that were on the diet of 20% animal protein developed liver cancer.

All the rats that were on the 5% animal protein diet DEVELOPED NO CANCERS and lived out their lives normally.

Dr Campbell conducted these experiments himself using the animal protein casein.  Casein is the protein found in all dairy.

Dr Campbell had therefore replicated the results discovered by the Indian researchers and seen for himself that the rats that were fed a diet that was comprised of 20% casein developed cancerous tumours to the point that it killed or severely affected the health of the rats in the normal course of their lives, being 100 weeks, every single time.

The rats given less than five percent casein did not grow any cancer whatsoever. He further found that he could literally switch the growth of cancer off and on with the use of the protein only.

By simply adjusting the amount of animal protein the rats ate he could control the growth of cancer.

In other words, no matter how much of the super potent carcinogen Aflatoxin he gave the rats, the deciding factor as to whether they developed liver cancer or not was how much animal protein they ate.

He could control the growth of cancer!

He could turn it on and then simply turn it off as he pleased by reducing the amount of bloody milk the rats drank!

Okay, of course it wasn’t actually milk the rats were drinking; it was just the protein found in milk that they were giving the rats, but you get my point I hope!

Dr Campbell could grow cancer to whatever advanced point he wanted and then simply HALT all future growth by reducing animal protein consumption down to 5% allowing the rats to live out their lives fairly normally. At any point he could restart the cancer growth by simply increasing the amount of casein.

What was disturbing to Dr Campbell was that the biochemistry of rats is basically the same as humans. 

So this is why Dr Campbell jumped at the chance to study the effects of protein on cancer in humans to further add weight to his findings and that became The China Study. 

So where does the name’ The China Study’ come in?

In the early 1970s the premier of China, Chou EnLai, was dying of cancer.

In the grips of this terrible disease he initiated a nationwide survey to collect information about the disease.

They collected a mass of information about cancer, i.e. which parts of China had which types of cancer; where cancer was prevalent and where it was nonexistent. 

What they found was that cancer was occurring only in some areas.  In some areas there were high incidences of cancer while in others it was unheard of! This led them to think that it might be related to a person’s environment. 

So Dr Campbell and his team of researchers from the University of Oxford, Cornell University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine used this cancer map of China to gather enormous amounts of information.

Over the course of twenty years they studied and analysed the living conditions of various Chinese people, they took urine and blood samples, they monitored the subjects diets, they analyzed the food that was being eaten, whatever you can think of they thought of and more.

The study was conducted in China since the people there tended to live in the same area their entire lives, living the same type of lifestyle and eating the same diet of that particular area. The Chinese are also uniformly orientated when it comes to genetics. All these factors favoured China as the optimal place to conduct the research.

By the end of it, the study was unmatched in size and comprehensiveness. Newspapers wrote stories on its size and scale, it was so extensive.

The New York Times described The China Study as "the Grand Prix of epidemiology.

'The China Study' provided the method to see if there was indeed a correlation between the human consumption of animal protein and the incidences of cancer in our society.

And they found that there was a correlation, a massive correlation!

The areas of China that had the most cancer also had the highest amounts of animal protein consumption! The areas of rural China where plant foods remained dominant were relatively cancer free! They were also free of most other western diseases! No heart attacks, no diabetes, no autoimmune disease, no cancer.

Dr Campbell observed that the humans (and rats!) that ate a plant based diet actually ate more calories than their meat eating counterparts! They also were less fat, voluntarily exercised more and were generally in much better overall health than their meat eating equivalents.

Anyone who is interested in living a life feeling like a six year old everyday needs a copy of The China Study.

We all know people that are afflicted with life restricting disease. We assume that we will all eventually succumb to some disease or health issue. Dr Campbell will help you exorcise that belief and put you firmly back in control of your life and well being! What more could anyone ask for?

The Final Section of The China Study Book: Why isn't this information commonly known?

The final section of the book deals with why the information in The China Study is not commonly known, and if you're into a bit of suspense and drama (aren't we all!?) Then you're going to love this. 

In this case, the suspense and drama and lies are very real and happening all around us every day!

The China Study book thoroughly explains the link between animal protein and the bad health and early death our society suffers from on a large scale. It also makes a rather gentlemanly explanation as to why this is not common knowledge.

I say gentlemanly because Dr Campbell does indeed come across as a man of integrity and wonderfully refined manners. Had others written the book in his place, the tongue lashing they would have belted out towards the corporations and interests that openly advocate the consumption of carcinogens equal to none, just for profit, would result in the book having an age restriction!

Remember throughout history it has been the same, just as in Copernicus's time: There are 3 stages towards accepting the truth as self evident:

1. Ridicule
2. Violent Opposition
3. Acceptance

Currently we're in stages 1 and 2 for most of the world, though to those who have accepted the link between animal protein and disease as self evident, it can be hard to understand.

In very recent years some have attacked The China Study (specifically the Weston A Price foundation who incidentally are also lobbyists for the meat and dairy industry). And there have been various blogs springing up claiming that the findings are not conclusive and that there can be other intepretations of the data. 

Well Dr Campbell explains clearly that nothing in science is ever CONCLUSIVE, however powerful the correlations. However, this is independent research that is meticulously peer reviewed. You have to consider where your information comes from. The Weston A Price foundation have vested interests in the meat and dairy industry. Others may just have vested interests in continuing to enjoy their steaks!

The naming of the book: The China Study

However the naming of the book as The China Study in some ways sells the book short, as The China Study only actually deals with the study itself (only one chapter of an 18 chapter book!), whereas THE BOOK actually deals with so much more, it explains the links between nutrition and a host of common ailments and diseases from type one diabetes to osteoporosis and most Cancers.  

The book also highlights the extensive research of doctors such as Dr John McDougall, Dr Dean Ornish and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn and the numerous laboratory studies.

The findings of these doctors is in alignment with Dr Campbell's own observations from more than 50 Years as a nutritional scientist.

The China Study: Dr Caldwell Esselstyn

Dr Esselstyn has a very impressive history that speaks for itself. The man is an Olympic gold medal winner who studied at Yale University. Dr Esselstyn has also received a bronze Star from the United States Military for his work as an army surgeon in the Vietnam War.

Following this he became a highly successful medical practitioner in one of the top medical institutions in the world, the Cleveland Clinic.

Here Dr Esselstyn was president of the staff, on the board of Governors, Chairman of the Breast Cancer Task Force and a whole bunch of other fancy titles!

What I’m trying to say is that he is one upstanding individual with a track record up there with the best.

What Dr Esselstyn noticed in his first eleven years of being a surgeon was that the standard U.S. treatments for heart disease and cancer have done little to alleviate the problem.

However, three quarters of the planets population have no heart disease and very little cancer, a strong contrast to The United States. Furthermore, this fact was strongly associated with diet!

Being the man he is, Dr Esselstyn knew that he could not merely add to the symptomatic treatments that are standard medical practice. He had to try something different.

Dr Esselstyn experimented with the effects of plant based nutrition on people with established coronary disease.

The results were absolutely incredible.

The 18 patients who participated in the study had suffered 49 coronary events in the preceding eight years - things like strokes, heart attacks, bypass surgery, angina etc. working out to an average of just under three coronary events per person. These were some clogged up and unhealthy hearts.

However, by following a strict plant based diet, and a little cholesterol lowering medication, over the following eleven years there was only ONE coronary event! And that event belonged to the one patient who went off the diet for two years!

All the patients’ cholesterol levels dropped over a hundred points to an average of 132 mg/dL, far below the ‘safe’ target. (By the way, most doctors up to date with current research state that the ONLY safe level for cholesterol is below 150! PLENTY of heart attacks happen in the normal range.  If your cholesterol is above 150, it’s time to switch to a plant based diet methinks).

Most patients had even seen a full reversal of their disease. With their actual clogged arteries opening up!

Only one of the patients who entered the program died within seventeen years of the study. All the rest were alive and well and better than ever.  A fact no one would have predicted!

Dr Esselstyn defeated heart disease with diet.

The China Study: Dr Dean Ornish

Dr Ornish is another giant in the field who features prominently in The China Study. A graduate from Harvard Medical School, Dr Ornish has featured prominently in the media and has written several books.

One of his most famous studies was the lifestyle heart trial, where he studied the effects of lifestyle changes alone on heart disease.

He took twenty eight patients with established heart disease and put them on his alternate treatment plan which included eating as much plant based foods as they wanted, as well as stress management activities like meditation and regular exercise. These patients received no drugs or surgery.

Another group of twenty heart disease patients received the standard treatment.

Needless to say, 82% of the experimental group experienced a regression of their heart disease over the one year course of the study. They also experienced increased vitality and... just felt much better, overall!

The group of twenty on the standard treatment didn’t do so well. They had higher cholesterol over the course of the year and a 162% increase in chest pain as well as even more clogged arteries, as opposed to the 91% decrease in chest pain, lowering of cholesterol and opening up of arteries as experienced by the experimental group.

The work of men like Dr Ornish and Dr Esselstyn and many other researchers has been carefully analysed by Dr Campbell over the course of his long life in the medical science industry.

The China Study acts as a culmination of all these different observations and the result is one amazing book.

There are so many competing theories and so much conflicting information out there that the average person has no idea what is actually good for them.

There are even people who will tell you that cholesterol is a very important nutrient!

Just open up a newspaper and there is guaranteed to be some article saying something about nutrition and health, or some nonsense about a known poison being good for you in  moderation.

Most of these theories are thought up by people with a very real monetary interest in the industry they are promoting. With all the misinformation out there it is very refreshing to have a work that is as complete and as thoroughly based on science and research as The China Study.

The sooner The China Study book is read and accepted by us all the better.

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