The China study : the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted and the startling implications for diet, weight loss and long-term health

2006·12 MB·English

by  Campbell, T. Colin, 1934-

"Everyone in the field of nutrition science stands on the shoulders
of Dr. Campbell, who is one of the giants in the field. This is one
of the most important books about nutrition ever written -
reading it may save your life."
- Dean Ornish, MD
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
OF NUTRITION EVER CONDUCTED
- -THE- -
STARTLING IMPLICATIONS FOR DIET,
WEIGHT Loss AND LONG-TERM HEALTH
T. COLIN CAMPBELL, PHD
M.
AND THOMAS CAMPBELL II
FOREWORD BY JOHN ROBBINS, AUTHOR, DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA
PRAISE FOR THE CHINA STUDY
"The China Study gives critical, life-saving nutritional information for ev
ery health-seeker in America. But it is much more; Dr. Campbell's expose
of the research and medical establishment makes this book a fascinating
read and one that could change the future for all of us. Every health care
provider and researcher in the world must read it."
-JOEl FUHRMAN, M.D.
Author of the Best-Selling Book, Eat To Live
"Backed by well-documented, peer-reviewed studies and overwhelming
t.', statistics the case for a vegetarian diet as a foundation for a healthy life
style has never been stronger."
-BRADLY SAUL, OrganicAthlete.com
"The China Study is the most important book on nutrition and health to
come out in the last seventy-five years. Everyone should read it, and it
should be the model for all nutrition programs taught at universities,
The reading is engrossing if not astounding. The science is conclusive.
Dr. Campbells integrity and commitment to truthful nutrition education
shine through."
-DAVID KLEIN, PublisherlEditor
Living Nutrition MagaZine
"The China Study describes a monumental survey of diet and death rates
from cancer in more than 2,400 Chinese counties and the equally monu
mental efforts to explore its Significance and implications for nutrition
and health. Dr. Campbell and his son, Thomas, have written a lively, pro
vocative and important book that deserves widespread attention."
-FRANK RHODES, PH.D.
President (1978-1995) Emeritus, Cornell University
"Colin Campbell's The China Study is an important book, and a highly
readable one. With his son, Tom, Colin studies the relationship between
diet and disease, and his conclusions are startling. The China Study is a
story that needs to be heard."
-ROBERT C. RICHARDSON, PH.D.
Nobel Prize Winner, Professor of Physics
and Vice Provost of Research, Cornell University
"The China Study is the account of a ground-breaking research study that
provides the answers long sought by physicians, scientists and health
conscious readers. Based on painstaking investigations over many years,
it unearths surprising answers to the most important nutritional ques
tions of our time: What really causes cancer? How can we extend our
lives? What will turn around the obesity epidemic7 The China Study
qUickly and easily dispenses with fad diets, relying on solid and convinc
ing evidence. Clearly and beautifully written by one of the world's most
respected nutrition authorities, The China Study represents a major turn
ing point in our understanding of health."
-NEAL BARNARD, M.D., President
Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine
"Everyone in the field of nutrition science stands on the shoulders of T.
Colin Campbell, who is one of the giants in the field. This is one of the
most important books about nutrition ever written-reading it may save
your life."
-DEAN ORNISH, M.D., Founder &: President
Preventive Medicine Research Institute Clinical Professor of Medicine,
University of California, San Francisco
Author, Dr. Dean Ornishs Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Love & Survival
"The China Study is the most convinCing evidence yet on preventing heart
disease, cancer and other Western diseases by dietary means. It is the
book of choice both for economically developed countries and for coun
tries undergOing rapid economical transition and lifestyle change."
-JUNSHI CHEN, M.D., PH.D., Senior Research Professor
Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety,
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
"All concerned with the obeSity epidemiC, their own health, and the stag
gering environmental and social impacts of the Western diet will find
wise and practical solutions in Dr. Campbell's The China Study."
-ROBERT GOODLAND, Lead Advisor on the Environment
The World Bank Group (1978-2001)
"Dr. Campbell's book The China Study is a moving and insightful his
tory of the struggle-still ongoing-to understand and explain the vital
connection between our health and what we eat. Dr. Campbell knows
this subject from the inside: he has pioneered the investigation of the
diet-cancer link since the days of the seminal China Study, the NAS
report, Diet, Nutrition and Cancer and AICR's expert panel report, Food,
Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. Consequent
ly, he is able to illuminate every aspect of this question. Today, AICR
advocates a predominantly plant-based diet for lower cancer risk because
of the great work Dr. Campbell and just a few other visionaries began
twenty-five years ago."
-MARILYN GENTRY, President
American Institute for Cancer Research
"The China Study is a well-documented analysis of the fallacies of the
modern diet, lifestyle and medicine and the qUick fix approach that often
fails. The lessons from China provide compelling rationale for a plant
based diet to promote health and reduce the risk of the diseases of afflu
ence."
-SUSHMA PALMER, PH.D., Former Executive Director
u.s.
Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Sciences
"The China Study is extraordinarily helpful, superbly written and pro
foundly important. Dr. Campbell's work is revolutionary in its implica
tions and spectacular in its clarity I learned an immense amount from
this brave and wise book. If you want to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast
and then take cholesterol-lowering medication, that's your right. But if
you want to truly take charge of your health, read The China Study and do
it soon! If you heed the counsel of this outstanding gUide, your body will
thank you every day for the rest of your life."
-JOHN ROBBINS, Author of the Best-Selling Books
Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution
"The China Study is a rare treat. Finally, a world-renowned nutritional
scholar has explained the truth about diet and health in a way that ev
eryone can easily understand-a startling truth that everyone needs to
know. In this superb volume, Dr. Campbell has distilled, with his son
Tom, for us the wisdom of his brilliant career. If you feel any confusion
about how to find the healthiest path for yourself and your family, you
will find precious answers in The China Study. Don't miss it!"
-DOUGLAS). LISLE, PH.D., & Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
Authors of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force
That Undermines Health and Happiness
"So many diet and health books contain conflicting advice, but most
have one thing in common-an agenda to sell something. Dr. Campbell's
only agenda is truth. As a distinguished professor at Cornell University,
Dr. Campbell is the Einstein of nutrition. The China Study is based on
hardcore scientific research, not the rank speculation of a Zone, Atkins,
5ugarBusters or any other current fad. Dr. Campbell lays out his lifetime
of research in an accessible, entertaining way. Read this book and you
will know why."
-JEFF NELSON, President
VegSource.com (most visited food Web site in the world)
"If you're looking to enhance your health, performance and your success
read The China Study immediately. Finally, scientifically valid guidance on
how much protein we need and where we should get it. The impact of
these findings is enormous."
-JOHN ALLEN MOLLENHAUER, Founder
MyTrainer.com and NutrientRich.com
The China Study
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__ jilll ____t _u__ _y
The Most Comprehensive Study
of Nutrition Ever Conducted
and the Startling Implications
for Diet, Weight Loss
and Long-term Health
T. Colin{ampbell, Ph.D.
Thomas M. Campbell II
AND
BENBELLA BOOKS
Dallas, Texas
Nothing written in this book should be viewed as a substitute for competent medical
care. Also, you should not undertake any changes in diet or exercise patterns without
first consulting your physician, especially if you are currently being treated for any risk
factor related to heart disease, high blood pressure or adult-onset diabetes.
Copyright © 2006 by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
First BenBella Books Paperback Edition 2006
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permisSion except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles or reviews.
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Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
ISBN 1-932100-66-0
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follow:
Campbell, T. Colin, 1934-
The China study: the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever
conducted and the startling implications for diet, weight loss, and
long-term health / by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-932100-38-5
l. Nutrition. 2. Nutritionally induced diseases. 3. Diet in disease.
I. Campbell, Thomas M. II. Title.
RA784.C2352004
6 13. 2-dc22
2004007985
Cover design by Melody Cadungog
Text design and composition by John Reinhardt Book Design
Printed by Victor Graphics, Inc.
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To Karen Campbell, whose incredible love and
caring made this book possible.
And to Thomas McIlwain Campbell and
Betty DeMott Campbell for their incredible gifts.
Acknowledgements
This book, from its original conception to its final form, was in the making for
many years. But it was the last three that gave the book form. And this hap
pened because Karen, my lifelong love and wife of forty-three years, made it
so. I wanted to do it, but she wanted it even more. She said it had to be done
for the children of the world. She cajoled, she pushed and she insisted that we
keep our nose to the grindstone. She read every word, those kept and those
discarded-some several times.
Most importantly, Karen first suggested that I work with Tom, the youngest
of our five children. His writing skills, his persistence in keeping integrity with
the message and his exceptionally quick learning of the subject matter made
the project possible. He wrote several chapters in this book himself and rewrote
many more, bringing clarity to my message.
And our other children (Nelson-and wife Kim, LeAnne, Keith, Dan)
and grandchildren (Whitney, Colin, Steven, Nelson, Laura) could not have
been more encouraging. Their love and support cannot be measured in mere
words.
I also am indebted to another family of mine: my many undergraduate hon
ors students, post-graduate doctoral students, post-doctoral research associates
and my fellow professorial colleagues who worked in my research group and
who were the gems of my career. Regretfully, I could only cite in this book a
small sample of their findings, but far, far more could have been included.
Yet more friends, associates and family contributed mightily, through their
meticulous reading of various versions of the manuscript and their detailed feed
back. Alphabetically, they included Nelson Campbell, Ron Campbell, Kent Car
roll, Antonia Demas, Mark Epstein, John and Martha Ferger, Kimberly Kathan,
Doug Lisle, John Robbins, Paul Sontrop and Glenn Yeffeth. Advice, support and
generous help also came in many other forms from Neal Barnard, Jodi Blanco,
Junshi Chen, Robert Goodland, Michael Jacobson, Ted Lange, Howard Lyman,
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