The China Study

Read this book. If you are at all interested in nutrition, health, diet, or just your own generally well-being, this book will offer you an immense amount of valuable information. And if you’re a dietician or a doctor, The China Study is an absolute must read.

The book was co-authored by Colin Campbell, PhD, a doctor determined to change the health of our nation. We spend more money, per capita, than any other country on health care, yet the health of our nation ranks among the worst. We spill money into drugs, pharmaceuticals, surgeries, and other technological measures, yet our rates of disease, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, continue to skyrocket. Campbell’s proven solution? Changing the Western diet.

A farm boy from Northern Virginia, Campbell was raised on a hearty American diet, equipped with plenty of dairy and meat. Brought up on a dairy farm, milk was “central to his existence,” nature’s most perfect food. After receiving a master’s from Cornell University in animal nutrition, Campbell was on the standard medical path, setup to advocate the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs, and promote the American diet as one of the best in the world. It wasn’t until he began a series of studies, originally designed to improve childhood malnutrition in the Philippines, that Campbell realized the American diet is at the root of Western disease.

Following this initial research, Campbell began one of the most comprehensive studies of diet, nutrition, and lifestyle. Through mass amounts of research, Campbell reveals the direct link between nutrition and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. In many cases, Campbell shows that animal protein (particularly casein) has the power to directly turn on cancerous, tumor-initiating cells in the body. From his study of both animals and humans, it’s revealed that disease can largely be prevented (at no cost), rather than just treated (at high cost).

Why hasn’t nutrition’s link to cancer and overall health become mainstream? The China Study reveals an in-depth explanation of this as well. In short: All aspects of our society, including its health, are run by business and politics. Who funds the nutrition education in schools? Who funds the majority of medical research? Primarily the meat and dairy industries. Who receives money for the surgeries and treatments required to fix the problems of these two food groups? Doctors. Not to mention, doctors receive an average of two measly credits in the field of nutrition during medical school. Clearly there’s something wrong with that statistic.

The China Study gives a thorough and insightful report into how we can change our nation’s health. Now all we have to do is overcome the obstacles that stand in the way.

To read more, check out this Q and A with Campbell recently published by the New York Times.