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The China Study
Health | March 06, 2015
A few of you guys have brought up a well-intentioned and pretty well-regarded book called The China Study. Written by T. Colin Campbell, a professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, the book promotes a 100 percent plant-based diet – basically veganism. Professor Campbell is against any and all animal-based products and believes his study and the book that followed prove that a diet consisting of any animal products are directly linked to a bunch of chronic illnesses including heart disease and cancer.
As most of you know I’m all about fruits and vegetables – the more the better. There are vital elements (vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.) contained in fruits and vegetables that are essential for our health and wellbeing.
Still, I’m not sold on the idea that if we consume animal products we are increasing our risks of illness and disease and that they are simply not good for us. Professor Campbell’s book and study is quite popular, but that does not mean it isn’t somewhat misleading and inaccurate.
I pretty much fried my brain reading and rereading articles and blog posts about The China Study. One consistent theme that kept showing up is that Professor Campbell may have misrepresented the data he gathered for his book.
For example, Denise Minger, a well known raw food advocate, did an incredibly thoughtful analysis of The China Study found here. It’s a long and somewhat difficult read, but her information is well researched. Minger gathered and analyzed all the raw data used in Campbell’s book. One major twist she found (among others) in the study was that there is a region in China called Tuoli where animal products made up to 45% of the diet and, yet, the people living there showed no greater increase in chronic disease! In fact, the people of Tuoli were considered very healthy, even healthier than some vegan regions in China even though they ate more animal products than most Americans!
If you really want a fun headache you can check out this written debate between Loren Cordain, another well known professor and researcher, and Campbell. Cordain argues for animal products in this exchange and insists that they are good for us. It’s also important to note that Cordain also cites 164 studies to back up his claims!
I’m all for anyone committing to a vegan diet if they wish to do so. However, I firmly believe that animal products such as grass-fed butter and dairy can be beneficial and not harmful. The China Study is very interesting food for thought (yeah I said that), but it doesn’t seem very convincing especially when broken down and analyzed.
I’m going to give my poor eyes a rest after all that reading :). What do you think about The China Study?
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I believe humans are very resilient and adaptable and can thrive on a variety of foods however I choose to be vegan because I personally feel more at peace with my food choices, feel healthier and happier!
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Wow, Z. You started an avalanche 🙂 Glad to see this post as I had read a bit on this study – not your indepth research — but read enough to know we all need to eat more fruits and veggies. I knew I could not lead a vegan lifestyle as I love meat, but know I need to be cognizant of healthy proteins. Great post. Keep up the good work!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYepr6hdKx4 Hi Zuzka, here you are something to think about it too.. a funny one.. But i think that a person that didn’t try both ways and didn’t embody and expirience something can’t be so sure about the thing he is saying. For me personally i became vegan not for humanity reasons or animal rights but for nutritional reasons and i feel really better. Clear thinking, more energy, less strenght but more energy definetely. I can run 5 miles faster and easier than before but i can’t do 6 sets of 50 push ups with one 1 minute rest like before. Only the 6th set i do 40 now, little less strenght. Less creatine i think.(creatine only can be found in animal products). But for health and for the brain i think it is better to be a vegan and i decided it to be this way because the meat, the fish and the eggs that i am getting are not the best quality that i could have and even if they were i will go no more than 2 times fish and 2 times lean meat per week but i don’t feel any special need for that and i train Mma(boxing and jiu-jitsu). Most of the fish is full of mercury especially the ocean and sea fish, and some of the river fish too.. The mercury is really bad for our brain and for our nervous system. The other part that is commercially grown in fish farms contains antiotics because the places that it is grown are full of harmful bacterias and can develop nasty diseases and because of that they give antibiotics to the fish there. One salmon raised in fish farm to have those good looking pink-orange colour is given artificial colouring which are really bad for us. The meat that is commercially sold is full of growth hormones which base is estrogen. Antibiotics too. They are fed with grains mainly not greens even if they say so. Some petrol derivates too which are really cheap solution for the industrial farmers. Which is not their natural food and they don’t contain enough vitamin b12, because vitamin b12 is containing in the soil, mainly is a kind of bacteria and its mostly found in the grass which is eaten by the animals. I think that we are not designed for eating meat at first. Our teeth our nails our digestive system is similar to herbivors not carnivors and not omnivores. One lion has 3 times shorter digestive system than ours. One carnivore produce 5 times more acid in his stomach than one human to digest the meat that its eaten by him. Naturally we started to eat meat when we found the fire. Then we started to make weapons and go hunting. The fire is discovered not that long ago most of the time we didn’t have the ability to cook, and to eat raw meat is very dangerous it contains bacterias and microbes like some kind of e coli which can be deadly for us. They are some death accidents by e coli in United States from not long enough cooked meat. We started to eat meat because we discouvered the fire and in some places in the earth its no other alternative. But in this age we can live without meat, its not the best for us from any point of view. One lion that eat meat lives avarage 20-25 years. One elephant lives avarage 70 years. One rhyno lives avarage 60 years. One gorilla lives avarage 50 years. And all of them are herbivors not omnivores and especially not carnivors. But if we look where the people live longest we can see clearly that in those places they eat little to no meat. Naturally we don’t have the killer instinct to kill animals, we don’t feel pleasure like carnivors to chace an animal and kill it. Biologically if we don’t have any weapon how we can catch and kill with our bare hands buffalo for example or anything else and then eat it raw like carnivore? Its discusting even the thought about it. We don’t need meat. We don’t feel apetite when we saw dead animal around the highway seeing his bones and flesh on the road.. Its discusting for us we don’t have those carnivore instinct to go and eat it. Our teeth are different. One carnivore chew 2-3 times like the dogs the food and swallow it, but they produce a lot of acid to digest the meat and its not that much of a problem and with this in mind the digestive system of carnivore is a lot shorter than ours. Our gut is around 7-9 meters avarage long. The lion is 3 times smaller + minimum 5 times more acid producing in their stomach. There are some studies that suggest vegetarians and vegans lives avarage 6-7 years longer. And those studies are proven. In fact the regions like Okinawa Japan, Sardinia Italy, Loma Linda California, Ikaria Greece, Nicoya Costa Rica the places of the world where people live longest they tend to eat little meat and animal products, most of the consumptions is on some special occasions. Here is some good and short reference about it too nutritionfacts.org/video/do-flexitarians-live-longer
So my point is if we want to live longer the animal products really are not the way. Health problems are number 1 reason for death avarage in the world and Cancer is number 2 reason for death in the world. The main reason for heart attack is clogging of the arteries which is caused by saturated animal fats and cholesterol. Dairy is saturated fats meat contains too. Eggs are the number 1 cholesterol product up there. And this is the mainly reasons for attacks the animal products, those studies that supports the heart attacks doesnt support the real reason for heart attacks, or cancer which is also caused primary by toxins founded in the animal products but they support the animal food industry which really pays in some case a large checks for those who support them. No one doctor will tell you eat more meat when you have heart problems. No one doctor who have concious will tell you eat more meat when you have cancer. Keep it real.. And will continue to keep it real. Just more questions and more adequate answers is all we need. Animal products are easy to prepare, they are easy solutions but are they better solutions, really are they? Really heart attacks are not caused by animal products what kind of research is that? The other guys no one pays to them to tell the opposite. But they are some really stong arguments the meat industry ther farmers and so on to be pay some nutricionist and to make with their money the system to work for them. So Keep it real guys, the animal products are easy to prepare they are cheap and they are delicious but are they really better? I don’t think so.. Wish you all the best, have a nice day. 🙂
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The one thing I think we can all agree on whether we follow vegan, paleo, or whatever, is to focus on eating real food. I think the debate over the “best” diet is getting old and way too damn complicated. I love food, and when I simply focus on real foods, then I think that’s enough sometimes. Why do we have to overcomplicate nutrition and make it such an “I’m right, you’re wrong” thing? Just eat real food, people!
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Interesting fact is too that people that entered a reasearch with Atkins diet when they reasearched the caloric intake they found that people with Atkins diet eated a less calories than people on high carb diets. They are some studies which i believe that protein make us feel full for longer i believe that. But the nuts make this job too, the fibers make us fill longer too, the healthy not the saturated fat make us feel full longer too. The interesting thing about dr. Atkins who was a cardiologist is that he discovered the Atkins diet while he tried to loose weight and loved to eat whatever he likes. He make the low carb diet famous but also he was a cardiologist who makes a diet for weight loss and he suffered from a heart attack?
Not really a good thing really. And if we just type foods that are good for our heart or what foods we should avoid for good hearth and other organs health and do some research we will find that animal foods are not the best food for our cardiovascular system and our other system which is really important things to consider for an athlete + for a longer live.
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I’ve tried all eating lifestyles. Clean eating, vegan, raw and paleo. The one that I really wanted to be good at was Paleo but I just need dairy in my life. I have been happiest with the low carb, high fat lifestyle that you portray, Zuzka. I used to be falling asleep on the couch around. 8:00 pm and now I have so much energy throughout the entire day. I’ve never felt better!
You have to go by how your body feels. If you’re tired all the time then your diet must be lacking vitamins and nutrients somewhere. We are carnivores otherwise our bodies would not like digesting animal products!
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I really enjoyed reading the book. I felt it was very informative and made sense. I certainly don’t believe that meat causes cancer. I see Dr. Campbell’s research as a guide to what to eat if you in fact have been diagnosed with a serious illness and that veganism if managed correctly can help combat the illness.
I have been vegan for 5 years and I really believe it is the most peaceful lifestyle. It can be difficult for some people and I know that sometimes people, particularly women, choose this lifestyle as a way to control their calorie intake which is not healthy. As much as I don’t believe that it is good to try and force your beliefs on others I still don’t see why humans continue to kill other defenceless creatures for our own enjoyment. I understand if you live a rural life somewhere where food can be scarce particularly in winter months so you need to hunt your food. I think that if you want to enjoy eating meat then you should be able to kill the animal yourself. I think it is wrong for us to be so disconnected with the process of what it takes to slaughter an animal. We see packaged meats in the grocery store and all of it is done for us by a butcher and people don’t ever see where the meat actually came from. I think if people had to be subjected to slaughtering the animal themselves I think we’d be surprised how many more people might choose to be vegetarian or vegan. Also, the farming practices in North America are disgusting. If you really want to know who is raising the animals and what they have to go through then watch the documentary “Earthlings”. It is a tragic and very real look into what is going on behind the curtain. If you want to eat meat for pleasure and health then watch that movie so you can make more educated decisions about where your meat is coming from. Personally I think consuming meat for pleasure and health is still extremely selfish. It should be for survival. Humans can survive without it and so they should. I believe in energy and when an animal has suffered throughout it’s life and then is consumed, all the cortisol and stress is going into your body. I’m sorry but that cannot be healthy.
I am interested to read through some of the counter claims and studies associated with The China Study. It is a lot of information and a very hot topic that I never really talk about with others because I find people are very defensive about their dietary choices. I do not judge those who decide to eat meat. We are our own people and can make up our own minds. I just wish people were more educated about it. Thanks for bringing this up Zuzka, I believe you are a very intelligent lady and I respect your opinion.
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Nice to meet you Zoe! i agree with you so so much!! i hope i will transition sooner rather than later <3 peace and love xxx
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Before reading some counter-studies about vegan lifestyle look at the people that write them. Are their diet makes them look healthy are they sick? Most of them are obese and look sick, some had heart attacks, type 2 diabates and much more.. I didn’t see that much vegan supporters to look fat or to suffer from any of the mentioned diseases. Not to mention when i watch to some of their movies i don’t like the way they think. Their mind is not in that clear state that the thoughts flow..(the fats are too much i think there they tend to clogg some arteries that stop the normal blood flow to the brain i think ;d).
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I know Kristina, I agree with you. Dr. Atkins had a history of congestive heart failure as well as heart attacks and was morbidly obese at the time of his death. You’d think that would spell it out right there. Most of the low carb high protein advocates are fat and sickly looking. Perhaps they are advertising a diet they are not actually following themselves? You never really know what’s going on in people’s lives.
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I am not vegan myself but I think ultimately i will become one.. for the ANIMALS!!! They are living, sentient beings and we fail to recognize.. If we love our dogs and cats so much – how can we not see the parallel beween dog and cow??? or cat and sheep??? or anything else.. there are so many great athletes vegan, actually THRIVING on vegan diet…
I almost sound like a hypocrite because I do eat some chicken and some fish, but I think that we must wake up not just to the cruelty but to the fact that these are LIVING things.. they have mums, they have feelings…
Chickens can solve puzzles!! They are smart…
Gosh, I wish the world was different and we were born into a cruelty fee world – that way would eat like that from day 1 🙂
As to China study – I believe that the truth is in the eyes of the beholder.. you will see what you want to see… So Dr. Campell saw what he wanted to see… and so do paleo fans..
Let’s at least be conscious and like others say – lets buy organic, cruelty free products and lets look into other ways of how to live happy and healthy..
Love to all xx
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birmingham, united kingdom
This is my opinion on this subject; please do not get offended when you don’t agree with me.
We are not carnivores and not omnivores. Just check your anatomy and compare it with anatomy of wild cats. We are meant to eat plant based diet. We don’t have a killer instinct in us and we wouldn’t be able to kill a animal without weapons and we definitely wouldn’t eat it raw without salt and other thinks which make it actually tasty.
Many articles and studies are paid by meat and dairy industry so ofc they won’t tell u the truth cos they want your money and they don’t care about your well-being or health cos it’s again bringing more money to the pot.
I’m vegan mainly because of animals and planet too. I hate that people think that they are superior to animals, that animals are here on this world only to serve us. Animals are living beings which have feelings – many of them are more caring and giving than humans.
Meat and dairy is acidic for ur bodies and in acidic bodies it’s the perfect environment for illness.
And if anyone wants to argue that in the past people were eating meat and they were not dying on this or that – just compare how was the food grown and raised. The animals were living freely outside and people killed them without unnecessary torture because they needed food and they used everything. In the past people didn’t waste food, they were appreciating what they had. Now we are not raising the animals we are almost producing them; feeding them what they were not meant to eat – corn, soya, animal scraps – yes they are feeding herbivore animals with meat!, antibiotics and who knows what else. This entire factory farming it’s damaging our planet – the soil- we need for growing our food! And again if you think that buying free-range is better do your research and u will find out that it doesn’t mean that the animals are raised better.
And for those who say : eating meat is a personal choice I will point u to a video of one very smart lady: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xSojOscmk4
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lake tahoe, nv, usa
I agree that the way animals are being produced instead of raised is horrible, however I do believe that we are carnivores given the fact that humans have been eating meat for millions of years and vegetarians have always been the minority of the population. I don’t agree with the argument that humans are not meat eaters because we have no sharp teeth to jump on an animal and tear it apart. What separates us from animals is our intelligence. If tigers were smart like humans, and had thumbs, they wouldn’t chase after zebras the way they do either. Our intelligence is what makes us chefs, not vegans. Being a vegan is literally a choice, no different than deciding whether you want to follow a low carb diet or wtfyw diet. The only reason people around the world have ever followed vegan or vegetarian diet was because of their religious believes. Nowadays veganism and vegetarianism is a religion of it’s own.