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Are meat, dairy and eggs healthy for us, and do we have evidence of it? This is something many people are wondering about. The answer is yes, we do have evidence. It comes from a famous, but apparently not famous enough 'China study'. Why is this study so special and what does it reveal? Keep reading to find out more.
The story begins with Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a distinguished American scientist and professor emeritus of food biochemistry at Cornell University.
In his earlier research in working with people, he unexpectedly noted that consuming animal foods is associated with a much higher risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease worldwide. This prompted him to do an extensive study and tests, firstly on animals. He wanted to discover the connection between protein, diet and the development of cancer.
In the study, rats were exposed to the carcinogen aflatoxin, a substance that causes liver cancer, and then were fed different proportions and types of protein.
One group of rats that was given 20% animal protein (casein - milk protein) developed 9 times more tumors than the other group that ate only 5% of the same.
Each rat in the first group developed liver cancer, while in the second group, all rats were cancer free. The result was 100% versus 0%, which was astounding.
Now they have lowered animal protein in their diet to 5%. This resulted with less carcinogenic aflatoxin entering the cells, while cancer cells proliferated more slowly.
It was concluded that the proteins we consume alter tumor growth.
The rats were then given alternated doses of protein to see what would happen. The group of rats that had previously eaten 20% animal protein and developed cancer were now on a diet with 5% protein and the cancer had shrunk in 2 weeks (imagine that!). When they increased their protein again to 20%, the cancer increased as well. During the study, these ratios were alternated several times and the results were always the same.
The conclusion was that by changing the amount of animal protein we consume, we can increase or decrease the number of cancer cells in the body.
Then they did the same with plant protein. Surprisingly, there was no cancer, even when rats were fed high doses of protein, up to 20 - 30% protein from soy, wheat, etc. On the contrary, there was an improvement in health, and noticeable lower levels of bad cholesterol, blood pressure, and body fat. The results were astonishing.
In short, depending on what we eat, the growth of cancer can be activated or halted. This discovery was amazing. It means that we have the power to improve or compromise our health and that we can affect illness or healing with our eating and lifestyle habits. It also showed that with a poor diet, cancer that has disappeared can reappear.
Then the scientists did a study on humans to confirm these findings. The most comprehensive study of human nutrition in history was launched in the early 1980’s in China, covering 65 provinces and 6,500 people.
This study, called "the China Study", was led by Dr. Campbell and a couple of other scientists. It lasted for an incredible 28 years, and based on that, a book with the same name was written.
It also included 100 million people and 100 disease rates, so more extensive disease mortality data.
The study showed that in rural areas of China where people ate very little animal protein, there were far less cases of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, compared to areas where a diet high in animal protein was prevalent. In certain provinces where people ate a lot of animal foods, the number of cancer patients was 100 times higher. They noticed that it had nothing to do with genetics, but with diet and lifestyle.
Dietary cholesterol and animal fats are shown to be one of the main causes of chronic diseases today, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. These two substances are found only in animal foods. Plants don't contain them. On the other hand, high levels of fiber that is found only in plant foods have been linked to lower blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of mentioned diseases.
Plants also contain phytonutrients and antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals, and subsequently aging and disease.
The conclusion of the study was that diet has a strong impact on the disease.
Our genes may be the starting point for good or bad health, but diet controls how genes are expressed. China Study proved that animal proteins activate cancer genes, while plant proteins exclude them.
That discovery was also confirmed by scientist Elizabeth Blackbourn, who 2017 won the Nobel Prize for discovering that a plant-based diet causes 500 genes to change in only three months, turning off genes that cause cancer and other diseases, and turning on genes that prevent them.
Heart disease is one of the major causes of death in the world. Can plants help us here too? Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr, distinguished physician and heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, and Dean Ornish of Harvard Medical School, confirmed that heart disease can also be reversed through diet. They both conducted their own research and proved the same, which is an extremely encouraging discovery.
A whole food plant-based diet protects against all chronic diseases, including already mentioned cancer and heart disease, plus diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, MS, Demencia, and Alzheimer’s disease. This powerful anti-inflammatory diet can not only help prevent them, but also completely cure them.
Because of that, dr. T. Campbell and a growing number of scientists recommend a whole food plant-based diet for optimal health. That includes whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, mushrooms, and herbs. We can enjoy delicious foods and a variety of flavors without compromising our health.
This extremely important study gives us a very clear answer to the question why modern-day diseases are so common. But it also shows us how we can prevent and reverse them, which is very hopeful and encouraging.
Most importantly, it helps us understand that our health and wellbeing are in our hands, and that we have all the power to keep ourselves healthy and thriving.