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The China Study: The Most Comprehensive…
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The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health (original 2005; edition 2006)

by T. Colin Campbell (Author), Howard Lyman (Preface), John Robbins (Foreword)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,811499,307 (4.11)31
What is The China study? It is " the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine." Dr. Thomas M. Campbell of Cornell University was the U.S. project partner. It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition to date.

Just as the cigarette industry came out with M.D.s and their own "studies" countering evidence regarding smoking and lung cancer, sectors of the food industry with a lot to lose should people read The China Study came out of the woodwork. As a result, the internet is replete with nay-saying about the findings.

Science insists that claims be repeatable. Dr. Dean Ornish-Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Fransico- repeated the findings clinically and became the standard for reversing heart disease after employing The China Study principles. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Cleveland Clinic cardiovascular surgeon, replicated the results and set up a program to prevent and reverse heart disease. Then there is that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit health organization promoting preventive medicine and clinical research, has reproduced the findings.

Eating habits resulting from the China Study are gaining ground in the U.S.

So, after wading through the commotion, what did the China Study find? It's simple. The less access people had to meat, the less heart disease they developed. The less access to dairy, the less cancer they had.

Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death in this country. Is it because we love dairy and meat?

Reading The China Study is not for everyone. Clinicians will get the most from it. A DVD that resulted from the study entitled "Forks Over Knives" targets the non-medical population. My wife and I watched the DVD before I read the book. She turned to me at the video's end, proclaiming, "We can't un-know this." ( )
  Norinski | Aug 10, 2021 |
English (48)  Italian (1)  All languages (49)
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Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Was a bit surprised at how little time the China Study itself makes up of the book (a short section midway through). Sure, there are a few things that I wonder about - like why is a vegan diet any better than a low animal product diet? I think his broad points are accurate and I agree with his assessment of "fad" diets. He keeps things simple and bangs the drum (perhaps too much!) on the whole-food, plant based diet. Worth a read and a good book to have in your bookshelf. ( )
  soylee22 | Jun 21, 2022 |
This book was very good; it cited its sources, was written so that the information was easy to understand, and has caused me to begin eliminating dairy and eggs from my diet (I was already vegetarian). I hope to live a long, healthy life, and I think the points made in here are well-documented (shame on selfish food and health businesses) and make a lot of sense! ( )
  Wren73 | Mar 4, 2022 |
One of my all time favorite books! Excellent if you're at all interested in health or nutrition! ( )
  JorgeousJotts | Dec 3, 2021 |
What is The China study? It is " the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine." Dr. Thomas M. Campbell of Cornell University was the U.S. project partner. It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition to date.

Just as the cigarette industry came out with M.D.s and their own "studies" countering evidence regarding smoking and lung cancer, sectors of the food industry with a lot to lose should people read The China Study came out of the woodwork. As a result, the internet is replete with nay-saying about the findings.

Science insists that claims be repeatable. Dr. Dean Ornish-Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Fransico- repeated the findings clinically and became the standard for reversing heart disease after employing The China Study principles. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Cleveland Clinic cardiovascular surgeon, replicated the results and set up a program to prevent and reverse heart disease. Then there is that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit health organization promoting preventive medicine and clinical research, has reproduced the findings.

Eating habits resulting from the China Study are gaining ground in the U.S.

So, after wading through the commotion, what did the China Study find? It's simple. The less access people had to meat, the less heart disease they developed. The less access to dairy, the less cancer they had.

Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death in this country. Is it because we love dairy and meat?

Reading The China Study is not for everyone. Clinicians will get the most from it. A DVD that resulted from the study entitled "Forks Over Knives" targets the non-medical population. My wife and I watched the DVD before I read the book. She turned to me at the video's end, proclaiming, "We can't un-know this." ( )
  Norinski | Aug 10, 2021 |
We tend to follow one faddish diet after another. We disdain saturated fats, butter or carbohydrates, and then Embrace vitamin D, calcium supplements, aspirin or zinc and focus our energy and effort on extremely specific food components, as if this will unlock the secret of help. All too often fancy outweighs fact. (Page 19)

Some of the findings, published in the most reputable scientific journals, show that:
- Dietary change can enable diabetic patients to go off their medication.
- Heart disease can be reversed with diet alone.
- Breast cancer is related to levels of female hormones in the blood, which are determined by the food we eat.
- Consuming dairy foods can increase the risk of prostate cancer.
- Antioxidants, found in fruits and vegetables, are linked to better metal performance in old age.
- Kidney stones can be prevented by a healthy diet.
- Type 1 diabetes, one of the most devastating diseases that can befall a child, is convincingly linked to infant feeding practices. (Page 3)

In fact, dietary protein proved to be so powerful in it's a fact that we could turn on and off cancer Grove simply by changing the level consumed.... Casein, which makes up 87% of cows milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process. What type of protein did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake? The safe proteins were from plans including weed and soy. As this picture came interview, it began to challenge and then to shatter some of my most cherished assumptions. (Page 6)

In this book I see the power of entrenched government-industry collaboration. When the NAS came out with a report saying that something as simple as diet can affect cancer, those interests worked to destroy anyone who advocated something adverse to their (Meat, Dairy, Medical) interests. (Part IV Why Haven’t You Heard this Before)

Advocating diet change (instead of medicine and surgery) had several times made life difficult with professional societies. In the section "Falling on my Petard” he alienates powerful lobbies: Meat & Dairy. He says: "I wouldn't presume to know how much cancer research the National Turley Federation conducts, but I'm guessing that their criticism of our report was not born out of their desire for truth. (Page 261)

This book makes sense.

Contents (18 numbered chapters)

Part 1: The China Study

Part 2: Diseases of Affluence

Part 3: The Good Nutrition Guide - it isn’t complicated

Part 4: Why Haven’t You Heard this Before

I normally reserve 5 star for a book that I want to reread. This one does not need reread. It gets 5 stars because the message is so simple but so often misunderstood because of the powerful marketing messages that obscure the truth by masquerading as health information. ( )
  bread2u | Jul 1, 2020 |
I thought this book was really good, and it came highly recommended as I was researching cancer information when my mom was diagnosed. It wasn't until later that I learned the authors were guilty of bad science.

just google "china study flaws minger" and you can find the info about how they cherry picked their data to support their conclusions, and how the re-analysis of the data by a real statistician does not show what they say they show.

So sad. ( )
  jeffhex | Apr 14, 2020 |
By far the best and most scientific book I have read about nutrition. ( )
  hcubic | Apr 10, 2020 |
Campbell's argument that much disease can be prevented through a plant- based, whole foods diet is compelling, intellectually sound, and for the most part readable. It should be strongly noted that his blame and frustration for the ultimate causes of poor diet fall not on the victims of disease (or individuals at all) but on the industries that promote poor quality foods and their strong financial ties with science and government. Campbell is appealing directly to us only because he has found himself unable to alter the system. Whether or not we find his advice palatable or choose to follow it is up to us. ( )
  drm19 | Mar 7, 2020 |
i think if i hadn't read and the band played on and fast food nation already, i'd have been blown away by how much sway private industry has over the medical field. what a travesty it is that we've let so many private corporations and shareholders control so much, and enrich so few. ("The distinctions between government, industry, science, and medicine have become blurred. The distinctions between making a profit and promoting health have become blurred.")

this is a comprehensive book that lays out the case for whole foods and plant based eating. he talks about all the science, with easy explanations without making the reader feel he's dumbed it down at all. the writing is easy to read and it even moves relatively quickly. (i'd expected to be bogged down with this book for weeks at least.) it can be repetitive as he discusses different diseases (heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, ms, alzheimers, macular degeneration, etc) and the science that explains why a whole foods plant based diet works better than medicine, and how science or academia or medicine has failed people who suffer from that specific illness. the science differs for each disease, but the answer is the same, and so it can feel a bit redundant. but it probably is a good way to drive the point home. (he really doesn't address how hard it can be - or at least feel - to make big changes toward healthy eating; so i really can't say if it's something i'll be able to do or not, but certainly this is the first book that has made me think i can at least try.)

this is an impressive book. he puts forward his ideas, reasoning, data, arguments so logically and cogently. i can't imagine not being in the pocket of the dairy or meat industry and finding fault with just about any of this. an important work. i do wish he would give more examples of specifics to eat or an example of a meal plan or something.

"...genetics only determines about 2-3% of total cancer risk."

"...eating a low-fat, low-protein diet high in complex carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables will help you lose weight."

"...casein, and very likely all animal proteins, may be the most relevant cancer-causing substance that we consume. Adjusting the amount of dietary casein has the power to turn on and turn off cancer growth..."

on how american ranges for recommended daily allowances/blood levels are the basis worldwide...
"We too often have come to the view that U.S. values are "normal" because we have a tendency to believe that the Western experience is likely to be right."

"There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants." ("...Eating animals is a markedly different nutritional experience from eating plants.")

"...a chronic disease like cancer takes years to develop. Those chemicals that initiate cancer are often the ones that make headlines. What does not make headlines, however, is the fact that the disease process continues long after initiation, and can be accelerated or repressed during its promotion stage by nutrition. In other words, nutrition primarily determines whether the disease will ever do its damage."

"The recommendations coming from the published literature are so simple that we can state them in one sentence: eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, while minimizing the consumption of refined foods, added salt, and added fats."

"We believe that the health value of a diet is best indicated by the relative amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrates it contains, and that the optimal diet gets approximately 10% of calories from fat, 10% from protein, and 80% from total carbohydrate (although we also believe that it is permissible for most healthy people to stray somewhat from these benchmarks, as long as their diet still relies on whole, intact fruits, grains, legumes, and vegetables.)"

[really interesting section about how most of the science is reductionist - so they study a nutrient or vitamin or chemical in isolation, and the studies show what they show, but that has no bearing on how that nutrient or vitamin or chemical acts when it is ingested in the fruit or vegetable it was extracted from. so a supplement that has the same chemical as you might find in a tomato, for example, won't act the same or benefit you in the same way if taken as a supplement versus just eating the tomato.]

"Every year, it seems, some new product is being touted as the key to good health. The situation is so bad that "health" sections of grocery stores are often stocked more with supplements and special preparations of seemingly magic ingredients than they are with real food. Don't be tricked: the healthiest section of any store is the place where they sell whole fruits and vegetables - the produce section."

"The American government has passed legislation preventing cigarette and alcohol companies from marketing their product to children. Why have we ignored food? Even though it is accepted that food plays a major role in many chronic diseases, we allow food industries not only to market directly to children, but also to use our publicly funded school systems to do it. Th long-term burden of our short-sighted indiscretion is incalculable."

"John would ask, 'Doesn't diet have something to do with heart disease?' and his colleagues would tell him that the science was controversial. John continued to read the scientific research and to talk to his colleagues but only became even more baffled. 'When I looked at the literature, I couldn't find the controversy. It was absolutely clear what the literature said.' Through those years, John came to understand why so many physicians claimed diet was controversial: 'The scientist is sitting down at the breakfast table and in the one hand he has a paper that says that cholesterol will rot your arteries and kill you, and in the other hand he has a fork shoveling bacon and eggs into his mouth, and he says, "There's something confusing here. I'm confused.' And that's the controversy. That's all it is.'"

"...there is only a small difference in the nutritional properties of non-vegetarian and vegetarian diets as consumed in Western countries."

minimize animal protein (specifically casein)
lower cholesterol (under 150mg/dL)
lower fat
higher fiber ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Jan 1, 2020 |
Synopsis: One of the most comprehensive studies on nutrition. Dr. Campbell originally started his research from the opinion of someone who grew up on a dairy farm, hoping to promote the effects of a diet high in (animal-based) protein and dairy. What he finds astonishes him. All his research undertakings quickly point to one thing: that an animal-based diet along with dairy is the cause of a significant amount of "Western" diseases (e.g. obesity, heart disease, cancer).

This book goes into the science and research behind why a plant-based diet can not only prevent, but also cure the majority of Western diseases.

My Opinion: As a vegetarian (close to vegan) and already having done quite a bit of reading of reading on the topic, I was concerned that there would be nothing new to me in this book. This was not the case! I learnt a lot as this book goes into quite a bit of depth and provided a scientific analysis into what I already know.

Already having a good idea about the negative effects of dairy ('casein') during the first few chapters I felt slightly impatient waiting for the author to differentiate between dairy and plant-based proteins.

There is a lot of correlation between diseases (specifically cancer) that can be reduced by consuming a plant-based diet. One of the most common beliefs is that dairy consumption is good for bone health, whereas this is not the case: "These researchers explained that animal-protein, unlike plant-protein, increases the acid load in the body. An increased acid load means that our blood and tissues become more acidic. The body does not like this acidic environment and begins to fight it. In order to neutralise the acid, the body uses calcium, which acts as a very effective base. This calcium, however, must come from somewhere. It ends up being pulled from the bones, and the calcium loss weakens them, putting them at greater risk for fracture... We also know that animal protein is more effective than plant protein at increasing the metabolic acid load in the body."

Wow! About two-thirds of the way through the book, politics came out. It's a war on food in one of the wealthiest countries! "While I was getting the China Study off the ground, I learned of a committee of seven prominent research scientists who had been retained by the animal-based foods industry (the National Dairy Council and the American Meat Institute) to keep tabs on any research projects in the U.S. likely to cause harm to their industry." This is evidence of propaganda at its finest and emphasises that the meat and dairy industry only has one thing in mind: profit, not health.

"Americans love to hear good things about their bad habits." The science (emphasis on science - not make-believe) is right in front of us, yet many people are choosing to ignore because (and this is my opinion) they are scared and lazy to make the necessary changes. With half a million Americans having a health problem that requires taking a prescription drug every week, and over 100 million having high cholesterol (and this is at the publication date which, I am sure you can agree with me would have increased rather than decreased) I can only hope that more people pick this up and make the right change to a plant-based diet. ( )
  Moniica | Dec 22, 2018 |
There's A LOT of statistics and research data in this book. Sometimes it can read like a "just the facts" one after the other after the other after the other narrative. That style may prove overwhelming for those new to the concept of a whole foods, plant-based lifestyle. On the other hand, for those who have read widely on the subject **or** watched numerous documentaries - for and against - the subject, there's a small amount of new information (based on the data the authors had at time of publication). The sheer volume of their research is astounding and it boggles my mind that people still fight and argue against these findings. I used to think zealots came mostly in the religious or political variety, but good gosh, talk with someone about the benefits of eating less (just less, not zero) meat and/or refined sugar and you'd think you just asked them to burn a bible or give up their gun. Humans are odd (and fascinating) creatures.

4 stars ( )
  flying_monkeys | Feb 5, 2018 |
Compelling but you know I take everything with a grain of salt. Mmm, salt. ( )
  LynneMF | Aug 20, 2017 |
There are a lot of claims in this book and virtually no evidence of said same. After I hit upon several claims that just didn't sound right I did a bit of journal research. Turns out that this "study" has been hauled over the coals for the rubbish it is. No wonder it is a book rather than a peer reviewed journal paper. ( )
  TysonAdams | Jun 20, 2017 |
Incendiary Refresher Course

-There is a mountain of scientific evidence to show that the healthiest diet you can possibly consume is a high carbohydrate diet.
-The past 60 years have been a celebration of chemicals and technology instead of diet and prevention. So we don’t die from heart disease as often, but we still get it at about the same rates. Those who have bypass surgery do not have fewer heart attacks than those who do not.
-Calcium builds strong bones, but cow’s milk weakens them, as osteoporosis. Americans, Australians and New Zealanders drink the most milk, and have the most bone fractures from middle age on.
-One of the biggest health hoaxes in history is the nutrient supplement industry.
-The health damage from doctors’ ignorance of nutrition is astounding.

Welcome back to The China Study, still straight-shooting, still dramatic, and about 70 pages longer in the new edition. This book provides more training in the health effects of food than MDs get in all their years of education. The clinical studies, the case histories and the science are all here in plain, direct language. It is a very hard book to put down. The facts, usually contrary to everything we’ve been taught, keep coming fast and hard.

The reason the facts are contrary is of course because of the usual suspects: Big Ag, Big Pharma and Big Processors. They have corrupted our universities with grants, infiltrated government agencies to keep the truth at bay, and spend billions advertising their false promises. We grow up with their falsehoods, and we believe in them. Those who try to speak out are isolated, shunned, removed and fired. It is all examined in you-are-there detail, because it all happened to Colin Campbell and other (once) highly-regarded doctors he profiles.

Campbell’s basic premise is that animal protein destroys our internal ecosystem. A Whole Food, Plant-Based diet not only maintains better health, it can even reverse damage. The scientific proof is endless – and so are the defenders of the SAD – Standard American Diet - that is about one third animal, between meat and dairy.

When I read the first China Study ten years ago, I immediately went back online and ordered a whole case of them. I then mailed them out to friends all over, preceded by an e-mail warning and my review. That’s how impressed I was. This second edition forced me to reread it. In so doing, I came across several strong new claims and rushed to the first edition, only to find they were already there. So this edition is as much a badly needed refresher as a new discovery. Glad they made me do it.

David Wineberg ( )
  DavidWineberg | Dec 4, 2016 |
I have mixed feelings about this. I'm not an expert on research studies, but I have taken college courses on reading and analyzing them. The studies he picked seem biased and he interprets the data to support his believes, but the results have other meanings that he ignores. At times I felt like he completely misinterpreted data because he wanted more "evidence." Sorry, I don't have examples; I read this months ago. I don't regret reading it, but I'm just not in love with it. It's interesting enough for 3 stars. ( )
  JennysBookBag.com | Sep 28, 2016 |
I'm not sure why this is titled "The China Study" as there's little in it about the study itself. I'd really expected to read about the variety of foods in various regions of China and their impact on health, weight, and fitness. I don't argue with the authors' promotion of a 'whole food, plant based' diet but a more accurate title would have included that phrase - it was repeated often enough in the book. ( )
  wandaly | Jun 30, 2016 |
This book explains the results and the research behind the author's study of health and nutrition. With so much information available, most of it conflicting, it's difficult for the average person to decide what is really the right choice. Campbell describes how the information came about, what is important and why it is important. The recommendation: a plant-based. Not a new idea, but more convincing with the necessary detail. I have to admit that I skimmed some of this scientifically dense book. Not everyone wants this level of detail, but I found it interesting, informative and it made good sense. ( )
  VivienneR | Apr 1, 2016 |
Some interesting research, showing the potential dangers of cow's milk products and other animal proteins. However the author was clearly writing from a biased (vegan/animal rights) perspective, and does not always make reasonable conclusions from the data. Take with a large grain of salt, and read critiques of this book before taking the principles on board too strongly. Rather detailed and tedious in places, too. ( )
  SueinCyprus | Jan 26, 2016 |
Fascinating study on how we should be eating. ( )
  Belles007 | Jan 17, 2016 |
Parts on nutrition and science are excellent, the conspiracy theory-political part much less convincing nor is it interesting. ( )
  lincolnpan | Dec 31, 2014 |
What Is the China Study?: The actual China Study actually makes up only a small part of this book, although the implications of the study permeate everything else in it. This is how Campbell explains the China Study: In the 1970s the Premier Chou of China initiated a vast survey to collect information on cancer in the country. Involving 650,000 people, it is considered the most ambitious biomedical research project ever undertaken. This study showed that types of cancers were localized. Back in the US, Campbell works with a leading Chinese scientist, and fast forward . . . their team gathers 8,000 statistically significant associations between lifestyle, diet, and disease.

The Rest of the Book: Fast forward some more and Campbell concludes that the diseases of affluence (colon, lung, breast, stomach cancers, etc., diabetes, coronary heart disease) are caused by the Western diet, specifically, linked to animal protein. From the study, the Chinese with the lowest rates of these diseases ate a plant-based diet. Based on his many years of research on diet, Campbell advises a vegan diet of whole foods (one can eat an unhealthy vegan diet too—white flour, sugar, processed foods). This reminds me of Michael Pollan’s advice: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” (although Pollan is not vegan)

Why I Read This Now : Last autumn, my husband and I met with a friend and her husband for dinner. He had recently dropped 40 lbs over a few months, and could not stop talking about the China Study and how much better he felt. He was raised on a farm in Alberta and played semi-pro ball for years—as close to a “good ol’ boy” as you’re going to find in Canada. We found his finding religion (veganism) rather amusing. He harassed my husband to read the book, and Mr Skeptical was surprised at how credible it actually was, so I had to read it too.

I actually didn’t find that much new in it though—over the past 30 years I’ve read a lot about nutrition. For a time I followed the Pritikin program, which is very similar (except Pritikin names the culprit to be fat instead of animal protein). That wasn’t an easy program to follow, but wow did I feel fabulous! I’ve always wanted to return to it. There is also an extensive section on science, the food industry, consumerism, and government that is important, but again, not new as I’ve read about these problems elsewhere (most recently in Marion Nestle What to Eat). After several hours of hearing him preach about the China Study, I turned to his wife and asked her what she thought, and she rolled her eyes and said, “I’ve always had healthy eating habits.” Exactly.

Credibility: Campbell is a biochemist specializing in nutrition. He has written over 300 research papers on the subject. His list of credentials and experience is too long to list here, but I have to say that I can’t remember reading a book by an author with so bona fide a track record in his or her field. I did some searching on the internet, and came across a few claims that this study has been “debunked,” but none of the links had an iota of the credibility that he has. Also, his findings are not in the interests of the gajillion dollar a year food industry, so I can see that he attracts naysayers who find him threatening. Put it this way: What’s the downside of following his dietary recommendations?

Recommended for: If you too have read a lot about nutrition, this isn’t going to surprise you all that much. If reading about nutrition is a new thing for you, or you’re concerned about diseases of affluence, this may be exactly what you need. Campbell writes in a conversational way that makes all the science understandable, so you don’t need a biology degree to read this book. ( )
4 vote Nickelini | May 20, 2014 |
This book totally changed my way of eating, it is even better than vegan, no processed food and fats, simple healthy food. And I feel great in many ways.
Yes it is a little bit repetitive, but he goes through all the modern diseases and this told me more with every chapter how important it is to eat right to stay healthy and feel good without eating bland food and counting calories. ( )
  brigitte64 | May 18, 2014 |
This book really is comprehensive and makes a no-brainer argument for not eating animal products and adopting a whole food, plant-based diet. I'm glad I was already vegan before I read it or I'm sure I would have been freaked out. This should be required reading for anyone working in the medical field and anyone who cares about their health. ( )
1 vote bookmagic | Mar 7, 2014 |
A lot of data with very few tangible suggestions or examples of the kinds of diets they were studying. ( )
  marti.booker | Dec 2, 2013 |
To use one of the author's favorite adjectives, the book was 'provocative.' I actually find this quite credible and I will change the way I eat, somewhat. ( )
  Jeremy_Palmer | Oct 5, 2013 |
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