Weight Loss and Long Term Health

For the first twenty-seven years of his career, Dr. Campbell's studies, exposing the deleterious health affects of meat and dairy foods, were funded largely by the National Institute of Health, The American Cancer Society and the American Institute for Cancer Research, and published in many of the world's most prestigious scientific journals. The U.S. Healthcare system eventually showed disinterest in his earthshaking findings, so he pursued the Chinese government together with Oxford University and established further research that definitively exposed the catastrophic effects that meat and dairy foods have on human health globally. Dr. Campbell's work was published in 1990 in a scientific compilation named The China Study. These profound findings jolted the world of nutritional science, yet due to the extensive influence of corporate interests in the media, this invaluable information, never reached the general public; so, little has changed.

Moved by a desire to touch a suffering humanity with these simple, yet revealing findings, Dr. Campbell, along with his son, Thomas M. Campbell, recently published a beautifully edited and easy to understand book called The China Study, which shares the discoveries of nearly four decades. We strongly suggest that you take the time to read and study this book and pass it on to family and friends; it will provide you with the necessary 'scientific evidence' that so many adversaries in medicine claim is missing.

Dr. Campbell certainly did not approach his initial experimentation and research as a "biased vegetarian." On the contrary, he was raised on a dairy farm and like so many of us was taught and firmly believed that milk and meat were necessary for good health. He was the first in his family to leave the farm and receive a college education. In his early scholastic years, the focus of Campbell's studies was to promote better health by improving animal growth. When he conducted his first studies, he desired to bring better health to third world countries by providing them with more meat, milk and eggs. It was in the Philippines, fueled by this quest that Campbell made what he at first thought must be a mistaken discovery: Children who ate the most animal protein were at a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer, which he originally believed was due to the lack of "nutrition" in animal products. Though he felt it was downright heretical to say that animal protein was not healthy, this initial finding caused him to take notice and led him down a path of discovery that he never would have imagined. His work took him from the Philippines to China, where he undertook the most thorough nutritional study ever conducted in history.

Dr. Campbell told us how this initial research led to even more conclusive findings: studies showed that casein, a protein in all milk products (and even used in many "soy" and "rice" cheeses) increased cancer 100 percent of the time when introduced at any stage of cancer development. This research was conducted on two groups: the first group had a daily animal protein intake of 20 percent; the second had a daily animal protein intake of 5 percent but consumed a diet consisting of mostly plant-based proteins. NONE of the subjects in the second group developed cancer, yet both groups were living under the very same conditions! The results became even more profound as Campbell and his team realized that cancer growth could be reversed as well as expanded and contracted just by changing the amounts of animal protein consumed. His studies showed certain evidence that cancer development is modified by relatively modest changes in animal protein consumption. His exploration also revealed absolutely no danger of cancer promotion when plant proteins were eaten, even at higher percentages.

As if all of this was not compelling enough, Dr. Campbell went on to detail his studies which also linked obesity, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, as well as bone, kidney, eye and brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, with the consumption of animal products. He soundly refuted the arguments that animal products are necessary for adequate protein and calcium levels. He humbly, yet eloquently proved that osteoporosis is not prevented by the consumption of dairy products; but is instead promoted by the acidity of animal foods, including dairy products. Furthermore, the Standard American Diet (SAD) typically contains excessive levels of animal protein, which is surely at the heart of our ailing nation. Most Americans eat protein at every meal thanks to popularized weight loss gimmicks and diets that promote unconscionable levels of protein consumption. These factors, combined with a healthcare system that is unwilling to look at the true origins of disease, are leading westerners to ever-increasing levels of disease and misery and creating unbearable health care costs.

Dr. Campbell reminded us that until recently and for almost one hundred years, heart disease had been the number one killer of Americans, affecting all genders and races. Now, government scientists report that cancer is the number one killer. He noted a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which reported findings, related to heart disease and 300 male soldiers who died in battle during the Korean War. Though these men were in 'top condition,' and had never been diagnosed with heart ailments of any kind, a startling 77.3 percent of them showed "gross evidence" of heart disease. One out of twenty in the group had so much plaque that ninety percent of an artery was blocked! Campbell then reminded us that a key component of heart disease is plaque, which is a greasy layer of fat (including cholesterol) and protein in the arteries. Can you guess what foods contribute to this build up? Dr. Campbell reiterated the findings of many studies, including the work of Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, which demonstrated remarkable reversals in heart disease, even among very advanced heart attack patients, when they converted to a whole foods, plantbased diet. All of Dr. Campbell's findings reveal that such a diet can prevent and treat heart disease and save hundreds of thousands of people every year, without surgery!

Campbell's casual, yet structured and supported presentation not only shocked the audience, but in many cases, enraged them, as they listened to a landslide of scientific evidence rightly condemning the use of animal based nutrition. Listeners were left in disbelief that such conclusive findings are not more publicly heralded. Not only was this information provocative, but it also leads any thinking person to wonder why our government and those of other nations have not fully embraced a radical change in dietary guidelines.

Dr. Campbell also acknowledged that it is possible to eat a 'vegetarian' diet based on junk foods that will not bring about the health that his research found possible through a "whole foods, plant-based diet". "Junk-food vegetarians" simply replace meat and dairy products with refined grains and carbohydrates, added oils, sweets and pastries. While this is technically a "plant-based diet," it is certainly not what Campbell suggests. By eliminating animal products and processed and refined foods, weight problems, as well as disease and illness, gradually melt away. Essentially, Dr. Campbell is confirming what we at Hippocrates have proven week in and week out for five decades: eliminating animal products and processed foods in favor of a low fat, high fiber, plant-based diet of foods as close to their natural state as possible will also eliminate extra weight and obesity. And, it does not require blood-type diets or carbohydrate counting.

Dr. Campbell reports in the China Study that rural Chinese people consuming a predominantly vegan diet could actually consume significantly more calories per pound of body weight than Westerners and still be slimmer. Obesity is truly an international crisis with two out of three adults overweight and the ratio steadily rising. And, as obesity increases, so does every other form of disease. The China Study illustrates a very simple and unavoidable truth: the body will regain and maintain a naturally healthy weight on a balanced vegan vegetarian diet in the short run, but it will also help to maintain health in our bodies in the long run!

One of Dr. Campbell's assertions after forty years of study is that, "there are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants." Plant foods have significantly more nutrients, antioxiclants, minerals and fiber than animal foods. Animal products have little of the above listed nutrients but are drastically higher in fat and cholesterol. There are three qualities, essentially, that determine how beneficial a food is to the body: first is the level of nutrients, and as Dr. Campbell has established plantbased foods are far superior; second is the digestibility of the food, again because animal products are typically high in fat and cholesterol they are much more difficult to digest; third is the question of whether a food provides the body with something that the body cannot produce itself, essential amino acids for one example. Cholesterol, on the other hand, is also essential for proper functioning, but our body has the ability to make all the cholesterol it needs; therefore, we do not need to consume foods containing cholesterol. Therefore, the most beneficial foods are those that have all three of these qualities; and, research supports that plant-based foods are simply far superior for healthy functioning, both in the short and long run.

Amazingly enough, the China Study also showed a connection between what we eat and our level of physical fitness, as well as our mental and emotional health. In this study, rats that were fed diets low in animal protein not only avoided cancer, but also had lower cholesterol, noticeably more energy and even voluntarily exercised twice as much as the rats on a higher animal protein diet. Campbell has noted the same results with people over the years. Good nutrition and increased physical activity go hand in hand and create enormous benefits, much more than either could provide alone. He went on to note how physical fitness then affects various bio-chemicals in our bodies, impacting our mood as well as our ability to concentrate.

Dr. Campbell's 40 years of research results are in complete unison with Hippocrates Wellness's 50 years of clinical research-both undoubtedly proving that the eradication of meat and dairy products from one's diet leads to profound and substantial changes in disease conditions. Every week at Hippocrates, we continue to witness the truth of Dr. Campbell's significant findings: terminally ill people bring about astonishing recoveries; guests with mental and emotional diseases liberate themselves; and, individuals who have battled weight problems for years without success lose fifteen to twenty pounds during their stay with us. As the Campbell's point out in their publication, by including animal fats, proteins and their accompanying poisons, we become magnets for an ever-widening onslaught of maladies. In Dr. Campbell's words, "The idea that whole foods, plant based diets can protect against and even treat a wide variety of chronic diseases can no longer be denied."

A DVD recording of the Tuesday, August 23, 2005 session with Dr. Campbell Will be available for purchase by year's end, and can be purchased by contacting the Hippocrates store at 561.471.8876, Ext. 124 and More information about Dr. Campbell and his work is available at www.nutCitionadvocate.com or www.thechinastudy.com

Vol 24 Issue 4 Page 35