In my recent blog, I referenced, a book called the “The China Study” one of the best selling books on nutrition by T. Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas Colin Campbell II. The study examined the relationship between the consumption of animal products and illnesses such as cancers of the breast, prostate, and large bowel, diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, degenerative brain disease, and macular degeneration.

“The China Study” is a China Cornell Oxford Project, a 20-year study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford. The study examines the mortality rates, diets, and lifestyles of 6,500 people in 65 rural counties in China, and concluded that people with a high consumption of animal-based foods were more likely to suffer chronic disease, while those who ate a plant-based diet were the least likely.

The study was conducted in China because it has a genetically similar population that tends to live in the same way in the same place and eat the same foods for their entire lives.

In short, the authors conclude that people who eat a plant based /vegan diet, which avoids animal products such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk, will minimize or reverse the development of chronic diseases. They also recommend adequate amounts of sunshine to maintain sufficient levels of Vitamin D, and Dietary supplements of Vitamin B12 in case of complete avoidance of animal products and to minimize the usage of vegetable oils. They criticize Low Carb diets, such as the Atkins Diet, which include restrictions on the percentage of Calories derived from complex Carbohydrates.

Again, the overwhelming evidence suggests that the most healthful diets set aside animal products and also reduce fats in general, while including large amounts of vegetables and fruits. Eliminating meat and dairy products from your diet is a powerful step in disease prevention!