The China Study

The China Study presents the most comprehensive research results on nutrition and health. The message of the book is that eating whole foods and a plant-based diet can both prevent and reverse chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Pros

Cons

The China Study reviews the latest research on nutrition and health. Author T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., has spent 40 years studying the links between nutrition and disease. Dr. Campbell was the lead researcher on the China Study that reviewed illnesses and lifestyle habits in multiple regions in China. What you will find in these pages is different and exciting. The China Study states that not only can food help us prevent chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease ; it can also help us reverse these conditions. The book can be summed up in one sentence: To avoid illness we should eat whole foods and plants.

The great variation in diet throughout China corresponded with the presence of disease. People who ate whole foods and plants had far fewer cases of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses. Dr. Campbell then reviews the nutritional evidence and finds support for his own research results. He also includes a section on the politics of food and nutrition in the United States and how nutritional information is distorted to serve business interest. If you are confused about nutrition, this section provides some explanation as to why there are so many mixed messages about what we should eat.

The book presents epidemiological evidence in a scientific manner with interesting tables to illustrate the points. However, the details of the research may be too technical for some readers. Unfortunately, Dr. Campbell devotes too many pages of the book to the details of research, nutrition and the politics of food and not enough practical advice to assist the reader in making necessary behavioral changes. His “try it for one month” advice clearly does not acknowledge the difficulties many readers may have incorporating a whole foods, primarily vegetarian diet into their lives.

More Longevity and Healthy Aging Book Reviews

Updated: April 11, 2007