About 100 pages in so far. This book is mind blowing! Anyone interested in nutrition and the benefits of a plant based diet MUST read this. Have any of you guys read this yet? __________________ http://www.ascentofscandal.com/ http://arionthedaily.com/
YES!!! Isn't it amazing? As if there weren't already enough reasons to be vegan! I have recommended it to many people, and my mom read it and is now 80% vegan!! Also, my mom showed it to our neighbor who is an epidemiologist, to get her professional opinion of the quality of science/research. She was very impressed, and said she thought it was a well-done, thorough study--which I thought, too, but it's nice to hear that from an expert! __________________ http://veganmusings.wordpress.com
Great book. I had uncounted "Glad I'm Vegan" Moments while reading it. I also use some of it's conclusions in my arguements with my local carnivores (I mean blocked Vegans;-) . Pretty powerful stuff.
__________________ Compassion is a Verb
--Thich Nhat Hanh--
This was *the* book (well, along with Healthy at 100) that finally convinced me to go vegan. I do think that both mention that it is ok to have some animal protein but well, I went vegan. I was just thinking about this book while trying to watch the special on China this week. I say try because the show didn't start til 10 and I would fall asleep before 10:20! And I have no way to record right now.
Anyway, I was thinking of how so many Chinese are moving to the cities and how they are loving all things American.
I read it a while ago. Wow. I've loaned to several folks . . . one of which (a former executive chef for a big hotel chain) who went veg after reading it (not vegan - but definately on the path!!!). K.
I am about 200 pages into it. What a great book. I've highlighted and marked several sections for quick reference. It is interesting to see in one place so much evidence pointing to the health benefits of a vegan diet.
Maybe all CEOs should read this book? As a nation we are struggling with our health care system. For the most part, our access to health care benefits is employer-based. Our employers are very aware of rising medical costs. Preventable, chronic conditions are the primary contributor to our nation's health care bill, with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer leading the way. So, Corporations are investing in programs to improve the wellness of their employees, while still serving animal products and refined foods in the corporate cafeterias and otherwise overlooking the benefits of a vegan diet. The China Study seems to provide a lot of evidence for a simple solution.
I like how Dr. Campbell illustrates that "Death by Health Care" is the number three cause of death in the U.S. It's tempting to rely on a pill or other medical treatment rather than changing our behavior (e.g., take cholesterol medication instead of eliminating animal product intake and getting more exercise, eventually I may have to have heart surgery). If more people really understood the risk associated with relying nearly solely on medical treatment, I hope we would be more inclined to choose the option of changing our behavior.
I just wanted to mention that this has been such a powerful book in convincing people to eat a whole foods, plant-based diet (or at least mostly vegan!) My mom borrowed the book after I had read it, and now she finally "gets" that people don't need meat, eggs and dairy.
While I was reading The China Study, I kept "mentioning" the things I was reading to my SO. By the time I finished reading it, he pretty much decided to eat like a vegan most of the time. (No meat in over 2 months, occasionally eats cheese by itself...some people just can't seem to "give up" cheese )
Seriously, folks, this is THE book to convince "health-conscious" people that they should be vegan!
I am currently reading The China Study. I originally decided to go vegan for reasons of compassion to animals. Before that, I believed I was eating a very healthy "almost vegetarian" diet. Now I know better. My previous consumption of occasional meat, and daily dairy and eggs was not healthy! I am grateful for the information in this book. So many reasons to be vegan! My family may not be as interested in the animal issues, but I may just get them interested in veganism with this!
Actually the reason I wanted to post was that I got a mailer from the American Heart Association (you know, asking for a donation.) It included 2 bookmarks with recipes on them, one for Slow-Cooker Pepper Steak and one for Broccoli-Cheese Soup. These recipes are from "American Heart Association Lowfat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook." When I saw these recipes I just wanted to bang my head against the wall! Right on the mailer it says, "...donations have also supported the educational initiatives and community programs that make people aware of risk factors, enabling them to lead longer, heart-healthier lives." Yikes! I certainly won't be contributing to that education...
Thanks for the recommendation - I just finished it.
I have a few questions.
The devil's advocate in me seeks out counterexamples of study results, to help get closer to the truth. I am curious about how many vegans get cancer, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, etc. Unfortunately, studies I find don't seem to differentiate between vegetarians and vegans. My friend told me about "Crazy Sexy Cancer," about a young woman who got cancer and changed her life, for the better. I heard she went vegan/raw and her cancer still progressed, though more slowly than expected. This would contradict Campbell's mice and rat experiments, which suggest that *no one* eating less than 5% of their calories from animal products should get or progress with cancer. Zero of the 5% mice in the study had their cancer progress, and every single one of the 20% mice did. I could not verify at her web site that this young woman is truly vegan, or that the cancer definitely progressed after she became so. Does anyone know? Not that one vegan with cancer means we shouldn't eat our veggies, but I don't feel comfortable repeating Campbell's mice results if vegans are dying right and left from cancer.
Another question I have is about diabetes. My father-in-law is diabetic, and I gave him the chapter on diabetes to read. He understood the studies but says he doesn't see how it can be true. He checks his sugar levels after he eats, and if he eats a bun-less burger his sugar doesn't change at all, but if he eats the bun his sugar goes up. I can only think that the burger doesn't directly raise sugar levels, but sets the stage for carbohydrates to do so. Maybe it doesn't have sugar, but it reduces the effect of insulin. Is that what happens?
I haven't gotten through the entire book yet because there are so many other books that I am working on at the same time. But it is definitely a good read and something to keep in mind. Also a good reason for being vegan aside from the animal rights. I have had a few people read it between my chapters of it and they have all gotten something from it. My boyfriend even went vegetarian....now i just need to coax him into going vegan....
One of the biggest blocks to being vegan for me was a belief that meat, dairy, and eggs were healthy. So I wondered if we evolved to have the capacity to eat meat, dairy, and eggs and those are healthy for us then maybe this ethical objection is misguided...well luckily my ethics won out and while slowly I came to realize how healthy veganism was...this book was like a graduate course in how unhealthy meat, dairy, and eggs actually are, that shift has been huge.
I am waiting on this book from the library right now - and can't wait to get it! Everything I've read pretty much uses this as a resource, so I figured I might as well go to the heart of the information and learn even more. I love becoming an expert on something I'm passionate about, and the more information I'm armed with regarding something this controversial (even though it shouldn't be) - the better!
__________________ ~Heidi~
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
I liked this book enough to purchase it for my own personal library. However, as Tina mentioned in her post, there is room for more research. I'm not trained to evaluate studies, so I'm no help there, but I think it's safe to say that the mouse study in regards to animal protein and the progression of cancer is just a peek at all that's involved. There are probably so many variables, including genetics, that it will take more effort on the part of our scientists to unravel the mystery of cancer and its possible dietary link.
Tina, you mentioned your FIL and his spike in blood sugar after eating a hamburger bun. My first thought was, "Is the bun white or whole grain?" That could make a difference. I'm not experienced with diabetes, but I know there's a difference in how our bodies respond to refined white vs. whole grain.
__________________ Visit me on Twitter: VeganTweetin
I'm not sure what he based his studies on exactly - but I do know that Dr. Fuhrman is convinced of the causal link between eating bad foods - i.e. processed foods, meat, dairy, eggs - and cancer. I know he cites various sources, but I'll be honest that I never really perused the resources as closely as I probably should. I do know that he's seen excellent results as far as his patients go - from heart disease to cancer and lots of things in between.
I don't know that we are going to get a lot of accurate information regarding vegans and cancer at this point, because so few people are actually vegan over their lifetime. I wish I had been, but alas, am not. What we do know, is that every day they are discovering new phytochemicals in fruits and veggies that have cancer fighting properties in them - and the ability to banish free radicals from the body.
Cancer is such a large problem with many possible causes - if diet doesn't get you, chemicals or radiation might. But I, myself, truly believe that by eating more healthy, exercising, and having a strong support system of friends/family, that you give yourself a better percentage of avoiding and surviving cancer. That's the general idea I get from everything I've read. Of course there is always room for more information - now if only we could get the whole world to go vegan - then there would be a wealth of it!
__________________ ~Heidi~
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
I think you'll enjoy the book. Like I said, I liked it enough to buy for myself so I can go back and read parts whenever I feel like it. It's certainly very eye-opening! It completely killed any cravings I had for cheese.
__________________ Visit me on Twitter: VeganTweetin
Originally Posted by tinako I heard she went vegan/raw and her cancer still progressed, though more slowly than expected. This would contradict Campbell's mice and rat experiments, which suggest that *no one* eating less than 5% of their calories from animal products should get or progress with cancer. Zero of the 5% mice in the study had their cancer progress, and every single one of the 20% mice did.
Excellent questions.I am currently still in the midst of reading the book and am somewhere around page 75, so I apologize if my comments are a little misguided, but I believe that I know what you are referring to.
My understanding is that he didn’t mean that if you consume little to no animal protein you absolutely won’t get cancer, nor did he mean to imply that if you do you absolutely will get cancer.This relates in part to his discussion regarding statistical significance.He mentioned that they aim for 95-99% (in nutrition, you cannot predict with 100% accuracy what will happen, but you can say that something is likely to happen, or to not happen, whatever the case may be).If you eat a healthful vegan diet, your chances of getting cancer decrease dramatically.If you do get cancer, it will often progress more slowly.Nutrition plays a huge role, but it’s not the only factor that determines one’s health.Good nutrition from a healthful plant based diet isn’t a guarantee—although I certainly like my chances better.
Originally Posted by ascentofscandal About 100 pages in so far. This book is mind blowing! Anyone interested in nutrition and the benefits of a plant based diet MUST read this. Have any of you guys read this yet?
I started reading it a few months back-I just picked it back up. It is amazing and I am spreading the word to family and friends about it. I work in a cardiology office and talk about it to my patients as well. It is a great book.
Originally Posted by ascentofscandal About 100 pages in so far. This book is mind blowing! Anyone interested in nutrition and the benefits of a plant based diet MUST read this. Have any of you guys read this yet?
I started reading it a few months back-I just picked it back up. It is amazing and I am spreading the word to family and friends about it. I work in a cardiology office and talk about it to my patients as well. It is a great book.
That's fantastic! We need more people like you in the medical field!
That book along with Colleen's podcast changed my life.
I got this on twitter from pcrm. Larry King Live debate on meat safety. Includes T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and Jonathan Safran Foer. http://ow.ly/ulQm It was very interesting!
__________________ Dory
"Be the change you want to see in the world" Ghandi
I have recommended it to many people, and my mom read it and is now 80% vegan!! Also, my mom showed it to our neighbor who is an epidemiologist, to get her professional opinion of the quality of science/research. She was very impressed, and said she thought it was a well-done, thorough study--which I thought, too, but it's nice to hear that from an expert! 
)
! I certainly won't be contributing to that education...
