T. Colin Campbell

Campbell speaking in 2013

T. Colin Campbell (born January 1, 1934) is an American biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. Campbell has become known for his advocacy of a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet. He is the author of over 300 research papers and three books, The China Study (2005), Whole (2013) and The Low-Carb Fraud (2014). Campbell was one of the lead scientists of the China–Cornell–Oxford Project, conducted throughout the 1980s.

Books

The China Study (2005) (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016)

Almost all of us in the United States will die of diseases of affluence. We can minimise our risk of contracting deadly diseases just by eating the right food.

• Almost all of us in the United States will die of diseases of affluence. We can minimise our risk of contracting deadly diseases just by eating the right food.
  Do I think that the China Study findings constitute absolute scientific proof? Of course not. Does it provide enough information to inform some practical decision-making? Absolutely.
  • T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II, The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part I, Chapter 4 (Lessons from China), at p.94. 95.

• The layperson must be [made] aware that a whole foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet is far and away the healthiest diet.
  We now know what is true: a WFPB diet can prevent and treat heart disease, saving hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.
  Since writing the first edition of this book, I have encountered dozens more doctors who have recommended to their heart patients a WFPB diet and who have, as Drs. Esselstyn and Ornish did, observed spectacular results. Although their numbers are still tiny compared to the full cardiology field, there are far more of them than I knew—and those numbers are growing.
  Now is a time of great hope and challenge, a time when people can control their health.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 5 (Broken Hearts), at p.123. 124.

Our struggle with weight is hard to miss these days. America has a weight problem. More than two out of three adult Americans are at least overweight. One-third of the adult population is obese.
I don't question the worthiness or dignity of overweight people. My criticism is of a societal system that allows and even encourages this problem.

• Our struggle with weight is hard to miss these days. America has a weight problem. More than two out of three adult Americans are at least overweight. One-third of the adult population is obese.
  I don't question the worthiness or dignity of overweight people. My criticism is of a societal system that allows and even encourages this problem. I believe, for example, that we are drowning in an ocean of very bad information, too much of it intended to put money into someone else's pockets. What we really need, then, is a new solution featuring good information for individual people to use, at a price that they can afford.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 6 (Obesity), at p.125. 128.

Unfortunately, misinformation and ingrained habits are wreaking havoc on our health.
Our habit of eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and French fries is killing us.

• The second study also found that the rate of diabetes could be reduced by 58% just by modest lifestyle changes, including exercise, weight loss, and a moderately low-fat diet. Imagine what would happen if people fully adopted the healthiest diet: a whole foods, plant-based diet. I strongly suspect that virtually all Type 2 diabetes cases could be prevented.
  Unfortunately, misinformation and ingrained habits are wreaking havoc on our health. Our habit of eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and French fries is killing us.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 7 (Diabetes), at p.145.

• This idea that breast cancer is [partly] centered on estrogen exposure is profound because diet plays a major role in establishing estrogen exposure. This suggests that [this] risk of breast cancer is preventable if we eat foods that will keep estrogen levels under control. The sad truth is that most women simply are not aware of this evidence. If this information were properly reported by responsible and credible public health agencies, I suspect that many more young women might be taking very real, very effective steps to avoid this awful disease.
  We now have enough information to show that a diet low in animal-based protein, low in fat, and high in whole plant foods will reduce estrogen levels.
  The ability of dietary factors to control female hormone levels has long been known in the research community.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 8 (Common Cancers), at p.151, 153, 154.

• What is clear is that diets naturally high in fiber and low in animal-based foods can prevent colorectal cancer. The data clearly show that a whole foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet can dramatically lower colorectal cancer rates.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 8 (Common Cancers), at p.165.

The totality and breadth of the evidence, operating through highly coordinated networks, supports the conclusions that consuming dairy and meat are serious risk factors for prostate cancer.

• An enormous body of evidence shows that animal-based foods are associated with prostate cancer. In the case of dairy, the high intake of calcium and phosphorus also could be partly responsible for this effect.
  The totality and breadth of the evidence, operating through highly coordinated networks, supports the conclusions that consuming dairy and meat are serious risk factors for prostate cancer.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 8 (Common Cancers), at p.169. 172.

• 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 neutralize 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 have had evidence for well over a hundred years that animal protein decreases bone health.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 10 (Wide-Ranging Effects: Bone, Kidney, Eye, and Brain Diseases), at p.195.

• High animal protein intake is still being documented as one of the most significant causes of kidney stone formation.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 10 (Wide-Ranging Effects: Bone, Kidney, Eye, and Brain Diseases), at p.203.

Carotenoids are a group of antioxidants found in the coloured parts of fruits and vegetables.

• Researchers found that a higher intake of total carotenoids was associated with a lower frequency of macular degeneration. Carotenoids are a group of antioxidants found in the coloured parts of fruits and vegetables. Spinach or collard greens conferred the most protection.
  When all was said and done, this [1994] study found that macular degeneration risk could be reduced by as much as 88%, simply by eating the right foods.
  What we can say is that eating antioxidant-containing foods, especially those containing the carotenoids, may prevent macular degeneration.
  These two eye conditions, macular degeneration and cataracts, both occur when we fail to consume enough of the highly coloured green and leafy vegetables. In both cases, excess free radicals, increased by animal-based foods and decreased by plant-based foods, are likely to be responsible for these conditions.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 10 (Wide-Ranging Effects: Bone, Kidney, Eye, and Brain Diseases), at p.204, 205, 206.

• Because free radical damage is so important to the process of cognitive dysfunction and dementia, researchers believe that consuming dietary antioxidants can shield our brains from this damage.
  A [1997] study of more than 5,000 people found that greater dietary fat and cholesterol intake tended to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease specifically, and all dementia in general.
  The food you eat can drastically affect the likelihood of mental decline.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part II, Chapter 10 (Wide-Ranging Effects: Bone, Kidney, Eye, and Brain Diseases), at p.208, 210, 211.

• If you do not eat any animal products, particularly if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should take a small vitamin B₁₂ supplement regularly and consider getting tested for B₁₂ levels.
  Likewise, if you never get sun exposure, especially during the winter months, you might wish to take a vitamin D supplement and make more of an effort to get outside.
  For vitamin D, you shouldn't exceed RDA [i.e. Recommended Dietary Allowance] recommendations.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part III (The Good Nutrition Guide), Chapter 11 (Eating Right: Eight Principles of Food and Health), at p.225. And Chapter 12 at p.236.

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 minimising the consumption of refined foods, added salt, and added fats.
That's it. That's the diet science has found to be consistent with the greatest health and the lowest incidence of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other Western diseases.

• Good food and good health is simple. The biology of the relationship of food and health is exceptionally complex, but the message is still simple. 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 minimising the consumption of refined foods, added salt, and added fats.
  That's it. That's the diet science has found to be consistent with the greatest health and the lowest incidence of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other Western diseases.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part III, Chapter 12 (How to Eat), at p.236.

• Often when people hear of scientific information that justifies a radical shift in diet to plant foods, they can't believe their ears. "If all that you say is true," they wonder, "why haven't I heard it before?"
  Much is governed by the Golden Rule: he who has the gold makes the rules. There are powerful, influential, and enormously wealthy industries that stand to lose a vast amount of money if Americans start shifting to a plant-based diet. Their financial health depends on controlling what the public knows about nutrition and health. Like any good business enterprise, these industries do everything in their power to protect their profits and their shareholders.
  Science is not always the honest search for truth that so many believe it to be. It far too often involves money, power, ego, and protection of personal interests above the common good.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part IV, Introduction (Why Haven't You Heard This Before?), at p.245. And Chapter 13 (The Dark Side) at p.264.

• Dr. Esselstyn came to the realisation that the diseases that so often plagued his patients were due to a diet rich in meat, fat, and highly refined foods.
  He got the idea to treat heart patients with a low-fat, plant-based diet. He went about quietly conducting his study over the next several years. The study he published, of eighteen patients with heart disease, demonstrated the most dramatic reversal of heart disease in the history of medicine, simply by using a low-fat, plant-based diet and a minimal amount of cholesterol-reducing medication.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part IV, Chapter 17 (Big Medicine: Whose Health Are They Protecting?), at p.324.

• The idea that WFPB diets can protect against and even treat a wide variety of chronic diseases can no longer be denied. Now there are hundreds of detailed, comprehensive, well-done research studies that point in the same direction.
  People can now readily access cutting-edge health information and put it into practice.
  I believe the world is finally ready to change. We have reached a point in our history where our bad habits can no longer be tolerated. All it takes is the courage to change.
  • The China Study (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2016) - Part IV, Chapter 19 (Repeating Histories), at p.363. 364.

Quotes

• We're basically a vegetarian species and should be eating a wide variety of plant foods and minimizing our intake of animal foods. … Usually, the first thing a country does in the course of economic development is to introduce a lot of livestock. Our data are showing that this is not a very smart move, and the Chinese are listening. They're realizing that animal-based agriculture is not the way to go. … Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products. The Chinese data indicate that people need less calcium than we think and can get adequate amounts from vegetables.
  • Reported in "Huge Study Of Diet Indicts Fat And Meat" by Jane Brody, in The New York Times (8 May 1990), p. 2.

• Our study [China Diet and Health Study] suggests that the closer one approaches a total plant food diet, the greater the health benefit. … It turns out that animal protein, when consumed, exhibits a variety of undesirable health effects. Whether it is the immune system, various enzyme systems, the uptake of carcinogens into the cells, or hormonal activities, animal protein generally only causes mischief. High fat intake still can be a problem, and we ought not to be consuming such high-fat diets. But I suggest that animal protein is more problematic in this whole diet/disease relationship than is total fat.
  • Interview, 1994; as quoted in Souls Like Ourselves by Andrea Wiebers and David Wiebers (Rochester, MN: Sojourn Press, 2000), p. 51.

• No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.
  • Editorial for the newsletter New Century Nutrition, December 1995; quoted in A Vegetarian Doctor Speaks Out by Charles Attwood (Prescott, AZ: Hohm Press, 1998), p. 133.

External links

• T. Colin Campbell - Center for Nutrition Studies website.
  
  
• List of vegans, on Wikipedia.
• List of vegetarians, on Wikipedia.
  
  
• WFPB page on Wikipedia.