The China Study (36 page)

235
EATING RIGHT: EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND HEALTH
be surprised if one died of a heart attack at age fifty-four, and the other
died of cancer at the age of eighty. What explains the difference? Genes.
Genes give us our predispositions. We all have different disease risks due
to our different genes. But while we will never know exactly which risks
we are predisposed to, we do know how to control those risks. Regard-
less of our genes, we can all optimize our chances of expressing the right
genes by providing our bodies with the best possible environment-that
is, the best possible nutrition. Even though the two Americans in the
example above succumbed to different diseases at different ages, it is en-
tirely possible that both could have lived many more years with a higher
quality of life if they would have practiced optimal nutrition.
PRINCIPLE #5
Nutrition can substantially control the adverse eHects
of noxious chemicals.
Stories of cancer-causing chemicals regularly appear in the press. Acryl-
amide, artificial sweeteners, nitrosamines, nitrites, Alar, heterocyclic amines
and aflatoxin have all been linked to cancer in experimental studies.
There is a widely held perception that cancer is caused by toxic
chemicals that make their way into our bodies in a sinister way. For
example, people often cite health concerns to justify their opposition to
pumping antibiotics and hormones into farm animals. The assumption
is that the meat would be safe to eat if it didn't have those unnatural
chemicals in it. The real danger of the meat, however, is the nutrient im-
balances, regardless of the presence or absence of those nasty chemicals.
Long before modern chemicals were introduced into our food, people
still began to experience more cancer and more heart disease when they
started to eat more animal-based foods.
A great example of a misunderstood "public health concern" regard-
i n g chemicals is the lengthy, $30 million investigation of minimally
higher rates of breast cancer in Long Island, New York, referred to in
chapter eight. Here, it seemed that chemical contaminants from certain
industrial sites were creating breast cancer for women who lived nearby.
But this ill-conceived story has proven to have no merit.
Another chemical carcinogen concern surrounds acrylamide, which
is primarily found in processed or fried foods like potato chips. The

236                           THE CHINA STUDY
implication is that if we could effectively remove this chemical from
potato chips, they would be safe to eat, even though they continue to
be highly unhealthy, processed slices of potatoes drenched with fat and
salt.
50 many of us seem to want a scapegoat. We do not want to hear
that our favorite foods are a problem simply because of their nutritional
content.
In chapter three, we saw that the potential effects of aflatoxin, a
chemical touted as being highly carcinogenic, could be entirely con-
trolled by nutrition. Even with large doses of aflatoxin, rats could be
healthy, active and cancer-free if they were fed low-protein diets. We
also saw how small findings can make big news every time cancer is
mentioned. For example, if experimental animals have an increased
incidence of cancer after gargantuan exposures, the chemical agent is
trumpeted as a cause of cancer, as was the case for N5AR (see chapter
three) and nitrites. However, like genes, the activities of these chemical
carcinogens are primarily controlled by the nutrients that we eat.
50 what do these examples tell us? In practical terms, you aren't do-
i n g yourself much good by eating organic beef instead of conventional
beef that's been pumped full of chemicals. The organic beef might be
marginally healthier, but I would never say that it was a safe choice.
Both types of beef have a similar nutrient profile.
It is useful to think of this principle in another way: a chronic disease
like cancer takes years to develop. Those chemicals that initiate cancer
are often the ones that make headlines. What does not make headlines,
however, is the fact that the disease process continues long after initia-
tion, and can be accelerated or repressed during its promotion stage by
nutrition. In other words, nutrition primarily determines whether the
disease will ever do its damage.
PRINCIPLE #6
The same nutrition that prevents disease in its early stages
(before diagnosis) can also halt or reverse disease
in its later stages (after diagnosis).
It is worth repeating that chronic diseases take several years to develop.
For example, there is a general thought that breast cancer can be initi-

EATING RIGHT: EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND HEALTH               237
ated in adolescence and not become detectable until after menopause!
So we very well may have lots of middle-aged women walking around with
breast cancer initiated during their teens that will not be detectable until
after menopause. 14 For many people this translates into the fatalistic no-
tion that little can be done later in life. Does this mean that these wom-
e n should start smoking and eating more chicken-fried steak because
they're doomed anyway? What do we do, given that many of us may
already have an initiated chronic disease lurking in our bodies, waiting
to explode decades from now?
As we saw in chapter three, cancer that is already initiated and grow-
ing in experimental animals can be slowed, halted or even reversed by
good nutrition. Luckily for us, the same good nutrition maximizes health
at every stage of a disease. In humans, we have seen research findings
showing that a whole foods, plant-based diet reverses advanced heart
disease, helps obese people lose weight and helps diabetics get off their
medication and return to a more normal, pre-diabetes life. Research has
also shown that advanced melanoma, the deadly form of skin cancer,
might be attenuated or reversed by lifestyle changes. 1     5
Some diseases, of course, appear to be irreversible. The autoimmune
diseases are perhaps most frightening because once the body turns
against itself, it may become unstoppable. And yet, amazingly, even
some of these diseases may be slowed or attenuated by diet. Recall the
research shOWing that even Type 1 diabetics can lower their medication
requirements by eating the right food. Evidence also shows that rheu-
m a t o i d arthritis can be slowed by diet,16 as can multiple sclerosisY' 18
I believe that an ounce of prevention does equal a pound of cure, and
the earlier in life good foods are eaten, the better one's health will be.
But for those who already face the burden of disease, we must not forget
l   that nutrition still can playa vital role.
PRINCIPLE #7
Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease
will support health across the board.
When I was trying to get this book published, I had a meeting with an
editor at a major publishing house, and described to her my intent to
create disease-specific chapters that related diet to specific ailments or

238                          THE CHINA STUDY
groups of ailments. The editor asked, in effect, "Can you make specific
diet plans for each disease, so that every chapter doesn't have the same
recommendations?" In other words, could I tell people to eat a specific
way for heart disease and a different way for diabetes? The implication,
of course, was that the same eating plan for multiple diseases simply
wasn't catchy enough, wasn't sufficiently "marketable."
Although this might be good marketing, it is not good science. As
I have come to understand more about the biochemical processes of
various diseases, I have also come to see how these diseases have much
in common. Because of these impressive commonalities, it only makes
sense that the same good nutrition will generate health and prevent
diseases across the board. Even if a whole foods, plant-based diet is more
effective at treating heart disease than brain cancer, you can be sure that
this diet will not promote one disease while it stops another. It will nev-
e r be "bad" for you. This one good diet can only help across the board.
So I'm afraid I don't have a different, catchy formula for each disease.
I only have one dietary prescription. But rather than be forlorn about its
effect on my book sales, I'd prefer to remain excited about telling you
how simple food and health really is. It is a chance to clear away much
of the incredible public confusion. Quite simply, you can maximize health
for diseases across the board with one simple diet.
PRINCIPLE #8
Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence.
All parts are interconnected.
Much has been made of "holistic" health in recent times. This concept
can mean a variety of things to different people. Many people lump all
of the "alternative" medicines and activities into this concept, so holis-
tic health comes to mean acupressure, acupuncture, herbal medicines,
meditation, vitamin supplements, chiropractic care, yoga, aroma thera-
py, Feng 5hui, massage and even sound therapy.
Conceptually, I believe in holistic health, but not as a catchphrase for
every unconventional and oftentimes unproven medicine around. Food
and nutrition, for example, are of primary importance to our health.
The process of eating is perhaps the most intimate encounter we have
with our world; it is a process in which what we eat becomes part of

EATING RIGHT: EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND HEALTH                  239
our body. But other experiences also are important, such as physical
activity, emotional and mental health and the well-being of our environ-
m e n t . Incorporating these various spheres into our concept of health is
important because they are all interconnected. Indeed, this is a holistic
concept.
These expanding interconnections became apparent to me through
experimentation with animals. The rats fed the low-protein diets were
not only spared liver cancer, but they also had lower blood cholesterol,
noticeably more energy and voluntarily exercised twice as much as the
high-protein rats. The evidence regarding increased energy levels was
supported by an enormous amount of anecdotal evidence I have en-
c o u n t e r e d over the years: people have more energy when they eat well.
This synergy between nutrition and physical activity is extremely im-
p o r t a n t , and is evidence that these two parts of life are not isolated from
each other. Good nutrition and regular exercise combine to offer more
health per person than the sum of each part alone.
We also know that physical activity has an effect on emotional and
mental well-being. Much has been said about the effect physical activity
has on various chemicals in our bodies, which in tum affect our moods
and our concentration. And experiencing the rewards of feeling better
emotionally and being more mentally alert provides the confidence and
motivation to treat ourselves to optimal nutrition, which reinforces the
entire cycle. Those who feel good about themselves are more likely to
respect their health by practicing good nutrition.
Sometimes people try to play these different parts of their lives
against each other. People wonder if they can erase bad eating habits
by being a runner. The answer to this is no. The benefits and risks of
diet are crucially important, and more sizable, than the benefits and
risks of other activities. Besides, why would anyone want to try and bal-
a n c e benefits and risks when they could have all the benefits, working
together? People also wonder whether a perceived health benefit is be-
cause of the exercise or because of a good diet. In the end, that's simply
an academic question. The fact is that these two spheres of our lives
are intimately interconnected, and what's important is that it all works
together to promote or derail health.
Furthermore, it turns out that if we eat the way that promotes the
best health for ourselves, we promote the best health for the planet.
By eating a whole foods, plant-based diet, we use less water, less land,
fewer resources and produce less pollution and less suffering for our

240                         THE CHINA STUDY
farm animals. John Robbins has done more than any other person to
bring this issue to the front of American consciousness, and I strongly
recommend reading his most recent book, The Food Revolution.
Our food choices have an incredible impact not only on our metabo-
lism, but also on the initiation, promotion and even reversal of disease,
on our energy; on our physical activity, on our emotional and mental
well-being and on our world environment. All of these seemingly sepa-
rate spheres are intimately interconnected.
I have mentioned the wisdom of nature at various points in this
book, and I have come to see the power of the workings of the natural
world. It is a wondrous web of health, from molecules, to people, to
other animals, to forests, to oceans, to the air we breathe. This is nature
at work, from the microscopic to the macroscopic.
WHO CARES, ANYWAY?
The principles outlined in this chapter began, for me, with a narrowly
focused question on diet and cancer in rats, then grew into an ever-ex-
p a n d i n g universe of questions about human and societal health around
the world. In large measure, the principles in this chapter are the an-
swers to the far-reaching questions that I could not help but ask during
my career.
The applicability of these principles should not be underestimated.
Most importantly, they can help to reduce public confusion regarding
food and health. The latest fads, the newest headlines and the most re-
c e n t study results are put into a useful context. We need not leap from
our seats every time a chemical is called a carcinogen, every time a new
diet book hits the shelf or every time a headline screams about solving
disease through genetic research.
Simply put, we can relax. We can take a much-needed deep breath
and sit back. Moreover, we can do science more intelligently; and ask
better questions because we have a sound framework relating nutrition
to health. In effect, we can interpret new findings with a broader context
in mind. With these newly interpreted findings, we can enrich or modify
our original framework and invest our money and resources where they
matter to increase our society's health. The benefits of understanding
these principles are wide-ranging and profound for individuals, societ-
ies, our fellow animals and our planet.