It’s no secret that the United States has a health care crisis. In this TED Talk, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University and co-author of several nutrition books including The China Study and Whole, shares his view on how we can each heal ourselves and tackle the health crisis in our country.
Here are some key take-aways from his talk:
The US spends 18% of its GDP on health care, the highest in the world. The quality of health care in the US is last or near last among economically developed countries. In addition,
- Childhood obesity is up 30x in last 30 years.
- 90% of people over the age of 60 take prescription drugs.
- Prescription drugs are the number 3 or 4 cause of death which is seldom discussed in the media.
What’s missing from this picture? Nutrition.
Nutrition is using food to create and maintain health and prevent disease. Dr. Campbell believes that the healthiest diet is a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet with little to no added oil, sugar, or salt. The ideal percentage of macronutrients is 80% carbohydrates, 10% fat, and 10% protein. Unlike animal foods, plants provide antioxidants, complex carbs, fiber and vitamins. And the percentage of protein and fat in plants is between 9% and 11%, exactly in the desired 10% range!
A WFPB diet not only prevents disease, but can stop the progression or even reverse existing conditions, including:
- cancer
- heart disease
- diabetes (I & II)
- depression
- alzheimer’s disease
- obesity
- multiple sclerosis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- and many more…
In lab studies conducted by Dr. Campbell, rats induced with cancer and fed a diet of 20% protein had their cancerous tumors grow. But when the protein was decreased to 5% of calories, the tumors shrank. The protein used in the experiment was casein – the main protein in cow’s milk. Plant proteins such as soy and wheat protein at any percentage of calories did not promote cancer growth. So excess animal protein consumption, above 10% promotes cancer growth. Nutrition trumps genes. Even for people with a family history of cancer, a WFPB diet will decrease the chance of cancer developing and progressing.
Try a WFPB diet for yourself for 3 weeks and see how you feel. Visit plant-based4health.com for articles, tips and recipes to get you started. We would be delighted to offer guidance and coach you on your journey. Contact us at plant-based4health@gospe.com.
I can’t imagine eating any other way. Fresh foods are delectable tasting. I feel my body responding immediately. Medications for high blood pressure have been lowered considerably. Energy abounds, even at the age of 77!
Since I switched over to a WFPB in January, I feel better physically, emotionally, and spiritually than I ever have. This lifestyle feels so right and is just plain common sense. Eating meat, dairy and all of the processed food I used to consume no longer appeals to me at all – I crave nutrition!
Thanks for this helpful, concise summary! Wonder how the rat study would’ve gone w/ wild-caught fish. Or organic chicken. But regardless, I’m thriving on a plant-based diet, w/ a pasture-raised egg thrown in occasionally. And equivalent of 3 tablespoons of healthy fat per day, mostly in whole foods. I don’t know what percentage of my diet that much fat that is…