Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Was a bit surprised at how little time the China Study itself makes up of the book (a short section midway through). Sure, there are a few things that I wonder about - like why is a vegan diet any better than a low animal product diet? I think his broad points are accurate and I agree with his assessment of "fad" diets. He keeps things simple and bangs the drum (perhaps too much!) on the whole-food, plant based diet. Worth a read and a good book to have in your bookshelf. ( )

This book was very good; it cited its sources, was written so that the information was easy to understand, and has caused me to begin eliminating dairy and eggs from my diet (I was already vegetarian). I hope to live a long, healthy life, and I think the points made in here are well-documented (shame on selfish food and health businesses) and make a lot of sense! ( )

One of my all time favorite books! Excellent if you're at all interested in health or nutrition! ( )

What is The China study? It is " the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine." Dr. Thomas M. Campbell of Cornell University was the U.S. project partner. It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition to date.

Just as the cigarette industry came out with M.D.s and their own "studies" countering evidence regarding smoking and lung cancer, sectors of the food industry with a lot to lose should people read The China Study came out of the woodwork. As a result, the internet is replete with nay-saying about the findings.

Science insists that claims be repeatable. Dr. Dean Ornish-Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Fransico- repeated the findings clinically and became the standard for reversing heart disease after employing The China Study principles. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Cleveland Clinic cardiovascular surgeon, replicated the results and set up a program to prevent and reverse heart disease. Then there is that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit health organization promoting preventive medicine and clinical research, has reproduced the findings.

Eating habits resulting from the China Study are gaining ground in the U.S.

So, after wading through the commotion, what did the China Study find? It's simple. The less access people had to meat, the less heart disease they developed. The less access to dairy, the less cancer they had.

Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death in this country. Is it because we love dairy and meat?

Reading The China Study is not for everyone. Clinicians will get the most from it. A DVD that resulted from the study entitled "Forks Over Knives" targets the non-medical population. My wife and I watched the DVD before I read the book. She turned to me at the video's end, proclaiming, "We can't un-know this." ( )

We tend to follow one faddish diet after another. We disdain saturated fats, butter or carbohydrates, and then Embrace vitamin D, calcium supplements, aspirin or zinc and focus our energy and effort on extremely specific food components, as if this will unlock the secret of help. All too often fancy outweighs fact. (Page 19)

Some of the findings, published in the most reputable scientific journals, show that:
- Dietary change can enable diabetic patients to go off their medication.
- Heart disease can be reversed with diet alone.
- Breast cancer is related to levels of female hormones in the blood, which are determined by the food we eat.
- Consuming dairy foods can increase the risk of prostate cancer.
- Antioxidants, found in fruits and vegetables, are linked to better metal performance in old age.
- Kidney stones can be prevented by a healthy diet.
- Type 1 diabetes, one of the most devastating diseases that can befall a child, is convincingly linked to infant feeding practices. (Page 3)

In fact, dietary protein proved to be so powerful in it's a fact that we could turn on and off cancer Grove simply by changing the level consumed.... Casein, which makes up 87% of cows milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process. What type of protein did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake? The safe proteins were from plans including weed and soy. As this picture came interview, it began to challenge and then to shatter some of my most cherished assumptions. (Page 6)

In this book I see the power of entrenched government-industry collaboration. When the NAS came out with a report saying that something as simple as diet can affect cancer, those interests worked to destroy anyone who advocated something adverse to their (Meat, Dairy, Medical) interests. (Part IV Why Haven’t You Heard this Before)

Advocating diet change (instead of medicine and surgery) had several times made life difficult with professional societies. In the section "Falling on my Petard” he alienates powerful lobbies: Meat & Dairy. He says: "I wouldn't presume to know how much cancer research the National Turley Federation conducts, but I'm guessing that their criticism of our report was not born out of their desire for truth. (Page 261)

This book makes sense.

Contents (18 numbered chapters)

Part 1: The China Study

Part 2: Diseases of Affluence

Part 3: The Good Nutrition Guide - it isn’t complicated

Part 4: Why Haven’t You Heard this Before

I normally reserve 5 star for a book that I want to reread. This one does not need reread. It gets 5 stars because the message is so simple but so often misunderstood because of the powerful marketing messages that obscure the truth by masquerading as health information. ( )