The China Study by Thomas Campbell

DIABETES 149

Almost seventy years ago, H.P. Himsworth compiled all the existing
research in a report comparing diets and diabetes rates in six countries.
What he found was that some cultures were consuming high-fat diets,
while others had diets high in carbohydrates. These fat vs. carbohydrate
consumption patterns were the result of animal vs. plant food consump-
tion. Chart 7.1 documents the diet and disease conditions for these
countries in the early part of the twentieth century. 5
As carbohydrate intake goes up and fat intake goes down, the num-
ber of deaths from diabetes plummets from 20 .4 to 2.9 per 100,000
people. The verdict? A high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet-a plant-based
diet-may help to prevent diabetes.
Thirty years later, the question was reexamined. After examining four
countries from Southeast Asia and South America, researchers again
found that high-carbohydrate diets were linked to low rates of diabetes.
Researchers noted that the country with the highest rate of diabetes,
Uruguay, had a diet that was "typically 'Western' in character, being
high in calories, animal protein, [total) fat and animal fat." Countries
with low rates of diabetes used a diet that was "relatively lower in pro-
tein (particularly animal protein), fat and animal fat. A high proportion
of calories is derived from carbohydrates, particularly from rice."6
These same researchers enlarged their study to eleven countries
through Central and South America and Asia. The strongest associa-
tion they found with diabetes was excess weight.? Populations eating
the most "Western" type of diet also had the highest cholesterol levels,
which in turn was strongly associated with the rate of diabetes.? Is this
starting to sound familiar?

WITHIN ONE POPULATION

These old, cross-cultural studies can be crude, resulting in conclusions
that are not entirely reliable. Perhaps the difference in diabetes rates in
the above studies were not due to diet, but to genetics. Perhaps other
unmeasured cultural factors, like phYSical activity, were more relevant.
A better test would be a study of diabetes rates in a single population.
The Seventh-day Adventists population is a good example. They are
an interesting group of people to study because of their dietary habits:
their religion encourages them to stay away from meat, fish, eggs, cof-
fee, alcohol and tobacco. As a result, half of them are vegetarian. But
90% of these vegetarians still consume dairy and/or egg products, thus
deriving a Significant amount of their calories from animal sources. It