The China Study by Thomas Campbell

242 THE CHINA STUDY

always advertise their plan's ease of use, in reality it's never easy. Follow-

ers of these diets have to count calories, points, servings or nutrients or

eat specific amounts of certain foods based on specific, mathematical

ratios. There are tools to be used, supplements to be taken and work-

sheets to be completed. It is no wonder that dieting seldom succeeds.

Eating should be an enjoyable and worry-free experience, and

shouldn't rely on deprivation. Keeping it simple is essential if we are to

enjoy our food.

One of the most fortunate findings from the mountain of nutritional

research I've encountered is that 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 I can state them in one sentence:

eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, while minimizing the consumption of

refined foods, added salt and added fats. (See table on page 243.)

SUPPLEMENTS

Daily supplements of vitamin B 12 , and perhaps vitamin D for people

who spend most of their time indoors andlor live in the northern cli-

mates are encouraged. For vitamin D, you shouldn't exceed RDA rec-

ommendations.

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.

WHAT DOES MINIMIZE MEAN?
SHOULD YOU EUMINATE MEAT COMPLETELY?
The findings from the China Study indicate that the lower the percent-
age of animal-based foods that are consumed, the greater the health
benefits-even when that percentage declines from 10% to 0% of calo-
ries. So it's not unreasonable to assume that the optimum percentage of
animal-based products is zero, at least for anyone with a predisposition
for a degenerative disease.
But this has not been absolutely proven. Certainly it is true that most
of the health benefits are realized at very low but non-zero levels of
animal-based foods.
My advice is to try to eliminate all animal-based products from your
diet, but not obsess over it. If a tasty vegetable soup has a chicken stock
base, or if a hearty loaf of whole wheat bread includes a tiny amount of