Medical Myopia

Recently, we discussed Dr. Colin Campbell’s incredible findings on the link between animal protein and cancer, in my article, “The Protein-Cancer Connection.” This week, I’d like to elaborate more on his world-famous China Study.

According to American dietary guidelines, we are advised to obtain 30% of our calories from animal-based protein. According to Dr. Campbell, this is a sure-fire way to set yourself up for a lifetime of chronic health issues, from heart disease to cancer to diabetes and obesity. After having studied 6,500 adults in 65 counties in China, he discovered that the adults with the highest rates of cancer and chronic diseases were the adults that ate diets with the highest levels of animal protein. Dr. Campbell states that a maximum of 10% animal protein is the threshold by which people are beginning to put themselves at risk for disease.

In reality, he suggests that 0% animal protein is really the way to go. Now when it comes to Shabbat, even if you eat an all-meat meal, you’ll still be at less than 10% animal protein for the entire week, if you haven’t been eating it during the week. So if you desire to eat meat on Shabbat, don’t feel bad about it at all. Back to Dr. Campbell. He advises those that are serious about being healthy to eat a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fats. The keto fanatics are probably fainting right now. I know I sure was when I read that.

Therefore, I’ll explain what this means. Fruits and vegetables are full of carbohydrates and other wonderful nutrients. Obviously Dr. Campbell is not recommending a diet full of starches and simple sugars. He is recommending a plant-based protein diet, which really means eat as much fruits and vegetables as you like. You can get all of the vitamins and minerals for proper growth with whole, plant-based foods, including a modest amount of whole grains. Keep to a minimum processed foods, and keep away from dairy and meat as much as possible.

Here’s another little-understood fact. The body doesn’t process all calories the same way. Some calories are stored away as fat, while others are used up as body heat. Can you guess which calories do what? That’s right! Plant-based foods are mostly used to create body heat, while animal-based foods mostly get stored as fat. Is it any wonder why, looking at it this way, much of the American population suffers from obesity?

Now, let’s move on to the reason I titled this article, “Medical Myopia.” Dr. Campbell has elaborated on the general short-sighted mindset of western medicine. Nowhere do we find in mainstream medical literature a comprehensive plan for being healthy. Modern science likes to break things down into the smallest sub-sects as possible. For instance, they’ll recommend raising Omega 3’s and lowering Omega 6’s. Or they’ll tell you that a specific mineral is needed to counteract a health problem. My personal favorite is the search for the magic pill or treatment that will cure cancer. If they refuse to address the root cause, how can they ever expect to find the cure??

Here’s a great example of avoiding the issue: it is proven that elevated exposure to estrogen increases a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer. Now, what do you think is the main avenue via which women are exposed to estrogen? Wrong! It’s not environment, it’s not carcinogens. It’s food. Diets heavy in meat and dairy are loaded with estrogen! Dr. Campbell writes: “We have enough information to show that a diet low in animal-based protein, low in fat and high in whole plant foods will reduce estrogen levels. Instead of suggesting dietary change as a solution, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing and publicizing a drug that may or may not work and that almost certainly will have unintended side effects.”

And here’s something that will really shock you. It has already been proven that genetics only accounts for 2-3% of cancer risk. So that just throws the whole genetic predisposition to cancer quack theory right out the window. Even the BRCA-1 and 2 mutated breast cancer genes are only present in 0.2% of the female population.

In reality, our bodies are not cars. In our case, the sum is equal to more than the parts. We are made of an incredibly complex network of advanced systems, most of which we don’t even fully understand. When we attempt to break down the network into small, individual systems and address the problem with this approach, we are not taking into account all of the other variables that can be affected by this short-sightedness.

For example, taking a pill for high blood pressure does nothing to address the cause of the high blood pressure in the first place. Not only that, it puts you at risk for tons of unwanted side effects, many of which can be fatal. Is this a “holistic,” comprehensive approach to healing? Absolutely not. Dr. Campbell mentions that all of the invasive treatments for heart disease, such as angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery do not work long-term. They only postpone the problem and lead the patient to believe that nothing else can be done, other than a lifetime of expensive drugs and painful treatments.

We, as a society, must pull ourselves out of the death grip of modern medicine! As I wrote in Take Back Your Health, it is our responsibility to question what doctors tell us and find out for ourselves if the suggested mode of treatment is really what’s best for us. Dr. Campbell mentions many other studies done by some of the top doctors in the world, who have reversed heart disease and diabetes type 1 and 2 with minimal or zero drug intervention. One study on heart disease was actually done on people who had already suffered heart attacks, and even they were able to regain their health and reverse the ravaging effects of heart disease! The same goes for diabetes!

The body is a miraculous creation. I think that part of the reason science attempts to address illness this way is because it is scientific heresy to admit that there is a God who created us in His wisdom. In their eyes, it is preferable to believe that we are all a bunch of genetic mistakes that somehow came from monkeys. Yeah, that’s a much better theory. Heresy, indeed…

If you care about your health, I highly suggest you run out and get yourself a copy of “The China Study.” Armed with this incredible proof that poor diet and lifestyle really do lead to poor health, plus the holistic approach to healing based on eating alone, you can easily and permanently improve your health beyond your greatest expectations! Here’s to your health, and to your future!