Scientist Colin Campbell has been researching the effects of food on human health for almost his entire life. He argues that the more plant foods are in the diet of the inhabitants of our planet, the healthier they will be. His research has been criticized, but Professor Campbell is confident in the correctness of his theory.
He relies on the statement of Hippocrates, who said that food should be medicine. And he does not believe that food additives can radically affect the quality of food.
Biography
Colin Campbell was born in 1934 in rural Pennsylvania. His parents were farmers, and the family had a cult of meat and dairy foods, which were considered healthy.
When his father died of a heart attack while still young, Colin first thought about the causes of the disease and could not associate it with anything else but nutrition. Because my father was in the fresh air all the time and was engaged in manual labor.
When an aunt, who adored cottage cheese and milk, died of cancer, the guy's thoughts about the dangers and benefits of food became even more.
Colin wanted to pursue a career in agriculture: he wanted to become a veterinarian to treat animals. Therefore, he graduated from a veterinary school in Pennsylvania, then another in Georgia. Then he entered Cornell University, where he defended his doctoral dissertation.
After his marriage, he again had the opportunity to observe how a meat lover suffers from cancer - it was his mother-in-law. At that moment, he finally became convinced that many diseases arise from malnutrition. However, he did not know about any research in this area at that time, and therefore began to collect the necessary information.
Research
Campbell began his career as a scientist in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then worked at Virginia Tech. The subject of his research was to find the relationship between nutrition and human health.
The most memorable moment in his scientific life was a trip to Asia, where scientists tried to help the hungry. And there it turned out that in rich families children get sick even more often than in poor ones. In particular, many children suffered from liver cancer, and the percentage of poor children among them was very low.
And the statistics showed similar numbers: in Japan, men suffered from prostate cancer 100 times less than in America, where there was a cult of fast food. Women in Kenya who ate plant-based foods suffered 18 times less breast cancer than women in America.
Campbell also found one historical fact: when the Nazis occupied Norway in the early forties, they took away all the livestock from the villagers. The Norwegians had to switch to plant foods. It was in those years in this country that the number of heart attacks significantly decreased. And when the Nazis were kicked out and switched to their usual food, the rate of heart attacks increased.
When they talk about Colin Campbell, they certainly mention two experiments: Indian and Chinese. The Indian experiment is often disputed because laboratory experiments were conducted on rats. But the Chinese study is difficult to dispute, because the study involved several hundred people.
In 1983, Campbell decided to analyze the results of this study. The work took seven years, and as a result, the scientist came to the conclusion that meat and dairy foods can contribute to the occurrence of diseases, including oncology.
Campbell described the results of his research in the books "China Study" and "Healthy Food". He has other works, but these two are the most popular. The books were published several times and sold in millions of copies. They were translated into Russian in 2013.
1. In nutrition, one must take into account the interaction of foods with each other.
2. Food additives can cause unwanted reactions.
3. Plant foods are healthier than animal foods.
4. The quality of nutrition can affect the awakening of genes that are responsible for disease or health.
5. Nutrition can reduce the influence of adverse environmental factors.
6. Food can both cause illness and cure it.
7. With the help of nutrition, disease prevention can be carried out.
8. Proper nutrition promotes health improvement.
Campbell's research is often criticized. Opponents accuse him of unscientific experiments, and also say that, in addition to food, there are many factors in human life that can affect human health. Here is ecology, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Despite criticism, Campbell continues his work and believes that his theory will sooner or later become familiar to people and bring them a lot of benefit.
In addition, supporters of Campbell's theory do not exclude that critics are interested in cattle-breeding and pharmaceutical companies that want to first feed people with junk food, and then force them to buy medicines.
Personal life
Colin Campbell is married, his companion's name is Karen. They have three children, and all support their father's theory that animal food is harmful. The entire family of the scientist switched to plant foods.
However, Campbell is not a fanatic of vegetarianism and in all interviews notes that he does not condemn those who disagree with him. He simply conveys to people what he knows himself.
Each of Colin's children, in their own field, one way or another promotes the ideas of their father.
Nelson has been making films about nutrition. He also removes biographical films about his father and his research.
Daughter Kit followed in her father's footsteps: she became a scientist and also deals with issues of healthy food.
Michael became a physician, doctor of family medicine. He is also the co-author of Colin's book The China Study.
Judging by the appearance of Colin Campbell himself, his theory may well be correct - in the ninth decade, he looks very youthful.
