In the early 1980s, Dr. Campbell, a Cornell University scientist, was invited to participate in a study of cancer throughout China. (The former premier, Chou En Lai, when dying of cancer, had decreed a massive study of the disease.) With 6,500 subjects, Dr. Campbell and his associates were able to assess a number of risk factors, including how diet relates to disease. Here, Campbell introduces the reader to the study itself, its possible implications for health, and the complex insider maneuverings of the various industries that could have felt the impact of his work. Most significant, Dr. Campbell says, is the difference between Western and Chinese diets; the former is mostly animal-based, while the latter is plant-based. If the goal is to avoid common Western afflictions, the "diseases of affluence," then switching to a plant-based diet is the way to go. The author runs through all of the usual offenders--heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, etc.--and postulates that his diet can protect from all of them. Dr. Campbell also details the ways in which established groups (The American Cancer Society, the National Dairy Council) attempted to discredit his research, and the machinations of big medicine. Health advice and cloak-and-dagger tales: an unexpected but potent combo. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the 1980s, a comprehensive study of the effects of diet on disease and lifestyle was conducted among 6500 adults in 65 counties in rural China. Campbell (nutritional biochemistry, Cornell Univ.) examines the results of that study and compares the predominantly plant-based Chinese diets with the high consumption of meat and dairy products in the West. Drawing on hundreds of references and his 40-year career as a nutritional biochemist, Campbell compellingly argues that animal-based foods are responsible for high rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, and the effects of aging. He challenges long-held beliefs about the nutritional benefits of animal products and points out the confusing glut of contradictory information disseminated by the food industry. Campbell urges readers to eliminate meat and dairy from their diets to achieve better health and longevity. His study will add a new dimension to the public debate about the role of plant-based foods in the human diet. Recommended for nutrition and health collections.-Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Campbell (emer., Cornell) bases his book on a 20-year study of the links between diet, lifestyle, and disease in China and Taiwan. Results indicate that chronic diseases afflict those who consume higher proportions of animal-based foods. Populations consuming plant-based rations tend to be healthier and to avoid the global diseases that plague more affluent, meat-eating societies. Emphasizing that nutrition has a strong effect on disease, Campbell is persuaded that people can prevent heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other chronic maladies by eliminating or reducing animal protein from the diet. Several chapters cover the array of diseases believed to have a relationship to the Western nutritional formula of high animal protein consumption. The book exposes fad diets and discusses their failings. The author pushes for a more plant-based diet to improve the nation's health; however, the food industry and pharmaceutical enterprises have strong interests in maintaining the current eating habits of the public. Though health and diet are current concerns, unfortunately the public is frequently bombarded with confounding announcements. This book tries to clarify some nutrition studies so that the reader can better evaluate the nutritional cant. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All levels. R. A. Hoots Woodland Community College