Scan barcode
A review by michaelkerr
Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by T. Colin Campbell, Howard Jacobson
2.0
I wanted to like this book, but just couldn't really get there. Campbell provides an interesting analysis of the reductionist paradigm of medical research, and his discussion surrounding how funding corrupts the scientific process is truly important. However, his embittered ranting at the scientific and nutritional establishment gets really old really fast.
Early in the book, Campbell discusses his discovery of the relationship between casein (found in cows' milk) and liver cancer. He therefore calls into question the ethics of promoting of milk as a healthy drink. But his 'Whole' food perspective requires that all the effects of all aspects of milk be taken into account in their affect on the body - the casein issue is an example of the reductionist science he spends the rest of the book denigrating. To be fair, the casein discovery came early in his career, and his whole food paradigm shift came later. Nonetheless, if the positive antioxidant effects of a whole apple cannot be accounted for by the currently identified antioxidants found within the apple, might it not also be possible that the negative effects of casein are counteracted by other factors within milk? Not everyone who drinks milk gets cancer.
A recent Scandinavian study links high milk consumption to early mortality and poor bone health so Campbell is probably right on this one, but I can't help thinking that his argument is seriously undercut by using a reductionist technique to argue for a Whole food paradigm.
Early in the book, Campbell discusses his discovery of the relationship between casein (found in cows' milk) and liver cancer. He therefore calls into question the ethics of promoting of milk as a healthy drink. But his 'Whole' food perspective requires that all the effects of all aspects of milk be taken into account in their affect on the body - the casein issue is an example of the reductionist science he spends the rest of the book denigrating. To be fair, the casein discovery came early in his career, and his whole food paradigm shift came later. Nonetheless, if the positive antioxidant effects of a whole apple cannot be accounted for by the currently identified antioxidants found within the apple, might it not also be possible that the negative effects of casein are counteracted by other factors within milk? Not everyone who drinks milk gets cancer.
A recent Scandinavian study links high milk consumption to early mortality and poor bone health so Campbell is probably right on this one, but I can't help thinking that his argument is seriously undercut by using a reductionist technique to argue for a Whole food paradigm.