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A review by thebigemmt505
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell, Thomas Campbell
informative
medium-paced
3.75
“Yes, that’s right. I’m about to tell you that if you eat animal foods instead of plant foods, you just might go blind.”
The quote is regarding macular degeneration, but it feels broadly applicable given not only the health, but the environmental and moral implications of eating animals.
The China Study is a an influential book about health and nutrition that deserves the praise it gets, especially for what it brought to the table at the time it was released. The study itself is a landmark in how we understand the way our diet impacts or health and our disease development. It’s well researched, thorough, and well-intentioned. Despite already knowing a lot of the science in this book, I still learned plenty of new information and I’m appreciative of that. The part about industry players and the hostility towards such a simple solution as diet was especially pertinent for me, as I’m always surprised by the extent of it.
All of that said, I found the writing a bit repetitive and sometimes disorganized. It flipped between general to detailed very quickly, which made the layout jarring to me. The semi-conspiratorial writing (no matter how justified in this case), especially before a case was presented about the corruption of the medical industry, turned me off as well. Most of my issues come down to preference, as I prefer a structure that’s detailed information -> general conclusion and I dislike hyper-conspiratorial, “they’re out to get us” rhetoric that can both be used by well meaning people who observe legitimate corruption and crazy conspiracy theorists drawing conclusions where there aren’t any.
Of course, T. Colin Campbell is a lot more level headed, but it’s still something that stood out to me. That being said, the writing wasn’t bad per-se, and I enjoyed a lot of the anecdotes and bits of humor thrown in.
Also, admittedly, there’s some dated information in here now, which I can’t blame the book for, but GOD can we PLEASE stop using BMI for any measure of anything! Thank you 🫶
Anyways, it was a must read for nutrition nerds like me. Vegan ones, at that. It dragged a bit and was dense but I don’t regret reading it. Give it a read, it’s a “classic” in a way. At the end of the day, beyond all of the science, beyond the intrigue of everything we have and will learn about nutrition, for now we must do what is tried and true: eat our vegetables.
The quote is regarding macular degeneration, but it feels broadly applicable given not only the health, but the environmental and moral implications of eating animals.
The China Study is a an influential book about health and nutrition that deserves the praise it gets, especially for what it brought to the table at the time it was released. The study itself is a landmark in how we understand the way our diet impacts or health and our disease development. It’s well researched, thorough, and well-intentioned. Despite already knowing a lot of the science in this book, I still learned plenty of new information and I’m appreciative of that. The part about industry players and the hostility towards such a simple solution as diet was especially pertinent for me, as I’m always surprised by the extent of it.
All of that said, I found the writing a bit repetitive and sometimes disorganized. It flipped between general to detailed very quickly, which made the layout jarring to me. The semi-conspiratorial writing (no matter how justified in this case), especially before a case was presented about the corruption of the medical industry, turned me off as well. Most of my issues come down to preference, as I prefer a structure that’s detailed information -> general conclusion and I dislike hyper-conspiratorial, “they’re out to get us” rhetoric that can both be used by well meaning people who observe legitimate corruption and crazy conspiracy theorists drawing conclusions where there aren’t any.
Of course, T. Colin Campbell is a lot more level headed, but it’s still something that stood out to me. That being said, the writing wasn’t bad per-se, and I enjoyed a lot of the anecdotes and bits of humor thrown in.
Also, admittedly, there’s some dated information in here now, which I can’t blame the book for, but GOD can we PLEASE stop using BMI for any measure of anything! Thank you 🫶
Anyways, it was a must read for nutrition nerds like me. Vegan ones, at that. It dragged a bit and was dense but I don’t regret reading it. Give it a read, it’s a “classic” in a way. At the end of the day, beyond all of the science, beyond the intrigue of everything we have and will learn about nutrition, for now we must do what is tried and true: eat our vegetables.