We’re always looking for things we should eliminate or minimize in our diet in order to experience greater health.
And for most of us this is the primary factor, i.e. quality of life.
However, few people really believe that there is a link between what we eat and how we live. In other words, is the old adage true that “you are what you eat?”
Think about this…
The link between diet and disease
Animal products (red meat, chicken, fish, milk, and eggs) and animal protein, specifically, are linked to a multitude of health concerns including, but not limited to, the chronic disease that runs rampant in this country.
A good source for information on this stems from “The China Study,” a twenty year collaboration between the universities of Cornell and Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine.
This study examined how the diet and lifestyle of the residents of rural Taiwan and China affected their health.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, PhD, a primary researcher of the study, tells us, “This project eventually produced more than 8000 statistically significant associations between various dietary factors and disease.”
The most publicized conclusion from this study came from the link between the consumption of animal protein and cancer.
As the intake of animal protein went up so did the incidence of cancer. As the intake went down so did the rates of cancer. The China Study was actually able to show how diet can turn the cancer gene on and off.
As little as 5% animal protein in the diet started this process.
Other factors
Insulin-like growth factor or IGF-1, a hormone present in animal products, is responsible for promoting growth. Calves can weigh anywhere from 40 -100 pounds at birth, depending on the breed, and anywhere from 700 to 1500 pounds when full grown. IGF-1 is necessary for this growth and calves receive it from their mother via her milk.
When we as humans take in this hormone it also promotes growth (which by the way most of us don’t need), including the growth of cancer cells already present in our bodies.
Other health concerns stemming from the consumption of animal protein:
- Increased cholesterol levels
- Increased acidity in the body
- Increased risk of osteoporosis- Calcium taken from the bones buffers the acidity
Dr. Campbell goes on to tell us,
“People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease… People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease. These results could not be ignored.”
I tend to agree… what do you think?