Alison's Reviews > The China Study

Wow. I mean...wow. This book should be required reading for anyone who...well... eats (especially the average American). I just finished listening to the audio version, and I'm ready to go back to track 1 and give it second go. I'll probably get the print version at some point, for reference, but I'm SO thankful an audio recording exists, because – to be honest – I'd probably just skim through the printed book and not really get the full impact of what Dr. Campbell has to say. The basic premise is: eat a plant-based, whole foods diet (basically vegan) and enjoy a long, healthy, disease-free life. But that's not doing the book justice. Many of the studies cited are just mind-boggling. I found my mouth hanging agape on more than one occasion during the listen.

Throughout, I couldn’t help thinking of my family. My father, an organic farmer who also happens to be a very Midwestern meat ‘n potatoes guy, who survived a major heart attack in his 50s and regularly takes cholesterol-lowering medication. And my mother, a former RN who has been on disability for years due to crippling rheumatoid arthritis. My brother, a trained chef who eats organic and avoids artificial sweeteners, but can’t give up his meat. And his son, my little nephew, who at ten months of age has been transitioned to raw goat’s milk, because his mother (wisely) doesn’t trust anything made with cows milk for babies (though I’m not sure if goat’s milk is that much better). I kept imagining their reactions to this book, if I could get them to really take it in. Would it change them? Sad to say, I doubt it...at least in my parents’ case...their habits are too ingrained at this point, too much a part of their identities. That will likely be the case for most meat-eaters, if they could even be persuaded to give this book a shot. But I applaud T. Colin Campbell for putting this information out there, for those of us who will read it and take it to heart. Even as a long-time vegetarian, my diet is certainly going to take some adjusting, and I look forward to one day being happier and healthier as a result.

For a free excerpt and more information, visit www.thechinastudy.com.