We have, on many occasions, made reference to the lifetime work of T. Colin Campbell PhD, Emeritus Professor of Nutritional Chemistry at Cornell University in New York State, USA. 

Brought up in the committed scientific circles that considered animal protein as the healthiest food, Dr. Campbell’s investigations in the Philippines and China on diet-related illnesses allowed him to drastically change his views on the subject. Over time, he proposed and advocated a new health paradigm (model), greatly excluding animal products from a healthy diet, in favour of plant food. 

We have in earlier columns detailed his research in the Philippines on malnutrition in children that proved that animal protein promotes cancer and his research in China, publicised in his authoritative ‘China Study’ that plant-based nutrition protects against cancer, as well as against a host of other, chronic, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, auto-immune and cardiovascular diseases. 

In this column, we will focus on the book he wrote 11 years ago, "Whole – Rethinking the Science of Nutrition" which identifies why we need to change our basic beliefs of what is health and the bold steps we have to take to retain or recover our lost health. One of the important insights one derives from reading ‘Whole’ is that there are no ‘single wonder drugs’ or ‘silver bullets’ that one can depend on to secure one’s health.  

Campbell explains about the wisdom of our bodies: that ‘there is almost no direct relationship between the amount of a (micro)nutrient consumed at a meal and the amount that actually reaches its main site of action in the body.’ He gives an example: "If, for example, I consume 100 milligrams of vitamin C at one meal, and 500 milligrams at a second meal, this does not mean that the second meal leads to five times as much vitamin C reaching the tissue where it works." 

As he explains: "We can never know exactly how much of a nutrient to ingest, because we can’t predict how much of a nutrient will be absorbed and utilized by the body, which depends on what the body needs at that moment. This need is constantly 'sensed' by the body and controlled by a variety of mechanisms that operate at various stages of the 'pathway' from nutrient ingestion to nutrient utilization."

In other words, the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals we ingest are presented to the body as a ‘smorgasbord’ or ‘buffet meal’ from which the body will pick and choose what it needs. The conclusion we can draw from this: It simply means that you must use common sense and eat regularly a diet in modest quantities that offers all the ingredients that represent ‘whole food’ and are mostly ‘plant based’…

As he writes: "All these anti-oxidants and other nutrients work in harmony in our bodies and are ‘orchestrating a wondrous symphony of health’: no single supplement pill can compete with that!" He further states: "The benefits of a healthy lifestyle (which includes following the whole food plant-based diet) are enormous."

We want you to know that you can: live longer; look and feel younger; have more energy; lose weight; vastly decrease the need for pharmaceutical drugs; lower your blood cholesterol; lower your blood pressure; prevent and even reverse heart disease; prevent and treat diabetes; lower your risk of prostate, breast, and other cancers; preserve your eyesight in your later years; keep your bones strong; avoid impotence; avoid stroke; prevent kidney stones; beat arthritis; avoid Alzheimer's; avoid surgery in many instances; alleviate constipation; and keep your baby from getting Type 1 diabetes. These are only some of the benefits, and all of them can be yours. 

The price? Simply changing your diet. It has never been so easy or so relatively effortless to achieve such profound benefits. Out of respect, we cannot add anything to such ‘pearls of wisdom’… In the next column, we will present additional quotes from Dr Campbell’s works. In the meantime, we invite you to visit METI’s Healthy Living Clinic at House No. 51 at Motootua (across from the Kokobanana Restaurant) to become acquainted with METI’s whole food plant-based diet and Lifestyle Change programs.