Principles of Nutrition Part 2 - Derek

I hope everyone out there is still voting. Only 10 days to go! Thank you all again for the support!

To continue with Dr. Campbell's Principles of Nutrition as outlined in my most recent certification, I will give a brief overview of his next 2 points. Keep in mind these Principles were explained at length during the course lectures, so what I'm providing here is just a brief explanation.

4.) Genes do not determine disease on their own. Genes function only by being activated or expressed, and nutrition controls which genes, good or bad, are expressed.

I think this is an extremely important point. The modern rise of genetic research for combating chronic disease has been fruitless. Mainstream tabloids would lead one to believe that simply identifying a gene that causes disease, then making a drug to control said gene, will be the end of poor health as we know it. Things just aren't that simple. Each disease is the product of actions by potentially hundreds of genes, and no single gene only has one job. So, expecting a single desirable effect from the chemical control of a single gene is very unrealistic.

Whats worse, the belief that your health is controlled entirely by your genes leaves you in a helpless position. Why bother taking care of yourself if it all comes down to your genes? In actuality, eating a whole plant-based diet goes extremely far in giving you the most beneficial possible gene expressions, putting you back in control, and all without any fancy research or drugs required.

5.) Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals.

Another very important point. Similarly to controlling your genes to your greatest benefit, nutrition also greatly improves your body's ability to handle nasty chemicals that could potentially do a lot of harm. Take Aflatoxin as an example. Aflatoxin is among the most toxic and carcinogenic chemicals ever discovered, and in Dr. Campbell's own lab he was able to keep rats on an aflatoxin-laced diet completely healthy and cancer free just by controlling their nutrition. 0% of the animals on high protein plant-based diet developed cancer, while 100% of animals on a high protein milk protein-based diet developed cancer. Results don't get much clearer than that.

For a human example, studies following heavy smokers who practice a whole plant based diet have shown that they have lung cancer rates almost as low as typical non-smokers!

I will post again soon on the final 3 principles. If you have any questions or input, comment away! And feel encouraged to learn more for yourself by picking up a copy of The China Study or signing up for the plant based nutrition courses!

As an aside, my friend and disciple/poster-boy/victim Jeff Kroll of Crossroads Coffee recently pointed out the article below to me, and I think it goes very well with what I've been discussing, so thanks Jeff! Check it out:

Why Plants are (Usually) Better than Drugs