plant-based diet

当看了不同的专科仍然无法对全身病痛得到一个答案之时，我们常光顾的GP说，去买来看看吧，Dr. T.Colin Campbell 《The China Study》，或许你所有的疑惑都会在书中找到答案。

不是每一间书局都有售卖，在Borders购获后，我用了近两个月陪看《包青天》《孙子大传》的夜晚将近400页密密麻麻字母的书本看完。

故事以作者自小在农场长大掀开序幕，他和许许多多美国人一样，觉得牛奶、鸡蛋以及肉类是最有营养的食物。直到有一天，亲人陆陆续续在中年时分因为癌症、心脏病等慢性疾病而撒手人寰。当时尚年幼的他，决定长大后去寻找一个真相。

于是，他和儿子用了近40年的时间（在美国/菲律宾/中国等地）对食物与疾病的关联进行研究，而写下了这本堪称近代史上最具权威的营养书籍（之一）。

作者曾在70年代在菲律宾以老鼠做研究，得到一个惊人结论，牛奶里含有一个叫casein的蛋白质，是癌症病变的promoter。

牛奶？！是的，你没有看错。
那个我们从小就被灌输最有营养价值最能提供天然钙质的牛奶。

书中很详细地讲解了各项研究，说明了animal-based diet的risk，并且得到一个结论，plant-based diet极有可能预防甚至reverse慢性疾病。

什么是Plant-based diet?
Plant-based diet = Vegetarian?

Absolutely NO! It's even stricter than vegetarian.
Whole foods, plant-based diet 除了吃素、whole grains，更重要的是没有食用牛奶(乳制品)、鸡蛋，没有食用refined carbohydrate (如refined flour, added salt, sugary cereals, white bread, candies and sugar-laden soft drinks等)

有没有搞错？什么都不吃？做人还有什么意义？

I've talked to so many people who say, "I may not live as long as you health nuts, but I sure am going to enjoy the time I have by eating steaks whatever I want, smoking if I so choose and doing anything else that I want. " I grew up with these people, went to school with these people and made great friends with these people. Not long ago, one of my best friends suffered a difficult surgery for cancer and spent his last years paralyzed in a nursing home. During the many visits I made to the nursing home, I never failed to come away with a deep appreciation for the health I still possess in my old age ... ...


The enjoyment of life, especially the second half of life, is greatly compromised if we can't see, if we can't think, if our kidneys don't work or if our bones are broken or fragile. I, for one, hope that I am able to fully enjoy not only the time in the present, but also the time in the future, with good health and independence.             ~~ Pg 222, The China Study


在我的右视网膜脱落之前，我在一次活动遇到某位女艺人，她看我的健康情况不是太理想，以个人经验建议我吃素，当然不是refined carbohydrate那种。我依着她的建议，在一个月内健康指数改善不少，最意外的是竟然瘦下来了。然后，我的右眼出事了，大概半年里我持续吃得很清淡，过敏、胃病有效地被控制。可是，后来因为Project的关系，又吃animal-based foods，我的毛病又开始找我麻烦。

直至最近，我决定食用plant-based diet来抑制自己身上的各种毛病。在家，我尽量做到了至少90%的plant-based diet，出外我没有坚持，因为我不想麻烦别人，也不希望别人特地配合我。

牛奶？!幸好，我一向不喜欢奶味，众多乳制品当中比较难戒的是冰淇淋。

有人笑我（怕死），以为我又乱看了什么营养书籍而危言耸听，对我说不要乱看什么书啊结果什么都不敢吃。市场上售卖的营养书籍层出不穷，我曾经在书局翻阅，发觉很多书籍提供的营养价值完全不一样，比如有些说鸡蛋/olive oil好有些说鸡蛋/olive oil不好，眼花缭乱。

这些所有的疑惑都在书中找到答案，我没有无聊（也没有吃饱得空）到不懂得分辨书籍的好坏而一味服从。

有人问，这本书籍若是那么权威，为什么没有受到大事宣传？
因为如果大事宣传的话，很多行业都做不下去了。

那么书中所说的凭什么值得相信？
我在阅读MAKNA (Majlis Kanser National) 2011/01月号的newsletter《Neoplasia》时看到这样的讯息：
Paolo Toniolo of the New York University Cancer Institute compared the diets of 250 women with breast cancer with 499 women without cancer from the same province in Italy ... What distinguished the cancer patients was that they had eaten more meat, cheese, butter, and milk.       ~~Pg 44


Healthy Living After Cancer: Many experts recommend plant-based foods and foods low in fat.          
        ~~Pg 49

plant-based diet能100%预防慢性疾病吗？
世上没有一个100%的 研究，人生里充满变数，我（作者）不能告诉你什么是100%。

不能肯定100%有效，那我若是（几番辛苦）食用plant-based foods, 到头来又患病我不是白活了？

Well, there's always a choice, and the choice is always yours.

Disclaimer: I am neither a physician nor a dietitian. I merely share the information I gather from the book. I have no intention to attack any food industry. Should you have any doubt about the info, kindly refer to the book or contact your physician personally.