Raised on a dairy farm, milking cows, and living the traditional Mid-western life, Dr. T. Colin Campbell is today recognized as one of the leading authorities in the plant-based movement.
With clarity of purpose, and a passion that escalates more each day, Dr. Campbell has no intention of slowing down. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind, Dr. Campbell is a force to be reckoned with.
For more than 40 years, Dr. T.
Colin Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research. His legacy, the
China Project, is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever
conducted. Dr. Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of
Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. He has more than 70 grant-years
of peer-reviewed research funding and authored more than 300 research papers
and coauthor of the bestselling the book, “The China Study: Startling Implications
for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health.”
“The China Study” dispelled the myth of the need for animal protein
to be healthy. Quite the opposite; by eating a diet based on whole, plant-based
food you not only minimize your risk of a broad spectrum of diseases, including
heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer, you may even reverse many
dis-eases.
Dr. Campbell’s book, “Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition”, picks up
where “The China Study” left off.
Enjoying vibrant health and an active lifestyle well into his late eighties, Dr. Campbell continues his quest to educate people that “the ideal human diet looks like this: Consumer plant-based foods in forms as close to their natural state as possible…eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains.”
Dr. Campbell received funding for 27 years from the National Institute of Health to do his research work. This led to his research work in China.
Through his research, Dr. Campbell identified a link between animal protein and an increase in blood cholesterol.
PlantPure Communities
Dr. Campbell is extremely passionate about an organization his son, Nelson, began with grassroots efforts. www.plantpurecommunities.org
Realizing the power of a WFPB (whole food plant based) diet, Nelson presented findings to the Kentucky legislature with hopes of gaining support for their mission.
The mission of PlantPure Communities is to build stronger, healthier, and more sustainable communities. This is being accomplished through a wide range of research, policy, and program activities and working with local nonprofits, businesses, governments, hospitals and other health-related organizations, faith-based groups, and other community organizations.
The organization is funded through donations, a plant-based food line that is rapidly finding a home in supermarkets, and through revenues from the Plant Based Nutrition course offered through eCornell University.
Politics and Food – Strange Bedfellows
Dr. Campbell found out the hard way that politicians aren’t always supportive of what is in the best interest of the public. Many assume the public has no interest in knowing the truth about nutrition, but Dr. Campbell will be the first to say this isn’t so. More than anything, it’s been difficult to gain support for public education due to political roadblocks.
However, with the current situation with COVID-19 and the shutdown of factory farms, there is a renewed interest by the public about what’s really going on with their health and the connection to contaminated meat.
People genuinely want to know how good it is for them. In his newest book, The Future of Nutrition: An Insider’s Look at the Science, Why We Keep Getting It, coming out in December, Dr. Campbell reviews many of the questions people are proactively starting to ask.
- What is medicine?
- What is the medical system?
- How does that come into play?
- How does that play in the arena of politics?
Drawing off his own experience of being a target due to his findings, Dr. Campbell is eager to pull back the curtain and expose what is actually occurring.
“When I was on a committee of the National Academy of Sciences on diet, nutrition and cancer, I experienced a great deal of backlash for my findings and position. This was during the time of Senator George McGovern in the 1960s. The U.S. Senate had come out with a report from the Senate, a little bit superficial, but nonetheless came up with information to suggest that we should eat more vegetables and fruits and cut down on fat intake. That was greeted with a great deal of hostility on the part of the industry.”
During our conversation, Dr. Campbell shares how some in positions of power tried to defame him. To this day, he deals with backlash and criticism from those who know that keeping people healthy is not as profitable as keeping people sick.
Nutrition is something that many doctors have not been trained in. Dr. Campbell is quick to say this needs to change.
Dr. Campbell believes that the government should withhold funding for medical schools unless they agree to teach nutrition according to what we know. The National Institutes of Health should have another institute dedicated to nutrition. And at a community level, support for nutrition programs.
COVID-19
The body is capable of building up the immune system to minimize the risk of complications. The more vegetables more consumed, the better for the immune system. The more animal products, just the opposite.
The more animal food is consumed, the less antibodies and the more damage the virus is able to do.
Grassroots Efforts
Change and awareness are a result of spreading the “nutrition is good” virus. One person to another. Sharing over a meal, in conversations and through organizations like Plant Pure Communities.
Books
Forks Over Knives The Plant Based Way
The Future of Nutrition: An Insider’s Look at the Science, Why We Keep Getting It (due to be released in December 2020)
Affiliations
PlantPure Community
PPC offers programs, resources, tools, and knowledge to empower community leaders, activists, and advocates, in order to help educate people about evidence-based nutrition that shows that optimal health may be achieved through a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet. In recognition of the enormous confusion surrounding nutrition that has resulted in skyrocketing food-borne chronic disease and the challenges that many people face in making long-term changes to their diet, especially in low-income and other underserved neighborhoods. Click here
Plant Based Nutrition Certificate Program eCornell University
At the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, we believe that you have the right to better health and better information. We advocate for evidence-based education and resources. The cornerstone of this education is our Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate program in partnership with eCornell featuring lectures from over 20 MDs, PhDs, RDs, RNs and more. We also offer a wide variety of plant-based resources through our website including hundreds of articles, recipes, videos and more. (from the website)
PlantPure Communities
To support the works of PPC, donations are always welcome. Any amount is needed in order to further the cause. Whether you have $5 or $50,000, let’s all do what we can to get the message out. http://www.plantpurecommunities.org
More of the Podcast
To enjoy other great episodes of the Plant Based Eating for Health Podcast show, click the image.
Hear from men and women around the globe. All guests advocate, and live, a plant based lifestyle.