CHINA DIET STUDY

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• DAVID E. CUNDIFF, Ph.D.
• PROFESSOR AND HEAD
• DEPARTMENT OF EXERCISE SCIENCE, HEALTH AND
  LEISURE STUDIES

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Living Laboratory for Dietary Patterns
• Stable population , good tracking
• Similar genetic pool
• Regional dietary differences
• Often 100-fold differences in death rates in
  certain diseases
• Good death stats on 1 billion Chinese

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Collaborative Effort
• Cornell University-Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine
  Medical Services-Chen Junshi, MD
• Oxford University-Dr. Richard Peto

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Largest and most comprehensive study undertaken
  looking at diet and disease relationships
• 6,500 adults in 65 different counties in China
  selected about 137 different villages in
  different locations from Gobi Desert to Beijing,
  Shanghai Hong Kong

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Researchers followed these people for several
  days
• Looking for different diet and disease patterns,
  lifestyles, and relationships
• Recorded everything they ate to obtain a clear
  profile of their dietary composition

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• What have they found?
• Diseases of Poverty
• Diseases of affluence

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Diseases of Poverty- pneumonia, TB, infectious
  diseases, parasitic diseases like hook worms,
  enclampsia
• Causes usually related to poor sanitation,
  nutritional deficiencies poor food quality no
  refrig.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Diseases of Affluence heart disease, stroke,
  most cancers, diabetes, osteoprosis, kidney
  disease, gall stones, diverticulosis, liver
  cirrhosis
• Causes Rich diets (high in animal products) and
  engineered food (high is sugar, fat and salt, and
  low in fiber), sedentary living, smoking, alcohol
  and stress

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Same country, same genetic pool diseases of
  poverty and affluence!!

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Diseases of Affluence are not inevitable. A
  society that can afford sanitation, refrigeration
  and abundant food may yet conquer these diseases
  of affluence by simplifying its diet and eating
  more foods as grown.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• What dietary and blood factors contribute to
  diseases of Affluence?
• Blood cholesterol Urea Nitrogen powerfully
  relates to Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes
• Small intakes of animal products were powerfully
  related to marked increases in these diseases

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Comparing Mortality Rates
• Coronary Artery Disease
• China 1 United States 16
• Breast Cancer
• China 1 United States 5

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Cholesterol Comparisons
• China 117 (88-161)
• USA 212 (157-274)
• Chinas high cholesterol is the United States
  low!!

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Blood Lipids
• China USA
• Total Cholesterol 117 212
• LDL 69 149
• HDL 32 39
• Triglycerides 80 122

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Animal protein raises blood cholesterol more
  than saturated fat
• Lean meats may be as damaging to cholesterol
  levels as fatty meats

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Animal protein raises blood cholesterol more
  than saturated fat
• Lean meats may be as damaging to cholesterol
  levels as fatty meats

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Blood Lipids
• Those Chinese at the upper end of the Chinese
  range had markedly more cancer and heart disease
  than those at the lower end!!

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• The Chinese experience shows that most Western
  coronary heart disease is unnecessary. It is self
  made, self induced, and culturally promoted.
• Dr. Richard Petro, Oxford University

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• PMS and Hot Flashes
• Hot Flashes are not as commonly found in Chinese
  women as they are in American women. This may be
  related to the fact the estrogen levels in
  American women are much higher before they go
  into menopause and then there is a big drop in
  levels could explain severity in US women.
• Rural Chinese women experience far fewer symptoms
  than most affluent city dwellers in
• China.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Risk Factors for Breast Cancer
• High fat diet
• High blood cholesterol
• High blood estrogen testosterone
• Age of menarche and menopause

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Osteoporosis Dairy
• USA Common Common
• China Rare Rare
• Ironically countries with the highest rates of
  osteoporosis consume the most calcium, mostly
  from protein-rich dairy products. T. Colin
  Campbell, Ph.D.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• While osteoporosis is very, very rare in China
  there are some areas where osteoporosis is
  present. This is the result of the population
  groups that have adopted a Western diet.
• Iron deficiency is difficult to find in China
  even though Chinese eat very little meat. USA has
  idea that if you do not eat meat iron deficiency
  will probably occur.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Chinese Diet verses USA USA Diet
• China USA
• Protein 64 grams 100 grams
• Animal 10 71
• Sugar USA - three times higher
• Starch China four times higher
• Fat USA three times higher
• Calories China higher but are leaner

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Chinese Diet verses USA USA Diet
• China USA
• Fiber China higher
• Calcium 500-600 g 800-1200 g
• Little osteoporosis in China
• Iron China two times USA
• Vitamin C China 30-50 higher

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Dr. Campbell USA is consuming far too much in
  terms of animal foods. We should be eating more
  plant protein. Animal products are higher in fat
  and cholesterol.They are a poor source of fiber
  and anti-oxidents and high protein content has
  been clearly linked to many Western killer
  diseases. A plant-based diet is more likely to
  produce good health and reduce sharply the risk
  of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis,
  gall stones and kidney disease.

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CHINA DIET STUDY

• Dr. Campbells dietary prescription
• Change the diet so that 80-90 of proteins comes
  from grains, legumes, vegetables.
• Build meals around grains, potatoes, beans,
  vegetables and fruits. Use meat only for flavor
  and not for focus.
• Cut the currently recommended 30 fat level of
  the American diet to a safer 10-20 fat of total
  calories.