Written by Vegetarian Star on Friday, September 25th, 2009 in Authors, Food & Drink, Nutrition-Health-Fitness, Research + Science.
Kathy Freston interviewed Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Cornell University and author of the The China Study, for the Huffington Post.
Kathy and Dr. Campbell discuss how plant based diets can prevent cancer, and the link between meat and dairy and developing the disease.
A few excerpts:
TCC: The chemicals that create these cancer genes are called ‘carcinogens’. Most carcinogens of years past have been those that attack normal genes to give cancer genes. These are initiating carcinogens, or initiators. But more recently, carcinogens also may be those that promote cancer growth. They are promoting carcinogens, or promoters.
Our work showed that casein is the most relevant cancer promoter ever discovered.
(Casein is a protein found in milk and cheese.)
KF: What exactly is so bad about animal protein?
TCC: I don’t choose the word “exactly” because it suggests something very specific. Rather, casein causes a broad spectrum of adverse effects.
Among other fundamental effects, it makes the body more acidic, alters the mix of hormones and modifies important enzyme activities, each of which can cause a broad array of more specific effects. One of these effects is its ability to promote cancer growth (by operating on key enzyme systems, by increasing hormone growth factors and by modifying the tissue acidity). Another is its ability to increase blood cholesterol (by modifying enzyme activities) and to enhance atherogenesis, which is the early stage of cardiovascular disease.
And finally, although these are casein-specific effects, it should be noted that other animal-based proteins are likely to have the same effect as casein.
Read the entire interview at huffingtonpost.com.
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