In response to the documentary, I asked for the general
thoughts and opinions of the class on the evidence presented and if you would
consider the whole foods plant based diet. Well, since I did not note a
significant rise in veganism on campus I would venture to guess that most of
you still do not think of milk protein as a carcinogen and animal based proteins
are still a staple in the majority of your diets, skeptical of the claims that
a whole foods plant based diet can cure all ailments and prevent cancer. You are
justified in your skepticism.
In “The
Curious Case of Cambell's Rats,” Chris Masterjohn examines these rats that
Campbell used, describing their severe protein deficiency and inability to thrive despite their apparent
health and lack of cancer. The low protein group of rats “[ate] less food, [failed]
to grow, and [were] unable to efficiently detoxify aflatoxin and a multitude of
other toxins. They destroyed their ability to repair damaged tissue, gave them
fatty liver, stopped their internal organs from developing, and if the rats
encountered toxic substances, the diets dug them an early grave” (Masterjohn). Expecting
that the rats on a low protein diet would consume less than those receiving relatively
high amounts of protein, Campbell broke his rats into three groups: 5% casein,
20% casein, and 20% casein pair fed with the 5% group. The rats, who were still
in their developmental and growing stages at the time of the experiment start,
were expected to grow to over 100g in size before the conclusion of the
experiment. Their growth is seen below.
Beyond
a mere failure to grow, the rats restricted to a low protein diet developed
fatty livers, which was suggested to have been a result of disruption of cell proliferation
or a disruption of protein synthesis. The rats on a low protein diet were also more
susceptible to environmental toxins when compared with the high protein rats,
an observation which may indicate the low protein diet was not sufficient for the
promotion of tissue recovery from toxic effects. These findings on toxic effects are further distorted
by the quantity of aflatoxin administered to the rats as a carcinogen. The high
protein rats were administered double the amount of aflatoxin administered to
the low protein rats, receiving 5 parts per million (ppm) in comparison to 2.5
ppm. This discrepancy in carcinogen doses is explained by Campbell in his book,
The China Study, as necessary because
“5ppm was found to be lethal for [the low protein] dietary group” (Campbell). The cancer promoting effects of a high casein diet
could be the result of a lack of consistency in carcinogen administration.
So what are we to think now? Should we all adopt a whole
foods plant based diet in order to stay healthy and continue the war on cancer?
Is our diet really what’s killing us? The documentary presented many
testimonials of people who adopted this lifestyle of plant-based nutrition and
no longer required their medications for conditions like hypertension, type II
diabetes, or even cancer, but as I have just commented on, the presentation of
data is the key. In this post I explored only one of the experiments cited in
the documentary and exposed the unfavorable results the producers apparently
forgot. It is true that the low protein rats developed less tumors and showed
fewer signs of cancer, but cancer is only one part of the story, only one
disease that will kill us before we reach the Hayflick limit.
What are your thoughts now?
References:
"“Forks
Over Knives”: Is the Science Legit? (A Review and Critique)." Raw Foods
SOS: Rescuing Helath Food from Bad Science. Raw Foods SOS, 22 Sep 2011.
Web. 11 Jun 2012.
<http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/>.
Fulkerson
, Lee, dir. Forks Over Knives. "“Forks Over Knives”: Is the Science
Legit? (A Review and Critique)." Raw Foods SOS: Rescuing Helath Food from
Bad Science. Raw Foods SOS, 22 Sep 2011. Web. 11 Jun 2012. .
, 2011. Film.
Masterjohn,
Chris. "The Curious Case of Cambell's Rats." Weston A Price Blogs.
Weston A Price Foundation, 22 Sep 2010. Web. 11 Jun 2012. <http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/2010/09/22/the-curious-case-of-campbells-rats-does-protein-deficiency-prevent-cancer/>.