SSP 124. A Dialog with Dr. T. Colin Campbell

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♦ A Dialog with Dr. T. Colin Campbell ♦

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Best-selling author and nutrition scientist Dr. Thomas Colin Campbell joins Coach Scott Abel for a conversation about whole food-plant based diet, as well as commentary on the myths, business, and politics of nutrition.

Dr. Campbell’s new book, due out in 2019, seeks to answer the question “how can we know as much as we do [about plant-based diet], and still get pushback?” and also will attempt to find out why his evidence-based message on nutrition is so difficult for the establishment to accept.

♦ Why is there so much resistance to plant-based dieting? ♦

• It’s the whole food—not the individual nutrient in that whole food—that matters.

• Taking a single nutrient we think matters and put it in pill form doesn’t have the same benefit as when consumed in the whole food. Combinations of nutrients matter.

• The supplement industry sells “single-cause-single-effect” products.

• Scott uses the analogy of using vowels and exclamation points for writing. Just because they’re important doesn’t mean they should be used with abandon.

• Dr. Campbell has gotten to know professional, hall-of-fame caliber athletes who have tried plant-based eating and improved, even when in the peak of their condition. Lower protein, not higher protein, is the key.

• Most people think protein only comes from animals. We [can] get ideal levels of protein from plants.

• Chemicals in animal protein increase the risk of cancer.

• Oils out of a bottle, or refined sugars, are also a problem.

• Dr. Campbell grew up on a dairy farm and never had any intention of learning what he has about dairy products.

• The meat and dairy industries, as well as fitness industries, have a lot to lose if [plant-based eating] catches on.

• Campbell references studies that show direct correlation between introduction of animal protein into the diets of different populations and certain types of disease.

• Glutens belong to a class of compounds called lectins which affects a small percentage of the population (perhaps 2-3% but not 30 to 40% of the population).

• The Plant Paradox demonizes lectins, which are only found in plants.

• Complexity creates confusion. This plays into the hands of people who want to take a small piece of information and exploit it.

• Fame and fortune take precedence to actually helping people.

• Good science involves experimentation, observation and peer review.

• The average person doesn’t understand what makes one piece of research good or bad.

• Dr. Campbell is 84, has never taken meds, occasionally takes an aspirin.

• Scott asks if there’s any supplement he’d recommend. B12 maybe. It’s not harmful.

• Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies offers a certification in Plant-Based Nutrition.

• Plant-based eating can cut healthcare costs, and we could feed the world.

• Scott: Two essentials of any diet strategy: 1. Must be sustainable and 2. Must serve the body. Campbell agrees, particularly to sustainability.

• We need to start thinking about sustainable food production.

• Campbell doesn’t like the term “vegan.” It’s born out of ethical considerations and doesn’t take science into account. Also, the vegan diet has a high degree of fat in it…they’ve traded one type of fat for another.

• Scientists whose work Dr. Campbell respects and admires:

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Michael Greger and Dr. Neal Barnard.

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