I previously noted that data from the China Study reported by Denise Minger were highly supportive of the Perfect Health Diet. In particular, the China Study supported our claims that:
- Animal protein is healthier than plant protein.
- Dairy fats are good, but dairy proteins can be problematic.
- Grains are bad – especially wheat – but rice is OK.
- Calories should come predominantly from fat.
Now, Stan the Heretic has done more work in the raw China Study data and shows charts that support the Perfect Health Diet and similar diets such as Jan Kwasniewski’s Optimal Diet.
What the Perfect Health Diet and the Optimal Diet have in common is that around 65-70% of calories come from fats, not carbs or protein. (The Optimal Diet is a bit higher in protein than carbs, the Perfect Health Diet a bit higher in carbs than protein, but the two are close.) By the standard of both diets, popular diets all over the world have too much carbs and (arguably) too much protein, not enough fats.
So we would expect to see that in China, people who eat more fat have better health, while people who eat fewer carbs or less protein have better health. And that’s exactly what Stan reports.
His charts show that:
- Cardiovascular mortality trends down as fat increases, but trends up as carb or protein intake increases.
- Cancer mortality trends down as fat increases, but trends up as carb or protein intake increases.
Go to Stan’s site to see the charts!
via this link:
I don’t agree that glucose deficiency is a necessary consequence of a ketogenic diet. Fat is used to produce glucose, hence why ketogenically adapted endurance athletes are able to perform the same on ketogenic diets as on carb diets. If there was a glucose deficiency created by ketosis, then these athletes should have had impaired performance due to the glycogen demands of exercise. Since they didn’t and were able to perform at normal rates, I assume there’s not a glucose deficiency associated with ketogenic diets.
There are people who have below optimal glucose levels on ketogenic diets, but this isn’t a necessary effect of being in ketosis.
Thanks for the post, I hope you check older comments 🙂 I appreciate your take on health
P.S. One other factor to consider, despite the two you mentioned — Poland being naturally high in stomach cancer probbaly due to lack of iodine and selenium and them potentially having low Vitamin D — is BHA’s role as a potential carcinogen. BHA is found in the lard’s here in the US, and it could also be found in the lard’s that Polish Optimal dieters are eating
– Arbo
allmeatdiet.com
(coming soon)
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?cat=51
I was trying to comment on this post, sorry
Hi Arbo,
I’ve copied your comment over there and will reply there: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=1077&cpage=3#comment-31321.
Best, Paul
I am a vegetarian considering the PHD. One of the books that convinced me to become vegetarian was The China Study by T Colin Campbell. Especially the parts about animal protein “turning on cancer”. Now I don’t know what to think.
Hi Beth,
There’s not much merit to Campbell’s positions. Chris Masterjohn did an excellent discussion of the protein and cancer question:
http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/cmasterjohn/2010/09/22/%20the-curious-case-of-campbells-rats-does-protein-deficiency-prevent-cancer/
Thank you for your response. I read a little bit (of Masterjohn’s discussion) and feel betrayed by T Colin Campbell! I will read the rest as soon as I have time. I was already having doubts about my vegetarian diet from what I have read so far in your book.
Many of folks following PHD (and Paleo) are former vegetarians or vegans. For me, I started digging into all of the information out there pro and con out and finally decided to just give it a try and see how I feel. For me, I had immediate relief from lethargy, allergies and arthritis. What’s the worse that can happen? Give it a few weeks and see how you feel. If you listen to your body it will tell you what’s best.
My husband and I are both going to give it a try in the near future. I experienced an improvement in my health when I first went vegetarian. In retrospect, I was on the Hallelujah diet which is 80% raw, so very few grains or legumes, maybe that is why I felt better. Thanks for the encouragement.
Why would you consider breaking down proteins into glucose “forcing the body to do so?” If it is capable of doing so, then why not? One doctor called gluconeogenesis “time released carbs” and declared that a good thing. A friend who is a nutritionist, said the same thing.
Gluconeogensis has nothing to do with how much protein one consumes, rather, how few carbs. There are some cultures where carbs are not readily available and proteins and fats are…how have those people fared?
I’m zero carb right now…it is temporary for bodybuilding purposes. I have no dry mouth, dry eyes or diarrhea. Everybody is different.