It's great to see Dr. Campbell write a more mainstream and less technical article about the incredible benefits of a no added fat vegan diet. Less enjoyable are the many ignorant comment flames from people who blindly think moderation works (it doesn't, ask Dr. McDougall or Dr. Esselstyn), and of course, then there are those who believe eating dead animals is good for you.
Here are some excerpts that I particularly like:
"...More serious, however, is the effect that this mythology has had on suppressing information on the extraordinary health value of diets that are truly low in fat (10-12 percent). I am referring to a whole foods, plant-based diet that avoids added fat and processed and animal-based foods. This diet contains about 10-12 percent fat, sometimes pejoratively referred to as "extremely low fat". Call it what you will, but this diet (also low in total protein, about 8-10 percent) produces, by comparison, "extremely low" incidences of sickness and disease. In fact, it now has been shown not just to prevent these illnesses but to treat them. Importantly, this dietary lifestyle cannot be dismissed by the mythological argument that so-called low fat diets have been proven to be questionable..."
"...It is time that we seriously consider the health benefits of a whole food, plant based diet, which is naturally low in total fat, animal-based protein, and refined carbohydrates but rich in antioxidants and complex carbohydrates. The health benefits that are now being reported for this dietary lifestyle are unmatched in scope and magnitude of effect. It is time to discard the gibberish about low fat diets being responsible for the obesity epidemic. This demonizing of low fat diets does not apply to whole food plant-based diets, even lower in fat, because this dietary lifestyle really works. Just try it, but stay with it long enough to allow your body to overcome your taste preferences for fat that arise from its addictive nature."
As the guy in charge of the largest study on diet in history, "The China Study," he's not someone that vegans who consume added oil should summarily dismiss. Add his view to the two guys who've reversed heart disease with a no-added fat vegan diet (Esselstyn, Ornish), Barnard (reversed Type II Diabetes), and McDougall's work, and it's amazing to me that many veg'ns just don't get it. Do you really think you know more than these guys?
Anyway, oil is not a real food, it damages your endothelium immediately, and you're better off losing your taste addiction to fat (as well as sugar and salt). Maybe Chef "fat is flavor" Tal and other "celebrated vegan chefs" that everyone is crowing about should pay attention. It's not compassionate or humane to provide such unhealthy vegan meals and claim they are "good for you." Heart disease, among other disorders invited by added fat, isn't pretty... or inevitable.
You can read the full article here. Nice work, Doc!
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