Last week, I did a bit of a tease. I reported that I read the most amazing book. One that as a self-help junkie stood out among the dozens I had read in the last year. Before I revealed mine, I did the classic, “show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” Some of you shared and some of you just decided to hold out. You’ve obviously played this game before. Here are some of the great choices that our smart readers shared with us:
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Onward by Howard Schultz
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The 4-Hour Chef by Tim Ferris
The Big Book (of Alcoholics Anonymous) by Bill Wilson
Democracy’s Discontent by Michael Sandel
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
A Course in Miracles by Dr. Helen Schucman
I Thought It Was Just Me by Brene Brown
The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris
Crack in the Cosmic Egg by Joseph Chilton Pearce
How to Raise a Healthy Child…In Spite of Your Doctor by Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD
Faith of the Fallen by Brooke Ayers
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Secret of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Leadership and Self-Deception by Arbinger Institute
So here’s mine. Drum roll….
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell, II.
I’ve read some great books in the past year. Some of my other favorites include The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. But The China Study has impacted me more than any other.
If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a book about nutrition. And more to the point, about the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted. Apparently I’m not alone in my accolades of the book; David Klein, Editor for Living Nutrition Magazine says, “The China Study is the most important book on nutrition and health to come out in the last seventy-five years.”
Let me put this in perspective…anyone who knows me would say that I eat healthy. The problem, as I’ve discovered, is that I eat healthy relative to most Americans which is like saying that I’m tolerant relative to most Tea Party Republicans.
The reality is that my healthy habits are not nearly as healthy as they could be and I’ve actually made major shifts in my diet since reading this book. On page 244 of the book, the authors make the point that what they are asking people to do with their nutrition advice “…seems impossible. You might as well ask Americans to stop breathing. The whole idea seems strange, fanatical or fantastic.”
And that certainly has been my experience. The people closest to me have all questioned my sanity and reasoning for making such drastic changes. But I decided to take the challenge from the book and “give it a month.” And it’s been challenging because so much of what we eat is based on habit and convenience. And the healthy choices I’ve made in the past are not always all that healthy now that I have been furthered enlightened.
Let me put out a disclaimer right away. I’ve done a fair amount of research on nutrition, but I’m hardly an expert. It’s an area that I’ve purposefully been reading up on because I’m committed to being as healthy as I can be. And I’m a firm believer that we are what we eat, in the sense that if we put garbage in, our bodies will feel and perform like crap. On the other hand, if we nurture our bodies with healthy foods; we feel better, look better, operate better and last longer.
So I’ve read up on some of the other authors in the field who are pushing very different approaches to nutrition. And I find that The China Study is the most compelling book on the subject because of the breath of scientific data that supports it.
I’ve even talked to some nutritionists who aren’t fervent believers in everything that is recommended in The China Study. So I’m weighing as much information that I can before blindly jumping on the bandwagon. Without a doubt, I’m grappling with how I can both incorporate and modify the recommendations to fit into my lifestyle. I think that is a personal choice that we all have to make. But at least it’s an informed decision based on knowing the facts. Trust me, there are some startling findings included in The China Study that contradict much of what we’ve been taught.
In my one-month experiment I can say that it’s been a real challenge. I can also say that it’s gotten easier as the month as progressed. A few of my observations:
- My self-awareness of food choices has been heightened 10-fold and I’m making very different choices (both when shopping and dining out).
- I’ve lost about 8 pounds even though that was not my intent. I wasn’t planning or feeling the need to lose weight. The quantity of food I’m eating is actually more than before.
- I don’t get that afternoon sluggish feeling, and I seem to have more sustained energy throughout the day.
- My running is going great. I feel faster and feel like I can push harder.
- And I’ve become a bit horrified when I look at what other people are eating on a regular basis.
While I know most people won’t read the book and even fewer will make a dramatic shift in their eating habits, I would implore you to be the exception to the rule. Take the month challenge. I’ll even set up a support group for anyone who wants to take the plunge in January. (Just respond to me and I’ll organize.) You have nothing to lose…except some of those extra holiday pounds you’re packing.
