One of the largest scientific studies of our time, the China Project, has given scientific proof to the foundation of The AIM Companies™ for the past 27 years: nutrition works.
The study, in sum, concludes that eating right and staying healthy can boost your immune system, ward off disease and, in some cases, prevent cancer.
The China Project has helped open the door to a new conversation about healthy eating habits, diet, and nutrition. Cancer and disease are a tragic part of everyday life. People search high and low for help, but the China Project would have us believe that one of the answers has been sitting right in front of us all along. On our plate.
Background
The China Project was organized by researchers from Oxford University, Cornell University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The study took more than 20 years to complete, and it monitored the death rates of more than 12 different types of cancer in millions of Chinese citizens.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a leader of the study during the 1980s and 1990s, and his son, Thomas, wrote about the project in a book titled China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health. Their summary echoed the project’s final findings – that high-protein diets, especially protein from animal sources, are ultimately harmful to our systems.
Impact of high blood cholesterol
One of the goals of the China Project was to find out the impact that plant-based diets had on the body. Researchers divided the study’s participants into two groups – those who ate a diet very rich in plant-based foods and those who did not – and compared the results between genetically similar individuals.
Researchers believed that an impact might be seen or a correlation discovered between diet and many of the more prevalent diseases in Western culture (i.e., coronary heart disease, diabetes, organ cancer). They were right. The largest predictor that they found was high blood cholesterol, an indicator that led to a 99.9 percent rate of developing disease. In other words, if a subject in the study were diagnosed with high blood cholesterol, there was a 99.9 percent chance that he or she would have one of the many diseases listed by the study.
Lowering cholesterol, the study found, was key in reducing the risk of many types of disease, including cancer. During the study, when cholesterol was cut in half, the risk of developing cancers including liver, colon, lung, and breast cancers, also decreased, with some rates falling more than 90 percent.
But what was most interesting about the study’s findings in relation to cholesterol was that the Chinese participants in the study who were found to be susceptible to these diseases all had significantly lower cholesterol levels than those found in the average American. The ones with high cholesterol still had lower cholesterol than the majority of Americans. As cholesterol levels rose in the study’s subjects, the likelihood of disease increased as well. The numbers indicate that the problem with cholesterol could be a much worse issue for those living in countries with Westernized diets that are full of cholesterol-building foods.
The cholesterol issue brought the discussion back to the diets that the study set out to research. According to the China Project, one of the foods most directly responsible for an increase in cholesterol levels is animal-based protein (i.e., beef, chicken). In addition to animal-based protein, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol can also raise blood cholesterol, but animal-based protein was by far the biggest culprit.
Chinese participants with high levels of cholesterol contracted disease at an alarming rate, but the Chinese diet contained nowhere near as much animal-based protein as does the Westernized diet. Participants in the study averaged only 7.1 grams of animal protein per day. The standard American diet averages 70 grams.
Decreasing one’s intake of animal-based protein became an obvious conclusion for the study’s organizers. Among the Chinese participants, lowering the amount of animal protein from 10 percent of total calories consumed to zero percent was found to be an ideal percentage in the diets of those who are predisposed to the disease. Doing the same in American diets that contain a significantly higher percentage of animal protein would presumably do even more good.
The final verdict was that an ideal percentage of animal protein in a diet is zero. Anything higher exposes the risk for cholesterol and, therefore, disease.
Importance of plant-based diets,
AIM products
In contrast to animal protein diets, it makes sense that plant-based diets would be a better alternative, especially considering the evidence from the China Project. Upon further analysis of plant-based diets, researchers found that these types of foods contain a large amount of antioxidants, which help fight free radicals – one of the leading causes of cancer in the body. The antioxidant properties of plant-based foods are so powerful that they were even capable of lowering cholesterol by clearing arteries and supporting a healthy bloodstream.
Plants also help to keep the body’s pH at an optimal level and to make up for the overly acidifying effects of animal-based foods. When the body pH is not balanced, it can lead to a myriad of problems including a compromised immune system.
This is where the AIM products fit into the discussion. Alkalinity versus acidity is a well-known topic by AIM Members who have found that products like AIM BarleyLife® and AIM Herbal Fiberblend® really make a difference in balancing the body’s internal pH level.
BarleyLife’s focus is on green nutrition from young barley grass – one of the most nutritious plants on earth. Great results have been experienced by people who have tried BarleyLife because it is a natural, healthy alternative to the processed diets that are standard in Western cultures, and the barley provides unparalleled antioxidants and immune system support.
The results from the China Project showed just how harmful animal-based proteins can be. But plant-based proteins are another story. They are a healthy alternative for getting the nutrition we need, and AIM takes care of this issue with products like AIM LeafGreens®.
Fifty percent of LeafGreens is protein, and it is made from natural sources of plant-based nutrition. Barley leaves, faba bean leaves, spinach leaves, and pea leaves provide a synergistic blend of nutrition that acts as a counter to the unhealthy foods that currently exist on the market.
AIM has plenty more that fit the health bill, too. AIM Garden Trio®, AIM Just Carrots®, AIM RediBeets® – the list can go on and on. To hear that so much of our health can be affected by putting good foods and natural supplements into our bodies has to be encouraging for AIM Members because it is what they have been saying for more than 27 years.
(Note: This is the first of a two-part story on the China Project and how its findings relate to health and the AIM products. The second part in the series will be published in the May-June Partners Living Well.)
One of the largest scientific studies of our time, the China Project, has given scientific proof to the foundation of The AIM Companies™ for the past 27 years: nutrition works.
The study, in sum, concludes that eating right and staying healthy can boost your immune system, ward off disease and, in some cases, prevent cancer.
The China Project has helped open the door to a new conversation about healthy eating habits, diet, and nutrition. Cancer and disease are a tragic part of everyday life. People search high and low for help, but the China Project would have us believe that one of the answers has been sitting right in front of us all along. On our plate.
Background
The China Project was organized by researchers from Oxford University, Cornell University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The study took more than 20 years to complete, and it monitored the death rates of more than 12 different types of cancer in millions of Chinese citizens.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a leader of the study during the 1980s and 1990s, and his son, Thomas, wrote about the project in a book titled China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health. Their summary echoed the project’s final findings – that high-protein diets, especially protein from animal sources, are ultimately harmful to our systems.
Impact of high blood cholesterol
One of the goals of the China Project was to find out the impact that plant-based diets had on the body. Researchers divided the study’s participants into two groups – those who ate a diet very rich in plant-based foods and those who did not – and compared the results between genetically similar individuals.
Researchers believed that an impact might be seen or a correlation discovered between diet and many of the more prevalent diseases in Western culture (i.e., coronary heart disease, diabetes, organ cancer). They were right. The largest predictor that they found was high blood cholesterol, an indicator that led to a 99.9 percent rate of developing disease. In other words, if a subject in the study were diagnosed with high blood cholesterol, there was a 99.9 percent chance that he or she would have one of the many diseases listed by the study.
Lowering cholesterol, the study found, was key in reducing the risk of many types of disease, including cancer. During the study, when cholesterol was cut in half, the risk of developing cancers including liver, colon, lung, and breast cancers, also decreased, with some rates falling more than 90 percent.
But what was most interesting about the study’s findings in relation to cholesterol was that the Chinese participants in the study who were found to be susceptible to these diseases all had significantly lower cholesterol levels than those found in the average American. The ones with high cholesterol still had lower cholesterol than the majority of Americans. As cholesterol levels rose in the study’s subjects, the likelihood of disease increased as well. The numbers indicate that the problem with cholesterol could be a much worse issue for those living in countries with Westernized diets that are full of cholesterol-building foods.
The cholesterol issue brought the discussion back to the diets that the study set out to research. According to the China Project, one of the foods most directly responsible for an increase in cholesterol levels is animal-based protein (i.e., beef, chicken). In addition to animal-based protein, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol can also raise blood cholesterol, but animal-based protein was by far the biggest culprit.
Chinese participants with high levels of cholesterol contracted disease at an alarming rate, but the Chinese diet contained nowhere near as much animal-based protein as does the Westernized diet. Participants in the study averaged only 7.1 grams of animal protein per day. The standard American diet averages 70 grams.
Decreasing one’s intake of animal-based protein became an obvious conclusion for the study’s organizers. Among the Chinese participants, lowering the amount of animal protein from 10 percent of total calories consumed to zero percent was found to be an ideal percentage in the diets of those who are predisposed to the disease. Doing the same in American diets that contain a significantly higher percentage of animal protein would presumably do even more good.
The final verdict was that an ideal percentage of animal protein in a diet is zero. Anything higher exposes the risk for cholesterol and, therefore, disease.
Importance of plant-based diets,
AIM products
In contrast to animal protein diets, it makes sense that plant-based diets would be a better alternative, especially considering the evidence from the China Project. Upon further analysis of plant-based diets, researchers found that these types of foods contain a large amount of antioxidants, which help fight free radicals – one of the leading causes of cancer in the body. The antioxidant properties of plant-based foods are so powerful that they were even capable of lowering cholesterol by clearing arteries and supporting a healthy bloodstream.
Plants also help to keep the body’s pH at an optimal level and to make up for the overly acidifying effects of animal-based foods. When the body pH is not balanced, it can lead to a myriad of problems including a compromised immune system.
This is where the AIM products fit into the discussion. Alkalinity versus acidity is a well-known topic by AIM Members who have found that products like AIM BarleyLife® and AIM Herbal Fiberblend® really make a difference in balancing the body’s internal pH level.
BarleyLife’s focus is on green nutrition from young barley grass – one of the most nutritious plants on earth. Great results have been experienced by people who have tried BarleyLife because it is a natural, healthy alternative to the processed diets that are standard in Western cultures, and the barley provides unparalleled antioxidants and immune system support.
The results from the China Project showed just how harmful animal-based proteins can be. But plant-based proteins are another story. They are a healthy alternative for getting the nutrition we need, and AIM takes care of this issue with products like AIM LeafGreens®.
Fifty percent of LeafGreens is protein, and it is made from natural sources of plant-based nutrition. Barley leaves, faba bean leaves, spinach leaves, and pea leaves provide a synergistic blend of nutrition that acts as a counter to the unhealthy foods that currently exist on the market.
AIM has plenty more that fit the health bill, too. AIM Garden Trio®, AIM Just Carrots®, AIM RediBeets® – the list can go on and on. To hear that so much of our health can be affected by putting good foods and natural supplements into our bodies has to be encouraging for AIM Members because it is what they have been saying for more than 27 years.
(Note: This is the first of a two-part story on the China Project and how its findings relate to health and the AIM products. The second part in the series will be published in the May-June Partners Living Well.)
Would you consume a product if:
Jim Garling is a Preferred Member from Rochester, New York. For what he does, he can’t afford to be slowed down. He needs to be on top of his health and energy level at all times. He believes in AIM Peak Endurance® as a quality option to junk drinks.
If you are affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you are not alone. You are one of 60 million fellow sufferers.
Amy Houston, a Director from Epping, New Hampshire, was one of those people who didn’t know what was wrong with her until she was diagnosed with IBS. Fortunately for her, AIM products were there to help when she needed it.
Toni Evans, a Director from Delaware, Ohio, knows the bacteria battle better than most, and she can testify to the benefits of a product like FloraFood.
It is just the way it is with certain supplements in an industry that seems to be constantly searching for the key to anti-aging and better health. Too often they are billed as “the next big thing.” And too often, they are here today, gone tomorrow. But the test of time distinguishes the pretenders from the real thing.
