The plant-based revolution is far from over

Let food be thy medicine,” said Hippocrates the Ancient Greek physician. Two and a half millennia later, hospitality entrepreneur Zoey Henderson has taken that advice to heart.

Describing how she went from being an “on-off vegetarian” to embracing a fully vegan diet, Henderson says, “I’d been a vegetarian for years when I decided to become vegan for personal moral reasons. I was very concerned with animal welfare and also the welfare of the people who work in the meat industry: the factory workers and the farmers who are being squeezed all over the world. The whole industry didn’t sit well with me at all.”

She continues, “When I became a vegan, I found myself facing a lot of questions. People wanted to know why, of course. They also wanted to know how I would survive. Would I get enough protein? What about my bones? Could I get enough calcium without eating dairy? I wanted to be able to give them the data.”

That’s when Henderson discovered the book she now presses upon anyone interested in the link between diet and health. “It’s The China Study, by T Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas M Campbell II.”  She continues, “I first came across the book about five years ago when listening to Dr Neil Barnard, a plant-based physician. The China Study isn’t a sexy, foody, wellness book by a celeb in leggings. It’s full of research.”

The book, which is snappily subtitled “The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health”, was first published in 2005. 

It cites evidence from the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, a 25-year study beginning in the 1970s of the correlation between eating habits and mortality rates in 65 Chinese counties. It took in cities and rural communities. 

In brief, the study seemed to show that as the consumption of animal products increased, so did incidences of the so-called “diseases of affluence”, which include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s. The China Study, therefore, makes a strong case for giving up meat.

Indeed, the authors themselves says, “The book’s major thesis is that we could prevent or cure most disease… by eating a whole foods plant-based diet, drastically reducing our protein intake, and avoiding meat and dairy products entirely.”

But though it has sold over a million copies, The China Study’s message still hasn’t reached most of us. Henderson complains, “T Colin Campbell was part of the original study and the challenges he faced getting the information into the public domain are eye-opening.”

“The China Study filled me with mixed emotions,” she continues. “On the one hand I was inspired and motivated. On the other, I found I was angry. The study upon which the book is based was undertaken in the 1970s. We’ve known about the results for a long time, since I was a child, and yet we all continued to follow unhealthy diets.”

The food we give our children is particularly important, Henderson points out. “Social media is making a difference in spreading the word. Jamie Oliver did a lot of good but overall standards in public institutions are still pitifully low. My purpose is to help push the plant-based health message. Big pharma and industry shouldn’t control our health.”

The China Study is not without its detractors – several commentators have pointed out inconsistencies in the way the Campbells interpreted the data to fit their thesis – but it certainly has famous supporters. 

Bill Clinton credited the book with having prompted him to abandon his beloved burgers for the plant-based diet that helped him lose nearly two stone ahead of his daughter Chelsea’s wedding.

But making better choices about food and drink doesn’t have to be joyless. As head of operations at vegan restaurant chain Redemption, Henderson saw the rise in popularity of non-alcoholic drinks. 

“It went from being a fringe artisan thing to a recognisable category.” People were looking for an alternative to soda and lime. They were looking for drinks that give you more than a hangover.

While living in Los Angeles that Henderson was first introduced to medicinal mushrooms and was astonished to discover they had a beneficial effect on her eczema. Not only that, they improved her memory and concentration.

Henderson took the mushrooms as a powder, mixed in to coffee and juice. Now she’s bringing medicinal mushrooms to the UK mainstream with Fungtn, a non-alcoholic beer.

“It’s the perfect way of delivering the mushrooms’ health benefits. I decided on non-alcoholic beer for selfish reasons. It was something I wanted myself. The flavour profile of the mushrooms works really well with hops. They don’t taste like mushrooms. They’re nutty and bitter.”

She’s quick to point out that medicinal mushrooms do not share the hallucinogenic properties of the “magic” kind. Indeed, Fungtn’s slogan is “Magic but not as you know it.”

Henderson is determined to make a difference. For the past two years, she has been studying for a diploma in naturopathic nutrition to back up her personal research. She says that when she began the course, she shared her enthusiasm for The China Study with her classmates. 

She’s also passed the book onto her friends and family members. She wishes it could be required reading for the people responsible for sourcing the food we feed to our most vulnerable, in schools, hospitals and care homes.

“Hippocrates had it right.” Henderson puts it simply, “Input has a massive effect on output.”