A couple things to think about

I forgot to mention at book club something I'd read on a blog that was reviewing The China Study. The blogger had met Dr. Campbell, and she asked him about fish and fermented dairy products, which her research had shown her were healthier animal-based foods. He said research is coming out supporting what she had found, and that raw, unpasteurized yogurt and kefir might not cause the same reactions in our bodies that most animal-based foods do, and that they might have some health benifits, due to their probiotic content. He also said that new research my be showing that our bodies may process fish protein differently than other animal proteins and that it may not be as harmful as other proteins. He said if he ever eats meat, he chooses fish. I thought these were some interesting things to consider.

For those who feel that they couldn't commit to a 100% vegan lifestyle (though if you give it a try, it feels so good) we talked about what 5% of your calories coming from animal products looks like. If you eat approximately 2000 calories, then 5% of your calories would be 100 calories. To give you an idea of what that is: 1/2 of a chicken fillet is 100 calories, 1 oz of cheddar is 113 calories, 1 cup of skim milk is 83 calories, 6 oz of lowfat yogurt is 140 calories (but I'm not sure if the calorie calculator meant the sweetened kind), 1 serving of turkey lunch meat is 28 calories, 1 Tbsp mayo is 90 calories, 1 pat of butter is 36 calories, 1 oz of neufchatel cheese (lowfat cream cheese) is 74 calories, and 3 slices of bacon are 103 calories. If you don't want to be vegan, maybe you could work toward 1 small serving of animal foods a day. Dr. Campbell doesn't suggest this, because instead of focusing on all the great plant foods you can eat, you'll feel constricted and it will feel harder. But I thought it was helpful to get an idea of what that optimum 5% of calories looked like to prevent and reverse disease.