Fix,

Think I need to correct a misunderstanding concerning no scientific studies existing that show the benefit of a vegetarian diet over a meat one. I was part of a study of 24,000 Californian Seventh-day Adventists, about half of whom were vegetarians, that was conducted when I was a student at Pacific Union College just up the hill in a town called Angwin, out of the famous Nampa Valley wine growing country north of San Francisco. That study showed our male members lived an average of 7 years longer than our fellow Californians, with about half of that extra years of life due to the fact that half of us were vegetarians and the other half stayed by the kosher meat regulations mentioned in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 in the Bible. (We also don't smoke or drink alcohol, which accounted for some of the rest of the "Adventist Health Advantage".) Those of us who followed our denomination's health recommendations most closely were living an average of 14 years longer than the average population.

That study correlating health style to longevity and the avoidance of many of the degenerative diseases that kill Americans in general (stroke, heart attack, cancer, ect) proved so impressive that entire govornments, including Canada for one, reviewed their health recommendations for their populations. Their basic take was this: "All the advances in scientific treatment in medicine over the past 80 years has not added as many extra years of life to the general population as Seventh-day Adventists are obtaining solely through their health style. We need to find out ways to convince our populations to adopt at least some of their practices if we wish to see general improvement and lower health costs for our nation."

Currently, due to the first study, an 18 million dollar govornment grant has been issued studying 125,000 Seventh-day Adventists all across America to discover why we are living significantly beyond the life spans of the general population and have such a high number of people living to over 100 years among our numbers. I am part of that study also. Yesterday I got back the initial results by mail. I'll type in a bit directly from that report. Here are the facts in most recently validated scientific terms...

The study broke those of us being tested into five categories based solely on our dietary practices. These categories were (from least meat, to regular meat diet):

1. Vegan Vegetarian-----------------no meat, no fish, no sea food, no dairy, solely plant-based food sources

2. Ovo-lacto Vegetarian---no meat, no fish, no sea food, does eat eggs, milk products

3. Pesco-Vegetarian-------no meat, does eat fish, sea food, eggs, milk products

4. Semi-Vegetarian--------eats some meat, fish, sea food, eggs and dairy, but concentrates on a good supply of fruits, vegtables and grains as well

5. Non-Vegetarian--------eats meat, fish, sea food, eggs and dairy as a staple portion of the diet (the usual American diet for the general population)

Part of the study was reports on weight, cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and diabetes--all indicators of cardio-vascular problems, if these are on the high end of the spectrum. (Strokes, heart attacks, loss of limbs due to diabetes, ect kill about one person in two in America currently, and all are related to the above four indicators.)

The scientific results in each area have proved to be stair step predictable in all four categories.

1. Weight

The lowest average body weight was with vegans, followed in order by ovo-lacto vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, then meat eaters as heaviest. This was true in both men and women. A 55 year old woman 5 feet six inches tall averaged 34 pounds lighter than no-vegetarian women of their age and height. For a typical 55 year old 5 foot ten inch man, the vegan men weighed 32 pounds less than the non-vegetarians. There was a direct correlation to increase in body weight depending precisely on the range of diet from vegan (low) to non-vegetarian (high).

2. High Cholesterol

Again, the scientific results showed a direct correlation between those being treated for high cholesterol and their chosen diet. This ranged from the vegans (fewest) up through the non-vegetarians (highest). The stairstep was unmistakable.

3. High Blood Pressure

The same stairstep results from vegans (lowest number being diagnosed with high blood pressure) up through the range of increased animal product consumption to non-vegetarian (with the highest number being diagnosed with high blood pressure) were readily apparent.

4. Diabetes

Overall three times as many non-vegetarians as vegans reported being treated for type 2 diabetes. The stairstep from vegan (lowest number with type 2 diabetes) through ovo-lacto (halfway between vegans and non-vegetarians for this indicator), through non-vegetarians (highest incident of type 2 diabetes) was unmistakable.

So what are the actual most recent, govornment sponsored, initial reports concerning the scientifically-validated benefits of a plant based diet rather than an animal product based diet? Exactly and unmistakably this: the more animal products you eat, the more illness you will suffer from in the areas of being overweight, having high cholesterol, suffering from high blood pressure, and dealing with type 2 adult onset diabetes.

People are free to eat whatever they wish, of course. I would not argue against that. But the choices they do make with their health should be based on actual scientific evidence (if they value such more than a simple "thus says the Lord from the Good Book in these matters, which suffices for me) rather than heresay and supposed experts who haven't an actual clue pontificating based more on their own dietary choices and ignorance than facts. Beware of "experts". Challenge assumptions, beginning with your own.

Jesus once said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Only if you actually accept the truth when it stares you in the face and steps up to shake your hand, and then follow it, of course. (So howdy, partner. Want to shake?) We need to make sure our sources of information on these matters are sound. Then we can make our own choices, and live (and die) by them.

As for me, the results above have moved me from my lifetime practice of ovo-lacto vegetarian (inherited from three generations of Seventh-day Adventist ancestors before me) toward a more strictly vegan diet. I'd really like to break the 100 year mark personally, and I've got a good chance of doing exactly that. One grandpa lived to 97 and the other to 93. Neither were strict vegetarians, though they did have a greatly reduced meat consumption and one in line with the Biblical kosher laws for types of meats consumed. No reason at all I shouldn't be able to go past a century if I make wiser choices than my ancestors in these matters. That means my 50th birthday, which has still yet to occur, will only be the halfway mark for me so far as life expectancy goes. I have every reason to believe I can be active into my late 80's or early 90's. Many among our membership are.

Some say, "But I don't want to live to be that old!" Again, here are the facts: Seventh-day Adventists who do live longer also have fewer years of "failing health" at the far end of their lives than people who live by other health practices. If you follow the general American population's health style, you not only live shorter overall, but you're sick longer before you do die. If you adopt the Biblically-prescribed and logically applied health style instead, you not only live more years total, you also have fewer years of declining illnesses before you do eventually die.

A quick death is the kiss of God. Anyone who has seen someone linger in pain for years, or slip into senility, knows that much at least. Moses and Aaron, the originals through which much of these Biblical health principles were revealed 3,500 years ago, both lived until 120 years of age. (Note: There is more in the first five books of the Bible that directly impacts the general health of populations than my own denomination has searched out and put into practice, which stands to add additional years of life for those who learn them and adopt them, as well.) The Bible says of Moses that "his strength was not diminished, nor his eye dimmed" until the day God told his brother, then Moses, to go climb mountains and stay there until they died. A person 120 years old who can climb a mountain for the purpose of dying still has more than a little measure of vital life force remaining. They've lived a long, strong life, and meet a short, quick, end...and that at a place where they are as near as they can get to God on planet Earth.

So those are the actual, just got it in the mail yesterday, scientifically validated, govornment investigated, large study population facts. Do with them what you will.

Keep thinking.

Skip

P.S. As Seventh-day Adventists exist in 200+ countries around the world, and in every place where are teachings are put into practice the identical results are replicated, this is not a matter of nationality or ethnic background. It is solely a matter of choices over which we have direct control that affect our health for better, or for worse. The most potent medicine is accurate information intelligently applied, and the most reliable and validated source of accurate information is the Bible. That's where we got these things well over a century before science ever discovered just how much of a benefit we were gaining from them.

By the way, on the average you will also add two years to your life expectancy by simply going to church each week, regardless of your denominational affiliation. I crunched the numbers when I read of that study. It seems God adds to the far end of a person's life the time they spend worshipping in His house. So another excellent health practice is to go to church.

Last edited by Skip Johnson; 04/16/07 02:42 PM.