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Seventh-day Adventist Church:
Adventist Diet
Darin Cochran
 Many of the more than 13 million members of the Seventh-day Adventist faith are vegetarian or eat very little meat. Seventh-day Adventists also tend to eat more fruits, vegetables, and nuts than the general population. Since Seventh-day Adventists often follow health-promoting diets, they are an ideal population to compare to the general public to study the effects of diet on health. Researchers, especially those at Loma Linda University in California, have published more than 320 scientific papers on the health status of Seventh-day Adventists. Much of their research has been reviewed in Vegetarian Journal. Research on Seventh-day Adventists allows us to point out the benefits of a vegetarian diet, including a longer life, lower blood cholesterol levels, and a lower risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, colon cancer, and prostate cancer.
Gary Fraser, a researcher at Loma Linda University, has written a book that summarizes the results of studies on Seventh-day Adventists, as well as studies of other vegetarians. Diet, Life Expectancy, and Chronic Disease provides detailed and well-documented information, not only on vegetarianism and studies of vegetarians but also on the role of diet in health. This book was mainly written for health professionals, but it is so clearly written that others who want to know more about studies of vegetarian health could also use it. A glossary of technical terms is included, and each chapter ends with a concise summary of information presented in that section. Data on both lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans is included, although it is clear from this book how little research has been conducted on vegans. It also includes a chapter on making the change to a vegetarian diet. I found Diet, Life Expectancy, and Chronic Disease fascinating and recommend it to readers who want to learn more about the research supporting the benefits of vegetarian diets.
Long-term raw diet and bone health
Some vegetarians choose to eat a raw foods diet consisting of foods that have not been cooked or processed. Typically, people eating a raw foods diet have a low Body Mass Index (BMI) and are quite lean. This has potential implications for bone health since low body weight and body fat is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis. In addition, raw foods diets are frequently low in calcium. A recent study examined bone health in 18 vegetarians who had been eating a raw foods diet for an average of 3.6 years. The raw foods vegetarians had a lower bone mass in their spine and hips compared to non-vegetarian controls. A lower bone mass is believed to increase risk of developing osteoporosis. However, the raw foods vegetarians did not have a higher rate of bone loss suggesting that, despite a lower bone mass, their bones are of good quality. In addition, the raw foods vegetarians had higher levels of vitamin D, possibly because of greater sun exposure. Additional study is needed to determine whether long-term use of a raw foods diet affects risk of osteoporosis
Photo Credit: Jeltovski
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