Sunday Sept 29, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Some websites promote grass-fed beef and saturated animal fats as healthy foods and claim wheat (gluten) is implicated in all sorts of diseases which is false.  These websites never talk about the link between meat consumption and all sorts of Western diseases including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  These websites often present themselves as advocates for organic foods and against GMO-foods.

Savvy food consumers know that vegetarians live healthier and longer than non-vegetarians.   While gluten, the protein found in wheat troubles a small percentage of Americans who are sensitive to this protein, but the overwhelming majority of the population has no problem with wheat as a main staple.   Wheat is a healthy food for most people in the United States and other countries.  On the other hand, meat, particularly red meat like beef, it does not matter it is organic or grass-fed, has been associated with early death and all sorts of chronic and often fatal diseases like coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and  cancer.

A study released in the June of 2013 in the Journal of American Medical Association again confirms that vegetarians are less likely to die from all causes and it also finds that cardiovascular mortality, noncardiovascular noncancer mortality, renal mortality, and endocrine mortality are significantly lower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians.  Vegans who do not eat dairy nor fish are at the lowest risk for all categories of mortality including cancer.   Vegetarians who eat dairy or fish are at a risk of death from cancer that is similar to that of non-vegetarians, but vegans have a mcuh lower cancer mortality than lacto-ovo-vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians and non-vegetarians.  And the vegetarian benefits were more significant in men than women, which makes sense.

The Adventist Health Study 2 involved 96,469 Seventh-day Adventist men and women recruited between 2002 and 2007.  Researchers grouped dietary habits into five dietary patterns: nonvegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pescovegetarian, lacto-ovo–vegetarian, and vegan.  Then they associated their dietary status with mortality in all causes and specific diseases.

Specifically, the researchers found the ratio of all-cause mortality in all vegetarians to that in nonvegetarians was 0.88, meaning that all-vegetarians were 12 percent less likely to die during the study follow-up.  Vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, and semi-vegetarians were 15%, 9%, 19% and 8% less likely to die from all causes, respectively, compared with non-vegetarians.  The follow-up period covered two to seven years.  A lifetime follow-up would likely result in an even more significant difference in mortality between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Michael J. Orlich, MD from Loma Linda University, which is a Seventh-day Adventist institution specializing in health care, conducted the study.  

The church website states that the diet church members should pursue should include “generous use of whole-grain breads, cereals and pastas, a liberal use of fresh vegetables and fruits, a moderate use of legumes, nuts and seeds."   The church does allow low fat dairy products, but not high saturated fat and cholesterol foods including beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and seafood.  So a true Adventist should be either a vegan or lacto-ovo-vegetarian.

This study suggests that vegans or even lacto-ovo-vegetarians who eat a lot of whole-grain breads, cereals and pastas live longer than the meat eaters.

In 2005, the General Council of Seventh-day Adventists Nutrition Council (GCNC) recommended the following dietary guidelines for vegetarians:

Grains: 6-11 servings per day (1 slice bread, ½ Cup of cereal, pasta, or rice)

Vegetables and fruits: 7-9 servings per day (1 Cup raw vegetables, ½ Cup cooked vegetables or fruit)

Dairy or dairy alternatives: 2-4 servings per day (1 Cup milk or fortified alternative, 1 Cup low-fat yogurt)

Legumes, nuts, and seeds: 2-4 servings per day (½ Cup cooked beans or peas, 1 egg or 2 egg whites, ½ Cup tofu, intake of yolk should be limited to no more than three per week)

Fats and oils: 2 Tbsp (Olive, canola, sunflower, or corn oil)

A savvy food consumer knows that there are different types of carbohydrates. The worst carbohydrates you can eat are indeed added sucrose and high fructose corn syrup in processed foods and beverages.  But grain products including wheat, rice and oats and rye are absolutely healthful foods.  The Japanese live longer than Americans. They eat lots of rice but do not eat as much meat as Americans. Don't be fooled by organic meat.  Meat is meat which has been associated with a high risk of Western diseases.

For vegans, the only thing they need to worry about is vitamin b12, which is readily available as a dietary supplement.  (JD)