The subject of diet has received strong emphasis among Seventh-day Adventists. This is because of the bearing of nutrition on the individual’s mental, social, and spiritual welfare as well as the physical welfare, and consequently on the person’s ability to serve God and humanity and to comprehend spiritual things. SDA s find both a scientific and a biblical basis for this emphasis: (1) the teaching of science that what we eat and drink affects not only our bodies but also our brains, and (2) biblical admonitions to the Christian to “glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” ( 1 Cor. 6:20 ), and “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” ( 1 Cor. 10:31 ).
Since SDA s, as creationists, accept the Genesis record as literal history, they believe that the diet there described was the original diet that God provided, and is therefore the best possible diet. This diet consisted entirely of the products of plants-grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables ( Gen. 1:29 , 30 ; 3:18 ). A modification of this diet, permitting the use of flesh as food, occurred after all plant life had been destroyed by the Flood ( Gen. 9:1–4 ). Further specific instruction was given to Moses regarding the unclean meats that were to be excluded from the diet ( Lev. 11 ; Deut. 14:3–20 ). Because the original diet did not include the flesh of animals, the Seventh-day Adventist Church recommends a lacto-ovovegetarian diet, a diet consisting essentially of plant foods supplemented by a moderate use of milk and eggs-natural foods of animal origin. The recommendation of this type of diet is only a part of the comprehensive health program of the church. See Health Principles .
SDA s regard proper diet and a care for health as the Christian’s duty. They advocate abstinence from harmful foods and drinks not on the basis of religious taboo, but on the basis of the law of cause and effect. They believe that the prohibition to the Hebrews of the flesh of certain animals, such as hogs, for food was based on the unfitness of the flesh of these animals for humanity’s diet, and was not a mere ceremonial restriction. Abstinence from tobacco and alcohol and the abuse of drugs is required of SDA s, because these are poisons. On the other hand, vegetarianism, for example, is advocated as a way of health but has not been made a requirement of church membership. The SDA doctrine is that attention to diet is a Christian duty because of its effect on health.
Development of Seventh-day Adventist Position on Diet . In the middle of the nineteenth century, when the SDA Church was formed, the average American diet was a monotonous one of meats, fats, starches, and sweets, with fresh fruits and vegetables often limited to summer months. Impaired health and sickness because of poor dietary practice were prevalent. At a time when there was a marked dearth of the concept of healthful diet in the scientific world, the basic principles of healthful dietary were urged upon the church through the pen of Ellen White, beginning in 1863.
In more recent times basic principles advocated by Mrs. White have been fully substantiated and repeatedly emphasized by the scientific researches of such people as Henry C. Sherman, Elmer V. McCollum, Clive McCay, Frederick J. Stare, and many others whose outstanding studies have proved that the liberal use of whole-grain cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts is the proper means of enhancing and improving the dietary.
Counsels to the church from Mrs. White presented first the injurious effects of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee, and then the undesirability of flesh foods, the free use of sugar, refined flour, “grease” (especially animal fats), rich foods, spices and condiments, overeating, irregularity in eating, and improper food combinations.
Those counsels recommended a diet without flesh foods, consisting of a liberal variety of fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and vegetables prepared in a simple, appetizing manner, with some dairy products and eggs, when proper precautions were taken in regard to the latter two to lessen the risk of disease. Possible necessity of the eventual replacement of dairy products and eggs because of the increase of disease among animals was foreseen. The need for skill and intelligence to make the diet palatable and nutritious was recognized, and homemakers were encouraged to study and put into practice the principles of healthful cookery, based on the best scientific data currently available.
From the large body of instruction from Mrs. White on foods and dietetic practices for the church, a 477-page volume has been compiled, Counsels on Diet and Foods . The author ( p. 198) set down broad principles regarding diet: “Those who understand the laws of health, and who are governed by principle, will shun the extremes, both of indulgence and of restrictions. Their diet is chosen, not for the mere gratification of appetite, but for the upbuilding of the body. They seek to preserve every power in the best condition for the highest service to God and man. The appetite is under the control of reason and conscience, and they are rewarded with health of body and mind. While they do not urge their views offensively upon others, their example is a testimony in favor of right principles.”
Nutritional Adequacy of the Vegetarian Diet. During a period of many years, scientific studies have been made of meatless dietaries. Wherever well-controlled studies have been made not hampered by inability to obtain a full variety of food or by social customs that restrict proper choice, the results have shown the adequacy of a diet without flesh foods.
A lacto-ovovegetarian diet does not differ markedly from the average Western diet. The principal difference is that it replaces flesh foods with a greater variety of cereals, legumes, and nuts, supplemented by a moderate intake of milk and eggs.
The effects of such a diet have been tested by various methods, including studies of endurance, metabolic rate, blood constituents, growth and development of the young, adequacy for pregnancy, and maintenance of adults. One of the most thorough and comprehensive investigations yet reported was done by Mervyn G. Hardinge and Frederick J. Stare (1954), who made a comparative study of three types of dietaries-the lacto-ovovegetarian, pure vegetarian (no animal products), and nonvegetarian (meat diet). These scientists studied representative groups of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women. Although the average food intake varied widely among individuals, the average intake of the three groups approximated or exceeded the recommendations of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Their findings indicated that a lacto-ovovegetarian diet is adequate as a lifetime program under normal as well as stress conditions. (See “Nutritional Studies of Vegetarians,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2:73–88, March-April 1954.) Hardinge and Hulda Crooks prepared an extensive review of the subject of vegetarianism (“Non-Flesh Dietaries,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 43:545–558, December 1963; 45:537–542, December 1964).
Disease in Relation to Diet . In addition to nutritional diseases that stem from a lack of various food constituents, a number of illnesses are related in part to overnutrition and an imbalance of nutrients. The possible relationship between dietaries high in total calories, total fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol, and the frequency of diseases of the heart and blood vessels and cancer has been the subject of large-scale investigations.
Selection of Food. Nutritional research and human experience have shown that there is no indispensable food and that a good diet can be compounded in many ways. Moderation in calories in order to maintain the ideal body weight and the selection of a variety of wholesome unrefined foods without undue emphasis on, or extreme restriction of, any one nutrient, remain desirable nutritional goals in the light of instruction given to the church and of current scientific literature.