[Pebbles_Nibbles]

ANN Feature: A Vegetarian Diet Not Only Healthier but Safer, says Adventists. March 7, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States .... [Taashi Rowe/ANN] The vegetarian food pyramid. [Image courtesy of Loma Linda University]



Recent news reports from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States indicate that meat companies sometimes use carbon monoxide to keep beef looking red and more attractive to consumers. While many doctors agreed that carbon monoxide used in small amounts is not unsafe, the concern is that it can cause even rotting meat to look red and fresh.

This is in addition to mounting meat-related concerns over the last several years, such as, the detrimental Mad Cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which can be lethal in humans; a concern that an increase in Mercury in certain types of fish can cause brain damage to fetuses and in young children; and, the most recent meat-related health threat, the Avian flu that is spreading through chickens and other birds. Though meat has long been considered by many societies central to a healthy diet, the Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to recommend a vegetarian diet primarily for nutritious and spiritual reasons.

"The safety of a carbon monoxide enriched environment in packaged meat probably does not greatly increase the hazard of eating meat as long as the meat has been stored at a safe refrigeration temperature for no longer than the accepted storage time, and then properly cooked," said Kenneth I. Burke, Ph.D., R.D. He added that slowing the browning of meat is not an unusual practice. Burke, a food scientist and an emeritus professor at the Adventist Church's Loma Linda University, has taught classes in food science for more than 20 years. He notes that while any food -- meat or vegetable -- can be contaminated, "disease-causing organisms thrive on meat, [and] the possibility of contamination and disease transfer has always been a safety issue."

Knowing that carbon monoxide can keep rotting meat looking fresh "[reinforces] my commitment to stay away from meat," commented Grazyna Dabrowska, a lifestyle trainer and a member of the Adventist Church. "We are visual where it comes to buying food and can easily tell what looks fresh and what is spoiled. If I can't rely on my eyes to tell the difference, then I have no control over my choices. I highly recommend the wholesome diet of organic grains and legumes, colorful fruits and vegetables, which give a high quality of nourishment to our bodies without the damaging effects of growth hormones and chemically-treated meat products."

In the United States steps have been taken to increase the safety of meat for human consumption. A year ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented new methods to prevent the spread of Mad Cow disease, which include stopping the practice of "the feeding of most mammalian protein to ruminant animals, including cattle, and ... banning the use of 'poultry litter' as a feed ingredient for ruminant animals." Poultry litter consists of bedding, spilled feed, feathers and fecal matter that are collected from living quarters where poultry is raised.

"The issue of clean and uncontaminated flesh food is one that is of concern to many, including the meat industry, and by and large they try hard to preserve a good quality product," said Dr. Allan Handysides, Health Ministries director for the Adventist world church. However, "the problem we have with meat is less to do with issues of its contamination and freshness, which applies to vegetable foods as well, but with the intrinsic factors such as saturated fat content and, in the case of fish, its pollution with compounds of mercury and other heavy metals before it ever comes to be handled. There is little doubt that the less flesh food is eaten and the more the diet contains whole plant foods, the healthier an individual is likely to be."

Handysides' comment reflects the Adventist position statement on a vegetarian diet. In 2000 the church's nutrition council explained "for more than 130 years Adventists have practiced a vegetarian dietary lifestyle because of their belief in the wholistic nature of humankind. Whatever is done in eating or drinking should honor and glorify God and preserve the health of the body, mind and spirit."

A 1960s study performed by Loma Linda University sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) analyzed the lifestyles of Adventists. The study found that Adventists, in general, have 50 percent less risk of heart disease, certain types of cancers, strokes and diabetes.

"I don't want to say that being a vegetarian will cut out all diseases, but vegetarians live longer and the Adventist Health Study backs that up," said Dr. Burke.

NIH is sponsoring a second study on Adventists to see if there is a link between diet and cancer.

[Wantai]

pebbles,kweli we ni adwen damu!

[Pebbles_Nibbles]

Smiles knowingly @Wantai:)

>pebbles,kweli we ni adwen damu!

[Wantai]

Pebbles, despite the good principles of adventism; the grain, fruit and nut concept is not realistic at all.

One of the most amazing prophecies I encountered was E.G. White's earlier prediction of 9/11. It was like so real! I don't remember which one of her books though.

[KEMINOKANA]

>Pebbles, despite the good principles of adventism; the grain,
>fruit and nut concept is not realistic at all.
>
>One of the most amazing prophecies I encountered was E.G.
>White's earlier prediction of 9/11. It was like so real! I
>don't remember which one of her books though.


The book is called "The great controversy". And actually they have some pretty good vegeterian meat nowadays. I am also in the process of switching to a vegeterian....but eat meat once in a while. My grandma loves meat but has lived into her hundred yr and still walks miles bila wheelchair. She doesnt eat oil and salt tho so that might explain.

Pebbles are u an adventist? I need someone to defend me here coz Okhmundu is viciously after me.

Are u an sda too wantai?

[Wantai]

Keminokana, adwen = adventist. I am not one though, but I know alot about adventism! Well, they have good principles, but u gotta eat meat for Vitamin B12. So Kemi, that's true, even vegetarians should just funga macho once in a while and eat ka nyama.

Thanx 4 kumbusharing me that book. E.G. White, aki she wrote many books, bless her heart.

[Pebbles_Nibbles]

@wantai,

Last Day Events.


>Pebbles, despite the good principles of adventism; the grain,
>fruit and nut concept is not realistic at all.
>
>One of the most amazing prophecies I encountered was E.G.
>White's earlier prediction of 9/11. It was like so real! I
>don't remember which one of her books though.

[Pebbles_Nibbles]

As for the diet issue, I live quite healthy on Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, and grains. I have lots of Vitamins from plant-based diet. I do not eat any meat and I have no health issues as a result of my no meat diet.

Try it, it works and many are living this lifestyle as well. Have you read the November 2005 issue of National Geographic? There are three groups of people in the world whose longevity has been noted by ABC World News and National Geographic. Namely, Okinawans, SDAs and some Italian group - I forget their name at the moment.

One of our ministers was also interviewed, following the National Geographic interview, due to the medical field's curiousity about our lifestlye.

[KEMINOKANA]

>As for the diet issue, I live quite healthily on Fruits,
>Vegetables, Nuts, and grains. I have lots of Vitamins from
>plant-based diests. I do not eat any meat and I have no
>health issues as a result of my no meat diet.
>
>Try it, it works and many are living this lifestyle as well.
>

You sound like my cousin. U really do. She doesnt eat salt or put oil in her vegetables.

[Pebbles_Nibbles]

@Kem,

How is Okhmundu after you? Is he after you scripturally?
>
>Pebbles are u an adventist? I need someone to defend me here
>coz Okhmundu is viciously after me.
>
>Are u an sda too wantai?