Thank you for checking out this initial blog posting. As a primary care doctor in the modern United States, I encounter mostly disease processes that are highly preventable, or at least modifiable, with lifestyle adjustments. Most people have likely heard a similar sentiment from someone they know in healthcare, the media, or perhaps have come to that realization in their own lives. Cardiovascular disease continues as the number one cause of death in the United States. We also see diabetic complications, chronic kidney disease, COPD with lung failure, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, liver disease, and various forms of cancer to be common causes of morbidity and mortality.
The patterns of growth of these diseases mimic similar rises in overweight and obesity patterns. None of this is news to anyone who pays attention to news feeds over the last few decades. We continue to see the obesity epidemic climb to a new height, most recently more so among minorities. According to the CDC, in 2008 the annual medical cost burden of obesity-related diseases was $147 billion. And now we are seeing this epidemic permeating the rest of the world. According to the NIH, by 2025 an estimated 300 million people worldwide will be obese. As first-world lifestyles are more available to underdeveloped nations, so now are first-world problems.
We all know the causes of the obesity epidemic are by and large, with the rare exception of a few genetic syndromes, lifestyle-induced. Cheap, unending amounts of refined sugars and greasy fried foods complement a dire lack of physical activity that our modern economy allows for. There are obvious reasons people gravitate toward these foods, whether purchased in a grocery store or fast food restaurant. They are inexpensive which makes feeding a large family easier on the budget. They satisfy our primal instinct for immediately available energy sources like sugar and fat. They are fast and easy to prepare; all you have to do is move your car through the drive thru window or follow a quick recipe on the back of the box. As our modern world becomes more automated, we have more conveniences than anyone in human history, allowing us a reprieve from the labor humans once had to perform for survival, and permitting for a sedentary workforce that has to rely on making time outside of work to get the exercise our bodies have been accustomed to since our development.
There has been no shortage of nutrition and exercise plans, dietary resources, smartphone apps and lifestyle coaches…
There has been no shortage of nutrition and exercise plans, dietary resources, smartphone apps, and lifestyle coaches to help individuals and collectives of people combat the problem. Earlier in the 20th century, focus was put on amphetamines as stimulants for weight loss, and even today an amphetamine analog, phentermine, is commonly prescribed to assist in weight loss. For decades our analog televisions flashed commercials for Weight Watchers, Slim-Fast, and Nutrisystem, encouraging people to buy their products and services to assist with shedding pounds. Today we have a plethora of phone apps dedicated to counting caloric consumption and expenditure, quality of calories consumed, and other health metrics designed to lead one toward a healthier existence. Dietary trends and themes abound, some having more staying power than others. Just a sampling of these include Atkins, South Beach, Body for Life, juicing, alkaline diet, gluten-free diet, super food diet, Paleo, intermittent fasting, Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, various forms of vegetarianism and veganism, and many more. There is a reason several of us know about these diets, other than marketing: to a good extent they work in helping people lose and keep off weight. These plans can be marketed and pushed by sponsors endlessly, but if they had no hint of efficacy, they would not have made it into modern lexicon years after their conception. For a few years, I followed the Paleo diet myself and found that it did provide significant and desirable weight loss and body composition.
Ask a number of trained healthcare practitioners the ideal diet, and one will likely get as many differing opinions concerning said ideal. Several of those opinions point to one of the previously listed diets. Many of these are geared toward preventing specific disease. The DASH diet is often advised as part of a treatment plan for hypertension. The Mediterranean diet is similarly prescribed for diabetic patients. A gluten-free diet is the treatment for clinically diagnosed celiac disease. The healthy kidney diet is meant specifically for people with chronic kidney disease. A low-FODMAP diet can significantly help people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.
Most of the diets proponed by healthcare personnel share a common theme of putting a premium on plants as food sources, though to varying degrees. There is good evidence that a plant-based, whole foods diet helps lower risk of acquiring various health problems including hypertension, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer (source: Pubmed). One very large study, the China Study, which was performed in the 1970s and 1980s, concluded that populations that consume a mostly plant-based diet had significantly lower rates of Western diseases than genetically similar populations that consume high amounts of animal protein. This is one of numerous studies that support significant benefits in a plant-based diet.
Many people assume that in order to perform at a top level athletically, animal protein must be an essential component of a proper training diet. Several athletes have defied this conventional wisdom, opting for a plant-based diet that is void of meat while competing at the highest levels. A sample of athletes that are reported to be vegetarian or vegan include Carl Lewis, Venus Williams, Mike Tyson, Martina Navratilova, JJ Reddick, Ricky Williams, Bode Miller, and Scott Jurek, among many other professional football and basketball players, boxers, Olympians, and body-builders. Clearly the lifestyle of a world-class athlete is highly structured for optimum results from training and nutrition, and planning a satisfactory balance of macronutrients and micronutrients within a plant-based framework does take forethought and organization, but so does a conventional omnivorous diet. And many interviews of plant-based athletes reveal feeling healthier than ever from mental, physical, and emotional standpoints. As for novice and amateur athletes, I can speak for my own experience of practicing plant-based nutrition for almost a year leading up to my first Ironman triathlon, easily completing it and seriously enjoying the entirety of it. One can, not merely survive on a plant-based diet, but thrive on it.
Science can tell us much about our current physical situation, how we go to this point over the last several millions of years, and what current behaviors can lead to in our futures. We have a lot of science that backs up the ideal diet for humans as being plant-based eaters, limiting any animal foods from a minimal amount to none at all. What is interesting is that this is not a new idea at all over the course of human history. Mostly in recorded religious traditions, as early as the Jains, Buddhists, and Hindus, can one find laws and recommendations about the value of consuming mainly, if not strictly, plants and abstaining from the slaughtering and eating of animals. Similar attitudes are found in Greek antiquity, Judaism, and early Christianity, again to varying degrees. Ancient wisdom seems to focus more on animal welfare and practicing nonviolence toward them as a significant reason for eating plants. Modern-day proponents, while certainly supporting animal welfare, also point to the science, which suggests improved health and wellness outcomes for us and for our environment.
The Hebrew Bible has many passages referring to eating patterns, in different people groups and in different periods of history. Laws are given for what may and may not be eaten, both animal and plant foods. Miracles are told of replicating both plant and animal foods. Advice is given not to allow the differences between groups ascribing to varying dietary restrictions to cause schism between them that would prevent a community of faith from flourishing. On a surface glance over all the passages referring to food, taken in snippets away from the surrounding contexts, one may argue that there is no clear, concise answer from these texts pertaining to the nutritional habits early peoples, the Hebrews, and followers of Jesus should be following.
I am not trained in religion, nor am I a dietician. But I hear the stories of patients’ lifestyle choices, both good and bad, on a daily basis in clinical consultation, and I see the correlation between those choices and how they feel. I enjoy and prioritize exercise, particularly endurance training, and I have eaten both animal- and plant-based diets while preparing for races. I have seen the improved results in others and myself after adopting a plant-based food lifestyle, from disease prevention and management to athletic performance. What has been more revealing, impactful, and affirming is that the Bible, a part of my religious heritage growing up in the middle of the USA, appears to indicate that, when read as a whole story, this dietary lifestyle, eating plants and not animals, is the ideal state for humans. The Bible tells the story of how we are made, what our purpose is, and the possibilities of what can become of our existence on the earth. In this story, the ideal state of humans living in communion with God, is one in which they are given the fruits of creation to consume for their livelihood, a part of nurturing optimal human relationships to animals, the earth, and their bodies. This is by no means a novel realization, as there are several examples throughout history of Christian groups who ascribe to this. But in a nation that is growing more obese and, for now, is predominantly Christian, whose followers see the Hebrew Bible as divine authority, this seems like something that should be more relevant to the life of the Church.
This is not dogma, not another item to check off a list of what “righteous” people do. It is not a sin to eat meat or other animal products. Nor is it a magic cure-all or safety net that will ensure one never has a heart attack or cancer. But in this world fallen unto human will, it does reveal a rediscovered/reaffirmed ancient truth of our best available relationship to everything. The exploration of plant-based nutrition in the Bible has been fascinating, and my intention is to post writings every couple of weeks about Biblical passages that have some level of reference toward this, without shying away from the evolutionary science that is concurrent. As a footnote, The Bible Project, a nonprofit studio that creates animated cartoons and podcasts pertaining to the biblical narrative, has been and continues to be a primary source of inspiration for these ideas that I have been pondering for several months now, so if you listen to that, you may see some similar approach or language throughout this blog. Thank you for reading this far!