GA Adventist Pastor Profiled re: Thanksgiving Diet

[Key Guy]

Some religious practices linked to obesity

Full text: http://new.savannahnow.com/node/181551

Quote:

Rich Thanksgiving staples like deep-fried turkey, smoky roast beef, savory red-eye gravy and sugar-coated baked ham may be part of Mark E. Golson's Southern heritage.

But they have no place on his menu as a Seventh-Day Adventist.

Instead, a mock-turkey will take center stage on his Thanksgiving table, along with bowls of various raw and cooked vegetables.

Vegetarian alternatives are not only healthier, said the pastor of West Broad Street Seventh-Day Adventist Church, they're also "the original diet" provided by God.

"Just as much as God calls us out of the world of spiritual sin, he calls us out of physical sin, too," said Golson, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. "When you eat right, you can live longer because God has promised that to us."

"We try to do that because we love the Lord."

Seventh-Day Adventists are among some denominations that preach a connection between diet and faith.

Now, a scientific study suggests there may be earthly benefits to that belief.

[olger]

Excellent.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

""When you eat right, you can live longer because God has promised that to us."

If that is a promise from God, then ... well.... I don't know what to say...

because it is NOT necessarily the case. I see MANY lifelong vegetarians, eating the perfect diet, having the perfect weight, but with huge amounts of calcified plaque in their coronary arteries, portending a possible, if not imminent MI (heart attack) in the near future.

(Kinda feel like I'm pushing against a sacred cow of Adventism here...)

[Morning Glory]

Perhaps these folks really DID live longer because of their diet. Heredity plays a serious component in this arena that we shouldn't downplay. There isn't any way to know if their diet played a part in them living 10 more years (for instance) following a more healthful diet than if they didn't......

Good point, Pam, and you didn't step on MY toes with your comments.

Morning Glory

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Thanks, MG! I meant to mention heredity as a longevity factor...

[olger]

According to Dr. Hans Diehl, the primary cause of coronary atherosclerosis is consumption of animal products. Vegans have very little if any aterial abnormalities, because the circulatory system cleans itself out below a cholesterol score of 150.

This is olger signing off...

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Dr. Diehl is an intelligent man. But he is not correct if he says

Quote:

Vegans have very little if any aterial abnormalities, because the circulatory system cleans itself out below a cholesterol score of 150.

I perform coronary artery calcium exams on vegans whose scores are sky high. Coronary artery disease may be silent, but it is not invisible. Yes, certainly, diet makes a contribution to one's health!!!! But a vegan diet is NOT a panacea for coronary health.

[olger]

"But a vegan diet is NOT a panacea for coronary health."

Hi Pam. What do you think of DR. Diehl's research? The Framingham study and Pritikin combine to teach us that atherosclerosis is an earned disease that is reversible.

rejoice always,

olger

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I think Dr. Diehl's research was very nice....

I am very familiar with the Framingham Heart Study.

Atherosclerosis, as I'm sure you know, is hardening of the arteries by soft plaque that is hardening into calcified plaque. There are *techniques* of getting rid of the calcified as well as the soft plaque that I have seen used with some success. You may be able to lower your cholesterol and other blood lipid counts, but that does not indicate a reduction in the amount of plaque, soft or calcified, in the coronary arteries. A coronary artery calcium exam is the ONLY way to verify the absence or presence of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries without doing an invasive exam such as an angiogram.

I know I've pushed against a sacred cow.

[Clio]

No, no Pam. Not a sacred cow... a pink elephant in the corner.

Seriously, though, I totally agree with both you and Morning Glory. At this late point in earth's history, our dna is so corrupt I suspect we inherit tendencies towards many things that might slay us... and it is by the grace of the King that we live to the allotted 70 years.

His promises are always true, so living His way will extend our life past where it would end if we continually defy Him.