The FastDay Forum

Anacara, I do like the look of that apple!
Shame about the legumes, as eventually I would like to reintroduce them to my diet.

There have been recent articles (for instance, in Time magazine) about a Loma Linda University study of Seventh Day Adventists, whose church promotes this style of eating (from a Vancouver Sun article):
"Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution specializing in health care. The church recommends a diet with "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," according to a statement on its website. The study published Monday was funded by the National Institutes of Health."

The study found that the Seventh Day Adventist vegetarians had 12% fewer deaths than non-vegetarians over a 6 year period. I think most vegetarians (including me) rely on cereal grains, legumes and seed oils, yet (as a statistical group) vegetarians live longer.

Shame about the legumes, as eventually I would like to reintroduce them to my diet.

They offer no reason why not to eat legumes, they just say don't. I wouldn't wipe out a category of food I like just because a few "ways" of eating say not to eat it. You can find arguments for and against eating virtually any food - so if you like them, and your body doesn't react negatively to them, eat them.

Shame about the legumes, as eventually I would like to reintroduce them to my diet.

They offer no reason why not to eat legumes, they just say don't. I wouldn't wipe out a category of food I like just because a few "ways" of eating say not to eat it. You can find arguments for and against eating virtually any food - so if you like them, and your body doesn't react negatively to them, eat them.

Hi KataMac

Actually they say this about beans:
"But on a gross level, if you feed the beans (kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, soybeans, you name it) raw to animals, they’ll get extremely sick or die. We list a bunch of examples in the book. Toxins include not only lectins but alpha amylase inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors, cyanogenic glycosides, and others. Cooking somewhat detoxifies them, but not entirely."

Also, legumes are high in phytic acid which apparently is problematic as it interferes with absorption of certain nutrients: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid

Personally I love legumes, especially traditional Greek bean and lentil soups and fava mash, however, I'm wary of them because I find them:

1. particularly morish
2. fattening
3. bloating

Also, they are not usually edible for mammals without some sort of preparation.

I find that for me at least, these are signs that a food is not as healthy or appropriate for human consumption as it could be.

Having said that, I have many relatives who lived well into their 90s eating legumes at least twice a week. BUT on the other hand, I had an aunt who died early of complications from Crohn's disease and know a couple of other people with irritable bowel syndrome who were/are all particularly affected by eating legumes. And research would seem to indicate that these conditions are caused by gluten sensitivity (from grains of course, not legumes, but still)

I won't even go to defending legumes, I believe that they are one of the most nutritious foods but I just want to make one note, so that the English speaking members of our forum aren't confused:
When Anacara mentions "fava mash" she doesn't mean a mash made with fava beans but with split peas. I've no idea why Greeks call that fava (since it is not made with fava), it probably started by mistake.

The study found that the Seventh Day Adventist vegetarians had 12% fewer deaths than non-vegetarians over a 6 year period. I think most vegetarians (including me) rely on cereal grains, legumes and seed oils, yet (as a statistical group) vegetarians live longer.

Hi MCC

If you saw my original post I said that the information I was linking to was for "those of you who are interested in a "Paleo"/"Primal" way of eating but find it too restrictive", so I'm not really interested in going into the pros and cons of a vegetarian or vegan diet. I'm aware of the study you referenced and it is comparing apples and oranges - it's comparing non-smoking, non-drinking vegetable and fruit eating Seventh Day Adventists with the general population, which means there are too many confounding factors at play.

Now if there were a long-term study comparing a group of vegetarians on a high-quality non-processed food diet (including fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes and... without supplements) and a group of omnivores whose diet included good quality animal products and vegetables and fruit, but not grains or legumes, that would be very interesting.

Of the world's longest lived groups of people only one (the Seventh Day Adventists in the study) are vegetarian (although their diets are plentiful in vegetables). http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/2013-0 ... e-longest/

I know your point was more about the grains and legumes, but I think there is only one reason to become vegetarian, and that is ethics, not health.

Cheers, ana

There are also as valid arguments why you shouldn't eat broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, salad greens... and I'm not about to stop eating them. (Don't believe me? Just google "toxins in green leafy vegetables" or "toxins in vegetables")

My point is, you can find arguments not to eat absolutely ANY food. A varied diet of things you enjoy is the best bet - and sticking to real food, not prepacked crap. If you react badly to certain food, sure keep it to the minimum. But there is no need at all for the majority of people to wipe out entire categories of food.

There are also as valid arguments why you shouldn't eat broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, salad greens... and I'm not about to stop eating them. (Don't believe me? Just google "toxins in green leafy vegetables" or "toxins in vegetables")

My point is, you can find arguments not to eat absolutely ANY food. A varied diet of things you enjoy is the best bet - and sticking to real food, not prepacked crap. If you react badly to certain food, sure keep it to the minimum. But there is no need at all for the majority of people to wipe out entire categories of food.

Tell me about it! A friend's dad is in hospital after a severe heart attack and on day 2 the Professor of Cardiology told him that he was eating too many green salads! "How can one eat too many salads???" I thought to meself. Apparently, it happens...