Why vegetarian diet?

Dr. Hildemar Dos Santos

Assistant Professor
Loma Linda University School of Public Health
Former Director of
Lifestyle Management Centre
Hong Kong Adventist Hospital
Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital
Vegetarians - History
-
Back to the beginning!
!
Famous vegetarians through history

Pythagoras - considered the father of
vegetarianism
Zoroaster, Socrates, Plato, Horace, Ovido,
Virgil -
Daniel, John the Baptist, ,
Buddha
 Mahatma Gandhi

The greatness of a nation can be

judged by the way its animals are
treated
 Confucius

Hold fast to vegetarianism and

abstain from taking life
 Sylvester Graham
Graham bread
Toured America advocating a meatless diet,
no refined white bread, no alcohol, and no
coffee.

His message influenced many Christians
including a small group called Seventh-day
Adventists ,

 Seventh-day Adventist Church

Founded in 1840, one of its leader, Ellen White,
promoted a lifestyle of vegetarian foods and a
lifestyle with exercise, rest, hydrotherapy, plenty
of sunshine and fresh air, all these combined with
spiritual health.
1840 - -,
, , , , ,

John Harvey Kellogg - famous Adventist doctor
-
 John Harvey Kellogg

Corn flakes and granola

Meat analogues
Soybean milk
Peanut butter
Kelloggs company (Will Keith Kellogg)

 Adventists and Health

Loma Linda University

Adventist Health Study
30-50% are vegetarian 30-50
400 hospitals and clinics around the world
400
Prevention, prevention, prevention

 Loma Linda University Medical Center
Loma Linda, CA USA

Loma Linda University Medical Center - USA

Established in 1905 Patient beds: 789
 Two more reasons for people to be
vegetarians

Environment impact of raising cows (Lappe -
Diet for a Small Planet)

Inhumane practices of factory farming (PETA
- People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals)
 Different concepts of health

Vegetarians: Health depends on your lifestyle.
:

Non-vegetarians: Health is almost a matter of

luck.
:
 Vegetarians in the USA

12 million vegetarians
20% of consumers will choose restaurants with
meatless menus 20

Last 10 years - 2,000 soy-based meat alternatives
- 2000
15% of college students select vegetarian meals in
the schools cafeteria 15

 Vegetarians in Hong Kong

Vegetarian Society of Hong Kong

Established in 1996
Has 3,000 members
700 new members in 2003
 Types of vegetarians:
:
Lacto-ovo vegetarian - veg plus milk and eggs
-
Vegan - only vegetable sources
-
Macrobiotic - vegan but cooked, almost no fruits
-(),
Frutarian - fruits, nuts and seeds
-
Raw foods - vegan raw (sometimes uncooked dairy or
even raw meat)
-() - ()
 Frutarian story

One day a lady was brought to my clinic for
treatment. She was weak, very skinny, and
showed mental abnormal behaviour.


She was on a diet exclusive of
fruits for one whole year.

 I admitted her, prescribed some vitamin B12
injections, plus other vitamin and mineral complex
B12,

After one week she recovered and
after two she was totally healed
,

 She almost died following this diet for

such a long time

Be careful of treatments like this. Be

careful of diets like this.

 Benefits of vegetarian diets

Mostly we advise the vegan or total

vegetarian diet

 Blood cholesterol
Diet No. of People Cholesterol LDL
Cholesterol

Meat eaters 1198 5.31 3.17

Vegetarian 1150 4.88 2.74

Vegan 114 4.29` 2.28

Thorogood et al
 Cholesterol in the food

Diet Amount of cholesterol eaten

Omnivores 400 mg/day

400

Lacto-ovo 150/300 mg/day

150/300

Vegans 0 mg/day
0
The Dietitians Guide of Vegetarian Diets, page 59 - Aspen
 Hypertension
140
120.8
120 112.5 111.8

100
76.4
80 65.3 68.8
Systolic
60
Diastolic
40
20
0
V egans L acto- N on-
vegetarians vegetarians

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1988;48:795-800

 Breast cancer in China

3.48
3.5
2.91
3
2.44
2.5
2
Breast Cancer rates per
1.5 1000 persons
1
0.5
0
41.1 86.7 185.7

Animal food intake (times/year)

(/)
Guo W-D et al, 1994
Less kidney diseases

500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100 Animal
50
0 Vegetarian
(m l/m in)

RPF - Renal plasma

G FR -G lom erular
filtration ration

flow (ml/min)

Kontessis et al, 1995

 Body Mass Index - Men
-
30
25
20
15
vegetarians
10
Non-vegetarians
5
0
Vegetarian
Adventist

Adventist

Heidelberg
Mortality

Health

Oxford

Vegetarian Nutrition, J. Sabate, CRC 2001, page 40

Body Mass Index - Women
-
30
25
20
15
vegetarians
10
Non-vegetarians
5
0
Vegetarian
Adventist

Adventist

Heidelberg
Mortality

Health

Oxford

Vegetarian Nutrition, J. Sabate, CRC 2001, page 40

 Vegetarians and longevity

12 - 56% decrease in risk of death for all

causes
- 12-56
For more than 20 years being vegetarian
- plus 30% of decreased risk
20 - 30

Vegetarian Nutrition, J. Sabate, CRC 2001, page 40

 Advantages of vegetarians

Lower rates of Because of less animal and more
vegetable protein: less risk of
kidney failure, and osteoporosis.
Cancer
:
Heart disease
Diabetes
Obesity Because of high fruit and
Hypertension vegetable intake - more
antioxidant: less cancer, heart
Gallstones disease, cataracts, arthritis and
Kidney Stones better immune system.
-
: , , ,
,

The Dietitians Guide of Vegetarian Diets, page 59 - Aspen