For the first time in my life I have been watching what I eat. I should have started earlier, but my weight has never been a major issue. At my heaviest I weighed ten pounds more than my high school weight. For the past month I have stopped eating meat and almost all animal products. And I have also begun experimenting with intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating.
What has pushed me to begin making this change? A number of influences:
- My wife has been listening to nutrition experts for several years and has been eating healthy.
- A co-worker has been on a sweet potato only diet for about six months. Boiled sweet potatoes are literally the only thing she eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- A tour guide on one of our school trips ate only one meal a day during our trip and seemed to be functioning well.
- A friend has mostly stopped eating meat.
- Another friend practices time-restricted eating, sometimes getting all of his calories in a 2-4 hour time span each day.
- I watched a documentary called The Game Changers, which promotes a plant-based only diet by focusing on the performance of elite athletes.
- I watched another documentary called Eat, Fast, Live Longer, which conveys the health benefits of fasting.
- Finally and simply, I want to be healthy.
What have I discovered so far? Without meat I have been quite hungry. I didn’t plan well for the caloric deficit I accrued. On the plus side, I have lost six pounds.
I have also learned that nutrition studies are highly controversial. Who do you trust? One expert says olive oil is healthy; another says it’s not. The controversy makes sense because the field is relatively new and some studies are conducted by major corporations that have a stake in the results. Also, since our bodies are complex biological systems, it’s really difficult to isolate one variable, such as one food item, and understand its biological effect. Finally, good nutrition advice depends in part on the background of the individual needing the advice so it can be difficult to generalize for everyone. All of this can be extremely frustrating for someone who just wants basic answers.
Food in the Bible
Despite the challenge, I think I have arrived at a few key ideas. Before I get to those, I will highlight the biblical data. After all, much of the Bible centers on food.
- In Genesis 1 God tells the man and woman, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (Gen. 1:29).
- Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3).
- God said to Noah, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (9:3-4).
- Abraham and Sarah prepare a meal of bread, curds, milk, and a calf and give it to their special visitors, one of whom may have been God himself (Gen. 18).
- In Exodus 12 instructions are given for keeping the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover lamb should be “roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast” (v. 8).
- While wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the Israelites ate special bread called manna, which “tasted like wafers made with honey” (Ex. 16:31). They also ate quail.
- Eating the fat and blood of cattle, sheep or goats was forbidden (Lev. 7:22-27).
- God gave a list of clean and unclean foods to his people (Lev. 11; Deut. 14). For example, the camel, rabbit, and pig were unclean.
- In Babylon, Daniel and his three friends ate only vegetables and drank water for ten days. “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” (Dan. 1:15).
Let me fast-forward to the New Testament.
- Before Jesus sent out his followers to preach he said, “eat what is offered to you” (Lk. 10:8).
- Jesus multiplied bread and fish for thousands of hungry people (Jn. 6).
- After Jesus was raised from the dead he ate fish in front of his disciples (Lk. 24:40-43). He also served fish and bread to his disciples (Jn. 21:13).
- Jesus shocked his audience with these words, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn. 6:53).
- Peter saw a vision of “all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds” and was told to “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat” (Acts 10:12-13). This vision encouraged him to no longer consider Gentiles to be unclean and he subsequently visited a Gentile’s home and ate with him.
- In Acts 15 the elders in Jerusalem gathered to consider whether Gentile believers were required to follow the laws of Moses, including the dietary restrictions. They concluded that Gentiles did not have to follow kosher laws, but they should “abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals” (v. 29).
- Paul discusses believers who have different views about food in Romans 14: “One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables” (v. 2). He teaches both groups to stop passing judgment on each other and encourages the strong to be sensitive to the weak— “If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love” (v. 15).
- In 1 Corinthians 8 Paul talks about food sacrificed to idols and being sensitive to those who believe idols are actual gods. While sensitivity to others is required, Paul’s view is clear: “food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (v. 8).
- Paul writes, “do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink” (Col. 2:16).
- Of the false teachers, Paul says, “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:3-4).
(I won’t take the time to list verses related to fasting, but there are about two dozen references.)
Vegetarianism
I don’t see how a strong vegetarian argument can be made from the Bible. There’s just too much meat-eating in Scripture. And the New Testament seems to be primarily ambivalent to what we eat as long as we give thanks for it.
But vegetarians are not using the Bible to make their point. They use scientific studies to show that eating meat is unhealthy because, for instance, it raises our cholesterol, leading to heart disease; they highlight how cattle and chickens are raised in poor conditions and pumped with hormones; and they show how the meat industry is bad for the environment because raising animals is resource intensive. For instance, a lot of water and land is required to raise cattle, leading to problems such as deforestation. So this is not a spiritual issue; it is a health and environmental issue. I know there are people working to improve the agricultural side of things, but in what follows I will focus on the health aspect of this topic.
What I Think I Know
Here’s what I think I know:
- We are interconnected beings—physical, emotional, social, spiritual. Thus, our overall health includes many more factors than merely what we eat. As Proverbs 14 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (v. 30). Our health, then, depends on our emotions as much as our diet.
- In many cases, the research studies used cannot show a causal connection between diet and disease. Red Pen Reviews provides insightful and concise reviews of popular nutrition books. They state the following, which I believe is a key idea to grasping the entire field of study: “One major element to consider when reading . . . this review is that when you discuss the relationship between diet and diseases like heart disease or cancer or age-related mental decline, these diseases often take a lifetime to develop. Because of this very long lead time, the gold standard method for investigating nutrition interventions—the randomized clinical trial—is very difficult to conduct. So the main source of nutrition science with respect to these conditions usually comes in the form of what are called epidemiological studies, which are suboptimal because they are good at making associations, but less good at evaluating cause and effect.” In sum, the studies cannot say this food caused this health problem because the key variables could not be isolated. And when it comes to lifestyle, genetics, and diet, an enormous number of confounding variables exist.
- The objective and subjective components of a diet matter. What does your lab work say and how does the diet make you feel? If you feel like crap all the time, you should probably change your diet, even if it is super healthy.
- There is no one-size-fits-all diet for everyone. We have different genetic and dietary backgrounds, we are at different places in our levels of health, we don’t all have access to the same foods, and we use our bodies in unique ways so our individual nutrition needs vary. The best health advice is personalized.
- In general, eating a diet primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes is good for the human body. (Let me quickly add two caveats: leafy greens are easily contaminated so it is vital that they are washed properly and some plant-based foods should be soaked in water to reduce their phytate levels.)
- I think the best evidence for this approach comes from the Blue Zones, where people have a life expectancy of ten years beyond the average. Most Blue Zone people eat meat but in small amounts. Olive oil is also recommended in the Blue Zone diet. (Keep in mind other variables involved in the Blue Zone lifestyle, such as sunlight, pollution, levels of exercise, etc.) The Blue Zone diet is similar to Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate.
- The strongest advocates of this view recommend eating a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet only.
- Here’s an introduction to WFPB by Dr. Anthony Lim.
- Also, see the research conclusions by Dr. Michael Greger.
- Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn believes WFPB can reverse heart disease and he has the patients to prove his case. By the way, Dr. Esselstyn argues that olive oil is not healthy.
- Finally, it’s always good to consider criticisms of any approach. See the critiques of WFPB proponents made by Dr. Anthony Pearson and Denise Minger. See also the limitations of the China Study, often used to support a plant-based diet, here and here.
- Animal products contain essential nutrients, which are impossible or difficult to get from other sources. For example, animal products are the best source of vitamin B12, which is not found in plant food. Plant-based only eaters must get missing nutrients from supplements or fortified foods. This requires extra thought and planning. See the list of essential nutrients here and here. And to research key vitamins and minerals see Harvard’s Nutrition Source.
- Processed meats, i.e. bacon, sausage, hot dogs, deli meats, increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Which processed meat is the worst? What amounts are concerning? Unfortunately, the studies are too general to answer those questions.
- Excess sugar is bad.
- Fasting can give us unique health benefits. Our cells function in two modes—grow and repair. When we eat they are in a constant grow and replicate mode. When we fast our cells move into a repair mode. Fasting also allows our bodies to use up our stored energy or fat while not attacking our muscle tissue. For most people, then, skipping a meal is a good thing and the hungry feeling in our stomachs does not have to be removed instantly. For more information, watch the Eat, Fast, Live Longer documentary mentioned above.
- Extreme diets, such as no meat or all meat, create social and practical challenges.
- If meat-eating is inherently and always harmful to the human body and if the Bible is a revelation from a loving God who cares for us, I don’t think the Bible would have so many examples of meat-eating without once denouncing it.
- No diet can give us 100% protection against any disease or death. Steve Jobs was a vegetarian for most of his life, who also practiced fasting, and he died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56.
What I Don’t Know
- Are plant-based only advocates, such as Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. T. Campbell Colin, cherry-picking their evidence? That is one of the major criticisms I have read, but I don’t have time to go through all the data.
- The fact that animal products give us essential nutrients gives me pause about an all plant-based diet. But what amount of meat or fish is safe for our health? The studies tend to focus on frequent meat-eaters vs. non-meat eaters, but what are the effects of occasional meat eating?
- Can we eat too much fruit? If so, how much is too much?
- What amount of our health is due to our genetics and how much is due to our lifestyle?
- How important is when we eat to our overall health? Some suggest we can eat anything we want one day, fast the next day, and not have negative effects.
- Should men and women be on different diets?
- What do the studies actually show? And what do they mean for me? How does a percentage of people apply to me as an individual? For example, if 50% of people who ate meat daily were diagnosed with cancer by age 55, what does that mean for me? Fifty percent didn’t develop cancer. And how much meat were they eating? And what kind? And how was it cooked? (Some studies show a link between well-done meat and cancer.) Unless the participants were constantly observed in a lab, can the researchers be certain of all of the variables? And even if they are certain, how do the results apply to the details of my health, personality, and lifestyle? I’m not denying that a connection can be made as with tobacco use and lung cancer, but I’m not sure if many of the dietary studies show what many claim they are showing. There are just too many variables involved.
- Who can I really trust? Everyone is promoting something. Currently, I think I trust Red Pen Reviews and the Blue Zone data.
Conclusion
Allow me to end with one more thing I think I know: Life is a gift from God. Jesus asked, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25). Yes, life is more than food. Don’t get all tied up in knots about food and miss the wonder of life.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.