The more I read, the more strongly convinced I am that veganism is not a healthy long-term dietary choice.  But that raised some puzzling questions about God’s original design, Adam & Eve, and animal foods.

Native/Traditional Diets

I’ve been reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Weston A. Price. Weston Price was a dentist who visited with and studied a variety of people groups around the world which were still living the primitive lifestyles native to their people, and comparing them to those of the same groups who had adopted modern diets. His original, primary focus was on the shape of the dental arches (since he’s a dentist), but a number of other things came to light.

The people who were eating their native foods were consistently healthier across the board.

• They had proper facial structure, including room for all of their teeth (“wisdom teeth” included!)
• They had strong immunity to dental caries (decay/cavities).
• They had strong, healthy skeletal structure as a whole.
• They had strong overall immunity (to infection, etc.).
• They were highly intelligent and without significant criminal problems.
• They very quickly and easily birthed healthy babies and easily nursed them.

The Role of Plant Foods in Traditional Diets

I find it fascinating that vegetables were one of the least significant parts of their diets. [Note: I’ve noticed this in my reading of Scripture, too.  Vegetables are one of the least frequently mentioned foods.] Indeed, to some groups, such as the Eskimos, very little vegetation was available at all. In fact, Dr. Price found that the greatest factors in these native diets were the fat-soluble vitamins — largely vitamin A and vitamin D, and some factors which are closely related to vitamin D but not yet clearly identified.

(It’s also interesting to me that, in most cases, the second most common food was grain of some kind. Vegetarians like to tell us that we shouldn’t eat animal products, and many say we should minimize our grain intake, because these leave an acid “ash” in our systems, making our bodies too acidic to function optimally. Yet the vast majority of these primitive peoples ate predominately animal products and grains, and they were in superb health!) All of the groups made liberal use of either sea foods (which usually included fish eggs, in addition to fish and/or shellfish, etc.), organ meats, or high-quality dairy products.

This confirms other things I’ve read, such as The Schwarzbein Principle, as well as what just plain makes sense to me. I also heard on the news the other night about a study someone did of very old, but healthy, individuals. This study has been going on, if I recall correctly, for several decades, and the man who is doing the study has not encountered a single vegetarian in this group yet!

Veganism, Christianity, & the Fall — or Why Didn’t Adam & Eve Need Animal Foods?

As I pondered this, I got to wondering about Adam and Eve. Many Christian vegans (the Hallelujah Diet people, for example) claim that we’re supposed to eat a vegan diet, because that’s what God originally instituted, in the Garden of Eden. My thinking trail started wandering along those lines, and I wondered why, if we need these animal products to be healthy (which I firmly believe to be true), Adam and Eve did not.

Then it hit me.

Plant foods are largely carbohydrates. Generally speaking, carbohydrates are energy foods.

Animal foods are largely protein foods, and certain types of fat (including those that carry vitamins A and D). Proteins, and fat-soluble vitamins, are building foods.

That is, the body is constantly tearing down and rebuilding its various parts; proteins and fat-soluble vitamins are the tools it uses for that rebuilding. Mankind has always required energy, but likely didn’t originally require rebuilding! Prior to the Fall, there was no death. With death comes degeneration, and the need for regeneration. Because of the Fall, we likely require nutrition we previously did not.