Seventh-day Adventist Diet
Seventh-day Adventists are encouraged to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet. They avoid meat but eat legumes, whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. According to the Seventh-day Adventist website, “we believe God calls us to care for our bodies, treating them with the respect a divine creation deserves. Gluttony and excess, even of something good, can be detrimental to our health.” Some Seventh-day Adventists are lacto-ova vegetarians (meaning that they eat eggs and dairy foods) and others are vegans (meaning that they eat no animal products at all). The religion also discourages use of tobacco, alcohol, and other mind-altering substances.
Research findings
A multitude of clinical studies have used Seventh-day Adventists as the study population. These studies have proven that most Seventh-day Adventists are healthier than other populations. In general, Seventh-day Adventists have a lower rate of death, a lower rate of obesity, and a lower risk of developing heart disease, certain types of cancers, strokes, and diabetes.
A study of Seventh-day Adventists published in 2000 showed that the 34192 self-identified California Adventists who were followed for 12 years lived, on average, 7.3 extra years for men and 4.42 more years for women, when compared to other non-Hispanic Californians.
The diet
The Seventh-day Adventist church does not recommend a specific diet plan or eating pattern. A number of different vegetarian food guide pyramids or versions of MyPlate (http://www.choosemyplate.gov/) have been developed, including one developed by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Nutrition Council (GCNC). MyPlate provides non-meat sources of protein and recommends the following foods for good health based on 2000 calories per day:
Food Group / Number of Servings/Day / Serving ExamplesGrains / 6 ounces (oz) every day
Make at least half of your grains whole grains / 1 slice bread, ½ cup (C) of cereal, pasta, or rice
Vegetables / 2 ½ C every day / 1 C raw vegetables, ½ C cooked vegetables
Fruit / 2 C every day / 1 C of raw or cooked fruit, 1 C of 100% fruit juice, ½ C dried fruit
Dairy or dairy alternatives / 3 C every day / 1 C milk or fortified alternative, 1 C low-fat yogurt
1 ½ oz natural cheese
Non-meat protein sources: legumes, nuts, and seeds / 5 ½ oz every day / 1 egg
1 tablespoon(Tbsp) peanut butter ½ oz nuts or seeds ¼ C cooked beans or peas 1 oz tofu
Other Seventh-day Adventist diet recommendations
Abstinence from alcohol, coffee, tea, and all other caffeinated beverages is stressed. Lacto-ovo vegetarians need to pay special attention to what they eat to make sure that they get enough iron, zinc, and protein from their diet. Vegans should pay close attention to calcium, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and protein.
References and recommended readings
Adventist health studies: An overview. Loma Linda University website. http://www.llu.edu/assets/publichealth/adventist-health-studies/documents/ahs-overview.pdf. Published September 2011. Accessed April 13, 2015.
Harding F. New vegetarian plate published. Adventist Health Ministries website. http://healthministries.com/news/2013/new-vegetarian-plate-published. Accessed April 20, 2015.
Living a healthful life. The Seventh-day Adventist Church website. http://www.adventist.org/vitality/health/. Accessed April 20, 2015.
Oliver A. Major study affirms Adventists’ vegetarian diet. Adventist Review website. http://archives.adventistreview.org/article/6357/archives/issue-2013-1515/15-cn-major-study-affirms-adventist-s-vegetarian-diet. Published June 6, 2013. Accessed April 20, 2015.
The new USDA MyPlate open to vegetarian interpretation. Loma Linda University School of Public Health website. http://www.llu.edu/public-health/news/news-usda-myplate.page. Accessed April 20, 2015.
Contributed by Elaine M. Hinzey, RD, LDN
Review Date: 4/13/15