Appendix 1

Health & Medical statements found in The Ministry of Healing (M. of H.), 1905 Spiritual Gifts Volume 4 (S. G.), 1864

M. of H. page 320 – “Those who live in new countries or in poverty-stricken districts, where fruits and nuts are scarce, should not be urged to exclude milk …. from their dietary.”

“Great care should be taken, however, to obtain milk …. from healthy cows,” Page 302 – “If milk is used, it should be thoroughly sterilized”

S. G. page 153 – “We use no lard, but in its place, milk, cream,”

1872, Testimonies for the Church Vol 3, page 19 - “Brother B had urged the extreme positions of Dr Trall. …. in discarding milk, sugar, and salt.”

1873, letter – “We have always used a little milk …. This we have never denounced, either in our writings or in our preaching.”

1902, Testimonies Vol 7, page 134.6 – “Milk, …. should not be classed with flesh meat. …. The time has not come to say that the use of milk …. should be wholly discarded.”

Comment – The Ministry of Healing does not mention cream, but in Spiritual Gifts it is mentioned as being the same as milk. In 1960 milk was regarded as an essential food. The transmission of bovine tuberculosis was known from the time that The Ministry of Healing was written and milk has been pasteurized since. Milk is now regarded as essential for children only. For adults its intake should be restricted. It should be drunk for calcium, but as skim milk to avoid the undesirable fatty acids. It also is desirable in a vegetarian diets to gain vitamin B12. (See “What 49 – Sugar” about the total exclusion of sugar, salt and milk.)

Score – Significant

M. of H. page 302 – “If milk is used, it should be thoroughly sterilized; with this precaution, there is less danger of contracting disease from its use.”

Page 320 “obtain milk from healthy cows,”

Comments – Ellen White did not mention sterilization until the 20th century when it had been introduced in the general community.

Score – Significant

M. of H. page 320 – “Those who live in new countries or in poverty-stricken districts, where fruits and nuts are scarce, should not be urged to exclude …. eggs from their dietary.”

“Great care should be taken, however, to obtain …. eggs from healthy fowls”

1870, Testimonies for the Church Vol 2, page 361 - “You place upon your tables …. eggs, ….and your children partake of them.

1881, “Proper Use of the Testimonies on Health Reform” – “tea, coffee, tobacco, beer, wine, and all spirituous liquors are not to be taken moderately, but discarded. The poisonous narcotics are not to be treated in the same way as the subject of eggs, butter, and cheese.”

1902, Testimonies for the Church Vol 7, page 134 – “eggs, ….should not be classed with flesh meat. In some cases the use of eggs is beneficial. The time has not come to say that the use of …. eggs should be wholly discarded.”

Comment – Even though eggs are high in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, they are a source of vitamin B12 for vegetarians. Thus it is advisable to limit, but not totally avoid eggs.

Score – Significant

Why 39 – Eggs (What 37)

M. of H. page 320 – “It is true that persons in full flesh and in whom the animal passions are strong need to avoid the use of stimulating foods. Especially in families of children who are given to sensual habits, eggs should not be used.”

Appendix 1

Health & Medical statements found in The Ministry of Healing (M. of H.), 1905 Spiritual Gifts Volume 4 (S. G.), 1864

1870, Testimonies for the Churches Vol 2, page 361 - “You place upon your tables …. eggs, ….and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions,”

Comment – See “Excitation of nerves” in “Why 35”. It is possible that children would be better off eating eggs rather than red meat because of its influence on the age of puberty.

Score – Unverified

Why 40 – Eggs and Milk (What 37)

M. of H. Page 320.1 – “But in the case of persons whose blood-making organs are feeble,-- especially if other foods to supply the needed elements cannot be obtained,--milk and eggs should not be wholly discarded.”

Comment - This is true with a vegetarian to obtain vitamin B12.

Score – Verified

What 38 – Future of Eggs and Milk

M. of H. page 320 – “The diet reform should be progressive. …. the use of milk and eggs will become more and more unsafe.”

1902, Testimonies for the Church Vol 7, page 134 - “The time has not come to say that the use of milk and eggs should be wholly discarded.”

Comments – It is not that they are becoming unsafe, but they will become less desirable. Until vitamin B12 and calcium needs were understood and substitutes fortified, it was unsafe to completely exclude eggs and milk from a vegetarian’s diet. Now because of increased technology it is possible to be healthy without eggs and milk products and the result is a slightly longer and healthier life.

Score – Significant (1960 – Unverified)

Why 41 – Future of Eggs and Milk (What 38)

M. of H. page 320 – “As disease in animals increases, the use of milk and eggs will become more and more unsafe.”

Comments – see above.

Score - Unverified

M. of H. page 302 – “Cheese is still more objectionable; (than butter) it is wholly unfit for food.” 1868, Testimonies for the Churches Vol 2, page 68 – “Cheese should never be introduced into the stomach.”

1881, March 23, “Proper Use of the Testimonies on Health Reform” – “tea, coffee, tobacco, beer, wine, and all spirituous liquors are not to be taken moderately, but discarded. The poisonous narcotics are not to be treated in the same way as the subject of eggs, butter, and cheese.”

1873, “Counsel and Reproof” - “We took a small bit of cheese, as we do sometimes when it is passed to us.”

Comment – Cheese contains saturated fatty acids and its use should be limited in a similar manner to milk. It could then be argued that cheese should not be regarded differently to milk (What 35). However cheese contains about 25% to 50% more fat than milk, for any given amount of energy, but this is still much less than butter. This is due to the near total lack of carbohydrates in cheese. Also in the mid-19th century, it was not uncommon for additives to be added to cheese to help in the curdling process. (This would not have applied by 1905) William Alcott states that arsenic was often added. (Alcott Why 130) On the other hand, in the pre-refrigeration era cheese was, in a

Appendix 1

Health & Medical statements found in The Ministry of Healing (M. of H.), 1905 Spiritual Gifts Volume 4 (S. G.), 1864

number of cultures, a vital food for surviving long winters and a ban on its use would have been devastating on the health in these cultures. I felt that this last fact to be so important that this principle should be scored as zero. However in some letters Ellen White presented a contrasting view. In 1881 she likened cheese to milk and eggs and in 1873, she stated she had not totally remove cheese from her own diet. If this view had been included in The Ministry of Healing I would have given a score of Significant.

Score – Unverified

What 40 – Animal Fat R 12 G 58 A 133 J 61 K 78

M. of H. page 311 – “Of the meats permitted, the eating of the fat ….. was strictly forbidden.” S.G. page 130 – “Because it is the fashion, in harmony with morbid appetite, rich cake, pies, and puddings, and every hurtful thing, are crowded into the stomach.”

Page 153 – “We have no …., cake, or any rich food upon our table…..We use no lard, but in its place, milk, cream, and some butter”

Comments – Animal fat is saturated fat and a major health risk. In 1960 there were little known dangers from eating animal fat. The World Health Organisation considers high serum cholesterol contributes 7.6% in the loss of health in developing.

Score – Significant (1960 - Unverified)

Why 42 – Animal Fat (What 40)

M. of H. page 311 – “Upon their settlement in Canaan, the Israelites were permitted the use of animal food, but under careful restrictions”

Comments – There is nothing in the Mosaic laws that claim they are health laws and not just religious customs so this is an invalid health reason to avoid animal fat.

Score – Unverified

Why 42a – Animal Fat (What 40)

S. G. page 130 – “they (people who eat food high in fats) do not enjoy health, and wonder Why they suffer with pains, headaches, and various ills.”

Comment – A high fat diet in the long run brings ill health.

M. of H. page 298 – “olives, like nuts, supply the place of butter and flesh meats. The oil, as eaten in the olive, is far preferable to animal oil or fat.”

1902, Testimonies for the Church Vol 7, page 134 – “The advantages sought by the use of butter may be obtained by the eating of properly prepared olives. …. As a food it is better than any oil coming secondhand from animals.”

Comment - Vegetable oils, especially monounsaturated oils from nuts or olives, protect against heart disease while animal fats (including milk) contribute to high serum cholesterol levels or low density lipoproteins. In 1960 there was thought to be no difference between olive oil and animal fats as far as health is concerned.

Score – Significant (1960 – Unverified)

Why 43 – Olive Oil (What 41)

M. of H. page 298 – “It (olive oil) serves as a laxative. Its use will be found beneficial to consumptives, and it is healing to an inflamed, irritated stomach.”

Comment - They are not laxatives, nor do they help consumption, or an inflamed stomach..

Appendix 1

Health & Medical statements found in The Ministry of Healing (M. of H.), 1905 Spiritual Gifts Volume 4 (S. G.), 1864

M. of H. page 302 “it (butter) is better to dispense with it altogether.”

S. G. page 153 – “We use no lard, but in its place, milk, cream, and some butter”

1881, “Proper Use of the Testimonies on Health Reform” – “tea, coffee, tobacco, beer, wine, and all spirituous liquors are not to be taken moderately, but discarded. The poisonous narcotics are not to be treated in the same way as the subject of eggs, butter, and cheese.”

1902, Testimonies for the Church Vol. 7, page 134.6 – “butter should not be classed with flesh meat.”

Comments – Butter is a very high source of saturated fatty acids and is best replaced with vegetable oil. Initially Ellen White did not advocate the exclusion of butter, but in her later writing she conceded it might be wise to do so. This most probably reflected changing circumstances such as the availability of vegetable oils.

M. of H. page 302 – “Butter is less harmful when eaten on cold bread than when used in cooking;” Comment – Food cooked at high the temperature of boiling fat, develops a number of complex chemicals that are associated with cerebra-vascular disease.

M. of H. page 311-2 – “Of the meats permitted, the eating of the fat and the blood was strictly forbidden. …. No creature …. from which the blood had not been carefully drained, could be used as food.”

Comments – This statement seems to be given as an explanation (or a Why statement) of Why we should not eat meat. The inference is that the fat and the blood are both bad for health. There are, however built into this statement two Whats. If you do use meat as an emergency food, then you should avoid fat and meat that has not had the blood drained.

The avoidance of the fat is now regarded as a very true what statement, but I could find no research that indicates the draining of blood from an animal, at the time of slaughter, decreases the health risks of the meat. Nor do I know any reason Why it should. The draining of the blood at the time of slaughter does not drain all the blood, so eating the flesh will always contain some blood and thus will include any health disadvantage, if any, of the blood.

Score – Unverified

What 45 - Changing needs with Time and Place.

M. of H. page 320 – “Those who live in new countries or in poverty-stricken districts, where fruits and nuts are scarce, should not be urged to exclude milk and eggs from their dietary”

Page 316.4 – “We should, however, consider the situation of the people and the power of lifelong habit, and should be careful not to urge even right ideas unduly.”

Comments - To be a vegetarian requires good preservation and transport of food so that a large variety of fresh foods are available all the year round. More and more people are meeting these requirements as time passes by. It is now realised that, with better hygiene and medical care, people are living to an older age and consequently degenerative diseases are the dominant cause of illness and death. A vegetarian diet is the best diet to minimize these diseases. Thus with the passage of time a vegetarian diet has become more desirable.