Doctoral Dissertation Improvement - The Health Implications of Periodic Dietary Restrictions on Animal Products among Orthodox Christians in the United States

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Currently there exist conflicting views about the role of modern animal- and plant-based foods in human health and disease. Anthropological theories suggest meat and animal fat played critical roles in the evolution of energy-intensive human traits and that transitions to grain-based agricultural diets were detrimental to health and longevity. In contrast, perspectives advanced in the field of nutritional epidemiology suggest that consumption of meat and animal fat tend to be associated with increased risk of chronic diseases while plant-based diets appear to be protective. To address this debate, this project will explore the health effects of dietary restrictions on animal products and assess whether any shifts in health indicators vary in relation to the amount and quality of animal-based foods (e.g., processed versus unprocessed meats) consumed prior to restriction, the types of plant-based foods (e.g., refined versus whole grains versus vegetables and legumes) consumed as caloric replacements, and shifts in energy balance. Just as the health effects of omnivorous diets may depend on the overall caloric intake and nutritional composition of specific animal- and plant-based products, the health benefits of plant-based diets may depend on the amount of whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables consumed in relation to processed grain products and sugars. A clearer understanding of these interactions is of key interest to public health, anthropological, nutritional epidemiology, and population health scientists. Sharing the project results across these fields has the potential to influence how nutritional guidance is taught in schools and communicated to the public, as well as more broadly inform global and local efforts to understand and tackle the growing health and economic burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases in the U.S. and worldwide. This project will explore these nuances through the study of a ritualized eight-week voluntary dietary restriction on animal products practiced by Orthodox Christians (OCs) in the U.S. during Lent, the period prior to Easter. Because OCs receive guidance on which animal-based foods to abstain from during Lent but not on which plant-based foods to consume as caloric replacements, this study context allows the researchers to explore how natural variations in plant-based diets within industrialized contexts alter their influence on physiological health and how this co-varies with the effects of animal product restriction. A group of U.S.-born OCs will be followed through their Lenten period and a prior eight-week period of minimal church-guided dietary restrictions. Both individuals who do and do not follow the OC Lenten dietary traditions will be recruited for this study. Detailed dietary data, lifestyle information, and common markers of cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk will be collected to compare health indicators across the two time-points and relate any changes in health indicators to the degree of shifts in specific plant- and animal-based foods. These data will help answer the questions of whether restricting animal products from the diet necessarily confers a health benefit and to what degree any measureable health benefits might be contingent upon the amount and types of foods that comprise the baseline and restricted diets.