Christianity + Diet = Hallelujah Diet

Saturday, April 23, 2005
Trendsurfing: Biblical diets (The Times)
By David Rowan

Diet not going too well? Maybe you're putting your faith in the wrong book. It's taken a few thousand years, but suddenly diets based on biblical teachings are hot. With names like the Hallelujah Diet and the Maker's Diet, these scripture-inspired regimes are attracting a growing following among evangelical Christians and anyone else looking for miraculous ways to shed the pounds. In the US, this has led to a pile of best-selling books, with such delicious titles as What Would Jesus Eat?, Slim for Him, and - wait for it - Moses Wasn't Fat. Although after 40 years wandering around the desert, you too would get into a size eight.

The goal is to take true believers on a path of nutritional righteousness. Some begin with Genesis 1:29, in which God brings the Israelites their menu: "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." In other words, stick to fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Others take a more carnivorous interpretation, noting that later in the book the Lord suggests that "every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you". Or, if the New Testament is more your scene, you might choose only food available in Jesus's time. Think goats' milk rather than double frappuccinos.

Sure enough, this emerging field has already produced its own gurus, offering not merely dietary advice, but also the nicely profitable supplements to accompany it. The Dr Atkins of biblical diets would probably be George Malkmus, a self-proclaimed "Reverend" whose Hallelujah Diet claims to be "biblically based, scientifically validated, personally evidenced".

Malkmus rejects all animal products apart from honey, advising that you stick to raw fruit and vegetables, which he claims healed his own colon cancer. Medical records testifying to this miracle cure have proved strangely elusive, but Malkmus carries on selling his supplements and seminars. After all, as he points out, raw foodists in the Bible could expect to live for 912 years - whereas after the flood, when they started cooking, that dropped to a mere 110. So who wouldn't want to munch a few raw sunflower seeds?

Equally controversial is another best-selling author, Jordan S Rubin, whose book, The Maker's Diet, requires a 40-day journey which includes regular fast days. Rubin takes his cue from Leviticus, warning against Malkmus's raw food, and instead urging meat and dairy. Honey is in (after all, the Promised Land was full of it along with the milk), and whereas wild salmon is fine, the farmed version is "contrary to the Maker's design". It goes without saying that Rubin underwent his own mystical experience, in his case finding the diet cured his Crohn's disease. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

It has not dented the vast profits of Rubin's business that US food regulators have condemned his supplements' unsubstantiated health claims, or that critics have questioned his non-accredited academic qualifications. Nor has Malkmus suffered from similar censure of "false statements" for the products he sells, or from nutritionists' claims that his Hallelujah Diet is unbalanced and can cause serious deficiencies. The faithful, after all, believe in a higher truth - even if they have to munch packs of Bible Granola to attain it.

(The Times Magazine, April 23 2005)

Dr. Don Colbert, an evangelical Christian and Florida family doctor, read something that shocked him: Obseity, a 1998 Purdue University study concluded, was associated with strong religious participation. The firmer your faith, the study suggested, the flabbier your belly.

Strong religious participation is correlated with lower economic status and social class. Poor people tend to eat a less costly diet that contains cheaper, filling foods, usually high in carbohydrates. There is also less of an emphasis on fashion. Poor people usually do not have the means to go to a gym, play golf, tennis, and do all the other things that more affluent people do that tend to keep them in trimmer shape than their poorer neighbors.

"Obesity is linked to social class, being more common among those in the routine or semi-routine occupational groups than the managerial and professional groups. The link is stronger among women. In 2001, 30 per cent of women in routine occupations were classified as obese compared with 16 per cent in higher managerial and professional occupations."

I am quoting a report out of Britain.

One in three men on diet

By Anita Singh
Published: 23 January 2006

One in three men is on a diet, according to a survey by YouGov into the nation's dieting habits.

The poll of more than 2,100 adults revealed 39 per cent of men have dieted over the past 12 months, compared with 61 per cent of women. Asked why they were overweight, 36 per cent of respondents said getting older makes you fat, 14 per cent said it was in their genes and 15 per cent blamed medical reasons beyond their control.

One in 10 women said they had been tried up to five diets in the past year, while 11 per cent had lost count of their weight-loss regimes. Reasons for overeating included being unable to resist sweet treats and feeling stressed.

One in three men is on a diet, according to a survey by YouGov into the nation's dieting habits.

The poll of more than 2,100 adults revealed 39 per cent of men have dieted over the past 12 months, compared with 61 per cent of women. Asked why they were overweight, 36 per cent of respondents said getting older makes you fat, 14 per cent said it was in their genes and 15 per cent blamed medical reasons beyond their control.

One in 10 women said they had been tried up to five diets in the past year, while 11 per cent had lost count of their weight-loss regimes. Reasons for overeating included being unable to resist sweet treats and feeling stressed.

"Christians have learnt that they can influence public opinion and public policy more effectively by working through seemingly independent organizations," says Chumly, of the Washington-based Center for Chumming in the Public Interest, which campaigns for greater transparency.

It really tickles me when people make spurious conclusions. I would suggest that there is another reason why people of strong religious beliefs are flabbier.

Strong religious participation is correlated with lower economic status and social class. Poor people tend to eat a less costly diet that contains cheaper, filling foods, usually high in carbohydrates. There is also less of an emphasis on fashion. Poor people usually do not have the means to go to a gym, play golf, tennis, and do all the other things that more affluent people do that tend to keep them in trimmer shape than their poorer neighbors.