by Pahpa 10 Replies latest watchtower medical
Does anyone remember the brouhaha over lecithin in candies and other food items? I remember one sister writing to all the manufacturers of these products to inquire whether or not the lecithin was from a blood source. There were even lists of products to avoid that were circulated in the congregation. It seems ludicrous today. But it was "serious stuff" at the time.
Pahpa
This teaching has evolved over time.
12/22/1961 Awake pages 30,31 (not on CD)
*** w63 2/15 pp. 123-124 Carry Your Own Load of Responsibility ***
Another field in which decisions must be made involves the misuse of blood. Today the world misuses blood in so many ways that it is not always easy to discern what products contain it. The Christian may feel that it would be fine if the Watch Tower Society would make up a list of all the food products and medical preparations that contain blood. But the Society has not done so for good reasons. There are many substances found in blood that are also found elsewhere. This is to be expected, since human and animal bodies are not the only creations produced from the earth. For example, while lecithin is found in blood, it is also derived from soybeans, which happen to be the common commercial source of most lecithin. If there is doubt about a product, it is up to the individual to investigate by inquiring of the manufacturer. He cannot expect a brother in the congregation to rule on the matter for him; the brother did not make the product and neither did the Society. The substance may have been derived from blood or it may not. He must bear his own load of responsibility.
*** w79 3/15 p. 31 Questions from Readers ***
Lecithin is found in blood. And many processed foods have lecithin as an ingredient. Is such lecithin obtained from blood?
No, there is no reason for thinking so.
Lecithin is a natural substance that has many industrial uses because of its affinity for both oil and water in an emulsion. It is often used commercially in ice cream, candies and baking products, as well as in some cosmetics and chemical products. But what is the source of this lecithin?
Lecithin is a phospholipid present in all living cells. The 1977 EncyclopediaAmericana points out: "The highest concentrations of lecithins are found in brain and nervous tissue and in red blood cells. They are also present in large quantities in egg yolk and in some types of plant seeds."—Vol. 17, p. 147.
The fact that blood contains lecithin has been of concern to some Christians who have seen lecithin listed as an ingredient on food labels. The Bible commands Christians to ‘abstain from blood.’ (Acts 15:28, 29) They should thus avoid eating unbled meat and foods made with blood, such as blood sausage or blood pudding. Since red blood cells, though, contain concentrations of lecithin, some Christians have refused to eat any product having lecithin listed as an ingredient. Others have felt compelled to write to manufacturers to check on the source of the lecithin used in certain foods.
However, TheEncyclopediaAmericana continues: "Commercially, lecithin is used as an emulsifier in the food industry, particularly in the manufacture of margarine and chocolate. Lecithinforindustrialusesisobtainedfromeggsorasaby-productinthemanufactureofsoybeanoil." (Italics added.)
Because commercial quantities of relatively inexpensive lecithin can be obtained from eggs or soybean oil, there is no reason for any manufacturer to seek to have lecithin extracted from blood. By way of illustration: Red blood cells also contain molecules of iron. Yet how senseless it would be for a manufacturer to consider extracting iron from blood so he could make cooking pots or other iron products when the same substance (iron) can be obtained from iron ore at a fraction of the cost.
The fact is, then, that commercial lecithin does not come from blood. So Christians need not be concerned about blood when they see "lecithin" listed on the label of some food product.
There was brouhaha over lecithin??? You learn something new (HERE) everyday!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecithin
Lecithin is mostly a mixture of glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids (e.g. phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol). However, in biochemistry, lecithin is usually used as a synonym for pure phosphatidylcholine, a phospholipid which is the major component of a phosphatide fraction which may be isolated from either egg yolk (in Greek lekithos—?e?????) or soy beans from which it is mechanically or chemically extracted using hexane.
Lecithin is commercially available in high purity as a food supplement and for medical uses.
Boy I sure do!!!!!! My grandmother refused to by imitation crab meat due to it having Lecithin which she was convinced was a blood product. I think during the 70's it was the paronoid period between Lecithin and Smurf's.
Leslie
I take Lecithin and my JW parents still take Lecithin. I do somewhat remember that list, that was long time ago. Maybe someone on the board does still have that list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecithin
http://www.1001herbs.com/lecithin/
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/lecithin.html
Here are some informative sites about lecithin....
you guys are fast
I remember Nestle Energy chocolate being high in Lecithin concentration and we wern't allowed to eat it cos
it was 'made from blood'. Why didn't they research these things first before cloaking them as unscriptual.
I believe only one of 12 things I hear.
Yes I remember - must have been back in the early 60s. Probably as a result of the articles blondie referenced. Everyone was looking for Lecithin on the food labels.
Now I just try to find stuff without High Fructose Corn Syrup!!
The sister who wrote to the manufacturers found out that the lecithin used in food products was mostly derived from non-blood sources such as soy. But for period of time, the congregation typically overreacted to the advice and suggestions of the Watchtower's publication. Similar reactions over the aluminum scare caused many JWs to throw out all their aluminum pots and pans even while aluminum cookware was used at the assembly cafeterias. Some enterprising brothers did very well by selling expensive stainless steel products to the gullible membership.
Pahpa
