Marc Bates, a metabolic health coach, has released a YouTube video revealing how 19th-century religious visions shaped current U.S. dietary recommendations, potentially contributing to rising rates of diabetes and obesity.

The investigation traces modern nutrition policy to Ellen G. White, a Seventh-Day Adventist leader who claimed divine visions in 1863 instructing humans to avoid "flesh food" because it caused disease and "lustful thoughts."

"The sheer audacity of it is shocking: a 19th-century religious leader claimed God told her meat caused animal passions, sexual sin, and even masturbation," Bates stated in the video.

White's visions directly influenced the creation of Adventist medical institutions, including the Battle Creek Sanitarium under John Harvey Kellogg. These facilities trained early dietitians under "medical evangelicalism," embedding plant-based theology into nutrition education.

The American Dietetic Association, founded in 1917 by Kellogg-trained Adventist Lenna Cooper, established professional credentials based on religious dietary principles rather than scientific evidence.

Bates documented how Adventist influence persisted through decades, culminating in Dr. Joan Sabaté of Loma Linda University chairing the 2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

"Our nutrition policy was never neutral. It was, from the beginning, a faith-based prescription that later got dressed up as public health," Bates explained.

The coach argues this institutional capture contributed to metabolic health crises by promoting high-carbohydrate, grain-based diets while marginalizing evidence supporting carbohydrate restriction for diabetes and obesity treatment.