Back to the Original Diet: The Best Option for Optimum Health Today
Samuel Smith
23 Jan'19
5
LESSON 11
BACK TO THE ORIGINAL DIET: THE BEST OPTION FOR OPTIMUM HEALTH TODAY
You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.In this edition, we continue with our series on How to Prosper in Health. The topic for this study is: Back to the Original Diet: The Best Option for Optimum Health Today. In our previous studies, we have considered among other things the following:
i) how the Lord commanded the human race to rely only on a plant based diet before the flood;
ii) how the Lord allowed mankind to make use of only the clean animal species as food when the flood destroyed all the vegetation on the earth;
iii) how God's people who lived before the flood and relied only on a plant-based diet were more healthier, stronger and lived far longer than people who lived after the flood and consumed the flesh of animals;
iv) the various Bible passages that have been misinterpreted to embolden people to transgress against God's health laws unto their own destruction;
v) and the clear negative biblical position in relation to alcoholic beverages and stimulating drugs.
At this point in this series, I want us to examine some Spirit of Prophecy counsels and scholarly research works that lend credence to the biblical ideal of a plant-based diet for the human race. I will allow the various authors to make their point after which I will draw some conclusions from what they have to say. I will first want us to consider what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say in relation to how a plant-based diet is preferable for optimal health than a flesh diet. After that, we will consider how a leading scientific study on diet and other scholarly research works have come to confirm the counsels from the Spirit of Prophecy in relation to the diet question.
1) SOME SPIRIT OF PROPHECY COUNSELS ON DIET
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White exercised the Spiritual Gift of Prophecy for over a period of over 70 years through visions and prophetic dreams (seeA) FLESH DIET -- AN AFTERMATH OF SIN
"God gave our first parents the food He designed that the race should eat. It was contrary to His plan to have the life of any creature taken. There was to be no death in Eden. The fruit of the trees in the garden, was the food man's wants required. God gave man no permission to eat animal food until after the flood. Everything had been destroyed upon which man could subsist, and therefore the Lord in their necessity gave Noah permission to eat of the clean animals which he had taken with him into the ark. But animal food was not the most healthful article of food for man" {CD 373.1}.
"The people who lived before the flood ate animal food and gratified their lusts until their cup of iniquity was full, and God cleansed the earth of its moral pollution by a flood. Then the third dreadful curse rested upon the earth. The first curse was pronounced upon the posterity of Adam and upon the earth, because of disobedience. The second curse came upon the ground after Cain slew his brother Abel. The third most dreadful curse from God came upon the earth at the flood" {CD 373.2}.
"After the flood the people ate largely of animal food. God saw that the ways of man were corrupt, and that he was disposed to exalt himself proudly against his Creator and to follow the inclinations of his own heart. And He permitted that long-lived race to eat animal food to shorten their sinful lives. Soon after the flood the race began to rapidly decrease in size, and in length of years" {CD 373.3}.
B) ISRAEL'S FAILURE AND SPIRITUAL LOSS
"The diet appointed man in the beginning did not include animal food. Not till after the flood, when every green thing on the earth had been destroyed, did man receive permission to eat flesh" {CD 374.1}.
"In choosing man's food in Eden, the Lord showed what was the best diet; in the choice made for Israel, He taught the same lesson. He brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and undertook their training, that they might be a people for His own possession. Through them He desired to bless and teach the world. He provided them with the food best adapted for this purpose, not flesh, but manna, "the bread of heaven." It was only because of their discontent and their murmurings for the fleshpots of Egypt that animal food was granted them, and this only for a short time. Its use brought disease and death to thousands. Yet the restriction to a nonflesh diet was never heartily accepted. It continued to be the cause of discontent and murmuring, open or secret, and it was not made permanent" {CD 374.2}.
"Upon their settlement in Canaan, the Israelites were permitted the use of animal food, but under careful restrictions, which tended to lessen the evil results. The use of swine's flesh was prohibited, as also of other animals and of birds and fish whose flesh was pronounced unclean. Of the meats permitted, the eating of the fat and the blood was strictly forbidden" {CD 374.3}.
"Only such animals could be used for food as were in good condition. No creature that was torn, that had died of itself or from which the blood had not been carefully drained, could be used as food" {CD 374.4}.
"By departing from the plan divinely appointed for their diet, the Israelites suffered great loss. They desired a flesh diet, and they reaped its results. They did not reach God's ideal of character or fulfill His purpose. The Lord "gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul." They valued the earthly above the spiritual, and the sacred preeminence which was His purpose for them they did not attain" {CD 375.1}.
C) REASONS FOR DISCARDING FLESH FOODS
From the book, Ministry of Healing, chapter 23, Ellen White provides various counsels as to why God's end time saints must discard flesh food. Outlined below are such counsels:
"Those who eat flesh are but eating grains and vegetables at second hand; for the animal receives from these things the nutrition that produces growth. The life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the eater. We receive it by eating the flesh of the animal. How much better to get it direct, by eating the food that God provided for our use!" {MH 313.1}.
"Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing. Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continually eating flesh that is filled with tuberculosis and cancerous germs. Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communicated" {MH 313.2}.
"The tissues of the swine swarm with parasites. Of the swine God said, "It is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass."
"Often animals are taken to market and sold for food when they are so diseased that their owners fear to keep them longer. And some of the processes of fattening them for market produce disease. Shut away from the light and pure air, breathing the atmosphere of filthy stables, perhaps fattening on decaying food, the entire body soon becomes contaminated with foul matter" {MH 314.1}.
"Animals are often transported long distances and subjected to great suffering in reaching a market. Taken from the green pastures, and traveling for weary miles over the hot, dusty roads, or crowded into filthy cars, feverish and exhausted, often for many hours deprived of food and water, the poor creatures are driven to their death, that human beings may feast on the carcasses" {MH 314.2}.
"In many places fish become so contaminated by the filth on which they feed as to be a cause of disease. This is especially the case where the fish come in contact with the sewage of large cities. The fish that are fed on the contents of the drains may pass into distant waters and may be caught where the water is pure and fresh. Thus when used as food they bring disease and death on those who do not suspect the danger" {MH 314.3}.
"The effects of a flesh diet may not be immediately realized; but this is no evidence that it is not harmful. Few can be made to believe that it is the meat they have eaten which has poisoned their blood and caused their suffering. Many die of diseases wholly due to meat eating, while the real cause is not suspected by themselves or by others" {MH 315.1}.
"The moral evils of a flesh diet are not less marked than are the physical ills. Flesh food is injurious to health, and whatever affects the body has a corresponding effect on the mind and the soul. Think of the cruelty to animals that meat eating involves, and its effect on those who inflict and those who behold it. How it destroys the tenderness with which we should regard these creatures of God!" {MH 315.2}.
"The intelligence displayed by many dumb animals approaches so closely to human intelligence that it is a mystery. The animals see and hear and love and fear and suffer. They use their organs far more faithfully than many human beings use theirs. They manifest sympathy and tenderness toward their companions in suffering. Many animals show an affection for those who have charge of them, far superior to the affection shown by some of the human race. They form attachments for man which are not broken without great suffering to them" {MH 315.3}.
"What man with a human heart, who has ever cared for domestic animals, could look into their eyes, so full of confidence and affection, and willingly give them over to the butcher's knife? How could he devour their flesh as a sweet morsel?" {MH 316.1}.
"It is a mistake to suppose that muscular strength depends on the use of animal food. The needs of the system can be better supplied, and more vigorous health can be enjoyed, without its use. The grains, with fruits, nuts, and vegetables, contain all the nutritive properties necessary to make good blood. These elements are not so well or so fully supplied by a flesh diet. Had the use of flesh been essential to health and strength, animal food would have been included in the diet appointed man in the beginning" {MH 316.2}.
"When the use of flesh food is discontinued, there is often a sense of weakness, a lack of vigor. Many urge this as evidence that flesh food is essential; but it is because foods of this class are stimulating, because they fever the blood and excite the nerves, that they are so missed. Some will find it as difficult to leave off flesh eating as it is for the drunkard to give up his dram; but they will be the better for the change" {MH 316.3}.
"When flesh food is discarded, its place should be supplied with a variety of grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits that will be both nourishing and appetizing. This is especially necessary in the case of those who are weak or who are taxed with continuous labor. In some countries where poverty abounds, flesh is the cheapest food. Under these circumstances the change will be made with greater difficulty; but it can be effected. 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. None should be urged to make the change abruptly. The place of meat should be supplied with wholesome foods that are inexpensive. In this matter very much depends on the cook. With care and skill, dishes may be prepared that will be both nutritious and appetizing, and will, to a great degree, take the place of flesh food" {MH 316.4}.
"In all cases educate the conscience, enlist the will, supply good, wholesome food, and the change will be readily made, and the demand for flesh will soon cease" {MH 317.1}.
"Is it not time that all should aim to dispense with flesh foods? How can those who are seeking to become pure, refined, and holy, that they may have the companionship of heavenly angels, continue to use as food anything that has so harmful an effect on soul and body? How can they take the life of God's creatures that they may consume the flesh as a luxury? Let them, rather, return to the wholesome and delicious food given to man in the beginning, and themselves practice, and teach their children to practice, mercy toward the dumb creatures that God has made and has placed under our dominion" {MH 317.2}.
2) THE CHINA STUDY: AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TRUE SCIENCE ENDORSES THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
The testimony that God gave Ellen G. White in relation to the negative effects of an animal-based diet as well as the advantages of a plant-based diet for optimal health do not stand alone in our time. Today, the Spirit of Prophecy counsels on diet stands vindicated in the world of Science as various scientific studies from world renowned researchers have come to support the point that the solution for optimal health for the human race is to go back to the pre-flood diet which constituted of only plants.One leading scientific study on diet which sheds light through the darkness of today's negative health propaganda is The China Study, co-authored by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II. In this leading and broad scientific examination on diet ever conducted, we see how true science shakes hands with the Spirit of Prophecy. In order not to dilute the message of these experts, I will just reproduce a short excerpt from this bestselling book which actually communicates a similar message from what we have read earlier from the Spirit of Prophecy. From the PART II of The China Study, captioned: DISEASES OF AFFLUENCE, we read the following:
"HERE IN AMERICA, we are affluent, and we die certain deaths because of it. We eat like feasting kings and queens every day of the week, and it kills us. You probably know people who suffer from heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's, obesity or diabetes. There's a good chance that you yourself suffer from one of these problems, or that one of these diseases runs in your family. AS WE HAVE SEEN, THESE DISEASES ARE RELATIVELY UNKNOWN IN TRADITIONAL CULTURES THAT SUBSIST MOSTLY ON WHOLE PLANT FOODS, AS IN RURAL CHINA. BUT THESE AILMENTS ARRIVE WHEN A TRADITIONAL CULTURE STARTS ACCUMULATING WEALTH AND STARTS EATING MORE AND MORE MEAT, DAIRY AND REFINED PLANT PRODUCTS (like crackers, cookies and soda)" (The China Study, 109.1; Capital Emphasis Added).
"In public lectures, I start my presentation by telling the audience my personal story, just as I have done in this book. Invariably, I get a question at the end of the lecture from someone who wants to know more about diet and a specific disease of affluence. Chances are that you yourself also have a question about a specific disease. Chances are, too, that this specific disease is a disease of affluence, because that's what we die of here in America" (The China Study, 109.2).
"You might be surprised to know that the disease that interests you has much in common with other diseases of affluence, especially when it comes to nutrition. There is no such thing as a special diet for cancer and a different, equally special diet for heart disease. The evidence now amassed from researchers around the world shows that the same diet that is good for the prevention of cancer is also good for the prevention of heart disease, as well as obesity, diabetes, cataracts, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's, cognitive dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis and other diseases. Furthermore, this diet can only benefit everyone, regardless of his or her genes or personal dispositions" (The China Study, 109-110.3).
"All of these diseases, and others, spring forth from the same influence: an unhealthy, largely toxic diet and lifestyle that has an excess of sickness-promoting factors and a deficiency of health-promoting factors. In other words, the Western diet. CONVERSELY, THERE IS ONE DIET TO COUNTERACT ALL OF THESE DISEASES: A WHOLE FOODS, PLANT-BASED DIET" (The China Study, 110.1; Capital Emphasis Added).
"The following chapters are organized by disease, or disease grouping. Each chapter contains evidence showing how food relates to each disease. As you go through each chapter, you will begin to see the breadth and depth of the astonishing scientific argument favoring a whole foods, plant-based diet. For me, the consistency of evidence regarding such a disparate group of diseases has been the most convincing aspect of this argument. WHEN A WHOLE FOODS, PLANT-BASED DIET IS DEMONSTRABLY BENEFICIAL FOR SUCH A WIDE VARIETY OF DISEASES, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT HUMANS WERE MEANT TO CONSUME ANY OTHER DIET? I SAY NO, AND I THINK YOU'LL AGREE" (The China Study, 110.2; Capital Emphasis Added).
"America and most other Western nations have gotten it wrong when it comes to diet and health, and we have paid a grave price. We are sick, overweight and confused. As I have moved on from the laboratory studies and the China Study and encountered the information discussed in Part II, I have become overwhelmed. I have come to realize that some of our most revered conventions are wrong and real health has been grossly obscured. Most unfortunately, the unsuspecting public has paid the ultimate price. In large measure, this book is my effort to right these wrongs. AS YOU WILL COME TO SEE IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS, FROM HEART DISEASE TO CANCER, AND FROM OBESITY TO BLINDNESS, THERE IS A BETTER PATH TO OPTIMAL HEALTH" (The China Study, 110.3; Capital Emphasis Added).
3) NUTRITIONAL UPDATE FOR PHYSICIANS: AN EXAMPLE OF A SCHOLARLY RESEARCH THAT VINDICTIVES THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
Another scholarly research that sheds light amidst the darkness of today's negative health propaganda is the Nutritional Update For Physicians: Plant-based Diets. This research was carried out by renowned experts such as Philip J. Tuso, MD; Mohamed H. Ismail, MD; Benjamin P. Ha, MD; and Carole Bartolotto, MA, RD. These researchers compiled studies that show clearly how people who rely on plant-based diets have a lower risk factor of developing negative health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even mortality. I will highlight only two paragraphs from their work where they consider the effects of how a plant-based diet is a better alternative in reducing risk factors for obesity and diabetes.Obesity: "In 2006, after reviewing data from 87 published studies, authors Berkow and Barnard (13) reported in Nutrition Reviews that a vegan or vegetarian diet is highly effective for weight loss. They also found that vegetarian populations have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. In addition, their review suggests that weight loss in vegetarians is not dependent on exercise and occurs at a rate of approximately 1 pound per week. The authors further stated that a vegan diet caused more calories to be burned after meals, in contrast to nonvegan diets which may cause fewer calories to be burned because food is being stored as fat" 13 (Nutritional Update For Physicians: Plant-based Diets).
Diabetes: "Plant-based diets may offer an advantage over those that are not plant based with respect to prevention and management of diabetes. The Adventist Health Studies found that vegetarians have approximately half the risk of developing diabetes asnonvegetarians.19 In 2008, Vang et al20 reported that nonvegetarians were 74% more likely to develop diabetes over a 17-year period than vegetarians. In 2009, a study involving more than 60,000 men and women found that the prevalence of diabetes in individuals on a vegan diet was 2.9%, compared with 7.6% in the nonvegetarians.17 A low-fat, plant-based diet with no or little meat may help prevent and treat diabetes, possibly by improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing insulin resistance" (Nutritional Update For Physicians: Plant-based Diets).
Beloved, the two research works captured in this study are not the only scholarly works which have discovered the benefits that a plant-based diet has over flesh diet. There are several scientific and other scholarly research available on the subject. I will encourage you to begin exploring them, and you will be amazed at the wealth of information and knowledge out there. It is interesting to observe in our time how true science has vindicated the prophetic voice of Ellen G. White on the important issue of diet.
4) Friends, when we come to understand the crucial truth that flesh food is not the best option for optimal health, and that we must move beyond flesh diet to embrace an all plant-based diet, we will naturally stop the arguments about the biblical position of whether to make use of unclean animals or not. We will also appreciate the point that the permission that the Lord gave us to partake of the clean animal species was only an emergency measure which was to be discontinued later on.
It is important for us to note that flesh diet, even the clean ones, was not supposed to be part of our food. It had sharp effects in the strength, vigour and longevity of those who began using it after the flood. As we get closer to the final hours of earth's history, the negative effects that flesh diet will have on those who will stubbornly clung to it will multiply a thousand fold. It is my prayer that you will save yourself and family the negative spiritual and physical effects that accompany a flesh diet by beginning to apply the truth that has been made available in this study.
Exhortation: "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper" (
SELECTED REFERENCES / FURTHER STUDY
1) Councils on Foods and Diet by Ellen G. White
2) Ministry of Healing by Ellen G. White
3) The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. AND Thomas M. Campbell II
4) Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets by Philip J. Tuso, MD et al.
NB: The figures 13, 17, 19 and 20 as found in the two paragraphs taken from the Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets, represent the following research works respectively:
13. Berkow SE, Barnard N. Vegetarian diets and weight status. Nutr Rev. 2006 Apr;64(4):17588. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2006.tb00200.x. [PubMed]
17. Tonstad S, Butler T, Yan R, Fraser GE. Type of vegetarian diet, body weight, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2009 May;32(5):7916. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc08-1886.[PMC free article] [PubMed]
19. Snowdon DA, Phillips RL. Does a vegetarian diet reduce the occurrence of diabetes? Am J Public Health. 1985 May;75(5):50712. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.75.5.507.[PMC free article] [PubMed]
20. Vang A, Singh PN, Lee JW, Haddad EH, Brinegar CH. Meats, processed meats, obesity, weight gain and occurrence of diabetes among adults: findings from Adventist Health Studies. Ann Nutr Metab.2008;52(2):96-104. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000121365.[PubMed]
In our next study, which happens to be the last in our series on How to Prosper in Health, we will consider the topic: Amazing Tips on How to Prosper in Health. The Bible study references for this study are
Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.
Maranatha!
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