Are you confused by all the nutrition advice you find on the Internet, in bookstores, from doctors, nutritionists, even helpful family and friends? These people all promote one diet or another, with a rationale as to why their diet is the best one. Let us look at some of the most recent, best-diet claims. We have heard of the paleo diet, the zone diet, the low protein diet, the HIGH protein diet, the low-carb diet, the low-fat diet, the raw food diet. We have the blood type diet. We have diets within diets. We have vegetarian diets of numerous types—lacto vegetarians, ovo vegetarians, and lacto-ovo vegetarians, we have the flexitarians, the pescatarians, and the vegans. We have diets specific to certain medical conditions—the diabetic diet, the gluten-free diet, the DASH diet. The list could go on forever. With so many diet choices out there, which one is the best for us? Where do we go to find out what is the truth about what we should be eating? What is the most health-promoting, and healing diet, that benefits all mankind, no matter our age, gender, race, blood type, or medical condition?
Before we decide on this, let us take a minute to consider something that we all are familiar with: the car. It is a complex piece of machinery, with many systems that work smoothly together, in order for it to function as a whole. In order for these various systems to function in top running order, it needs to be maintained. Part of the maintenance requires that various fluids be used, from oil for the engine, coolant for the radiator, fluid for the transmission, and gasoline to provide fuel for the car.
Who do you think would be the most knowledgeable about such a complex machine with all of its hundreds of working parts as to what type of maintenance is needed (e.g., which are the best type of fluids to use), in order to maintain the car in the best working condition, to ensure that you have a car that works efficiently, without breaking down, and to have it last for many years? Would it not be the one who actually designed the car?
So, whenever we have a question about the care of our car, we don’t have the car’s designer on our phone’s speed dial, so what has the designer of the car provided us with so that we have all these answers at our finger tips?” Is it not an owner’s manual? And the owner’s manual is, what? It is the instruction book on the maintenance requirements of the car, to keep it in the best working order and to have it last for many years. It tells us which oil the car needs, how often it needs changing, it tells us when to service specific parts, it tells us how often maintenance is required, which type of gas is best suited for the car in order for the engine to run efficiently and to get the best mileage. . . all that is in the owner’s manual. Now, what would happen if we deviated from the guidelines in the manual? For example, if we don’t change the oil at regular intervals, or not add oil at all, eventually the engine would seize up and would have to be replaced. This would be a very costly deviation from the instructions in the manual. If we put in the wrong gasoline, the gas mileage would drop, and we develop problems with the engine. In avoiding regular maintenance, the car may break down sooner. So, to get the best use out of our car, the owner’s manual is the place to go.
If we take the analogy of the car and compare it to the human body, who would be the most knowledgeable, to provide us with all the information that is needed for us to maintain our bodies in the best working condition, and to get the best “mileage”, as it were, from our bodies? Would it not ALSO be from the One who actually designed us? The One Who created us? Would that not make the most sense? So, instead of trying to decide which expert to believe, we need to consult the One who actually knows our body more intimately than any scientist, nutritionist, medical professional, or health guru. And who is this Creator? Who designed us?
Charles Darwin developed a theory, which most scientists believe, that, over millions, and even billions of years, all life on earth evolved from a single-celled creature, in a random sequence of evolutional stages, until the very complex and very finely-tuned creature, known as the human or homo sapiens, came into existence. The theory is constantly changing, with the time span increasing from the birth of the single-celled creature to the time in which we live, where thousands of animal and plant species exist. As science develops and they learn new things, they feel that this evolution had to happen over even more years. So, what was once millions of years is now being talked about in billions of years. This theory is determined to deny the fact that man could have been created by a superior being. However, logically, with the complexity of the universe, our solar system, earth, and all its various systems that work in fine tune with each other, to suggest that someone created all of it, instead of it all happening by chance, makes more logical and rational sense.
With all the sources of information available to us in the world, where do we find the evidence that man is a created being? The BIBLE. Let us read in Genesis 1:26, 27: “And God said, Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God, created He him; male and female created He them.” So, who created us? God. And not only did He create us but He did it in His own image, therefore He would know His creation as well as He knew His own body.
Knowing that God created man, would He not also want to take care of His creation? Would He not want His creation to thrive, to reach its highest potential? And, if we take the car analogy again, to run efficiently and have it last as long as possible, even for eternity? He would not wish to create something that would be damaged from misuse, or from taking care of it incorrectly. So, like the car manufacturer, what would God want to have in place? Would He not also want to create a set of instructions, an owner’s manual for the human body?
Where would we go to find this owner’s manual? It would have to be a source that was written by God, by our designer, our Creator. Which book do we know that was written by God, by men who were inspired to write, with God as the author? “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” 2 Timothy 3:16. The answer again is the Bible. THIS is the owner’s manual that God has provided for us. Knowing this, when you consider all of the books and websites, all the expert and not-so-expert advice, as to how to take care of our body, . . . to actually know which of these sources could be of benefit to us, we need to compare them to the original owner’s manual. If the source is in agreement with the original owner’s manual, then it can contain valuable information for us. But, if the source is promoting something that goes against the original instruction manual, then that book is not one to consider. Put it away.
As well as creating us, and providing us with an owner’s manual, what else did God do for us? From the Bible, we know that not only did God create man, but he also created the world that we live in, all the structures, systems, all the living organisms. We are also told that everything that God created was for man’s benefit.
Let us look at a few of these structures. For example, God created the world in six days, and then He rested on the 7th day. He instructs us to do the same. From creation on, we have had a weekly 7-day cycle, with six days of work and one day of rest to rejuvenate us and to take time to be with our Creator. He created light and darkness, day and night, and created our body’s sleep/wake cycles to be dependent on the hours of light and darkness. We have the continuous water cycle, which provides the earth with moisture that is vital to all living things. He gave us the sun that provides us with heat, that nourishes our crops. He provided a growing cycle for all living plants. There is not one thing created that was not for the benefit of God’s crowning glory of creation, which was man.
And what also did He include besides the cycles that ruled the seasons, years, weeks, and days? In Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. . . Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Man was to procreate, to fill the earth with his progeny. Every creature that God created was to be under man’s dominion and for his use and enjoyment. Even the flowers in the field were created to fill the senses with beauty, the colours, the smells, all for man’s enjoyment. He gave us the ideal environment for promoting the health of body and soul.
And after this, what instruction did God give to man? We read in Genesis 1:29, “And God said, 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.”
And then what did God do? “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden.” Genesis 2:8, 10. Then we read in verse 15, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Not only did God give man explicit instructions on what he should eat, but God knew that man would be most happy if he could work. So, he was given the task of tending to the garden, to provide food for himself.
He gave man everything he needed in order to be happy, healthy, and to provide him with the diet that would allow man to be useful, productive, and industrious. God did not create man, only to have man destroy himself from unhealthy habits and eating the wrong foods. So, He Himself created the food that man should eat.
We know also that there many other things that God gave man for him to be spiritually and physically healthy, such as our connection with God, our relationships with others, our respect for our parents, the marriage relationship, He gave us the Sabbath, He also gave us laws. These we will not address in this article, but are of equal importance.
If man had continued to obey God, He would have had eternal happiness and eternal life. However, man did not obey God’s instructions. Man fell into sin, and paradise was lost to him. But, God did not forsake man. He created a plan in which man could be saved; He gave man a new set of instructions, on how to regain the paradise which once had been lost.
Man would have to continue to provide for his physical needs. However that which before sin was a joy, now became difficult. “In the sweat of thy face thou eat bread.” Genesis 3:19. Also, after sin, God added another item to man’s diet. “Thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18
Therefore, the only conclusion that we can reach from these instructions given to man, was that, before sin and after sin, the diet that God provided for man was plant based.
Would God have overlooked anything that could provide us with good health and strong bodies? Of course not. Then, what does this tell us? The natural world and it resources and bounties are where we need to go to for our health and strength. This includes the food that God provided for us to eat to sustain our bodies.
We don’t have time in this lecture to go into detail about the various foods and their specific health benefits, but, if we take a close look at the diet given to man, I think we can all agree that God’s instructions were for man to live solely on a plant-based diet.
A plant-based, or a vegan diet as it is also called, is able to provide us with all the nutrients our body needs. Our body system functions best when it consumes plants. Our digestive system was designed by God to absorb and use plant-based nutrients for fuel, for energy, for metabolism, to supply our cells with the balanced diet in order to function at its peak ability. Our bodies were never intended to consume animal-based foods. In fact, many of the diseases that man suffers from are ones that man has brought on himself, from eating an animal-based diet. These diseases are also the most deadly, such as cancers, heart disease, and strokes; most of these have been scientifically proven to be directly related to one’s diet. Studies show that vegetarians and vegans have a lower incidence of the age-related illnesses that occur from a lifetime of bad eating habits, which slowly break down the body and bring on disease.
The proper balance of nutrients is best supplied from plants. People who eat meat consume up to twice as much protein and fats than the body requires on a daily basis. Plants also contain protein, but in much smaller quantities than animal products, yet sufficient for our needs. A vegan diet with a wide variety of foods will provide a complete source of protein; meat is not necessary. The fats in a vegan diet are healthy fats. Saturated fats and trans-fats, which are harmful to the body, and promote inflammation and free-radicals, which cause premature aging and disease, are missing from a vegan diet. Carbohydrates, which should provide the bulk of our diet are the basis of all plant foods. Most plant foods contain all three of the necessary macronutrients—fats, carbohydrates and proteins—the food which provides the bulk of our body’s needs.
The micronutrients, the substances that our body needs in smaller amounts, which include all the vitamins and minerals are also well supplied from a plant-based diet. Many of the vitamins and minerals are also considered antioxidants. Our bodies age and develop damage as a result of free radicals, which is a byproduct of our metabolism. Antioxidants fight free radical damage, by neutralizing them. We do not need animal-based foods to supply any lack from a plant-based diet.
Not only do plants provide us with complete nutrition, they also contain valuable phytochemicals which actually promote health and fight disease. Phytochemicals are a group of chemical compounds contained in plants, many of them are responsible for the colour of the fruit or the vegetable. The different colours signify specific phytochemicals, i.e. lycopene provides tomatoes with the colour red, cyanins provide blueberries with the colour blue, beta carotene provides carrots with the colour orange. There are approximately 4,000 phytochemicals in plant life, and each of these phytochemicals has a different role to play in health promotion and healing, and to affect disease. Many of these phytochemicals are also antioxidants.
Current science has a lot of information on the various healing properties of plants, and have been able to determine which specific plants help to treat or prevent the various ailments that afflict mankind. Even many of the drugs that are used to treat disease have been derived from natural sources. But, long before scientists were able to manipulate information in laboratories and make conclusions on which ingredient of which plant would fight which disease, the knowledge of the healing properties of plants has been passed down through generations, from the time that man first fell into sin and our bodies began to decay. We can use the information that is available to us, from current research, from folk knowledge, and from the books that were written by God’s prophet, Ellen White, to treat and to cure illness.
For those who are skeptical that the writings of Ellen White were inspired by God, go to her health books. They contain information about the human body that was not even known by the scientists of her day. Many of her statements on health and the human body, on the use of natural remedies vs drugs, were confirmed by science and research in the years after her death. Adherence to the diet given to man by God in the Garden of Eden, and using what God gave us in nature is able to treat everything from age-related illnesses such as arthritis and diabetes, to basic first aid such as how to heal a wound, or to relieve pain, such as ridding ourselves of a headache. Nature is our pharmacy; nature is our source of healing.
The Bible tells us, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made. . .” Psalm 139:14. Let us use the Bible as our owner’s manual, and adhere to the diet given to us by the One who created us, to keep ourselves healthy, productive and functioning as God designed us to do, is my prayer, AMEN.
Helen Marttinen