Food for Life – Whole Wheat Bread

In Genesis 1:29, we find the original diet for mankind, which is what we call today fruits, grains, and nuts. In Genesis 3:18, we see that, after sin entered the world, God added the green herb of the field to man’s diet. In Genesis 9, we read that God added flesh food to man’s diet. In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, it is spelled out which animals are clean and may be eaten and which animals are unclean and may not be eaten. God’s children, even in the days of Noah, did not eat unclean animals, because only two of each unclean animal were taken into the ark, and if Noah had eaten either one, then that species of animal would not be with us today. Nowhere in Leviticus is mankind forbidden to eat plants that do not bear seed.

God attempted to bring his people back to a largely vegetarian diet in Moses’ time, but they rebelled, and so it was not done. (See Numbers 11 and 14 and The Ministry of Healing, 311–317.)

We do not have information as to exactly when mankind began using milk and eggs and other foods that could not be classified as either a flesh food or a vegetable. We do know, from the biblical record, that God’s people were using these foods in Abraham’s time and in Moses’ time.

There are several kinds of foods eaten today that are in this category. First, is common bread. Bread is made with yeast. Yeast is a substance of aggregated cells of minute unicellular sac fungi. It has been debated whether these minute fungi are plants or animal. In the presence of sugar, the yeast ferments the bread dough, making alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what raises the bread. The alcohol has such a low boiling point that most of it is released into the air during baking. Ellen White calls bread the staff of life, so it is not an optional food. (Counsels on Diet and Foods, 315.)

Some years ago, there were men in the Middle East who were not reaching complete sexual maturity. An investigation revealed that they were experiencing a zinc deficiency. There is plenty of zinc in whole wheat bread, which they were eating, but the phytic acid in the bread dough was binding the zinc, so it was not being absorbed. They were not using leavened bread. When bread is leavened, the leavening action uses up some of the phytic acid, making the zinc in the wheat available for absorption. I know of no population group with a zinc deficiency, if that population group uses whole-grain, leavened bread. It is important to use leavened bread. (There are some disease processes that force a person to abstain from leavened bread, and special diets must be formulated for these people so they do not suffer from mineral deficiencies.)

Dr. John J. Grosboll, Director of Steps to Life, is also trained in the field of nutrition, having earned a Doctor’s Degree in Health Science and a Master of Public Health degree in Public Health Nutrition from Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California.

Whole Wheat Bread, Oil-Free

4 cups very warm water

3 Tablespoons yeast

1/4 cup honey

9–10 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon salt

In a large bowl, mix the first three ingredients together with a whisk. Add 3 cups flour and beat well. Add salt and enough flour to make pliable—not sticky—dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Return dough to bowl, cover with a towel, and place in a warm location until double. Knead dough again for 5 minutes; shape into loaves and place in prepared pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise 30–45 minutes. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 50 minutes.