vegetables

The Divinely Prescribed Diet after Sin

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After God created Adam and Eve, He said, “ ‘I have given you every herb yielding seed … and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.’ [Genesis 1:29.]” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 81. But when they sinned and were banished from the garden of Eden, the Lord altered their diet making a specific addition: “you shall eat the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.

The word translated herb is identified as word number 6212 in the Hebrew-English lexicon contained in Strong’s Concordance of the Scriptures. If you have the New Englishman’s Concordance of the Old Testament by Wigram, you will see that this word is used about 33 times in the Old Testament and one of its most common translations is “grass.” The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon by Davidson gives the following translations of this word: “green herb,” and plural, “herb,” and “vegetables.” This same word is translated “green herb” in Genesis 1:30.

The definition of herb is a plant that has a fleshy stem as distinguished from the woody stem of shrubs and trees. Herbs generally die back at the end of the growing season.

An herb then is a green vegetable; and after sin man was given green vegetables—herbs—as part of his diet from then on. Adam and Eve had not been in the habit of eating grasses or green herbs in the garden of Eden; before sin entered the world, herbs were only animal food.

This divine instruction to man has never been rescinded. Therefore, green vegetables, or herbs, such as spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens, collards, alfalfa, dandelion, parsley, lamb’s quarter, kelp, watercress, celery, and many more are to be part of the diet of all who fear God. If the human race had always been careful to observe this divine instruction, great suffering would have been prevented down through the ages, but that is beyond the scope of this study.

In 1960, H. E. Kirschner, M.D., published a book entitled Nature’s Healing Grasses. The book was published by Herbert C. White Publications, and by 1980 had gone through 16 printings. Herbert White was one of Ellen White’s grandsons.

In 1936, N.W. Walker, D. Sci. published a book entitled Raw Vegetable Juices. In the expanded version of this book, published in 1970, there are over 70 vegetable juice formulas with instructions of how these formulas may be used to help treat various disease conditions.

These green foods will probably cease to be a part of the saints’ diet during the time of trouble because then their diet is going to be restricted to only bread and water (see Isaiah 33), but until then if we want to be in harmony with all of the divine instructions about how to live, these foods need to be a part of our daily diet.

A vegetable is defined as the edible part of a plant such as the root, the stem, the leaves and/or the flower. A fruit on the other hand is defined as the ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant together with the surrounding flesh in which the seed or seeds are usually contained.

Human beings evidently like sugar from birth and we can obtain and refine sugar from both fruits and vegetables or herbs. Vegetables that are concentrated sources of sugar include, beets, especially sugar beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, and yams. Fruits as a general class of food are high in sugar, but some fruits are much higher in sugar than others, including pineapple, dates, figs, grapes, pears, bananas, and several other tropical fruits.

Adding a little more sugar to your fruit would not be a problem if you are not a diabetic, and some raw fruits (raspberries come to mind) are better enjoyed by most people if a little sugar is added. But even though some vegetables contain significant amounts of sugar, adding more sugar to vegetables often results in indigestion. Mrs. White makes the following statement on this subject: “It is not well to eat fruit and vegetables at the same meal. If the digestion is feeble, the use of both will often cause distress and inability to put forth mental effort. It is better to have the fruit at one meal and the vegetables at another.” The Ministry of Healing, 299, 300

Notice several details about this statement:

  1. The subject is not given as a command. For example, it is not well to eat butter, either, but God’s people are not commanded not to eat butter.
  2. So this is counsel, but not a command, and this counsel is given especially for a certain subset of the general population—those who have weak digestion (dyspeptics).
  3. And because of the possibility of suffering indigestion as a result of consuming fruits and vegetables at the same meal, it is better for those individuals to eat fruit at one meal and vegetables at another.

Unfortunately, very few statements found in Inspiration concerning diet have caused as many questions to be directed at medical missionary workers as this simple statement with very rational counsel. Since questions about the counsel in the above statement have been asked to me in front of college educators with General Conference personnel present, I am acquainted with the unfortunate controversies that develop over this question and I want to explain a few further points on this subject.

  • The counsel in the above statement was intended as a general statement about fruits and vegetables and was not intended to be all inclusive to include all fruits and all vegetables. A general statement cannot be taken and interpreted literally to all varieties of food. I will explain this in a moment.
  • Since this statement was written especially for those with weak digestion, if you know that you have strong digestion, there certainly is nothing wrong with eating a piece of fruit at the end of a vegetable meal or eating a stalk of celery with your apple as some people like to do.
  • Since the statement is a general statement stating a general rule, we need to understand that there are exceptions to this statement (this general rule) where it does not apply. I will begin to list some exceptions now.

I myself listened to a report by Alma McGibbon who was one of Ellen White’s close associates during her later years, who stated that Ellen White ate cooked greens daily during that period of her life and she did not eat these cooked greens with just salt. She added some lemon juice. This of course is mixing fruits and vegetables. Was Ellen White a hypocrite, not following her own counsel since she had very weak digestion in her later years? No, this is an exception to the rule. In fact, it is two exceptions to the rule. First of all, greens, either cooked or raw, do not cause as much problems with indigestion as most other vegetables—such as potatoes or beets—if fruit is eaten at the same meal. But more importantly lemon juice does not contain sugar, and partly for this reason, lemons can be used freely with any vegetable meal. Secondly, lemons can be used at a vegetable meal because they are high in acid content. Consequently, we could easily formulate another general rule: if a fruit has a high acid and low sugar content, it may be freely used with vegetables. There may be some dyspeptics whose digestions are so feeble that this general rule would not apply, but if your digestion is that feeble, you are either very near death’s door or you should be seeing a physician who specializes in disorders of the digestive system.

Are there other fruits that are high in acid and low in sugar content that can be eaten with vegetables? Yes. Tomatoes should immediately come to mind. Some people have thought that they could not eat tomatoes with their tossed green salad, but such a restriction is not really necessary. If you want to have a tomato and lettuce sandwich, that is not a violation of the counsel any more than adding lemon juice to a salad or cooked greens.

Other questions soon surface such as this one: What if the fruit is high in acid content, but it also contains some sugar, such as oranges? This becomes a guessing game, and if you are a person with weak digestion it is safer to stick with high acid fruits that are low in sugar, but to be honest I have to say that so far I have never met a person who can eat Harvard beets (prepared with lemon juice) who could not eat Yale beets (prepared with orange juice).

What about the fruits which do not have much sugar content, but are not high in acid content? This is definitely a gray area where any person who is not sure that he has a strong digestion should avoid. There are many people who say that they cannot eat cucumbers. Every time a person has told me this I have asked them to try eating part of a cucumber at a meal not containing any vegetables or vegetable derivatives (example—potato flour). So far every person who thought they could not eat cucumbers found that they could eat them just fine. Foods in the melon family cannot be eaten with any other kinds of fruits or vegetables by people with very weak digestion, so you might want to try eating part of a cucumber with no other fruit or vegetable in the meal and see what happens—you probably will be able to eat as much cucumber as you please under those conditions.

Some of the other fruits that are low in sugar that most people can eat with vegetables would include most kinds of squash, green beans, peppers, (however, sweet peppers and potatoes give some people severe indigestion), and eggplant.

If you are troubled with any kind of indigestion problem, it is wise to ask yourself the question: Have I eaten some combination of foods that it would be wiser for me not to eat together at the same meal? Even if you are not combining fruits and vegetables, if the variety of food at one meal is too great, indigestion will result. “There should not be a great variety at any one meal, for this encourages overeating and causes indigestion.” Ibid.

There is still one other general exception to the counsel not to eat fruits and vegetables at the same meal. Mrs. White stated this herself: “Olives may be so prepared as to be eaten with good results at every meal.” Testimonies, Vol. 7, 134. Olives are a fruit, high in fat and low in sugar and acidic content, but they may be eaten with good results at every meal including vegetable meals.

Another fruit that is high in fat and low in sugar and acidic content is the popular avocado. Avocados, just like olives, can be eaten as part of a fruit meal or a vegetable meal “with good results.”

A most important fact to remember is that fruits and vegetables eaten at the same meal are not the only cause of indigestion, but that the same result can be brought about just as readily by any of the points in the table above.

For a more complete discussion of the problem of indigestion see the book Abundant Health by Julius Gilbert White, pages 85–99; or Natural Remedies Encyclopedia, sixth edition, by Vance Ferrell and Harold M. Cherne M.D., pages 348–350

Causes of Indigestion

1

 Eating too fast

2

 Overeating

3

 Meals not spaced far enough apart (less than five hours)

4

 Eating between meals

5

 Eating late at night

6

 Eating when tired

7

 Unhealthy state of mind or negative mental attitudes, such as depression

8

 Eating unwholesome food such as unripe fruit or spoiled food, or fresh leavened bread, or bread not thoroughly baked, or rich, complicated mixtures of foods, especially combinations of milk and sugar, or simply too much sugar, or too much liquid with meals, and either too much liquid food or too much drinking with meals

9

 Use of tea, coffee, cocoa, and soft drinks

10

 Use of aluminum  utensils for cooking or eating

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Health – Blood Vessel Health and Cruciferous Vegetables

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You probably still hear echoes of your mother in your head: “Eat your vegetables.” It turns out that your mom knew what she was talking about. Studies continue to prove our mothers right – vegetables offer excellent health benefits. In fact, some of the vegetables we like the least might actually be extremely beneficial in preventing blood vessel disease, lowering the risk of heart events, and boosting liver health.

One new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition discovered that eating more cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli is associated with blood vessel disease that’s less extensive in aging women. Their discovery has some serious implications for the health benefits of getting those cruciferous veggies daily, particularly since blood vessel disease results in risks for other serious health problems.

Cruciferous vegetables linked to blood vessel health and lower risk of stroke and heart attack

Blood vessel disease – a problem that affects the veins and arteries – has the potential to reduce blood flow throughout your body. This may be because of the buildup of calcium or fatty deposits on the interior walls of blood vessels, and that buildup may result in adverse heart events like stroke and heart attack.

In previous studies, researchers discovered that a higher intake of cruciferous vegetables was linked to a lower risk of having cardiovascular disease events like stroke and heart attack. However, they weren’t sure why. Now, this new study showing how these vegetables are linked to blood vessel health explains those earlier findings.

Researchers looked at a group of 684 older women in Western Australia. Those who consumed a minimum of 45 grams of cruciferous vegetables daily – which equals about ½ cup of raw cabbage or a ¼ cup of steamed broccoli) were 46 percent less likely to deal with extensive calcium buildup in the aorta compared to women eating few to no cruciferous vegetables.

While cruciferous vegetables were the highlight of this study, they’re not the only vegetables we should focus on. According to lead researchers, it’s essential to eat a wide variety of vegetables daily to enjoy better health.

Protect your liver health by eating the right veggies

Beyond improving blood vessel health and lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke, studies also show that eating cruciferous veggies can offer significant liver benefits. A study published in the journal Hepatology earlier this year found that indole – found in veggies like broccoli and cauliflower – may help control nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Previous research had found that eating broccoli sprouts helped improve overall liver function.

No doubt: from improving blood vessel health to lowering the risk of heart attack to offering liver benefits, cruciferous veggies will provide many health benefits. Along with broccoli, additional cruciferous vegetables you can add to your diet include cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, organic kale, and cabbage.

www.naturalhealth365.com/cruciferous-vegetables-blood-vessel-3553.html

What About Health Reform?

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Our habits of eating and drinking show whether we are of the world or among the number whom the Lord by His mighty cleaver of truth has separated from the world.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 372.

“He who cherishes the light which God has given him upon health reform, has an important aid in the work of becoming sanctified through the truth, and fitted for immortality.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 10.

“He who is thoroughly converted will abandon every injurious habit and appetite. By total abstinence he will overcome his desire for health-destroying indulgences.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 113.

Adopting Health Reform

“We want to act like men and women that are to be brought into judgment. And when we adopt the health reform we should adopt it from a sense of duty, not because somebody else has adopted it. I have not changed my course a particle since I adopted the health reform. I have not taken one step back since the light from heaven upon this subject first shone upon my pathway. I broke away from everything at once,—from meat and butter, and from three meals,—and that while engaged in exhaustive brain labor, writing from early morning till sundown. I came down to two meals a day without changing my labor.” Ibid., vol. 2, 371.

“Many do not feel that this [health reform] is a matter of duty, hence they do not try to prepare food properly. This can be done in a simple, healthful, and easy manner, without the use of lard, butter, or flesh meats. Skill must be united with simplicity. To do this, women must read, and then patiently reduce what they read to practice.” Ibid., vol. 1, 681.

“Many take a wrong view of the health reform and adopt too poor a diet. They subsist upon a cheap, poor quality of food, prepared without care or reference to the nourishment of the system. It is important that the food should be prepared with care, that the appetite, when not perverted, can relish it. Because we from principle discard the use of meat, butter, mince pies, spices, lard, and that which irritates the stomach and destroys health, the idea should never be given that it is of but little consequence what we eat.” Ibid., vol. 2, 367.

Avoid These

“We bear positive testimony against tobacco, spirituous liquors, snuff, tea, coffee, flesh meats, butter, spices, rich cakes, mince pies, a large amount of salt, and all exciting substances used as articles of food.” Ibid., vol. 3, 21.

“Tea and coffee do not nourish the system. Their effect is produced before there has been time for digestion and assimilation, and what seems to be strength is only nervous excitement. When the influence of the stimulant is gone, the unnatural force abates, and the result is a corresponding degree of languor and debility.

“The continued use of these nerve irritants is followed by headache, wakefulness, palpitation of the heart, indigestion, trembling, and many other evils; for they wear away the life forces. Tired nerves need rest and quiet instead of stimulation and overwork.” The Ministry of Healing, 326, 327.

“No butter or flesh meats of any kind come on my table. Cake is seldom found there. I generally have an ample supply of fruits, good bread, and vegetables.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 487.

“It is impossible for those who make free use of flesh meats to have an unclouded brain and an active intellect.” Ibid., 62

“Flesh meat is not necessary for health or strength. If used it is because a depraved appetite craves it. Its use excites the animal propensities to increased activity and strengthens the animal passions. When the animal propensities are increased, the intellectual and moral powers are decreased. The use of the flesh of animals tends to cause a grossness of body and benumbs the fine sensibilities of the mind.” Ibid., 63.

“Flesh meats will depreciate the blood. Cook meat with spices, and eat it with rich cakes and pies, and you have a bad quality of blood. The system is too heavily taxed in disposing of this kind of food. The mince pies and the pickles, which should never find a place in any human stomach, will give a miserable quality of blood. And a poor quality of food, cooked in an improper manner, and insufficient in quantity, cannot make good blood. Flesh meats and rich food, and an impoverished diet, will produce the same results.” Ibid., 368.

Teach the Children

“You should be teaching your children. You should be instructing them how to shun the vices and corruptions of this age. Instead of this, many are studying how to get something good to eat. You place upon your tables butter, eggs, and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions.” Ibid., 362.

“The moral sensibilities of your children cannot be easily aroused, unless you are careful in the selection of their food. Many a mother sets a table that is a snare to her family. Flesh-meats, butter, cheese, rich pastry, spiced foods, and condiments are freely partaken of by both old and young. These things do their work in deranging the stomach, exciting the nerves, and enfeebling the intellect. The blood-making organs cannot convert such things into good blood.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 46, 47.

“If ever there was a time when the diet should be of the most simple kind, it is now. Meat should not be placed before our children. Its influence is to excite and strengthen the lower passions, and has a tendency to deaden the moral powers.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 352.

Foods to Relish

“Olives may be so prepared as to be eaten with good results at every meal. The advantages sought by the use of butter may be obtained by the eating of properly prepared olives. The oil in the olives relieves constipation; and for consumptives, and for those who have inflamed, irritated stomachs, it is better than any drug. As a food it is better than any oil coming secondhand from animals.” Ibid., vol. 7, 134.

“Grains and fruits prepared free from grease, and in as natural a condition as possible, should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven. The less feverish the diet, the more easily can the passions be controlled. Gratification of taste should not be consulted irrespective of physical, intellectual, or moral health.” Ibid., vol. 2, 352.

“Advise the people to give up sweet puddings or custards made with eggs and milk and sugar, and to eat the best home-made bread, both graham and white, with dried or green fruits, and let that be the only course for one meal; then let the next meal be of nicely prepared vegetables.” Unpublished Testimonies, October 29, 1894.

“Nuts and nut foods are coming largely into use to take the place of flesh meats. With nuts may be combined grains, fruits, and some roots, to make foods that are healthful and nourishing. Care should be taken, however, not to use too large a proportion of nuts.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 363.

“Simple grains, fruits, and vegetables have all the nutrient properties necessary to make good blood. This a flesh diet cannot do.” Healthful Living, 63.

“In grains, fruits, and vegetables, and nuts, are to be found all the food elements that we need. If we will come to the Lord in simplicity of mind, He will teach us how to prepare wholesome food free from the taint of flesh-meat.” Testimony Studies on Diet and Foods, 65.

“How can anyone desire to live on the flesh of dead animals, when he has the privilege of using the fruit, grains, vegetables, and nuts that God has given us in such abundance?” Peter’s Counsel to Parents, 26.

“God has furnished man with abundant means for the gratification of natural appetite. He has spread before him, in the products of the earth, a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to the taste and nutritious to the system. Of these our benevolent heavenly Father says that we may ‘freely eat.’ We may enjoy the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, without doing violence to the laws of our being. These articles, prepared in the most simple and natural manner, will nourish the body, and preserve its natural vigor without the use of flesh meats.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 50.

Food – Vegetables

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What is meant by the term vegetable? The term vegetable in its broadest sense refers to any kind of plant life or plant product; it usually refers to the fresh edible portion of a herbaceous plant consumed either raw or cooked. The edible portion may be a root like a rutabaga, beet, carrot, and sweet potato; a tuber or storage stem such as potato and taro; the stem as in asparagus and kohlrabi; a bud such as Brussels sprouts; a bulb such as onion and garlic; a petiole or leafstock like celery and rhubarb; a leaf such as cabbage, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and chive; an immature flower like cauliflower, broccoli, and artichoke; a seed like pea and Lima beans; the immature fruit like brinjal (eggplant), cucumber, and sweet corn (maize) or the mature fruit like tomato and chili.

Those plants or plant parts that are usually consumed with the main course of a meal are popularly regarded as vegetables, while those mainly used as desserts are considered fruits. Actually, cooked vegetables constitute our principal meals, while fruits are consumed as desserts. Thus, cucumber and tomato are botanically fruits, but they are mainly used as vegetables.

It is an accepted and well-settled fact that cooking or heat destroys nutritive value of vegetables. The tender leaves and stems of fresh vegetables contain the highest percentage of vitamins and minerals. If they are consumed fresh in a raw state (as expressed juice), it will be highly beneficial for the body to keep fit and healthy. For this reason there is now a growing tendency to consume more vegetables and fruits in their raw states.

Many elements are required to make a diet that is nutritionally adequate, and no single natural food can supply all. Vegetables supply some elements in which other food materials are deficient. The dark green leafy vegetables are rich sources of carotene that is converted by the body into vitamin A. Vitamin C is also amply provided by leafy and green vegetables.

Few vegetables are valuable sources of proteins or carbohydrates; beans and peas are rich in iron and proteins; potatoes and sweet potatoes are important sources of carbohydrates; citrus fruits supply most of the vitamins, including ascorbic acid in plenty.

Classification of Vegetables

Vegetables are classified on the basis of the part of the plant such as root, stem, or tuber that is used for food.

Root vegetables: The root group includes beets, carrots, radishes, rutabagas, turnips, and yams.

Stem vegetables: The stem group includes asparagus and kohlrabi.

Tuber vegetables: The tuber is an underground stem. Edible tubers include Jerusalem artichoke, potato, taro, and yam.

Leaf and leaf-stalk vegetables: The leaf group includes Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, chard, chicory, endive, lettuce, parsley, rhubarb (pie), and spinach.

Bulb vegetables: The bulb group includes garlic, leek, and onion.

Immature inflorescence vegetables: This group includes artichokes, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Immature fruit vegetables: This group includes cowpea, cucumber, papaya, jackfruit (ichar), eggplant (brinjal), Lima bean, okra, pea, and summer squash (gourd).

Mature fruit vegetables: This group includes muskmelon, pumpkin, tomato and watermelon.

Do you know how to make sure you are in good health? Eating vegetables is a good start.

Restoring the Temple – Fruits, Cereals, Vegetables

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The Lord intends to bring His people back to live upon simple fruits, vegetables, and grains.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 322.

“The Lord desires those living in countries where fresh fruit can be obtained during a large part of the year, to awake to the blessing they have in this fruit. The more we depend upon the fresh fruit just as it is plucked from the tree, the greater will be the blessing.

“It would be well for us to do less cooking and to eat more fruit in its natural state. . . . Eat freely of the fresh grapes, apples, peaches, pears, berries, and all other kinds of fruit that can be obtained.” Ibid., 309.

An Adequate Diet

“Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance, and a vigor of intellect, that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet.” Ibid., 310.

“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!” Ibid., 313.

“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.” Ibid.

“We are built up from that which we eat. Shall we strengthen the animal passions by eating animal food? In the place of educating the taste to love this gross diet, it is high time that we were educating ourselves to subsist upon fruits, grains, and vegetables. . . . A variety of simple dishes, perfectly healthful and nourishing, may be provided, aside from meat. Hearty men must have plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grains.” Ibid., 322.

Temporary Fruit Diet

“Intemperate eating is often the cause of sickness, and what nature most needs is to be relieved of the undue burden that has been placed upon her. In many cases of sickness, the very best remedy is for the patient to fast for a meal or two, that the overworked organs of digestion may have an opportunity to rest. A fruit diet for a few days has often brought great relief to brain workers. Many times a short period of entire abstinence from food, followed by simple, moderate eating, has led to recovery through nature’s own recuperative effort. An abstemious diet for a month or two would convince many sufferers that the path of self-denial is the path to health.” Ibid., 310.

Abundantly Supplied

“Nature’s abundant supply of fruits, nuts, and grains is ample, and year by year the products of all lands are more generally distributed to all, by the increased facilities for transportation. As a result, many articles of food which a few years ago were regarded as expensive luxuries, are now within the reach of all as foods for everyday use.

“If we plan wisely, that which is most conducive to health can be secured in almost every land. The various preparations of rice, wheat, corn, and oats are sent abroad everywhere, also beans, peas, and lentils. These, with native or imported fruits, and the variety of vegetables that grow in each locality, give an opportunity to select a dietary that is complete without the use of flesh meats.” Ibid., 313, 314.

Cereals

“Grains used for porridge or ‘mush’ should have several hours’ cooking. But soft or liquid foods are less wholesome than dry foods, which require thorough mastication.

“Some honestly think that a proper dietary consists chiefly of porridge. To eat largely of porridge would not ensure health to the digestive organs; for it is too much like liquid. Encourage the eating of fruit and vegetables and bread.” Ibid., 314, 315.

The Staff of Life

“Bread should be thoroughly baked, inside and out. The health of the stomach demands that it be light and dry. Bread is the real staff of life, and therefore every cook should excel in making it.

“Some do not feel it is a religious duty to prepare food properly; hence they do not try to learn how. They let the bread sour before baking, and the saleratus added to remedy the cook’s carelessness makes it totally unfit for the human stomach. It requires thought and care to make good bread. But there is more religion in a good loaf of bread than many think.” Ibid., 315, 316.

“Bread should be light and sweet. Not the least taint of sourness should be tolerated. The loaves should be small, and so thoroughly baked that, as far as possible, the yeast germs shall be destroyed. When hot, or new, raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion. It should never appear on the table. This rule does not, however, apply to unleavened bread. Fresh rolls made of wheaten meal, without yeast or leaven, and baked in a well-heated oven, are both wholesome and palatable. . . .

Zwieback

“Zwieback, or twice-baked bread, is one of the most easily digested and most palatable of foods. Let ordinary raised bread be cut in slices and dried in a warm oven till the last trace of moisture disappears. Then let it be browned slightly all the way through. In a dry place this bread can be kept much longer than ordinary bread, and if reheated before using, it will be as fresh as when new.

“Bread which is two or three days old is more healthful than new bread. Bread dried in the oven is one of the most wholesome articles of diet.” Ibid., 316, 317.

Dangers of Sour Bread

“The stomach has not power to convert poor, heavy, sour bread into good food; but this poor bread will convert a healthy stomach into a diseased one. Those who eat such food know that they are failing in strength. Is there not a cause? Some of these persons call themselves health reformers, but they are not. They do not know how to cook. They prepare cakes, potatoes, and graham bread, but there is the same round, with scarcely a variation, and the system is not strengthened. They seem to think the time wasted which is devoted to obtaining a thorough experience in the preparation of healthful, palatable food. . . .

“Many have been brought to their death by eating heavy, sour bread. An instance was related to me of a hired girl who made a batch of sour, heavy bread. In order to get rid of it and conceal the matter, she threw it to a couple of very large hogs. Next morning the man of the house found his swine dead, and upon examining the trough, found pieces of this heavy bread. He made inquiries, and the girl acknowledged what she had done. She had not a thought of the effect of such bread upon the swine. If heavy, sour bread will kill swine, which can devour rattlesnakes, and almost every detestable thing, what effect will it have upon that tender organ, the human stomach?” Ibid., 317, 318.

“We have been going back to Egypt rather than on to Canaan. Shall we not reverse the order of things? Shall we not have plain, wholesome food on our tables?” Ibid., 319.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime. Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender.

Food for Life — Vegetables and Fruit

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Thanksgiving time again! How quickly time flies, especially at this time of year! “Thank you Lord for all You have done for each one of us in the past year . . . for bringing us through the valley of the shadow of death, being close beside us and giving us of Your strength. Also thank You for the healing you have given so many of us, and thank You for answering the prayers of Your people the world over! We praise Your holy name for everything we have to be thankful for, because if it were not for Thy great goodness we would all be eternally lost.”

“In order to maintain health, a sufficient supply of good, nourishing food is needed.

“If we plan wisely, that which is most conducive to health can be secured in almost every land. The various preparations of rice, wheat, corn, and oats are sent abroad everywhere, also beans, peas, and lentils. These, with native or imported fruits, and the variety of vegetables that grow in each locality, give an opportunity to select a dietary that is complete without the use of flesh meats.

“Wherever fruit can be grown in abundance, a liberal supply should be prepared for winter, by canning or drying. Small fruits, such as currants, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, can be grown to advantage in many places where they are but little used and their cultivation is neglected.

“For household canning, glass, rather than tin cans, should be used whenever possible. It is especially necessary that the fruit for canning should be in good condition. Use little sugar, and cook the fruit only long enough to ensure its preservation. Thus prepared, it is an excellent substitute for fresh fruit.

” Wherever dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, apples, pears, peaches, and apricots are obtainable at moderate prices, it will be found that they can be used as staple articles of diet much more freely than is customary, with the best results to the health and vigor of all classes of workers.

“There should not be a great variety at any one meal, for this encourages overeating and causes indigestion.

“It is not well to eat fruit and vegetables at the same meal. If the digestion is feeble, the use of both will often cause distress and inability to put forth mental effort. It is better to have the fruit at one meal and the vegetables at another.

“The meals should be varied. The same dishes, prepared in the same way, should not appear on the table meal after meal and day after day. The meals are eaten with greater relish, and the system is better nourished, when the food is varied.

“It is wrong to eat merely to gratify the appetite, but no indifference should be manifested regarding the quality of the food or the manner of its preparation. If the food eaten is not relished, the body will not be so well nourished. The food should be carefully chosen and prepared with intelligence and skill.” The Ministry of Healing, 299–300.

Tofu Pecan Loaf

1 cup pecans, ground

1 medium onion,

1 1/4 cup tofu, crumbled chopped fine or mashed

1/4 t. celery salt

2/3 cup soymilk

1/2 t. onion salt

1 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 t. garlic salt

1 cup celery, chopped fine

1 T. Bragg’s liquid aminos

Mix and place in sprayed casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

 

Restoring the Temple: Physiology of Digestion

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Respect paid to the proper treatment of the stomach will be rewarded in clearness of thought and strength of mind. Your digestive organs will not be prematurely worn out to testify against you. We are to show that we appreciate our God-given intelligence by eating and studying and working wisely. . . . We are to appreciate the light God has given on health reform, by word and practice reflecting clear light to others upon this subject.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 101.

“God holds you responsible to obey the light He has given you on health reform.” Ibid., 102.

Clogs the Machinery

“You indulge your appetite by eating more food than your system can convert into good blood. It is sin to be intemperate in the quantity of food eaten, even if the quality is unobjectionable. Many feel that if they do not eat meat and the grosser articles of food, they may eat of simple food until they cannot well eat more. This is a mistake. Many professed health reformers are nothing less than gluttons. They lay upon the digestive organs so great a burden that the vitality of the system is exhausted in the effort to dispose of it. It also has a depressing influence upon the intellect; for the brain nerve power is called upon to assist the stomach in its work.

“Overeating, even of the simplest food, benumbs the sensitive nerves of the brain, and weakens its vitality. Overeating has a worse effect upon the system than overworking; the energies of the soul are more effectually prostrated by intemperate eating than by intemperate working.

“The digestive organs should never be burdened with a quantity or quality of food which it will tax the system to appropriate. All that is taken into the stomach, above what the system can use to convert into good blood, clogs the machinery; for it cannot be made into either flesh or blood, and its presence burdens the liver, and produces a morbid condition of the system.” Ibid., 102, 103.

Digestion Aided by Moderate Exercise

“Exercise is important to digestion, and to a healthy condition of body and mind. You need physical exercise. . . . Healthy, active exercise is what you need. This will invigorate the mind. Neither study nor violent exercise should be engaged in immediately after a full meal; this would be a violation of the laws of the system. Immediately after eating there is a strong draft upon the nervous energy. The brain force is called into active exercise to assist the stomach; therefore, when the mind or body is taxed heavily after eating, the process of digestion is hindered.” Ibid., 103.

Aided by Pure Air

“The influence of pure, fresh air is to cause the blood to circulate healthfully through the system. It refreshes the body, and tends to render it strong and healthy, while at the same time its influence is decidedly felt upon the mind, imparting a degree of composure and serenity. It excites the appetite, and renders the digestion of food more perfect, and induces sound and sweet sleep.” Ibid., 104.

Avoid Very Hot or Cold Food

“The stomach is greatly injured by a large quantity of hot food and hot drink. Thus the throat and digestive organs, and through them the other organs of the body, are enfeebled. . . .

“Food should not be eaten very hot or very cold. If food is cold, the vital force of the stomach is drawn upon in order to warm it before digestion can take place. Cold drinks are injurious for the same reason; while the free use of hot drinks is debilitating. . . .

“Many make a mistake in drinking cold water with their meals. Food should not be washed down. Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of saliva; and the colder the water, the greater the injury to the stomach. Ice water or ice lemonade, taken with meals, will arrest digestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the stomach to enable it to take up its work again. Masticate slowly, and allow the saliva to mingle with the food.

“The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must first be absorbed.” Ibid., 106.

Caution to Busy People

“Take time to eat, and do not crowd into the stomach a great variety of foods at one meal. To eat hurriedly of several kinds of food at a meal is a serious mistake.

“In order to secure healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly.” Ibid., 107.

Limit Variety

“For those who can use them, good vegetables, prepared in a healthful manner, are better than soft mushes or porridge. Fruits used with thoroughly cooked bread two or three days old will be more healthful than fresh bread. This, with slow and thorough mastication, will furnish all that the system requires.” Ibid., 108.

“Do not have too great a variety at a meal; three or four dishes are a plenty. At the next meal you can have a change. . . .

“There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of food without variation. Food should be prepared with simplicity, yet with a nicety which will invite the appetite.” Ibid., 109, 110.

War in the Stomach

“Disturbance is created by improper combinations of food; fermentation sets in; the blood is contaminated and the brain confused.” Ibid., 110.

“It is impossible for the brain to do its best work when the digestive powers are abused. Many eat hurriedly of various kinds of food, which set up a war in the stomach, and thus confuse the brain. . . .

“When fruit and bread, together with a variety of other foods that do not agree, are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created?” Ibid., 111.

Fruits and Vegetables

“There should not be a great variety at any one meal, for this encourages overeating, and causes indigestion.

“It is not well to eat fruit and vegetables at the same meal. If the digestion is feeble, the use of both will often cause distress, and inability to put forth mental effort. It is better to have the fruit at one meal, and the vegetables at another.” Ibid., 112.

Sugar and Milk

“Far too much sugar is ordinarily used in food. Cakes, sweet puddings, pastries, jellies, jams, are active causes of indigestion. Especially harmful are the custards and puddings in which milk, eggs, and sugar are the chief ingredients. The free use of milk and sugar taken together should be avoided. . . .

“Sugar and the milk combined are liable to cause fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful.

“The less that condiments and desserts are placed upon our tables, the better it will be for all who partake of the food. All mixed and complicated foods are injurious to the health of human beings. Dumb animals would never eat such a mixture as is often placed in the human stomach. . . .” Ibid., 113.

Afflict the Stomach, Afflict the Soul

“If men and women would only remember how greatly they afflict the soul when they afflict the stomach, and how deeply Christ is dishonored when the stomach is abused, they would be brave and self-denying, giving the stomach opportunity to recover its healthy action. While sitting at the table we may do medical missionary work by eating and drinking to the glory of God.” Ibid., 111.

Recipe – Vegetable Spaghetti Medley

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8 oz. pkg. whole wheat spaghetti

1 bag fresh vegetable medley or vegetables of choice

½ cup smooth peanut butter

2 Tbsp. Braggs Liquid Aminos

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 ½ tsp. chile-garlic sauce

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

Slightly undercook the pasta until el dente; then add the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are just tender. Drain mixture, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Whisk peanut butter, Braggs, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl. Add the reserved cooking liquid, pasta and vegetables. Toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.

Food – Life-saving Produce

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Care should be taken to have all food in as good condition as possible. In the end, good food is the cheapest. Vegetables that are stale or of poor quality are likely to be unpalatable and unwholesome. So, with fruits. Ripe and fresh, they are as wholesome as they are delicious; but green, partly decayed, or overripe fruit should never be eaten raw. When cooked, unripe fruit is less objectionable. So far as possible, however, we should use fruit in its natural state. The more we accustom ourselves to use it fresh from the tree, the greater will be our enjoyment of fruit, and the more benefit we shall receive from its use.” Life and Health, July 1, 1905.

Unless you’ve purposely ignored reading anything about nutrition for the past 30 years, you know that message number one is that eating lots of fresh produce—including both fruits and vegetables—can substantially lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and many other diseases. And if you have a chronic health issue like high blood pressure or diabetes, regular consumption of green, red, blue, orange, and purple produce can help you reverse the condition.

You are encouraged to eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want—provided they’re as close to their natural state as possible. That means fresh fruit and minimally cooked vegetables. It also means limiting canned produce (which is often packed minus the skin, an important source of fiber) and opting for either fresh or frozen to get the most fiber and nutrients.

The best way to approach produce is to eat as many different kinds as often as possible. Don’t think of that as a chore. Many people tend to reach for the same produce, shopping trip after shopping trip, and then complain that fruits and vegetables are boring or unsatisfying. Cut out the monomania. Diversify your shopping cart. It just might save your life!

Below are the top 20 pieces of produce that pack the most antioxidants. Antioxidants prevent and slow down oxidative damage to your body—a chemical reaction you want to avoid as much as possible. Why? When your body cells use oxygen, they produce free radicals that can cause damage to your internal organs. Antioxidants act as free-radical scavengers and snuff them out, preventing and repairing damage done by these evil-little free radicals. Health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, macular degeneration, and cancer are all linked to the oxidation process and free radicals.

Try a different piece of produce each week. You’ll never get bored and you’ll be getting a ton of nutrients that stabilize your blood sugar and fight off a host of long-term diseases. Here are the top 20, life-saving, fruit and vegetable picks:

Fruits Vegetables
1. Prunes 1. Kale
2. Raisins 2. Spnach
3. Berries 3. Brussels sprouts
4. Plums 4, Alfalfa sprouts
5. Apples 5. Broccoli
6. Oranges 6. Beets
7. Red grapes 7. Red bell peppers
8. Cherries 8. Onions
9. Kiwi fruit 9. Corn
10. Grapefruit 10. Eggplant

 

Recipe – Shepherdess Pie

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2 pounds potatoes

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt to taste

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, coarsely grated

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 Tablespoons margarine

4 ounces mushrooms, chopped

2 14-ounce cans aduki beans

2-1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon vegetable yeast extract

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

dried bread crumbs or chopped nuts to sprinkle

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, then drain, reserving a little of the water to moisten them. Mash well, mixing in the olive oil and desired amount of salt until a smooth purée. Gently sauté the onion, pepper, carrots and garlic in the margarine for about 5 minutes, until they are soft. Stir in the mushrooms and drained beans and cook for another 2 minutes, then add the stock, yeast extract, bay leaves and Italian herbs. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and empty the vegetables into a shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon on potatoes in dollops and sprinkle with breadcrumbs or nuts. Broil until golden brown.