Biblical Principles Of Good Health
Genesis-1-29 And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.


Grace Martial Arts Fellowship is pleased to introduce the ministry of Dr. Steve Shober. He is is a Doctor of Naturopathic Ministries and Master Herbalist. Steve is Director of Biblical Health Ministries in Wisconsin and has a keen interest in helping Christians enjoy a healthy lifestyle. As Christians and martial artists we have a special interest in being healthy and strong. We asked Steve to share his insights with us in each newsletter in 2003 to help us better understand the gift of health God offers to His children.

Biblical Health Ministries (BHM) is a new Christian ministry designed to teach, encourage and guide individuals on health issues from a Biblical, natural perspective. BHM desires to be "Your guide on the pathway to restoration -- spiritually, emotionally and physically." This ministry is based upon Biblical principles and scientific facts. As in all matters of science and the Bible, when the scientists get their facts right and when we believers correctly interpret the Word of God (rather than hold to cherished beliefs or preconceptions), there is beautiful agreement between the two. This article (and subsequent ones) is written to show God has an overall health plan for us in His Word and has provided for us more marvelously than we generally perceive.

Introduction: Understanding God's overall health plan begins in the Book of Genesis, where there are three specific creative acts (where the bible uses the word "bara," which is translated "created." The three creative acts are seen in Genesis 1:1, 1:21 and 1:27. The other days in Genesis were days of fashioning or forming from that which was previously created. The three creative acts reveal God bringing into existence (from nothing) something altogether new, something that had not existed before. On day one He brought into existence the material universe (our body is made of this material). On day five He created the soulish universe (self-consciousness) and on day six the human spirit. Accordingly, we come to understand we have been created with three aspects to our being: body, soul and spirit. Our spirit is the God-conscious part of our being which knows there is a God and desires a relationship with Him. What differentiates us from the animal kingdom is our spirit; animals do not have a spirit.

Overall Health Plan: Consistent with His creative work, God has a health plan for each of the three aspects of our being. We need such a plan because each aspect is (or can be) very, very sick. Not only that, but at the spiritual and soulish level we are unable to even do anything about our sickness, which indeed is a terminal illness. At the spiritual level, without exception, each person has fallen from the original, health created state (not only did we inherit a nature to sin but we willfully choose to sin - Romans 3:23). Sin has created a breach, thereby breaking fellowship with Him -- it must be restored. Our highest health need is a spiritual issue. If fellowship is not restored, we are doomed to an eternity without Him, and when all His blessings are removed from us the result is hell.

Spiritual Health: Restoration of a right relationship with God is something we are totally incapable of effecting through our own efforts. We are terminally ill, on our spiritual deathbed, and we cannot do anything about it. But God, knowing this would be the case, had a plan before the creation of the world on how He alone would heal this relationship. The reconciliation with God is called many things like, redemption (buying back), salvation, new-birth. God never overlooks sin nor can He forgive it without full payment; to do so would be unjust. According to His divine plan He alone would pay for the sin, so that we could then be reconciled to Him. The death of His Son, John 3:16, made the full payment for all humans. However, the death of Christ is not applied to our "health account" until we accept it by faith. When God sees our faith, it is He Who saves us (Ephesians 2:8-9). We do not deserve His salvation, nor can we pay Him back, but it is His gracious promise. This unmerited favor from God, called GRACE, is the heart of the good news in the Bible.

Upon having faith in the blood of Christ, shed for the remission of sin, the act of salvation takes place immediately and completely. Salvation is an act of God (we believe, He saves). He knows at the time of our salvation of our future sins and doubts, but He will never change His mind. In fact, He seals the transaction at the instant of salvation by sending the Holy Spirit into our lives (1 Corinthians 12:13). Salvation is the most important health issue with which we will ever deal. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say salvation results not as much in spiritual healing as a new creation, a new birth. Salvation really results from a person being placed "into Christ," that is, the person becomes a new creation because they are wholly identified with the Savior. Thus, we are made one with the Lord Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection.

Mental Health
Our soul is essentially our mind (personality, character, heart, psyche, emotions, intellect, will, etc). Our mind is plagued with all sorts of health issues. In fact, the Scriptures confirm our soul is polluted with the things of this world, has a bent toward evil, is obsessed with self-gratification, and is innately "me first." Thus, after salvation there is a need to start healing the diseased soul/mind. The need for healing is termed many things but "renewal" is apropos. Renewal of the mind is a major concern of Scripture, and Romans 12:2 is most instructive: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, ". The new spiritual being created in Christ is now asked to start thinking and behaving in accordance with the new Divine nature. the goal is to remove the pains, wrong value systems and failures of our old life and replace it with that which god has specifically fashioned for us.

Since one's identity determines their behavior, the fact that one is identified with Christ should create a desire to behave accordingly. Thankfully, there is Divine help to accomplish this. The Greek word in Romans 12:2 often translated "transformed" is the basic word "metamorphosed", which means to change (meta) into another form (morph). Just as a caterpillar is metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly, so too the Lord wants to transform our life. This transformation results in a renewed mind: renewed in principles, outlook, ideals, and values. It also helps release the past with all its problems. The new essential inner nature (resulting from salvation) is now to be revealed in a mind that is continually being renewed and improved.

The passive voice used in Romans 12:2 indicates that the transformed mind is something god will produce in us, but only as we allow Him to work in our lives. Thus, the transformation desired is not a free-gift like salvation, nor is it something we can do on our own, nor is it a one-time event (not a single act of God), nor is it instantaneous. The renewal is an ongoing, lifelong process that is a cooperative venture between us and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Cooperation includes communing with Jesus Christ, studying His Word and applying it to every situation, meditation on the things of Christ so we know how to apply the Word, waling according to the light He has already shown us, and having a heart ready to change/yield to further insights from the Master. It is a process over time in which the mind and heart of the Lord can be imparted to each believer. This is the process by which we become Christ-like in our mind and our life. This is how victory over anger, obsessions, evil thoughts, the past, etc., are replaced with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc., see Galatians 5:22).
Summary: Considering our spirit and soul, we see two interesting principles emerge (principles recognized by those involved in natural health). The first principle is that healing begins from the inside and works outward. Thus, God comes into the deepest recesses of our being, into our very core, and gives new birth to our terminally ill spirit. Then He starts to work outward into our minds. (We have not gotten there yet, but later we will see He then works outward even more to help our physical bodies). The second principle is that healing begins at the top and works downward. Could anything be more true. Overall healing begins with God (top) and comes downward to us.

Physical Health and God's Temple
Having spent some 30+ years involved in engineering research, I came to see such research was often very poor and did not lead to any advancement in science. Recently, my attention has tuned to medical research and it reveals an even more appalling scenario. Medical research is often an insult to unbiased research - no wonder there are daily contradictions in the press. Medical research is often an insult to unbiased research -- no wonder there are daily contradictions in the press. Medical research has, to a surprising degree, often sidetracked by special interests, especially those desiring drug patents and monetary gain. This has resulted in a society with an over-reliance on research that promotes man-made drugs. Drugs may save your life in an emergency, but they do not heal, only the innate intelligence within can truly heal. Unfortunately, Christians are not aware of what god has provided for them to assure total overall health.
the health of all three of our aspects (body, soul and spirit) is important, with our physical health being the least important and our spiritual health the most. However, physical health issues are often neglected and not given due consideration. Each aspect has an influence upon the other; thus, poor health in one aspect can cause problems in the others. So, a balanced approach to health is sought for overall wellness, ideally with the goal of longer/better service to the Lord. The Lord instructs us in 1 Cor. 3:16-18 and 6:19-20 that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we are careful not to hard a building but then willingly or through indifference defile the real temple of the living God. This is not an issue to gloss over, for God says, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, " .

Origin of Disease
Illness does not normally happen to a person when an outside force upsets a system of the body, most often the illness occurs as a symptom of a long standing problem. (Why Christians Get Sick - Rev. George H. Malkmus) We were created with a design, and, when not living in accordance with our design, disease is a natural consequence. We generally are not the victims of germs, heredity, or other outside forces, but our own lifestyle, our own purposeful activity. As strange as it may seem, disease is also part of something that is purposeful and proceeds in accordance with some design; thus, it can often be prevented/cured. Consider this admonition, "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee; and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat." Proverbs 23:1-3. In a physical sense, the king's delicacies are truly deceptive foods because they taste so good yet lead to what are known as the king's diseases: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, gout, arthritis, obesity, etc. Today the western/American diet is the king's diet.

From our physical anatomy it is clear we were created as primarily plant-eaters (herbivores), with omnivore undertones. Thus it can be safely stated, "A tremendous amount of evidence now shows that deviating from a predominantly plant-based to a domesticated animal-based diet is a major factor in the development of heart disease, cancer, stroke, arthritis, and many other chronic degenerative diseases. It is now the recommendation of many health and medical organizations that the human diet should focus primarily on plant-base foods - - vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. Such a diet is thought to offer significant protection against the development of chronic degenerative disease." (Natural Medicine - Drs. Joseph E. Pizzorno and Michael T. Murray)

Biblical Facts
When the entire Word of God is carefully, honestly and reverently studied it is clear that in the Age of Grace God allows us to eat anything we desire. Romans 14:14 says nothing is unclean of itself, which would indicate that all meats are allowable for consumption. However, while it is not sinful to eat anything we want (except gluttony) that does not mean all food is good for our system. the study of the Word provides an incredible number of health clues and principles that are meant for all ages. For example, in Leviticus 3 and 7 animal fat was to be dedicated to the Lord not eaten. A good principle for today would be to carefully limit the amount of animal fat we consume. However, the typical western diet has at least 43% animal fat and this is the source of many of our problems. Optimum health will be attained by applying the principles observable throughout the Word of God, i.e., eat/drink food items as close as possible to the way they were created (whole, raw, non-processed, non-engineered , ).
God's Natural Laws

What we call natural laws (physical laws of the universe), like gravity, were created by God. These are God's laws. Whether one believes in them or not, God's physical-natural laws are always in affect on a person's life. Nutritional principles follow these laws. Even people and cultures which do not believe the Bible reap the benefits from following these natural laws.
Sickness is most often a violation of God's natural laws. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." -- defile means to make unclean (pollute) with contamination. Our body is not our own, it belongs to God, and, the very thing that contaminates it will bring destruction. the observation of Dr. Richard Brennon rings true: "God has made a universe of moral and material laws; when we break the laws, we break ourselves upon the laws. We will reap the consequence in ourselves." A Christian pastor notes, "It is the violation of the natural laws of God that causes 90% of all Christian sickness and physical suffering." (Why Christians Get Sick , Rev. George H. Malkmus)
What are these natural laws? They are the laws that govern the universe as seen in biology, chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, electro-magnetism, etc. How can anyone ever know all these laws? We can't, thankfully we are not expected to! God merely wants us to believe His Word and have a lifestyle that is as closely aligned as possible to His Word and design of the natural world. God's foods, clean air and water are essential for a good life, and fortunately, He has given us herbs for medicine.
"Violation of natural laws will result in sickness, injury, or untimely death whether the violator realized the law existed or not; whether the violator was a Christian or not; whether the violator was a spiritual Christian or not! The law will automatically be applied whether a man knows of the law or not! Ignorance of the law makes absolutely no difference in the consequences of breaking it!" (Malkmus) These laws are impersonal and always in effect. They apply to everyone, Christian or non-Christian. Each person is responsible and accountable for their own health. sincerity, piety and prayer (with exceptions) do not cause these laws to be abrogated.
Violating God's Natural Laws. Starting with steel rollers in the 1890's and then the earnest processing of grains in the 1904's, most of the nutritional value in grains has been removed. Processing was to extend shelf life, not your life. By removing bran and germ from wheat it lasts longer, but 22 vitamins and minerals are taken out. In 1948 Congress forced processors to add back four (B1, B2, B3, iron). It was then termed "enriched." This is like a mugger handing back one dollar after taking all your money and personal belongings and expecting you to be thrilled. Enriched foods are deceptive, destructive foods. Observe for the labels on food and if it says enriched, do NOT buy it!
Grain processing is the tip of the food adulteration iceberg. Mankind has found an incredible number of ways to alter foods which in essence "denatures" them (hydrogenation, additives, colorings, bleaches, preservatives, antibiotics, hormones, refining, , ) "Better living through chemistry" has not proven to be true for nutrition. Synthetic molecules, designed to trick your body (fake sugars, phony fats, etc.) will invariably cause health problems.
Processed foods are like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse because there are four white deaths: refined white sugar, white flour, white oils, and salt. Research shows that eight tablespoons of white sugar a day reduces the number of bacteria the immune system can handle by 92%. Popular creamed filled dessert snacks have four tablespoons each and one can of soda has over three tablespoons of sugar. Bread is said in the Bible to sustain one's heart, Psalms 104:15, but processed flour has the germ removed so the bread will last longer. By removing the germ the vitamin E is also removed, so the very thing which is healthy for your heart has been taken away. The nearly white, refined oils sold in supermarkets (especially the polyunsaturated) are some of the worst foods a person can consume. Just altering His Word is disastrous, so is alteration of His natural foods.
Principle: you cannot improve upon God. Consume items as close as possible to the way God made them.
Healthy Cultures and Religion Studies
It has been found that the nutritional "sins" of the parents are visited upon future generations through: a weak start in life, allergies, poor health, a compromised immune system, a mindset toward a wrong lifestyle, inherited weaknesses , Some cultures have generations of good nutrition with correspondingly good health. These cultures have similar eating and living patterns and enjoy nearly disease-free lives and great longevity. These cultures live a very natural lifestyle and eat simple, inexpensive foods - - often called the peasant diet.
The healthy cultures that have been studied are the: Vilcambambas of Ecuador, Hunza of Kashmir, traditional Bulgarians, Abzekhastan of Georgia, Yucatan natives, Greek from Crete, certain Chinese and Japanese groups. All of these cultures have these dietary factors in common: plant-based, high fiber (over 34 grams/day), high complex carbohydrates (not simple sugars), calcium intake only half of that in the USA but no osteoporosis, low protein (high protein means a loss of calcium from bones), small amounts of dairy (generally fermented, e.g. yogurt), fish once a week (if available), meat only on occasion, low fat intake (less than 20%).
All of these cultures work outside, are moderate eaters, are happy, walk a lot, get up/down with the sun, are not envious of others, the old are respected and deemed useful, and use whole-virgin vegetable oils and whole grains. As such cultures move from poverty to affluence, the modern delicacies bring the diseases of civilization.
Religion Studies
A Christian pastor studied the health of various Jewish and Christian religions. The religions which practice more natural lifestyles (teachings on diet and care of the body, in varying degrees against the use of coffee, tea, tobacco, port, pharmaceutical drugs, soda, , ) fare the best, regardless of doctrinal correctness. Statistics show they have less cancer, healthier lives and live six years longer than the average American. Those groups which do not have dietary teachings often view sickness as some kind of judgment by God and accept the view that they are powerless to change their fate. This latter group does not have as good health as those who adhere to natural diets. He concluded that the religious which practice dietary principles closely aligned with the Word of God have better health and longer lives.
It is possible, in fact God honoring, to be Scripturally sound in doctrine and to adopt a life style that is in accordance with God's principles, thus enjoying His blessings on our body, soul and spirit. (Goands Innomore)
Importance of Alkaline Balance
Medicines may save your life, but they canot heal - - only your body can heal itself (this is God's design). The innate intelligence God has placed within the body runs it and heals it according to His design and natural laws. We have to treat health much like spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6): know the enemy, cut off supply lines, defend, nourish, take the offense, Heredity plays an important role in how disease is manifested (cancer, diabetes, arthritis) but heredity does not dictate that you must get sick.
We cannot be healthy if our body's cells are living in, or are fed, junk. A good rule to remember is, we live and die at the cellular level. If our cells are swimming in "defilement" our bodymust make physiological adaptations that are absolutely necessary for immediate survival, if continued long-term this virtually guarantees disease later. Symptoms are the signals our body is adapting its function to survive the things we do to it. You can never treat enough symptoms to correct the cause of disease, one must get to the root cause. For example, germs are not the cause of disease -- low resistance to them is. Our body is not prorammed to develop disease nor does disease strike out of the blue, it develops over time according to natural laws as a result of prolonged violation of those laws.
Our body's cells produce an ash from the food we eat. This ash is the residual after all metabolism has taken place, like the ash left after a fire. This ash can be srongly acidic to strongly alkaline. This ash has a profound affect on our health and is often the root cause of our health problems. Most fluids in the body where cells operate (including our blood) are supposed to be slightly alkaline. If our food ash is acidic it must be neutralized (buffered) before it is eliminated or it would cause great bodily harm. It is eliminated through the kidneys and bowels. The neutralizing agents are alkaline minerals (sodium, calcium, magnesium, etc) and they come from so-called alkaline foods.
The root cause of most diseases relates to the lack of the needed neutralizing minerals, resulting in an acidic environment, which harms our cells and allows many bacteria/virus to flourish. We need a reserve of alkaline minerals and as this reserve goes, so goes our health. However, only organic minerals (from plants) will work to neutralize acid ash. Why, because organic minerals are weakly bonded to other atoms and our body can only use the weaker organic bonds -- inorganic bonds are too strong. Salt is inorganic so the sodium is useless as a neutralizing agent. The sodium in canned and processed foods will not work, it is inorganic salt. God's design is for the strong inorganic bonds to be broken by plants and incorporated in plant foods as the weaker organic bonds, we then can get the needed neutralizing minerals from the plants.
Principle: your body will do everything it can to keep you alive NOW - it is not planning for the future and does not necessarily work to keep you comfortable and happy, just alive.
Acid ash and Alkaline ash foods. In general, proteins leave an acid ash and fruits and veggies an alkaline ash.
• Meats, poultry, fish , very acid ash
• Dairy and eggs , acid ash
• Cereals and grains , acid ash
• Fruits and Vegetables , Alkaline Ash
Note: fruits like lemons are initialy very acidic, but they leave an alkaline ash, which is good. Meat, grain, dairy, many nuts/seeds leave an acid ash which has to be neutralized.
Beside food, our mind has a direct effect on acid production. The number one acid producer in our body is negative thinking. It is now known that the chemical processes that mediate emotion and mood occur not only within our brains, but also on the very surfact of every single cell. In this regard, Philippians 4:4-8 instructs us to think about positive things and to avoid negative thinking. This is one reason He wants us to have a transformed mind. Wow! God told us this, but we did not understand what the impacts of negative thinking were.
Proper Diet to assure an Alkaline Reserve. A good diet contains 75-80% alkaline ash forming foods (fruits and vegetables) and 20-25% acid ash forming foods (meat, grain, dairy, most nuts/seeds). Over 50% of the diet sould be raw fod (cooking destroys enzymes and organic bonds).
Qualities of Foods
The following five factors help differentiate a good fod from a bad food.
Whole: as close to the natural, created form as possible. Fresh is better than frozen, frozen bettern than canned. Most whole-wheat flour is processed, fresh whole grain flour is good. Most supermarket oils are refined and not whole (extra virgin olive oil is an exception).
Raw: raw foods have God's enzymes and the weak-organic bonds have not been modified by heat, and there is no human tampering.
Satiety: satisfying in small to moderate amounts, there is not a tendency to overeat
Alkaline ash: those foods that yield an alkaline ash are preferable to the acid ash foods.
Compatibility: can be readily used by our body, contains that which is essential for our body's use, nourishing and/or cleansing, not a phony/fake food, non-poisonous, contains no additives or other man-made products/residues.
Using the above five factors and applying a rating system the author has developed the following chart of common foods. Items rated very low are harmful and will damage one's long-term health. The foods get better with higher ratings. Foods rated 10-12 are very healing and health promoting. Foods grown and processed without pesticides, herbicides, genetic engineering, artificial fertilizer, etc., are called "organic" and are superior to conventionally produced foods.
Quality of Various Foods
Quality Rating ___________________________Foods____________________________________________
Health
1. 12 , Sprouts, raw fruit, raw vegetables, raw almonds, melons, fresh fruit & vegetable juices, green soybeans, -- (all organic)
2. 11 , Almond butter, flax seeds/oil, driged figs/dates
3. 10 , Vegetable protein, cooked fruit/vegetables, steamed or sauteed vegetables, most faw nuts (not peanuts) and seeds, dried fruit, extra virgin olive oil
4. 9 , Home-made bean or veggie soup, herbal teas, Ezekiel break, goat's milk (babies)
5. 8 , Cold water fish, whole rice, whole grains, honey, some energy bars, plain yogurt
6. 7 , Whole grain cereal, whole grain bread, tea, wild poultry, free-range eggs, healthy muffins, bottled fruit juices
7. 6 , Whole grain pasta/spaghetti, wine, wild game animals, free-range poultry
8. 5 , Butter, peanut butter, free-range beef, better soft drinks, whole/natural cheese
9. 4 , Store veggie-meat soup, regular breakfast cereals, roasted nuts/seeds, bottled fruit drinks
10. 3 , Feed-lot beef/poultry, pizza, homo-pasteurized cow's milk, best pork
11. 2 , White bread, hamburger and French fries, coffee, chocloate, white sugar, white oils, ice cream, excess animal protein, processed cheese
12. 1 , Fried foods, strong alcohol (hard drinks(, cream-filled sugary dessert snacks, donuts, sugar coated refined cereals, most soft drinks (including diet)
Sickness
Advice to follow:
1. 1. Do not eat items rated 0, 1 or ~2 -- they are very harmful.
2. 2. Do not eat any underlined items (something in the compatibility area is very harmful).
3. 3. Best not to eat items ~2, 3, 4 (if you do, eat only small amounts, rarely)
4. 4. It is okay to eat items 5, 6, 7, but eat small - moderate amounts, occasionally.
5. 5. Items 8 & 9 are beneficial, eat small - moderate amounts, fairly often.
6. 6. Items 10, 11, 12 -- eat a lot and often. Very health promoting.
Getting Started:
One need not be fanatic about dietary issues, but a return to a simple, mostly unprocessed, predominantly raw, largely plant-based diet can be healthful. Such a diet helps assure a non-contaminated temple (body), which is surely God-honoring. When we follow His principles, we can more sincerely pray, ", bless this food to my body and may my health be used for Your service."
Errata:
Is disease something that just happens to a person, something that is not a part of that person's purposeful activity, or, is disease part of something that is purposeful and is proceeding actively in accordance with some design and is thus preventable/curable?
Are you frustrated with prayers for healing because the prayers often seem ineffective or you get the same sickness again? Be sure, the Lord cares and has placed in His Word a specific health plan for each aspect of our being.
"Have you wondered why Christians are just as sick as non-Christians? Or, why very spiritual Christians are just as sick as less spiritual Christians? Could it be that Christians don't want ot acknowlege the possibility that perhaps something they are doing (or not doing) is responsible for their illness? (Blaming instead some outside forces, such as germs, heredity, viruses, fate, God, etc)." (Pastor George Milkmus)
BHM classes will show that, ", it is possible to escape the pain, astronomical medical bills, and loss of our faculties experienced by the majority of us and, instead, be energetic, productive and happy until God takes us home." (Rev. David Strong)
You will learn that you can never treat enough symptoms to correct the cause of disease. Germs are not the cause of disease, low resistance to them is (Dr. Ted Morter). The innate intelligence God has placed within the body runs it according to His divine plan and design (prayer may supercede that design).
For more information about this special series on Biblical Health Principles, contact Dr. Steve Shober. Dr. Shober is a Doctor of Naturopathic Ministries, Master Herbalist and Director of Biblical Health Ministries. He is available for seminars, conferences and workshops.You can contact him at shober@chorus.net or 608-836-9579.
The Hallelujah Diet
by Rev. George Malkmus
People often ask me, "What do you eat?" Here is my answer:
Breakfast: One tablespoon of BarleyMax* powder either dry and let it dissolve in my mouth, or in a couple of ounces of distilled water at room temperature. That is usually all I have until noon! If I do get hungry, then I may eat a piece of fresh juicy fruit later in the morning. Cooked food is an absolute no-no as my body is in a cleansing mode until about noon each day. There are other companies that have tried to imitate this product, but they are not processed the same way as ours. I have tried other products, but they do not give the same results.
Lunch One tablespoon of BarleyMax powder, as at breakfast. Sometimes I stir my BarleyMax into 8 ounces of freshly extracted carrot juice,** which I find especially delicious and extremely nutritious. At least a half hour after the BarleyMax, I prefer an all-raw fruit lunch: a banana, apple, dates, etc. Organic is always best when available. (Sometimes I have a vegetable salad for lunch instead of the fruit.) It is important that this be an all raw meal!
Supper One tablespoon of BarleyMax* powder either dry or in a couple ounces of distilled water or in carrot juice. Carrot juice must be freshly extracted, never canned, bottled or frozen. Then, at least 30 minutes after the BarleyMax, I eat a large green vegetable salad of leaf lettuce (never head lettuce), broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, etc. I enjoy adding half an avocado in most of my vegetable salads. This is usually followed by some cooked food (baked potato, baked sweet potato, brown rice, steamed vegetables, whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, and so on). Later in the evening I often have a glass of organic apple juice or a piece of juicy fruit. (My diet consists of approximately 85 percent raw food, and 15 percent cooked food.)
Exercise is also an essential part of my program. I do at least one hour of vigorous exercise daily. Additionally, I try to get some sunshine on as much of my body as possible every day.
*The reason I supplement my diet with BarleyMax is that our food today is being grown for the most part on very deficient soils that often lack all the nutrients my body needs for building new, strong, healthy, vital, vibrant cells. BarleyMax is grown organically and contains the widest spectrum of nutrients available today from a single source that I am aware of. It is also loaded with enzymes. I consider it the single most important food I put in my body each day and always consume at least 3 tablespoons of it a day.
**The second-most important thing I put into my body each day is freshly extracted carrot juice made from large California juicing carrots. I try to drink at least 16 to 24 ounces each day. When I had my colon cancer 20 years ago, I consumed 32 to 64 ounces of carrot juice each day. If I had a serious physical problem today I would consume up to eight 8-ounce glasses of carrot juice each day in addition to my three to four tablespoons of BarleyMax. The reason BarleyMax and carrot juice is so important to me is:
1.Cooked food has practically no nutritional value. 2.A large percentage of the nutrients in raw food are lost in the digestion process, with only 1 to 35 % of nutrients reaching cell level, depending on the health of the digestive system. 3.When vegetable juices or BarleyMax is consumed, up to 92% of the nutrients reach cell level. This is because the pulp has been removed and thus no digestion is necessary. Raw vegetable juices are the fastest way to nourish the cells and rebuild the immune system and essential body organs.
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In 1962, Dr. Frank Logsdon, former pastor of the famous Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, was a dinner guest in my home. Over the dinner table, he told a fascinating story of how he had had cancer and -- rather than going the medical route -- had gone to the Page Institute in Tampa, Florida.
At this institute, he was told to remove five white foods from his diet, and to switch to a raw vegetarian / fruitarian diet. He had done this and his cancer disappeared! Dr. Logsdon was about 60 years old at the time he was in my home. Several years ago, I learned he was still preaching . . . which would put his age close to 90 now!
Interestingly, the five white foods he was told had caused his cancer are the same foods my research has shown to be causing most of our physical problems.
What are the five white foods causing our physical problems? I will list them, starting with the most dangerous substance we put into our body . . . MEAT!
MEAT contains white fat! The average American meat eater puts over 50 pounds of fat (cholesterol) into their body per year! This fat clogs the arteries, ultimately causing the heart attacks and strokes that will kill approximately 50 percent of our population.
Meat is also the culprit in causing colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of cancer. Cancer is responsible for 33 percent of American deaths.
And meat is the primary cause of adult-onset diabetes, which kills 9 percent of our population. Meat also causes gout and arthritis and a host of other physical problems.
We are told that we need meat for protein and strength, but we are not told that the cooking of meat changes the molecular structure of the protein and renders the protein in meat unusable by the body. If we look to nature, we will find that there is not a single animal in the wild that cooks the flesh it eats! Seventeen years of research has revealed meat as it is produced today to be the single most dangerous food that we put into our body. I have not eaten any meat in 17 years.
DAIRY is the second most dangerous substance we can put into our bodies for many of the same reasons. We are told milk is the perfect food, and needed for calcium. But we are not told that the pasteurizing of milk (heating it to temperatures of 160 degrees or higher) changes the calcium to an inorganic form, which cannot be assimilated by the body.
In nature, no animal pasteurizes its milk, and no animal drinks the milk of another species, nor does it ever drink milk after the age of weaning. The only source of bad cholesterol (LDL) is animal products! ANIMAL PRODUCTS ARE NOT GOOD FOOD!!!
SALT is another white substance that creates untold physical problems and suffering. The body needs sodium, but it must be in an organic form in order to be usable by the body. Table salt, sodium chloride, is an inorganic sodium compound formed by the union of sodium and chlorine that is extremely toxic to the body, causing it to retain fluid in an effort to keep this protoplasmic poison in suspension and out of the cells.
SUGAR is the fourth white substance creating our physical problems. Sugar is so changed and concentrated from its original plant form, that it is actually a drug! Just 10 teaspoons (approximately the amount found in one soft drink) will immobilize the immune system by about 33 percent. Approximately 30 teaspoons of sugar will shut down the immune system for a whole day.
WHITE FLOUR
has h
ad all the good substances (bran and germ) removed during processing. Then it is bleached, sometimes with a bleaching agent similar to Clorox. Finally, they add some coal-tar-derived (carcinogenic) vitamins and it is sold to the unsuspecting public as "enriched." WHITE FLOUR IS NOT GOOD FOOD, IN FACT IT IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!
(The above five white substances are covered in detail in my book, Why Christians Get Sick.)
In addition to these five white substances, we must also consider the impact of drugs on our bodies. Most people are aware of how dangerous alcohol and nicotine are to the body, but fail to realize that the caffeine in coffee, tea and soft drinks is also an extremely dangerous substance! Caffeine is called a stimulant because it excites all of the nerve endings in an effort to rid the body of this poisonous substance. If a person drinks over two or three cups of coffee a day on a regular basis, they will usually develop severe drug withdrawal headaches if they suddenly stop drinking it. Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are dangerous drugs!
Now that we have briefly covered the substances that are creating most of our physical problems, let us look at the foods that nourish and heal our body.
In the May 1993 issue of Back to the Garden, in an article titled God's Original Diet, I emphasized that the ideal diet for man is raw fruits and vegetables. This opinion is based on my 17 years of scientific and nutritional research, Biblical study and the personal experiences of myself and others who have tried this diet. Much of what I say may sound radical to some, but why should any Christian be surprised to find that modern science and personal experience have confirmed that "God's Original Diet" of raw fruits and vegetables (see Genesis 1:29) is the ideal diet for mankind?
It has now been almost 17 years since I switched from a diet that was predominately made up of the five white substances previously listed, which caused me to have serious teeth and gum problems, hemorrhoids, hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, severe sinus and allergy problems, frequent colds, headaches, pimples, body odor, dandruff, low energy . . . and colon cancer at age 42! In 1976, at age 42, I switched to a totally raw vegetarian / fruitarian diet with large amounts of freshly extracted vegetable juices. In fact, for one year I never ate a piece of cooked food. During that year, not only did my colon cancer go away, but so did every other physical problem I had!
After that first year, I added some cooked food to my diet. Presently, my diet consists of approximately 85 percent raw foods, with the balance made up of freshly prepared cooked vegetarian food.
I eat no meat, no dairy, no sugar and no white flour products, and haven't for 17 years! My diet is usually raw until the conclusion of the day, with my only cooked food -- if any at all -- coming at the end of the evening meal.
The reason one should maintain at least a 75- to 85-percent ratio of raw foods is that when food is cooked, almost all its nutritional value is destroyed. All enzymes are destroyed by cooking. Approximately 83 percent of all vitamins are destroyed by cooking and the heat changes protein into a form that cannot be assimilated. Cooking also reduces the organic minerals our body needs into an inorganic, unusable form.
In addition to diet, a lifestyle that includes exercise is an essential element to healthy living. I almost always do stretching exercises, deep breathing exercises and at least an hour of aerobic exercise each day. This diet and lifestyle has sustained me in perfect health with high energy for 17 years now!
The Bible says: "Bless the Lord, Who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction, Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles."