FOR PERSPECTIVE: (The bible is not a diet book!)
Matthew 15:10-11 “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth. . . .”
Job 34:15 “All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.”
Bread is NOT “the staff of life”.
See Matthew 4:4 “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
John 6:47-50 “I am that bread of life.” (There is bread, and then there is “bread”!)
Meat is not the solution!
1st Corinthians 6:13 “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them.”
Hebrews 13:9 “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”
Exercise is “not where its at”!
1st Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
Good health provides physical strength and a source of pride, but “strength” and pride are not what we’re about.
Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength. . . .”
weak/strong
Being in shape might get you noticed but if you love the praise of men you’re in trouble.
John 12:42-43 “. . . they did not confess him . . . For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
1st John 2:16-17 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Dieting: (Although it’s true that the word of God is not directly a diet book, it’s also true that it tells us the truth about ourselves, (our weaknesses, our tendencies, and our condition); and it gives us authoritative information about the Lord’s intention for us in regard to certain issues concerning which health “experts” contradict the Lord, allowing us to easily discern between truth and lies, even those lies issued by government agents and well intentioned “experts”.
THE PROBLEM:
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
THE FACT OF THE MATTER (in Jesus Christ):
Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.”
THE SOLUTION:
Galatians 5:24-25 “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
[examples of failure:] (Their god is their belly.)
Χ Numbers 11:4-6 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: but now . . . there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”
Χ Genesis 25:28-34 “And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
(Hebrews 12:16 “. . . or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”)
Galatians 6:1-8 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness: considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
1st Corinthians 9:24-27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection. . . .”
Overindulgence:
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.”
[Look at the things associated with eating too much: stubbornness, rebelliousness, drunkenness!]
Proverbs 23:21 “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”
[You can view this scripture as being a curse, a threat, a prophesy, or a promise; but what difference does it make?]
Ezekiel 16:49 “. . . this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness. . . .”
v. 26 “. . . the Egyptians . . . great of flesh. . . .” (They didn’t have great looking flesh: they were fat!)
Luke 21:34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness. . . .”
surfeit n. (2.) overindulgence, especially in food or drink. [Webster’s New Universal, 2nd Ed.]
QUESTION: Why would a man eat more than he needs to eat for good health?
ANSWERS: (1) He’s foolish, (2) his god is his belly, (3) he’s ignorant of vital facts
(1) If you are foolish, I can’t help you.
(Proverbs 30:21-22 A terrible thing: “. . . a fool when he is filled with meat. . . .”)
(23:9 “Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”)
(2) If your god is your belly, possibly yelling and loud preaching will help!
(Philippians 3:18-21 “. . . whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly. . . .”)
[If your god is your belly, you better change your way of thinking!]
(3) If you’re just ignorant, getting some appropriate facts will help.
FAD DIETS ARE NOT THE LONG TERM ANSWER:
(1) The Atkins Diet is an empirically derived diet, promoting primarily the eating of meat and fats, unencumbered by what was perceived by Dr. Atkins as too much carbohydrates in the traditional American diet.
This diet is touted to be a way to gain good health and loose the extra fat.
The theory behind this diet claims, in part, that the human race “evolved” substantially as meat eaters and never really “adapted” fully to eating fruits and vegetables.
The Atkins diet specifically calls for the elimination of bread, milk, and honey, among other foods.
(Dr. Atkins was educated in the American school system and ignorant concerning important aspects of history, science, and health, but he did his best with what he had.) [I applauded Dr. Atkins from the standpoint that he apparently had the courage to challenge the standing propaganda by actually making a judgement not based on being politically correct, but on the evidence before him, insofar as he had it. (To his credit, he was hated by all the powers that be!)]
QUESTION: What is wrong with Atkins’ diet theory?
ANSWERS:
(1) Man did not evolve! He was “fearfully and wonderfully made” by the Lord “In the beginning”.
Genesis 1:1, 27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Psalm 139:14 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
QUESTION: What’s wrong with modern “science”?
ANSWER: “Science” doesn’t know anything about what David knew “right well”.
(2) Men don’t have to eat meat at all to be physically healthy, if they can get vegetables grown in healthy soils.
Daniel 1:1-15 “Then said Daniel to Melzar . . . let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. . . . [A]t the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.”
pulse, n. 1. the edible seeds of peas, beans, lentils, and similar plants having pods.
(3) Carbohydrates are good for you.
Genesis 1:12 “And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
(4) Bread, milk, and honey are specifically endorsed by the Lord.
Genesis 3:19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Exodus 23:25 “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
Exodus 3:7-8 “And I am come down to deliver them . . . unto a land flowing with milk and honey. . . .”
(This is a description of the Lord’s promised land, a gift to Israel, a figure of heaven.)
Deuteronomy 6:3 “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.” [There are numerous verses similar to this.]
(2) The Young Diet promotes vegetarianism as the answer for good health. Dr. Young empirically derived a diet primarily consisting of green leafy vegetables, unencumbered by what he perceived as too much protein and animal fats in the traditional American diet.
This diet is touted as a way to gain good health and loose the extra fat.
The theory behind this diet compares apes and elephants, on one hand (large and powerful mammals which eat only vegetables); with man, on the other hand, who, Dr. Young says, should eat the same way (in order to be “healthy and strong”).
This diet specifically requires the avoidance of bread, butter, cheese, milk, honey, eggs, meat, and wine.
This diet specifically calls for the avoidance of certain food combinations under the theory that it is not so much the quantity of the food we eat that is the problem, but rather the food combinations that we eat at a single meal.
This diet calls for a form of food separatism, which claims that the human digestive system is not designed for complex meals that mix protein and starch. Meals to be specifically avoided include: “meat and potatoes, fish and chips, chicken and rice, burgers and fries, a ham sandwich (in fact, any kind of sandwich).”
(Dr. Young was educated in the American school system and is ignorant concerning certain aspects of history, science, and health, but he probably did his best with what he thought he had available as evidence.)
QUESTION: What is wrong with Dr. Young’s theory?
ANSWERS:
(1) Man did not evolve! What apes and elephants eat or do not eat, is not necessarily evidence in regard to what men should eat or not eat.
QUESTION: Since most anteaters are healthy, should we eat only what anteaters eat in order to be healthy?
(2) Meat is given by the Lord for us to eat. To refuse it is evil and an indication of spiritual weakness.
1st Timothy 4:1-6 “. . . some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils . . . commanding to abstain from meats. . . . For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving. . . .”
Romans 14:2 “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.”
(3) Meat is not unhealthy per se. It is true that there are many toxic and unhealthy additives in commercially raised American beef, poultry, and pork; but toxins, additives, and genetic engineering are also found in commercially raised vegetables and fruits!
(4) Foods to be avoided under the Young diet (bread, butter, cheese, milk, honey, eggs, meat, and wine) are foods provided, promoted, and validated by the Lord.
Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Genesis 3:19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Genesis 14:18 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.”
1st Timothy 5:23 “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
[For “milk and honey” see verses given above under “Atkins.”]
Isaiah 7:14-15 “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”
Luke 11:9-13 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father. . . .”
(5) Food combinations specifically forbidden by the Young diet are accepted and provided by the Lord.
Exodus 29:32 “And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
Matthew 15:32-37 “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled. . . .”
QUESTION: What do you think? If there were anything unhealthy about the combination of meat and bread, would the Lord have given it to the people that followed him?
Luke 7:33-36 “The Son of man is come eating and drinking . . . and sat down to meat.”
Luke 24:40-43 “And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.” He ate this combination himself!
QUESTIONS: What do you think? If there were anything wrong with doing that, would the Lord have done it?
Would he have accepted a wad of chewing tobacco?
Would he have smoked a joint with you?
John 21:1-13 “Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. . . . Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”
CONCLUSION: If there is a problem with some food combinations, there is, at least, not a problem with fish and bread. If there is not a problem with protein and starch in combination, then perhaps there is not a problem with any protein/starch combination.
If the combination part of the Young diet theory is not valid, perhaps none of their theory is valid.
Perhaps our digestive system is fully functional for whatever we eat; but the problem is just that we eat in “excess”!
Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess. . . .”
1st Peter 4:3 “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine [which is drunkenness], revellings, banquetings [which is just plain “excess” of food], and abominable idolatries. . . .”
[Perhaps the real problem is not with wine or with food; but with us.]
Exercise provides strength, strength of health AND muscular strength. (This is not a bad thing.)
(American churches are becoming so overweight, lazy, and self-justifying that they now tend to claim that getting in shape is just vanity. They’re mostly beyond hope, physically and doctrinally!)
Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength. . . .”
[If you think a young man having strength is a bad thing, then how do you explain 1st Corinthians 11:14?
“. . . if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”]
Proverbs 21:25 “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.”
[His desire is literally “killing him”! He is going to die from his laziness!]
Ecclesiastes 10:17 “Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!” [Drunkenness is here a reference to eating too much food, for the love of food.]
[Have you seen Ted Kennedy lately? Besides being a reprobate drunk and habitual child molester, he’s so fat he looks like he’s about to explode!]
Weight Loss: (1) Nutritional factors that effect blood pH and that improve the liver’s ability to break down and metabolize fat are the important components of a weight-loss plan. (Supplements of folic acid promote the flow of fat and bile to and from the liver.)
(2) Artificially engineered fats and oils (so-called trans-fats or hydrogenated oils) are not digestible by the body. They are known to cause brain dysfunction, and should be vigorously eliminated from the diet.
Meals: Eat a large breakfast, a medium sized lunch, and a very small dinner.
pH Balance: (The goal is to raise bodily pH from acid to slightly alkaline (7.365). Most Americans are much too acid.)
Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) or potassium bicarbonate: at bedtime (not with meals), and calcium supplements.
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2): 1 drop per 2 oz. distilled drinking water (16 drops/quart (or) 64 drops/gallon).
Sweeteners (Sugar is very harmful, and sugar substitutes can be worse: in descending order of acceptability:)
stevia (completely natural, calorie free, does not affect blood sugar, very concentrated, certainly safe)
xylitol (looks and tastes like sugar, ideal for baking, good for teeth, extremely low glycemic index, probably safe)
sucralose (Splenda) (calorie free, possibly basically safe) acesulfame potassium (or acesulfame K) (Sunett, Sweet One) (These are used in sugar-free Jello, Trident gum, Pepsi One, etc.)
Saccaharin (Sweet ‘N Low) (cancer causing, definitely not safe)
aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful) (TOXIC – completely unacceptable!)
Zinc is vital to a hundred different functions. Insufficiency expresses itself in many different disease symptoms (including obesity) the cause of which diseases are unknown to almost all family doctors. To check if you are getting sufficient zinc, dissolve 2 mg of zinc sulfate in 10 ml of distilled water. Rinse the solution around in your mouth for 10-15 seconds. If you can’t taste anything, or if after a few minutes you have a “dry and furry” sensation, you are zinc deficient. Sufficient zinc intake is indicated if you recognize an immediate horrible taste of zinc.