EGW on Diet: Principles and Practices

Dietary principles are central to achieving the highest development of body, mind, and soul, reflecting God's will for human well-being and aiding in preparation for eternal life20MR 3.3+2.

The Importance of Health Reform in Diet

The health reform movement is seen as a divine initiative, an essential part of education that should be imparted to God's peopleHFM 73.2+3. It is not merely about discarding unwholesome foods, but about embracing principles that promote optimal healthTSDF 43.5+1. Obedience to these natural laws, which are also God's laws, leads to happiness and prepares us for the life to comeCD 457.3.

Progressive Nature of Diet Reform

Diet reform is a progressive journey, not a sudden, radical changeCH 478.1+6. It's about meeting people where they are, especially those with perverted appetites, and gradually guiding them toward a more healthful diet12MR 176.2+6. We should teach people how to prepare palatable, nourishing, and inexpensive health-reform foods before presenting the most advanced propositionsHFM 34.6+2.

Key Dietary Principles and Practices

• Living Sacrifice: Presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, includes being transformed by the renewing of our minds, which extends to intelligent eating and drinking20MR 3.3+2.

• Temperance in All Things: Those who strive for mastery, like runners in a race, are temperate in all things, including diet, to obtain an incorruptible crown20MR 3.3+1. This means keeping the body in subjection lest one becomes a castaway20MR 3.3.

• Wholesome, Simple, and Palatable Food: The emphasis is on simple, nutritious, and palatable food made from grains, vegetables, nuts, and fruits8MR 397.2+6. There is no call for a great variety of dishes, and much time and labor can be saved by simplifying meal preparation15LtMs, Lt 157, 1900, par. 13.

• Avoiding Extremes: It is crucial to avoid extremes in diet reform, as a meager or impoverished diet can lead to weakness and discredit the health message1MR 293.1+9.

• Meat, Tea, and Coffee:

• Meat is generally discouraged due to its detrimental effects on physical, mental, and spiritual health, strengthening animal propensities and predisposing to disease10MR 286.3+12. The increasing prevalence of disease in animals makes meat-eating particularly unsafeTSDF 74.7.

• Tea and coffee are also to be discarded as they create an unnatural state of mind and body and hinder optimal development20MR 7.1+6.

• While the ultimate goal is to eliminate these, it is acknowledged that some may need to transition gradually, and immediate, radical changes are not always feasible or wise, especially for those new to health reform12MR 176.2+6.

• Milk, Eggs, and Butter: These are not classified with flesh meat, and their use may be beneficial in some cases, particularly for poor families who cannot afford other nourishing alternatives12MR 176.2+3. However, the time will come when their use will no longer be safe due to increasing animal diseasesCH 478.1+5.

• Sugar: The free use of sugar in any form tends to clog the system and can cause diseaseCTBH 56.4+1. Combining sugar with milk is especially harmful due to potential fermentation in the stomachCTBH 56.4+1.

Teaching and Demonstrating Health Reform

• Cooking Schools and Instruction: Cooking schools, conducted by wise instructors, are essential to teach people how to prepare wholesome, appetizing, and inexpensive health foods16MR 64.2+6. House-to-house instruction is also recommendedCD 474.3.

• Setting an Example: Advocates of diet reform should exemplify its principles in their own lives and at their tables, presenting the advantages of hygiene in the best light to commend it to othersCME 37.1+2.

• Tact and Kindness: When introducing health reform, a tactful, kind, and courteous approach is crucialTSDF 137.3+1. It is important not to turn people away by imposing overly strict diets suddenly or by making food unpalatableTSDF 137.3+3.

• Addressing Prejudice: A demonstration of health reform principles can significantly remove prejudice against evangelical work and open doors to many homesWM 127.1+1.

• Meeting People Where They Are: It is vital to meet people at their current understanding and habits, educating them gradually rather than imposing immediate, radical changes12MR 176.2+9.

Spiritual Implications

Indulging appetite can lead to spiritual decline, dulling moral perceptions and allowing sensual impulses to overbear reason and conscienceTSDF 57.2. Disregarding the light given on health reform can hinder God's work in one's lifeCD 401.1+1. Conversely, embracing health reform, which includes self-denial in appetite, brings strength, clarity of mind, and prepares individuals for greater service20MR 3.3+7.

As it is written, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" Romans 12:1-2. By following these principles, we align ourselves with God's perfect will, ensuring both physical and spiritual well-being. As the Bible also states, "For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence" Romans 14:20. Our aim is always to promote health and life, for "It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones" Proverbs 3:8.