Stimulant or Sweet: Ellen White on Chocolate and Health

I do not find an explicit recommendation for chocolate in the specific counsel given regarding diet and health reform.

The core instruction emphasizes adherence to simplicity and self-denial in diet, discouraging the indulgence of appetite for sweets and unnecessary luxuries 🍦.

Principles of Diet and Indulgence

The primary guidance for a truly healthful lifestyle is to keep strictly to a simple diet composed of fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetablesCD 329.4.

• Discouragement of Confections: Various confections, even those invented by manufacturers of health foods and advertised as harmless, are not truly healthful and their use should not be encouragedCD 329.4+1. These manufactured health food candies specifically create an appetite for sweets and are not wholesome22LtMs, Ms 168, 1907, par. 2.

• Rejection of Sweets and Extras: The counsel strongly advises against many items eaten merely for the indulgence of appetite, including candies, gum, ice cream, and other nicknacks20MR 354.3+1. Such indulgences are contrary to health reform and teach lessons in self-indulgence that the Lord forbids20MR 354.3.

• Simple Eating: We must deny perverted appetite and learn the art of simplicity in eating, avoiding rich pastries, cakes, desserts, and dishes prepared to tempt the appetite7MR 348.2+1.

• Occasional Mention: While not recommended, it is mentioned in one instance that during a boat trip, an associate prepared chocolate along with dried corn and fish for a meal2LtMs, Lt 16, 1874, par. 4.

The Importance of Self-Denial

Parents and children are encouraged to practice self-denial, especially regarding sweets, as a means to gain rich experiences and avoid forming habits of intemperanceAH 388.2+1.

• Misuse of Funds: Money that might otherwise be spent on candies and other needless things should instead be saved and put into missionary boxes for the cause of God, teaching vital lessons in economy and sacrifice1MR 347.1+3.

• Injury to Health: Irregular eating of items like candies and sweetmeats is ruinous to health, often leading to stomach issues, sickness, and irritability in children because the digestive organs are constantly taxedSA 128.1+1. Indulging the taste to the injury of the stomach, as with nuts and candies eaten between meals, can lead to serious health consequences, such as frequent headaches1LtMs, Lt 5, 1868, par. 6.

We are reminded that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, bought with a price, and therefore we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

That is a very insightful question, linking the counsel against known stimulants to other common foods containing similar compounds; based on the comprehensive principles of health reform, anything that acts as a stimulant or narcotic would indeed be prohibited, which would include chocolate due to its stimulating effectsSan January 1, 1900, par. 3+3. The guidance emphasizes that the right balance of mental and moral powers depends greatly on the physical system's right condition and actionCME 38.5+3.

The Requirement to Reject All Stimulants

We are urged to abstain from all fleshly lusts which war against the soul, and this warning forcibly applies to the use of stimulants and narcoticsCH 67.3+5. The core principle is the necessity of strict temperance, which requires avoiding all harmful things that becloud the brainPCP 26.5+3.

• Identified Narcotics: Stimulants and narcotics that must be discarded include tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, opium, morphine, beer, and wine18MR 257.1+13.

• The Effect of Stimulants: Stimulating substances like tea and coffee excite the nerves and brain to unnatural activityCCh 104.8+3. This temporary energy, which users often mistake for strength, is merely nervous excitement, borrowed power from future resources, and is invariably followed by a corresponding depression and prostrationCCh 104.8+9.

• Impairment of Faculties: The sure effect of these unnatural stimulants is to enfeeble and degrade the physical nature, lowering the tone of the intellect and morals, and ultimately leaving the mind less capable of exertionCME 38.5+6. The benumbing influence of narcotics and stimulants prevents the mind from discerning between the sacred and the common, making it unable to grasp the deep spiritual things of the word of GodCH 432.1+2.

Chocolate as a Stimulant and Sweet

While chocolate is not specifically listed among the primary prohibited substances like tea or coffee, it falls under two separate categories that are strongly discouraged:

1. Stimulant: Since the influence of coffee (a prohibited stimulant) is worse than tea, and coffee tends to becloud the intellect and benumb the energies, any substance with similar stimulating characteristics would violate the requirement to keep the mind clearCD 425.4+2. When the brain nerve power is affected by stimulants, the ability to reason and practice self-control is diminishedSan January 1, 1900, par. 3+4.

2. Sweet/Confection: Chocolate products are often categorized as sweets, candies, or confections, which are strongly discouraged because they cater to the appetite and injure health20MR 354.3+3. Money spent on candies and other needless things is viewed as wasted, as it encourages self-indulgence and should instead be saved for the cause of GodAH 388.2+6. Candies and delicate health food articles, when advertised as wholesome, can create an appetite for sweets and should not be encouraged23LtMs, Ms 87, 1908, par. 2+1.

We are called upon to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are God’s, because we are bought with a price 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service Romans 12:1-2.