Expert: Sal - 12/1/2008

Question
Dear Sal,

I am battling with weigh issues. I feel "helpless and hopeless" when it came to overeating.  My faith is growing and deepening daily. Is it okay if I do the biblical diet? My metabolism dropped so low I was freezing all the time, experienced deep tiredness, fatigue, I suffered from severe depression and despair on the american diet!

I want to know what is “God’s perfect diet” Faith in a diet ideal can be so strong that it blinds us to the realities of where our health is headed.I pretty much eat the Standard American Diet,I want to change my ways a little bit at a time and lose weight.

It's true that junk animal products can cause health problems, but clean, wholesome animal foods will not hurt you. To the contrary, as omniscient omnivores, human beings require clean foods from both plant and animal kingdoms.

The contention that animal fat and protein can cause cancer, heart disease, or shorten your life is unsubstantiated baloney preached by individuals whose motives are questionable at best and unconscionable at worst.

They could not find a single scientific study that linked clean, wholesome meat with disease.It's true. Studies condemning meat were ALL done using standard American junk meats (luncheon meats, processed meats, chemical laden meats, pork chops, bacon, ham, and the like).One hallmark study actually used milk casein (a processed milk product) - a far cry from wholesome, clean meats!

You don't have to be afraid of meat! To prove it Biblically, I have covered the scriptural foundations for eating meat, dairy, and eggs....I would like to live 120 years and be healthy I want my family to be the same. Is it a good thing that I want to eat God's way? And will my health improve if I do the biblical diet?  

Answer
Dear Jacqueline:

I'm not sure if there is a "biblical diet". But if you can improve your diet by eating more fruits and vegetables and increase whole grains then I believe that you will have improve health. Meat is a great source of quality protein and trace minerals. Those that promote a diet devoid of meat and call it God's diet are misled and misleading others. The Seventh-day Adventists wrongly say God does not want us to eat meat that is a lie according to the Bible.


Therefore, we read, “A man of sound faith knows he can eat anything, while one who is weak in faith eats only vegetables” (Romans 14:2). As well as, “I know with certainty on the authority of the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; it is only when a man thinks something unclean that it becomes so for him” (v.14). What does St. Paul mean “on the authority of the Lord Jesus”? Perhaps he had another unrecorded Damascus road-type experience or he may have been referring to known sayings of our Lord (see Mark 7:14-20; Luke 10:8; 12:22-23). If one intends to prove the case that God wants all people to be vegetarians one will have to address these and other such passages like Acts 10:9-15; 15:28-29; Romans 14:17-18, 20; I Corinthians 10:25-31; Colossians 2:16; I Timothy 4:1-5.

Moderation is the key, Jacqueline. Consult a Registered Dietitian for more info.

Good Luck,
Sal