Counsels On Diet and Foods -- Study Guide

Appendix C — A Nutrition Authority Discusses Mrs. E. G. White

By Clive M. McCay, Ph.D.

Former Professor of Nutrition, Cornell University

Among the thousand historical acquaintances in my files, one of the most worthwhile is Ellen G. White. As near as one can judge by the evidence of modern nutritional science, her extensive writings on the subject of nutrition, and health in general, are correct in their conclusions. This is doubly remarkable: Not only was most of her writing done at a time when a bewildering array of new health views—good and bad—were being promoted but the modern science of nutrition, which helps us to check on views and theories, had not yet been born. . . . CD-SG 41.1

While the selection and preparation of food plays a key role in the maintenance of health, few people select food on the basis of its nutritive value. Most select it on the basis of its taste, the way the product is packaged, the pressure of advertising, or the ease of preparation. Hence, the large food processors orient their research programs toward packaging, taste, and convenience rather than toward nutritive value. CD-SG 41.2