Messenger of the Lord

Humanity’s Original Diet

Original Diet. Ellen White’s simple, positive statement regarding the best diet for human beings has stood the test of time and research: “In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet.... Grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator.” ⁷⁶ The affirming research is voluminous and growing yearly. MOL 324.8

Nuts. Although the scientific community has long ignored nuts, or thought them too high in fat to be recommended, evidence now substantiates Ellen White’s teachings. She included them in the “diet chosen for us by our Creator.” ⁷⁷ Further, she said that “some nuts are not as wholesome as others. Almonds are preferable to peanuts.” ⁷⁸ MOL 324.9

Aware of some of the dangers of too many nuts in the diet (because of their high fat content), she warned that “too large a quantity of nut food is an injury ... but ... all can eat freely of fruit.” ⁷⁹ MOL 324.10

In the Adventist Health Study men who ate nuts 4-5 times a week had only half as many fatal heart attacks as those who rarely ate nuts. ⁸⁰ Walnuts and almonds have been shown to lower serum lipids (reducing risk of atherosclerosis). ⁸¹ MOL 324.11

Fruits and vegetables. Recent research has focused on the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits. “Vegetables and fruits are complex foods containing more than 100 beneficial vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other substances. Scientists do not yet know which of the nutrients or other substances in fruits and vegetables may be protective against cancer. The principal possibilities include specific vitamins and minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals—carotenoids, flavonoids, terpenes, sterols, indoles, and phenols—that are present in foods of plant origin.... Until more is known about specific food components, the best advice is to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.” ⁸² MOL 324.12

The Adventist Health Study indicated that vegetarians consume twice as much vitamin A and four times as much vitamin C as people in the general population. The antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E may lower the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease. Eating four servings of legumes per week decreases risk of pancreatic cancer much more than eating legumes only once a week. ⁸³ MOL 325.1

Where does one find these antioxidants? In carrots, squash, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, dried fruits, fresh strawberries, melons, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussell sprouts, etc. In a study of elderly people, high consumers of these foods had only 30 percent of the cancer mortality as that of low consumers. ⁸⁴ In the 1996 American Cancer Society’s Report, reference was made to the “oxygen-induced damage to tissues that occurs constantly as a result of normal metabolism. Because such damage is associated with increased cancer risk, antioxidant nutrients are thought to protect against cancer. Antioxidant nutrients include vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids. Studies suggest that people who eat more fruits and vegetables containing these antioxidants have a lower risk for cancer.” ⁸⁵ MOL 325.2

Those eating cabbage once a week had only one-third the risk of colon cancer compared to those who ate it once a month. ⁸⁶ Those getting adequate vitamin A had only one-third the risk of lung cancer compared to those with low intake of vitamin A. ⁸⁷ Oral and pharyngeal cancer were reduced by half in those consuming high quantities of fruits and vegetables. ⁸⁸ MOL 325.3

Adequate amounts of the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E have been shown to reduce the risk of cataracts. Those who consumed fewer than 3.5 servings of fruit or vegetables daily had a five to ten times increased risk of cataracts! ⁸⁹ MOL 325.4

Foods high in potassium ... like oranges, bananas, potatoes, and milk ... reduce risk of stroke by as much as 40 percent. ⁹⁰ MOL 325.5

Fruits and vegetables at the same meal. Ellen White counseled that “we should avoid eating vegetables and fruit at the same meal.” ⁹¹ “At one meal use bread and fruit, at the next bread and vegetables.” ⁹² MOL 325.6

Whenever possible, Mrs. White followed this practice: “I eat the most simple foods, prepared in the most simple way. For months my principal diet has been vermicelli and canned tomatoes, cooked together. This I eat with zwieback. Then I have also stewed fruit of some kind and sometimes lemon pie. Dried corn, cooked with milk or a little cream, is another dish that I sometimes use.” ⁹³ MOL 325.7

What are the problems when fruit and vegetables are combined? For many with a “feeble” digestion, the mix will cause “distress,” and “inability to put forth mental effort.” ⁹⁴ Some children “become fretful and peevish.” ⁹⁵ MOL 325.8

Ellen White saw in vision the cause of a minister’s sickness: “I took notice of your diet. You eat too great a variety at one meal. Fruit and vegetables taken at one meal produce acidity of the stomach; then impurity of the blood results, and the mind is not clear because the digestion is imperfect.” ⁹⁶ MOL 325.9

Mrs. White advised students to eat fruit and grains rather than vegetables for supper: “Let the students have the third meal prepared without vegetables, but with simple, wholesome food, such as fruit and bread.” ⁹⁷ MOL 325.10

The White family considered vegetables to include peas, beans, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, onions, cabbages, and squashes (although some of these would be classified as fruits botanically). Fruits included tomatoes, apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, grapes, cranberries, and raisins. Grains (or seeds) included wheat, corn, rye, barley, oatmeal, rice, farina, cornstarch, “and the like.” ⁹⁸ MOL 326.1

Some have wondered about Ellen White’s inclusion of tomatoes within the fruit group, but that she did, according to common usage. ⁹⁹ MOL 326.2

Olives were an item that could be safely eaten at any meal. ¹⁰⁰ MOL 326.3

Milk. Ellen White’s counsel regarding milk has often been misunderstood both by those who freely use it and those who avoid it. On one hand, she clearly says that the time will come when “milk of the cows will also be excluded from the diet of God’s commandment-keeping people.” ¹⁰¹ MOL 326.4

However, again demonstrating Ellen White’s common sense as well as enlightened counsel, she also said that, in her day, “as the situation now is,” ¹⁰² the time to “discard” or “exclude” milk had not come. She gave two reasons: (1) The poor were not able to make the dietary adjustment immediately: “I cannot say to them, ‘You must not eat eggs or milk or cream. You must use no butter in the preparation of food.’ The gospel must be preached to the poor, and the time has not yet come to prescribe the strictest diet.” ¹⁰³ Common sense indicated that “until we can teach them how to prepare health reform foods that are palatable, nourishing, and yet inexpensive, we are not at liberty to present the most advanced propositions regarding health reform diet.” ¹⁰⁴ MOL 326.5

(2) Disease in animals was increasing, and for “safety” reasons it would be wise to discard milk from the diet. ¹⁰⁵ MOL 326.6

But while counseling that we should prepare for the day when milk will not be “safe,” she emphasized that milk, or its “equivalent,” ¹⁰⁶ is still part of “the most healthful diet.” ¹⁰⁷ Milk seems to be the most available source of Vitamin B-12; without milk, for most people, supplements of B-12 may be necessary. MOL 326.7

Ellen White’s common sense also warns against extreme positions. For some, prematurely discarding milk without providing its equivalent may cause sickness, even death. ¹⁰⁸ For others, it would be an unwarranted financial hardship to find an equivalent for milk. ¹⁰⁹ MOL 326.8

Her common sense urged her to warn against premature proscriptions that would make some people the arbiters as to what others should be putting on their tables, thus “creating a time of trouble beforehand.” ¹¹⁰ Above all, “we should not allow differences of opinion to create disunion.” ¹¹¹ MOL 326.9

So, the question remains: When should we “discard” milk from the diet? In 1901 the time had “not yet come.” ¹¹² When the time does come, “God will reveal it.” ¹¹³ We should wait, using our best judgment, always with the principle of “known duty” ¹¹⁴ leading us individually, “waiting until the circumstances demand it, and the Lord prepares the way for it.” ¹¹⁵ MOL 326.10

Grains. Ellen White’s emphasis on grains as an essential component of an adequate diet has been unequivocally validated in recent research. “Grains such as wheat, rice, oats, barley, and the foods made from them constitute the base of healthful diets as illustrated in the Food Guide Pyramid. Healthful diets contain six to 11 standard servings of foods from this group each day.... Grains are an important source of many vitamins and minerals such as folate, calcium, and selenium, all of which have been associated with a lower risk of colon cancer.” ¹¹⁶ MOL 326.11

Alcohol affects brain cells. When Ellen White wrote in 1885 that alcoholic beverages destroy “reason and life,” and in 1905 that such drinking “destroys the sensitive nerves of the brain,” she sounded like an overzealous temperance orator. ¹¹⁷ But in 1970 research indicated that “even the moderate imbiber may incur some loss of irreplaceable brain cells—every time he drinks.... The only real difference between his loss of brain tissue and that of the heavy drinker is one of degree.” ¹¹⁸ The ability to make decisions concerning moral issues begins to slip at very low alcohol intake levels (much below what is considered adequate to lower heart attack risk). ¹¹⁹ MOL 326.12

Caffeine affects spirituality. Ellen White may not have known that she was many decades ahead of scientific confirmation when she warned that “all such stimulants and narcotics as tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and morphine ... exert a pernicious influence upon moral character. The earlier these hurtful habits are formed, the more firmly will they hold their victim in slavery to lust, and the more certainly will they lower the standard of spirituality.” ¹²⁰ But this truth is reflected in current studies. Researchers, among other findings, note that as coffee drinkers grow older, their coffee consumption increases. On a spiritual plane, this increase in consumption accompanies a decrease in religious involvement. ¹²¹ MOL 327.1

Faulty diet and poor scholarship. In 1884 Ellen White stated that “nine tenths of the wickedness among the children of today is caused by intemperance in eating and drinking.” Six years later she wrote that “the diet materially affects the mind and disposition.” ¹²² Today widespread evidence indicates that there is a correlation between poor diet habits and poor scholarship. Better-fed children get better grades in school. When students with poor grades and poor diets are given nutritionally enriched meals, their grades and other scholastic indicators improve. ¹²³ MOL 327.2