As nutrition comes into its own as a way of preventing and curing disease, many of us become confused by the differing opinions, which are often influenced by special interests. A friend loaned me a tiny book that sheds some light on the subject.
Bible Healing Foods proclaims the Bible as the oldest book of nutrition. Many churches preach a literal interpretation of the Bible— except when it comes to nutrition.
Dr. George H. Malkmus, a minister, wrote several books on the Bible and health. In God’s Way to Ultimate Health, he reminds us that the Bible warns of the consequences of defiling our body…”the temple of God”. He said, “The average person uses more care in selecting the grade of gasoline to put into their automobiles than they do the food they put in their mouth.” He also wrote an enlightening book titled Why Christians get Sick. With more than 150 Bible verses, he shows how we can avoid sickness and disease and experience superior health through a natural diet and lifestyle, as advocated in the Bible. He claims that most Christians go the way of the rest of the world, paying no attention to the nutritional wisdom of the Bible. Therefore, they are just as sick as non-Christians.
If you transported a modern-day nutritionist back to the Biblical era, he would discover the diet of ordinary people in those times was the same one that is being touted today as the healthiest and most nutritious of all.
It seems people of the Bible ate lots of vegetables and fruit, consumed little meat, and generously seasoned their foods with zesty health-giving herbs instead of drowning them in fat and calorie-rich sauces and gravies.
White flour and refined sugar had not made the scene, and they are among the greatest causes of the degenerative diseases that are afflicting both young and old in the U.S. Perhaps that is why people of the Bible lived so long, and were vigorous into old, old age. The processed foods that comprise over 90 percent of the modern American’s diet had not been invented.
The Rev. George M. Landesm of Union Theological Seminar, once wrote that almost every chapter in both the old and new testaments mentions food or cooking. Modern science is learning how important Biblically-cited foods are at keeping us hale and hearty well into old age. The author of Bible Healing Foods devotes a whole chapter to lentils, which were a mainstay of the daily diet in the Holy Land in Biblical times. Lentils are complex carbohydrates —- foods essential to keeping your metabolism humming along.
They are high in protein and fiber and they help keep colorectal cancer at bay, reduce cholesterol levels, lower high blood pressure, and give you’re tummy that full feeling that keeps you satisfied longer.
There are many delicious recipes using lentils, garlic, onions, and other vegetables. One recipe was adapted from the world’s oldest known cookbook, written by the ancient Roman chef, Marcus Gabius Apicius. An exciting section of the book tells how herbs were used by Biblical people for treating disorders. The author quotes from Psalms 104:14, “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herbs for the service of humanity.” There is a recent demand for grass fed beef because we have resurrected the wisdom that diseases are occurring in cattle are being fattened with corn instead of grass, their natural food.
Many of us have discovered the healing properties for the herb, garlic. According to an Old Welsh rhyme, “Eat leeks and wild garlic in May, and all year after physicians may play.” Famous British herbalist, Pentelope Ody, wrote in her Complete Medicinal Herbal, that garlic is known to reduce cholesterol levels.
But that’s just the beginning! She adds, “Even orthodox medicine acknowledges that the plant reduces the risk of further heart attacks in cardiac patients; it is also a stimulant for the immune system and an antibiotic.” I heard a doctor on television say research at the University of Texas had discovered garlic contains 60 chemicals known to prevent cancer.
Because of its astonishing power to boost the immune system, garlic ranks at the top of any list of natural preventive medicines, offering protection against a host of health issues.
People of the Bible seemed to be as fascinated with food as are Christians today. I was amazed at the referrals to different herbs and spices that we seem to be just now discovering as beneficial.
Perhaps we need to read the Bible, not only as a spiritual guide, but also as a guide to good health.
How interesting it would be to have a potluck supper (which I guess most churches are famous for) and use recipes including foods eaten in Biblical times. What a great way to teach people about the Bible and how to be healthy at the same time.
(Janice Norris lives in Heber Springs, has a B.S. in home economics from Murray State University, taught home economics, owned and operated health food stores in Illinois and Heber Springs, has taught numerous health and nutrition classes, and wrote a weekly newspaper column in Illinois for 15 years. She can be reached at janicenorris34@yahoo.com)
