Chapter 18: Diet
General Statements
330. The diet question deserves careful study.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
331. A reform in eating would be a saving of expense and labor.--Spiritual Gifts Volume 4a, 132.
332. The diet affects both physical and moral health.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 79.
333. Learn for yourselves what you should eat, what kinds of food best nourish the body, and then follow the dictates of reason and conscience. This is not a matter of trifling importance.--Gospel Workers, 174.
334. Those who will not eat and drink from principle, will not be governed by principle in other things.--The Health Reformer, August 1, 1866.
Cooking
335. The many dishes usually prepared for dessert should be dispensed with.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
336. The large amount of cooking usually done is not at all necessary. Neither should the diet be poor, either in quality or quantity.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
337. The proper cooking of food is a most essential requirement, especially where meat is not made an article of diet. Something must be prepared to take the place of meat, and these foods must be well prepared, so that meat will not be desired.--Unpublished Testimonies, December 20, 1896.
338. We need persons who will educate themselves to cook healthfully. Many know how to cook meats and vegetables in different forms, yet do not understand how to prepare simple and appetizing dishes.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
339. There is religion in good cooking, and I question the religion of that class who are too ignorant and too careless to learn to cook.--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
340. It is the positive duty of physicians to educate, educate, educate, by pen and voice, all who have the responsibility of preparing food for the table.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
341. You profess to be health reformers, and for this very reason you should become good cooks. Those who can avail themselves of the advantages of properly conducted hygienic cooking-schools, will find it a great benefit, both in their own practice and in teaching others.... One reason why many have become discouraged in practising health reform is that they have not learned how to cook so that proper food, simply prepared, would supply the place of the diet to which they have been accustomed.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 119.
342. This [cooking] can be done in a simple, healthful, and easy manner, without the use of lard, butter, or flesh meats.... Skill must be united with simplicity. To do this, women must read, and then patiently reduce what they have read to practise. Many are suffering because they will not take the trouble to do this.... It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment.... What branch of the education of a young lady can be so important as this?--Testimonies for the Church 1:681, 682.
Proper Food
343. Is my diet such as will bring me in a position where I can accomplish the greatest amount of good?--The Review and Herald, June 17, 1880.
344. People cannot all eat the same things. Some articles of food that are wholesome and palatable to one person may be hurtful to another. So it is impossible to make an unvarying rule by which to regulate every one's dietetic habits.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 157.
345. The Lord intends to bring his people back to live upon simple fruits, vegetables, and grains.... God provided fruit in its natural state for our first parents.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
346. All the elements of nutrition are contained in the fruits, vegetables, and grains.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
347. Grains and fruits prepared free from grease, and in as natural a condition as possible, should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven.--Testimonies for the Church 2:352.
348. Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk and cream, the most healthful diet. They impart nourishment to the body, and give a power of endurance and vigor of intellect that are not produced by a stimulating diet.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
349. Meat eating is doing its work, for the meat is diseased. We may not long be able to use even milk.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
350. Good, ripe, undecayed fruit is a thing for which we should thank the Lord, for it is beneficial to health.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
351. Dry food which requires mastication is far preferable to porridges. The health food preparations are a blessing in this respect.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
352. My sisters, do not place upon your tables food that is exciting and irritating, but that which is plain, wholesome, and nutritious.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
353. Good brown bread and rolls, prepared in a simple manner, yet with painstaking effort, are healthful.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
330. The diet question deserves careful study.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
331. A reform in eating would be a saving of expense and labor.--Spiritual Gifts Volume 4a, 132.
332. The diet affects both physical and moral health.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 79.
333. Learn for yourselves what you should eat, what kinds of food best nourish the body, and then follow the dictates of reason and conscience. This is not a matter of trifling importance.--Gospel Workers, 174.
334. Those who will not eat and drink from principle, will not be governed by principle in other things.--The Health Reformer, August 1, 1866.
Cooking
335. The many dishes usually prepared for dessert should be dispensed with.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
336. The large amount of cooking usually done is not at all necessary. Neither should the diet be poor, either in quality or quantity.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
337. The proper cooking of food is a most essential requirement, especially where meat is not made an article of diet. Something must be prepared to take the place of meat, and these foods must be well prepared, so that meat will not be desired.--Unpublished Testimonies, December 20, 1896.
338. We need persons who will educate themselves to cook healthfully. Many know how to cook meats and vegetables in different forms, yet do not understand how to prepare simple and appetizing dishes.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
339. There is religion in good cooking, and I question the religion of that class who are too ignorant and too careless to learn to cook.--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
340. It is the positive duty of physicians to educate, educate, educate, by pen and voice, all who have the responsibility of preparing food for the table.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
341. You profess to be health reformers, and for this very reason you should become good cooks. Those who can avail themselves of the advantages of properly conducted hygienic cooking-schools, will find it a great benefit, both in their own practice and in teaching others.... One reason why many have become discouraged in practising health reform is that they have not learned how to cook so that proper food, simply prepared, would supply the place of the diet to which they have been accustomed.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 119.
342. This [cooking] can be done in a simple, healthful, and easy manner, without the use of lard, butter, or flesh meats.... Skill must be united with simplicity. To do this, women must read, and then patiently reduce what they have read to practise. Many are suffering because they will not take the trouble to do this.... It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment.... What branch of the education of a young lady can be so important as this?--Testimonies for the Church 1:681, 682.
Proper Food
343. Is my diet such as will bring me in a position where I can accomplish the greatest amount of good?--The Review and Herald, June 17, 1880.
344. People cannot all eat the same things. Some articles of food that are wholesome and palatable to one person may be hurtful to another. So it is impossible to make an unvarying rule by which to regulate every one's dietetic habits.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 157.
345. The Lord intends to bring his people back to live upon simple fruits, vegetables, and grains.... God provided fruit in its natural state for our first parents.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
346. All the elements of nutrition are contained in the fruits, vegetables, and grains.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
347. Grains and fruits prepared free from grease, and in as natural a condition as possible, should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven.--Testimonies for the Church 2:352.
348. Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk and cream, the most healthful diet. They impart nourishment to the body, and give a power of endurance and vigor of intellect that are not produced by a stimulating diet.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
349. Meat eating is doing its work, for the meat is diseased. We may not long be able to use even milk.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
350. Good, ripe, undecayed fruit is a thing for which we should thank the Lord, for it is beneficial to health.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
351. Dry food which requires mastication is far preferable to porridges. The health food preparations are a blessing in this respect.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
352. My sisters, do not place upon your tables food that is exciting and irritating, but that which is plain, wholesome, and nutritious.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
353. Good brown bread and rolls, prepared in a simple manner, yet with painstaking effort, are healthful.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
Preparation of Food
354. In the preparation of food, the golden rays of light are to be kept shining, teaching those who sit at the table how to live.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 12, 1896.
355. Food should be thoroughly cooked, nicely prepared, and appetizing.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
Palatability
356. The food should have been prepared in a simple form, and free from grease; but pains should have been taken to have it nutritious, healthful, and inviting.--Testimonies for the Church 2:485.
357. Food should be prepared with simplicity, and yet with a nicety that will invite the appetite.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
358. Great care should be taken when the change is made from a flesh meat to a vegetarian diet, to supply the table with wisely prepared, well-cooked articles of food.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
359. It is important that the food should be prepared with care, that the appetite, when not perverted, may relish it.--Testimonies for the Church 2:367.
360. Unless the food is prepared in a wholesome, palatable manner, it cannot be converted into good blood, to build up the wasting tissues.--Testimonies for the Church 2:538.
361. Many do not feel that this is a matter of duty, and hence they do not try to prepare food properly. This can be done in a simple, healthful, and easy manner, without the use of lard, butter, or flesh meats.--Testimonies for the Church 1:681.
362. In every line of cooking the question which should be considered, is, How can the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner? And there should be careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table be not wasted.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
Bread
363. Hot raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
364. Bread should never have the slightest taint of sourness. It should be cooked until it is most thoroughly done. Thus all softness and stickiness will be avoided.... Milk should not be used in place of water in bread making. All this is extra expense, and is not wholesome. If the bread thus made is allowed to stand over in warm weather, and is then broken open, there will frequently be seen long strings like cobwebs. Such bread soon causes fermentation to take place in the stomach.... Every housekeeper should feel it her duty to educate herself to make good sweet bread in the most inexpensive manner, and the family should refuse to have upon the table bread that is heavy and sour, for it is injurious.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
365. Hot biscuit raised with soda or baking-powder should never appear upon our tables. Such compounds are unfit to enter the stomach.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
366. Saleratus in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system. Some plead, “I cannot make good bread and gems unless I use soda or saleratus.” You surely can if you will learn. Is not the health of your family of sufficient value to inspire you with ambition to learn how to cook and how to eat?--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
Variety
367. There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of food without variation.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
368. When fruit and bread, together with a variety of other foods that do not agree, are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created?--Unpublished Testimonies, June 11, 1897.
369. If your work is sedentary, take exercise every day, and at each meal eat only two or three kinds of simple food, taking no more of these than will satisfy the demands of hunger.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
370. It would be better to eat only two or three different kinds of food at each meal than to load the stomach with many varieties.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
371. Do not have too great a variety at a meal; three or four dishes are a plenty. At the next meal you can have a change. The cook should tax her inventive powers to vary the dishes she prepares for the table, and the stomach should not be compelled to take the same kinds of food meal after meal.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
372. Some think that they must eat only just such an amount, and just such a quality, and confine themselves to two or three kinds of food. But in eating too small an amount, and that not of the best quality, they do not receive sufficient nourishment.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 57.
Food Combinations
373. Mixed and complicated dishes are injurious to the health of human beings.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
374. It is not well to take a great variety of food at one meal. When a variety of foods that do not agree are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created?--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
375. I advise the people to give up sweet puddings or custards made with eggs and milk and sugar, and to eat the best home-made bread, both graham and white, with dried or green fruits, and let that be the only course for one meal; then let the next meal be of nicely prepared vegetables.--Unpublished Testimonies, October 29, 1894.
376. If we would preserve the best health, we should avoid eating vegetables and fruit at the same meal. If the stomach is feeble, there will be distress, and the brain will be confused, and unable to put forth mental effort. Have fruit at one meal and vegetables at the next.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
377. We advise you to change your habits of living; but while you do this, we caution you to move understandingly. I am acquainted with families who have changed from a meat diet to one that is impoverished. Their food is so poorly prepared that the stomach loathes it.... Here is one reason why some have not been successful in their efforts to simplify their food.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
378. Large quantities of milk and sugar eaten together are injurious.--Testimonies for the Church 2:369.
379. Some use milk and a large amount of sugar on mush, thinking that they are carrying out health reform. But the sugar and the milk combined are liable to cause fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful. The free use of sugar in any form tends to clog the system, and is not unfrequently a cause of disease.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 57.
380. Rich and complicated mixtures of food are health destroying.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
Number of Meals
381. The stomach must have careful attention.... After it has done its work for one meal, do not crowd more work upon it before it has had a chance to rest, and before a sufficient supply of gastric juice is provided. Five hours at least should be given between each meal, and always bear in mind that if you would give it a trial, you would find two meals better than three.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
382. A second meal should never be eaten until the stomach has had time to rest from the labor of digesting the preceding meal.--How to Live 1:55.
383. It is quite a common custom with the people of the world to eat three times a day, besides eating at irregular intervals between meals; and the last meal is generally the most hearty, and is often taken just before retiring. This is reversing the natural order; a hearty meal should never be taken so late in the day. Should these persons change their practise, and eat but two meals a day, and nothing between meals, not even an apple, a nut, or any kind of fruit, the result would be seen in a good appetite and greatly improved health.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
384. Most people enjoy better health while eating two meals a day than three; others, under their existing circumstances, may require something to eat at supper time; but this meal should be very light. Let no one think himself a criterion for all, that every one must do exactly as he does.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 58.
385. If the third meal be eaten at all, it should be light, and several hours before going to bed.--How to Live 1:55.
386. The stomach, when we lie down to rest, should have its work all done, that it may enjoy rest, as well as other portions of the body. The work of digestion should not be carried on through any period of the sleeping hours.--How to Live 1:56.
387. If you feel that you must eat at night, take a drink of cold water, and in the morning you will feel much better for not having eaten.--Testimonies for the Church 4:502.
388. The stomach may be educated to desire food eight times a day, and feel faint if it is not supplied. But this is no argument in favor of so frequent eating.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
354. In the preparation of food, the golden rays of light are to be kept shining, teaching those who sit at the table how to live.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 12, 1896.
355. Food should be thoroughly cooked, nicely prepared, and appetizing.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
Palatability
356. The food should have been prepared in a simple form, and free from grease; but pains should have been taken to have it nutritious, healthful, and inviting.--Testimonies for the Church 2:485.
357. Food should be prepared with simplicity, and yet with a nicety that will invite the appetite.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
358. Great care should be taken when the change is made from a flesh meat to a vegetarian diet, to supply the table with wisely prepared, well-cooked articles of food.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
359. It is important that the food should be prepared with care, that the appetite, when not perverted, may relish it.--Testimonies for the Church 2:367.
360. Unless the food is prepared in a wholesome, palatable manner, it cannot be converted into good blood, to build up the wasting tissues.--Testimonies for the Church 2:538.
361. Many do not feel that this is a matter of duty, and hence they do not try to prepare food properly. This can be done in a simple, healthful, and easy manner, without the use of lard, butter, or flesh meats.--Testimonies for the Church 1:681.
362. In every line of cooking the question which should be considered, is, How can the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner? And there should be careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table be not wasted.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
Bread
363. Hot raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
364. Bread should never have the slightest taint of sourness. It should be cooked until it is most thoroughly done. Thus all softness and stickiness will be avoided.... Milk should not be used in place of water in bread making. All this is extra expense, and is not wholesome. If the bread thus made is allowed to stand over in warm weather, and is then broken open, there will frequently be seen long strings like cobwebs. Such bread soon causes fermentation to take place in the stomach.... Every housekeeper should feel it her duty to educate herself to make good sweet bread in the most inexpensive manner, and the family should refuse to have upon the table bread that is heavy and sour, for it is injurious.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
365. Hot biscuit raised with soda or baking-powder should never appear upon our tables. Such compounds are unfit to enter the stomach.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
366. Saleratus in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system. Some plead, “I cannot make good bread and gems unless I use soda or saleratus.” You surely can if you will learn. Is not the health of your family of sufficient value to inspire you with ambition to learn how to cook and how to eat?--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
Variety
367. There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of food without variation.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
368. When fruit and bread, together with a variety of other foods that do not agree, are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created?--Unpublished Testimonies, June 11, 1897.
369. If your work is sedentary, take exercise every day, and at each meal eat only two or three kinds of simple food, taking no more of these than will satisfy the demands of hunger.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
370. It would be better to eat only two or three different kinds of food at each meal than to load the stomach with many varieties.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
371. Do not have too great a variety at a meal; three or four dishes are a plenty. At the next meal you can have a change. The cook should tax her inventive powers to vary the dishes she prepares for the table, and the stomach should not be compelled to take the same kinds of food meal after meal.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
372. Some think that they must eat only just such an amount, and just such a quality, and confine themselves to two or three kinds of food. But in eating too small an amount, and that not of the best quality, they do not receive sufficient nourishment.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 57.
Food Combinations
373. Mixed and complicated dishes are injurious to the health of human beings.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
374. It is not well to take a great variety of food at one meal. When a variety of foods that do not agree are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created?--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
375. I advise the people to give up sweet puddings or custards made with eggs and milk and sugar, and to eat the best home-made bread, both graham and white, with dried or green fruits, and let that be the only course for one meal; then let the next meal be of nicely prepared vegetables.--Unpublished Testimonies, October 29, 1894.
376. If we would preserve the best health, we should avoid eating vegetables and fruit at the same meal. If the stomach is feeble, there will be distress, and the brain will be confused, and unable to put forth mental effort. Have fruit at one meal and vegetables at the next.--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
377. We advise you to change your habits of living; but while you do this, we caution you to move understandingly. I am acquainted with families who have changed from a meat diet to one that is impoverished. Their food is so poorly prepared that the stomach loathes it.... Here is one reason why some have not been successful in their efforts to simplify their food.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
378. Large quantities of milk and sugar eaten together are injurious.--Testimonies for the Church 2:369.
379. Some use milk and a large amount of sugar on mush, thinking that they are carrying out health reform. But the sugar and the milk combined are liable to cause fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful. The free use of sugar in any form tends to clog the system, and is not unfrequently a cause of disease.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 57.
380. Rich and complicated mixtures of food are health destroying.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
Number of Meals
381. The stomach must have careful attention.... After it has done its work for one meal, do not crowd more work upon it before it has had a chance to rest, and before a sufficient supply of gastric juice is provided. Five hours at least should be given between each meal, and always bear in mind that if you would give it a trial, you would find two meals better than three.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
382. A second meal should never be eaten until the stomach has had time to rest from the labor of digesting the preceding meal.--How to Live 1:55.
383. It is quite a common custom with the people of the world to eat three times a day, besides eating at irregular intervals between meals; and the last meal is generally the most hearty, and is often taken just before retiring. This is reversing the natural order; a hearty meal should never be taken so late in the day. Should these persons change their practise, and eat but two meals a day, and nothing between meals, not even an apple, a nut, or any kind of fruit, the result would be seen in a good appetite and greatly improved health.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
384. Most people enjoy better health while eating two meals a day than three; others, under their existing circumstances, may require something to eat at supper time; but this meal should be very light. Let no one think himself a criterion for all, that every one must do exactly as he does.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 58.
385. If the third meal be eaten at all, it should be light, and several hours before going to bed.--How to Live 1:55.
386. The stomach, when we lie down to rest, should have its work all done, that it may enjoy rest, as well as other portions of the body. The work of digestion should not be carried on through any period of the sleeping hours.--How to Live 1:56.
387. If you feel that you must eat at night, take a drink of cold water, and in the morning you will feel much better for not having eaten.--Testimonies for the Church 4:502.
388. The stomach may be educated to desire food eight times a day, and feel faint if it is not supplied. But this is no argument in favor of so frequent eating.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
Errors in Diet
Condition of the Mind at Meals
389. At meal-time cast off care and taxing thought. Do not be hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness, your heart filled with gratitude to God for all his blessings.--Gospel Workers, 174.
390. If you are in constant fear that your food will hurt you, it most assuredly will.--Testimonies for the Church 2:530.
391. Some health reformers are constantly worrying for fear their food, however simple and healthful, will hurt them. To these let me say, Do not think that your food is going to hurt you; but when you have eaten according to your best judgment, and have asked the Lord to bless the food, believe that he has heard your prayer, and be at rest.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 59.
Eating between Meals
392. You should never let a morsel pass your lips between your regular meals. Eat what you ought, but eat it at one meal, and then wait until the next.--Testimonies for the Church 2:373.
393. Three meals a day and nothing between meals—not even an apple—should be the utmost limit of indulgence. Those who go further violate nature's laws and will suffer the penalty.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
394. When traveling, some are almost constantly nibbling, if there is anything within their reach. This is a most pernicious practise. Animals that do not have reason, and that know nothing of mental taxation, may do this without injury, but they are no criterion for rational beings, who have mental powers that should be used for God and humanity.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
395. Food taken into the stomach at untimely seasons leaves an influence on every fiber of the system.--The Health Reformer, June 1, 1878.
Hasty Eating
396. In order to have healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly. Those who wish to avoid dyspepsia, and those who realize the obligation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to render the best service to God, will do well to remember this. If your time to eat is limited, do not bolt your food, but eat less, and eat slowly.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
397. Do not be hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness, your heart filled with gratitude to God for all his blessings.--Gospel Workers, 174.
398. Eat slowly, and allow the saliva to mingle with the food. The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest.... The benefit you derive from your food does not depend so much on the quantity eaten, as on its thorough digestion, nor the gratification of the taste so much on the amount of food swallowed as on the length of time it remains in the mouth.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Overeating
399. If more food is eaten than can be digested and appropriated, a decaying mass accumulates in the stomach, causing an offensive breath, and a bad taste in the mouth. The vital powers are exhausted in an effort to throw off the excess, and the brain is robbed of nerve force.--Special Testimonies On Education, 32.
400. Nearly all the members of the human family eat more than the system requires.... Even so-called health reform needs reforming on this point.... If more food, even of a simple quality, is placed in the stomach than the living machinery requires, this surplus becomes a burden, the system makes a desperate effort to dispose of it, and this extra work causes a weakly feeling. Some who are continually overeating call this all-gone feeling hunger, but it is caused by the overworked condition of the abused digestive organs.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
401. Some of you feel as though you would like to have somebody tell you how much to eat. This is not the way it should be. We are to act from a moral and religious standpoint. We are to be temperate in all things, because an incorruptible crown, a heavenly treasure, is before us. And now I wish to say to my brethren and sisters, I would have moral courage to take my position and govern myself. You eat too much, and then you are sorry, and so you keep thinking upon what you eat and drink. Just eat that which is for the best, and go right away, feeling clear in the sight of Heaven, and not having remorse of conscience.--Testimonies for the Church 2:374.
402. There is evil in overeating of even healthful food.... If we overeat, the brain power is taxed to take care of a large quantity of food that the system does not demand, the mind is clouded, and the perceptions enfeebled.--Unpublished Testimonies, April 6, 1896.
403. When the brain is constantly taxed, and there is a lack of physical exercise, they should eat sparingly, even of plain food.--Testimonies for the Church 4:515.
404. They closely apply their minds to books, and eat the allowance of a laboring man. Under such habits some grow corpulent, because the system is clogged. Others become lean, feeble, and weak, because their vital powers are exhausted in throwing off the excess of food; the liver becomes burdened, and unable to throw off the impurities in the blood, and sickness is the result.--Testimonies for the Church 3:490.
405. Overeating, even of the simplest food, benumbs the sensitive nerves of the brain, and weakens its vitality. Overeating has a worse effect upon the system than overworking; the energies of the soul are more effectually prostrated by intemperate eating than by intemperate working. The digestive organs should never be burdened with the quantity or quality of food which it will tax the system to appropriate. All that is taken into the stomach, above what the system can use to convert into good blood, clogs the machinery; for it cannot be made into either flesh or blood, and its presence burdens the liver, and produces a morbid condition of the system.--Testimonies for the Church 2:412.
406. Overeating is intemperance just as surely as is liquor drinking.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
407. And what influence does overeating have upon the stomach?—It becomes debilitated, the digestive organs are weakened, and disease, with all its train of evils, is brought on as the result. If persons were diseased before, they thus increase the difficulties upon them, and lessen their vitality every day they live. They call their vital powers into unnecessary action to take care of the food that they place in their stomachs. What a terrible condition is this to be in!--Testimonies for the Church 2:364.
408. Eating merely to please the appetite is a transgression of nature's laws; often this intemperance is felt at once in the form of indigestion, headache, and colic. A load has been placed upon the stomach that it cannot care for, and a feeling of oppression comes. The head is confused, the stomach is in rebellion. But these results do not always follow overeating. In some cases the stomach is paralyzed. No sensation of pain is felt, but the digestive organs lose their vital force. The foundation of the human machinery is gradually undermined, and life is rendered very unpleasant.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
Drinking at Meals
409. Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of the salivary glands; and the colder the water the greater the injury to the stomach. Ice water or iced lemonade, drunk with meals, will arrest digestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the stomach to enable it to take up its work again.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
410. Food should not be washed down; no drink is needed with meals. Eat slowly, and allow the saliva to mingle with the food. The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must be first absorbed.... Hot drinks are debilitating; and besides, those who indulge in their use become slaves to the habit.... Do not eat largely of salt; give up bottled pickles; keep fiery spiced food out of your stomach; eat fruit with your meals, and the irritation which calls for so much drink will cease to exist. But if anything is needed to quench thirst, pure water, drunk some little time before or after a meal, is all that nature requires.... Water is the best liquid possible to cleanse the tissues.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Liquid Foods
411. I am advising the people wherever I go to give up liquid food as much as possible.--Unpublished Testimonies, October 29, 1894.
412. Taken in a liquid state, your food would not give healthful vigor or tone to the system. But when you change this habit, and eat more solids and less liquids, your stomach will feel disturbed. Notwithstanding this, you should not yield the point, you should educate your stomach to bear a more solid diet.--Testimonies for the Church 3:74.
413. Dry food that requires mastication is far preferable to porridges. The health food preparations are a blessing in this respect.... For those who can use them, good vegetables, prepared in a healthful manner, are better than soft mushes and porridge. Fruits, used with thoroughly cooked bread two or three days old, which is more healthful than fresh bread, slowly and thoroughly masticated, will furnish all that the system requires.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
Very Hot Foods
414. Very hot food ought not to be taken into the stomach. Soups, puddings, and other articles of the kind, are often eaten too hot, and as a consequence the stomach is debilitated. Let them become partly cooled before they are eaten.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Cold Food
415. I do not approve of eating much cold food, for the reason that the vitality must be drawn from the system to warm the food until it becomes of the same temperature as the stomach before the work of digestion can be carried on.--Testimonies for the Church 2:603.
Rich Diet
416. Rich and complicated mixtures of food are health destroying. Highly seasoned meats and rich pastry are wearing out the digestive organs of children.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
417. At too many tables, when the stomach has received all that it requires to carry on the work of nourishing the system, another course, consisting of pies, puddings, and highly flavored sauces, is placed upon the table.... Many, though they have already eaten enough, will overstep the bounds, and eat the tempting dessert, which, however, proves anything but good to them.... If the extras which are provided for dessert were dispensed with altogether, it would be a blessing.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
418. Many understand how to make different kinds of cakes, but cake is not the best food to be placed upon the table. Sweet cakes, sweet puddings, and custards will disorder the digestive organs; and why should we tempt those who surround the table by placing such articles before them?--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
419. Cook meat with spices, and eat it with rich cakes and pies, and you have a bad quality of blood. The system is too heavily taxed in disposing of this kind of food. The mince pies and pickles, which should never find a place in any human stomach, will give a miserable quality of blood.... Flesh meat and rich food and an impoverished diet will produce the same results.--Testimonies for the Church 2:368.
Condiments
420. Condiments and spices, used in the preparation of food for the table, aid digestion in the same way that tea, coffee, and liquor are supposed to help the laboring man to perform his task. After the immediate effects are gone, those who use them drop as far below par as they were elevated above par by these stimulating substances. The system is weakened, the blood contaminated, and inflammation is the sure result. The less frequently condiments and desserts are placed on our tables, the better it will be for all who partake of the food.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
421. Our tables should bear only the most wholesome food, free from every irritating substance. The appetite for liquor is encouraged by the preparation of food with condiments and spices. These cause a feverish state of the system, and drink is demanded to allay the irritation. On my frequent journeys across the continent, I do not patronize restaurants, dining-cars, or hotels, for the simple reason that I cannot eat the food there provided. The dishes are highly seasoned with salt and pepper, creating an almost intolerable thirst.... They irritate and inflame the delicate coating of the stomach.... Such is the food that is commonly served upon fashionable tables, and given to the children. Its effect is to cause nervousness, and to create thirst which water does not quench.... Food should be prepared in as simple a manner as possible, free from condiments and spices, and even from an undue amount of salt.--The Review and Herald, November 6, 1883.
Spices
422. Spices at first irritate the tender coating of the stomach, but finally destroy the natural sensitiveness of this delicate membrane. The blood becomes fevered, the animal propensities are aroused, while the moral and intellectual powers are weakened, and become servants to the baser passions.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
423. Persons who have indulged their appetite to eat freely of meat, highly seasoned gravies, and various kinds of rich cakes and preserves, cannot immediately relish a plain, wholesome, nutritious diet. Their taste is so perverted they have no appetite for a wholesome diet of fruits, plain bread, and vegetables. They need not expect to relish at first food so different from that in which they have been indulging. If they cannot at first enjoy plain food, they should fast until they can. That fast will prove to them of greater benefit than medicine, for the abused stomach will find the rest which it has long needed, and real hunger can be satisfied with a plain diet. It will take time for the taste to recover from the abuses it has received, and to gain its natural tone. But perseverance in a self-denying course of eating and drinking will soon make plain, wholesome food palatable, and it will be eaten with greater satisfaction than the epicure enjoys over his rich dainties.--Spiritual Gifts Volume 4a, 130.
Cheese
424. The effect of cheese is deleterious.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
425. Cheese should never be introduced into the stomach.--Testimonies for the Church 2:68.
Grease, Fats, etc.
426. Meat is served reeking with fat, because it suits the perverted taste. Both the blood and the fat of animals is consumed as a luxury. But the Lord has given special directions that these should not be eaten. Why?—Because their use would make a diseased current of blood in the human system. Disregard of the Lord's special directions has brought many diseases upon human beings.--Unpublished Testimonies, March, 1896.
427. Jesus, speaking of the cloudy pillar, gave special direction to the children of Israel, saying: “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, of sheep, or of goat.” “For whosoever eateth the fat of the beasts, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from among his people.”--Unpublished Testimonies, March, 1896.
428. You should keep grease out of your food. It defiles any preparation of food you may make.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
429. Grease cooked in the food renders it difficult of digestion.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
430. Some fall into the error that because they discard meat, they have no need to supply its place with the best fruits and vegetables, prepared in their most natural state, free from grease and spices.--Testimonies for the Church 2:486.
431. Butter and meat stimulate. They have injured the stomach and perverted the taste.--Testimonies for the Church 2:486.
432. You place upon your tables butter, eggs, and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions, and then you come to meeting and ask God to bless and save your children.--Testimonies for the Church 2:362.
Saleratus and Soda
433. Saleratus in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system.--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
434. Hot soda biscuit are often spread with butter, and eaten as a choice diet; but the feeble digestive organs cannot but feel the abuse placed upon them.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
Condition of the Mind at Meals
389. At meal-time cast off care and taxing thought. Do not be hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness, your heart filled with gratitude to God for all his blessings.--Gospel Workers, 174.
390. If you are in constant fear that your food will hurt you, it most assuredly will.--Testimonies for the Church 2:530.
391. Some health reformers are constantly worrying for fear their food, however simple and healthful, will hurt them. To these let me say, Do not think that your food is going to hurt you; but when you have eaten according to your best judgment, and have asked the Lord to bless the food, believe that he has heard your prayer, and be at rest.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 59.
Eating between Meals
392. You should never let a morsel pass your lips between your regular meals. Eat what you ought, but eat it at one meal, and then wait until the next.--Testimonies for the Church 2:373.
393. Three meals a day and nothing between meals—not even an apple—should be the utmost limit of indulgence. Those who go further violate nature's laws and will suffer the penalty.--The Review and Herald, May 8, 1883.
394. When traveling, some are almost constantly nibbling, if there is anything within their reach. This is a most pernicious practise. Animals that do not have reason, and that know nothing of mental taxation, may do this without injury, but they are no criterion for rational beings, who have mental powers that should be used for God and humanity.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
395. Food taken into the stomach at untimely seasons leaves an influence on every fiber of the system.--The Health Reformer, June 1, 1878.
Hasty Eating
396. In order to have healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly. Those who wish to avoid dyspepsia, and those who realize the obligation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to render the best service to God, will do well to remember this. If your time to eat is limited, do not bolt your food, but eat less, and eat slowly.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
397. Do not be hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness, your heart filled with gratitude to God for all his blessings.--Gospel Workers, 174.
398. Eat slowly, and allow the saliva to mingle with the food. The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest.... The benefit you derive from your food does not depend so much on the quantity eaten, as on its thorough digestion, nor the gratification of the taste so much on the amount of food swallowed as on the length of time it remains in the mouth.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Overeating
399. If more food is eaten than can be digested and appropriated, a decaying mass accumulates in the stomach, causing an offensive breath, and a bad taste in the mouth. The vital powers are exhausted in an effort to throw off the excess, and the brain is robbed of nerve force.--Special Testimonies On Education, 32.
400. Nearly all the members of the human family eat more than the system requires.... Even so-called health reform needs reforming on this point.... If more food, even of a simple quality, is placed in the stomach than the living machinery requires, this surplus becomes a burden, the system makes a desperate effort to dispose of it, and this extra work causes a weakly feeling. Some who are continually overeating call this all-gone feeling hunger, but it is caused by the overworked condition of the abused digestive organs.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
401. Some of you feel as though you would like to have somebody tell you how much to eat. This is not the way it should be. We are to act from a moral and religious standpoint. We are to be temperate in all things, because an incorruptible crown, a heavenly treasure, is before us. And now I wish to say to my brethren and sisters, I would have moral courage to take my position and govern myself. You eat too much, and then you are sorry, and so you keep thinking upon what you eat and drink. Just eat that which is for the best, and go right away, feeling clear in the sight of Heaven, and not having remorse of conscience.--Testimonies for the Church 2:374.
402. There is evil in overeating of even healthful food.... If we overeat, the brain power is taxed to take care of a large quantity of food that the system does not demand, the mind is clouded, and the perceptions enfeebled.--Unpublished Testimonies, April 6, 1896.
403. When the brain is constantly taxed, and there is a lack of physical exercise, they should eat sparingly, even of plain food.--Testimonies for the Church 4:515.
404. They closely apply their minds to books, and eat the allowance of a laboring man. Under such habits some grow corpulent, because the system is clogged. Others become lean, feeble, and weak, because their vital powers are exhausted in throwing off the excess of food; the liver becomes burdened, and unable to throw off the impurities in the blood, and sickness is the result.--Testimonies for the Church 3:490.
405. Overeating, even of the simplest food, benumbs the sensitive nerves of the brain, and weakens its vitality. Overeating has a worse effect upon the system than overworking; the energies of the soul are more effectually prostrated by intemperate eating than by intemperate working. The digestive organs should never be burdened with the quantity or quality of food which it will tax the system to appropriate. All that is taken into the stomach, above what the system can use to convert into good blood, clogs the machinery; for it cannot be made into either flesh or blood, and its presence burdens the liver, and produces a morbid condition of the system.--Testimonies for the Church 2:412.
406. Overeating is intemperance just as surely as is liquor drinking.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
407. And what influence does overeating have upon the stomach?—It becomes debilitated, the digestive organs are weakened, and disease, with all its train of evils, is brought on as the result. If persons were diseased before, they thus increase the difficulties upon them, and lessen their vitality every day they live. They call their vital powers into unnecessary action to take care of the food that they place in their stomachs. What a terrible condition is this to be in!--Testimonies for the Church 2:364.
408. Eating merely to please the appetite is a transgression of nature's laws; often this intemperance is felt at once in the form of indigestion, headache, and colic. A load has been placed upon the stomach that it cannot care for, and a feeling of oppression comes. The head is confused, the stomach is in rebellion. But these results do not always follow overeating. In some cases the stomach is paralyzed. No sensation of pain is felt, but the digestive organs lose their vital force. The foundation of the human machinery is gradually undermined, and life is rendered very unpleasant.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
Drinking at Meals
409. Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of the salivary glands; and the colder the water the greater the injury to the stomach. Ice water or iced lemonade, drunk with meals, will arrest digestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the stomach to enable it to take up its work again.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
410. Food should not be washed down; no drink is needed with meals. Eat slowly, and allow the saliva to mingle with the food. The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must be first absorbed.... Hot drinks are debilitating; and besides, those who indulge in their use become slaves to the habit.... Do not eat largely of salt; give up bottled pickles; keep fiery spiced food out of your stomach; eat fruit with your meals, and the irritation which calls for so much drink will cease to exist. But if anything is needed to quench thirst, pure water, drunk some little time before or after a meal, is all that nature requires.... Water is the best liquid possible to cleanse the tissues.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Liquid Foods
411. I am advising the people wherever I go to give up liquid food as much as possible.--Unpublished Testimonies, October 29, 1894.
412. Taken in a liquid state, your food would not give healthful vigor or tone to the system. But when you change this habit, and eat more solids and less liquids, your stomach will feel disturbed. Notwithstanding this, you should not yield the point, you should educate your stomach to bear a more solid diet.--Testimonies for the Church 3:74.
413. Dry food that requires mastication is far preferable to porridges. The health food preparations are a blessing in this respect.... For those who can use them, good vegetables, prepared in a healthful manner, are better than soft mushes and porridge. Fruits, used with thoroughly cooked bread two or three days old, which is more healthful than fresh bread, slowly and thoroughly masticated, will furnish all that the system requires.--Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
Very Hot Foods
414. Very hot food ought not to be taken into the stomach. Soups, puddings, and other articles of the kind, are often eaten too hot, and as a consequence the stomach is debilitated. Let them become partly cooled before they are eaten.--The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
Cold Food
415. I do not approve of eating much cold food, for the reason that the vitality must be drawn from the system to warm the food until it becomes of the same temperature as the stomach before the work of digestion can be carried on.--Testimonies for the Church 2:603.
Rich Diet
416. Rich and complicated mixtures of food are health destroying. Highly seasoned meats and rich pastry are wearing out the digestive organs of children.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
417. At too many tables, when the stomach has received all that it requires to carry on the work of nourishing the system, another course, consisting of pies, puddings, and highly flavored sauces, is placed upon the table.... Many, though they have already eaten enough, will overstep the bounds, and eat the tempting dessert, which, however, proves anything but good to them.... If the extras which are provided for dessert were dispensed with altogether, it would be a blessing.--Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
418. Many understand how to make different kinds of cakes, but cake is not the best food to be placed upon the table. Sweet cakes, sweet puddings, and custards will disorder the digestive organs; and why should we tempt those who surround the table by placing such articles before them?--The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
419. Cook meat with spices, and eat it with rich cakes and pies, and you have a bad quality of blood. The system is too heavily taxed in disposing of this kind of food. The mince pies and pickles, which should never find a place in any human stomach, will give a miserable quality of blood.... Flesh meat and rich food and an impoverished diet will produce the same results.--Testimonies for the Church 2:368.
Condiments
420. Condiments and spices, used in the preparation of food for the table, aid digestion in the same way that tea, coffee, and liquor are supposed to help the laboring man to perform his task. After the immediate effects are gone, those who use them drop as far below par as they were elevated above par by these stimulating substances. The system is weakened, the blood contaminated, and inflammation is the sure result. The less frequently condiments and desserts are placed on our tables, the better it will be for all who partake of the food.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
421. Our tables should bear only the most wholesome food, free from every irritating substance. The appetite for liquor is encouraged by the preparation of food with condiments and spices. These cause a feverish state of the system, and drink is demanded to allay the irritation. On my frequent journeys across the continent, I do not patronize restaurants, dining-cars, or hotels, for the simple reason that I cannot eat the food there provided. The dishes are highly seasoned with salt and pepper, creating an almost intolerable thirst.... They irritate and inflame the delicate coating of the stomach.... Such is the food that is commonly served upon fashionable tables, and given to the children. Its effect is to cause nervousness, and to create thirst which water does not quench.... Food should be prepared in as simple a manner as possible, free from condiments and spices, and even from an undue amount of salt.--The Review and Herald, November 6, 1883.
Spices
422. Spices at first irritate the tender coating of the stomach, but finally destroy the natural sensitiveness of this delicate membrane. The blood becomes fevered, the animal propensities are aroused, while the moral and intellectual powers are weakened, and become servants to the baser passions.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
423. Persons who have indulged their appetite to eat freely of meat, highly seasoned gravies, and various kinds of rich cakes and preserves, cannot immediately relish a plain, wholesome, nutritious diet. Their taste is so perverted they have no appetite for a wholesome diet of fruits, plain bread, and vegetables. They need not expect to relish at first food so different from that in which they have been indulging. If they cannot at first enjoy plain food, they should fast until they can. That fast will prove to them of greater benefit than medicine, for the abused stomach will find the rest which it has long needed, and real hunger can be satisfied with a plain diet. It will take time for the taste to recover from the abuses it has received, and to gain its natural tone. But perseverance in a self-denying course of eating and drinking will soon make plain, wholesome food palatable, and it will be eaten with greater satisfaction than the epicure enjoys over his rich dainties.--Spiritual Gifts Volume 4a, 130.
Cheese
424. The effect of cheese is deleterious.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
425. Cheese should never be introduced into the stomach.--Testimonies for the Church 2:68.
Grease, Fats, etc.
426. Meat is served reeking with fat, because it suits the perverted taste. Both the blood and the fat of animals is consumed as a luxury. But the Lord has given special directions that these should not be eaten. Why?—Because their use would make a diseased current of blood in the human system. Disregard of the Lord's special directions has brought many diseases upon human beings.--Unpublished Testimonies, March, 1896.
427. Jesus, speaking of the cloudy pillar, gave special direction to the children of Israel, saying: “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, of sheep, or of goat.” “For whosoever eateth the fat of the beasts, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from among his people.”--Unpublished Testimonies, March, 1896.
428. You should keep grease out of your food. It defiles any preparation of food you may make.--Testimonies for the Church 2:63.
429. Grease cooked in the food renders it difficult of digestion.--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 47.
430. Some fall into the error that because they discard meat, they have no need to supply its place with the best fruits and vegetables, prepared in their most natural state, free from grease and spices.--Testimonies for the Church 2:486.
431. Butter and meat stimulate. They have injured the stomach and perverted the taste.--Testimonies for the Church 2:486.
432. You place upon your tables butter, eggs, and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions, and then you come to meeting and ask God to bless and save your children.--Testimonies for the Church 2:362.
Saleratus and Soda
433. Saleratus in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system.--Testimonies for the Church 2:537.
434. Hot soda biscuit are often spread with butter, and eaten as a choice diet; but the feeble digestive organs cannot but feel the abuse placed upon them.--Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.