Health

Restoring the Temple – Beverages, Part II

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Tea and coffee are stimulating. Their effects are similar to those of tobacco; but they affect in a lesser degree. Those who use these slow poisons, like the tobacco user, think they cannot live without them, because they feel so very bad when they do not have these idols. . . . Those who indulge a perverted appetite, do it to the injury of health and intellect. They cannot appreciate the value of spiritual things. Their sensibilities are blunted, and sin does not appear very sinful, and truth is not regarded of greater value than earthly treasure.

“Tea and coffee drinking is a sin, an injurious indulgence, which, like other evils, injures the soul. These darling idols create an excitement, a morbid action of the nervous system; and after the immediate influence of the stimulants is gone, it lets down below par just to that degree that its stimulating properties elevated above par.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 425.

Stupefied Transgressor

“Satan sees that he cannot have so great power over minds when the appetite is kept under control as when it is indulged, and he is constantly working to lead men to indulgence. Under the influence of unhealthful food, the conscience becomes stupefied, the mind is darkened, and its susceptibility to impressions is impaired. But the guilt of the transgressor is not lessened because the conscience has been violated till it has become insensible.

“Since a healthy state of mind depends upon the normal condition of the vital forces, what care should be exercised that neither stimulants nor narcotics be used! . . . Tea and coffee are fostering the appetite for stronger stimulants. And then we come still closer home, to the preparation of food, and ask, Is temperance practiced in all things? are the reforms which are essential to health and happiness carried out here?

“Every true Christian will have control of his appetites and passions. Unless he is free from the bondage of appetite, he cannot be a true, obedient servant of Christ. The indulgence of appetite and passion blunts the effect of truth upon the heart.” Ibid., 426, 427.

Losing Battle with Appetite

“Intemperance commences at our tables, in the use of unhealthful food. After a time, through continued indulgence, the digestive organs become weakened, and the food taken does not satisfy the appetite. Unhealthy conditions are established, and there is a craving for more stimulating food. Tea, coffee, and flesh meats produce an immediate effect. Under the influence of these poisons, the nervous system is excited, and, in some cases, for the time being, the intellect seems to be invigorated and the imagination to be more vivid. Because these stimulants produce for the time being such agreeable results, many conclude that they really need them, and continue their use. But there is always a reaction. The nervous system, having been unduly excited, borrowed power for present use from its future resources of strength. All this temporary invigoration of the system is followed by depression. In proportion as these stimulants temporarily invigorate the system, will be the letting down of the power of the excited organs after the stimulus has lost its force. The appetite is educated to crave something stronger, which will have a tendency to keep up and increase the agreeable excitement, until indulgence becomes habit, and there is a continual craving for stronger stimulus, as tobacco, wines, and liquors. The more the appetite is indulged, the more frequent will be its demands, and the more difficult of control. The more debilitated the system becomes, and the less able to do without unnatural stimulus, the more the passion for these things increases, until the will is overborne, and there seems to be no power to deny the unnatural craving for these indulgences.

Only Safe Course

“The only safe course is to touch not, taste not, handle not, tea, coffee, wines, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic drinks. The necessity for the men of this generation to call to their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan, and resist the least indulgence of perverted appetite, is twice as great as it was several generations ago.” Ibid., 427, 428.

Conflict Between Truth and Self-Indulgence

“The facts relative to Korah and his company, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and against Jehovah, are recorded for a warning to God’s people, especially those who live upon the earth near the close of time. [Numbers 16.] Satan has led persons to imitate the example of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, in raising insurrection among the people of God. Those who permit themselves to rise in opposition to the plain testimony, become self-deceived, and have really thought that those upon whom God laid the burden of His work were exalted above the people of God, and that their counsels and reproofs were uncalled for. They have risen in opposition to the plain testimony which God would have them bear in rebuking the wrongs among God’s people. The testimonies borne against hurtful indulgences, as tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco, have irritated a certain class, because it would destroy their idols. Many for a while were undecided whether to make an entire sacrifice of all these hurtful things, or reject the plain testimonies borne, and yield to the clamors of appetite. They occupied an unsettled position. There was a conflict between their convictions of truth and their self-indulgences. Their state of indecision made them weak, and with many, appetite prevailed. Their sense of sacred things was perverted by the use of these slow poisons; and they at length fully decided, let the consequence be what it might, they would not deny self. This fearful decision at once raised a wall of separation between them and those who were cleansing themselves, as God has commanded, from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and were perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. The straight testimonies borne were in their way, and caused them great uneasiness, and they found relief in warring against them, and striving to make themselves and others believe that they were untrue. They said the people were all right, but it was reproving testimonies which made the trouble. And when the rebellious unfurl their banner, all the disaffected rally around the standard, and all the spiritually defective, the lame, the halt, and the blind, unite their influence to scatter and sow discord.

Roots of Intemperance

“Great efforts are made to put down intemperance; but there is much effort that is not directed to the right point. The advocates of temperance reform should be awake to the evils resulting from the use of unwholesome food, condiments, tea, and coffee. We bid all temperance workers Godspeed; but we invite them to look more deeply into the cause of the evil they war against, and to be sure that they are consistent in reform.

“It must be kept before the people that the right balance of the mental and moral powers depends in a great degree on the right condition of the physical system. All narcotics and unnatural stimulants that enfeeble and degrade the physical nature tend to lower the tone of the intellect and morals. Intemperance lies at the foundation of the moral depravity of the world. By the indulgence of the perverted appetite, man loses his power to resist temptation. . . .

“Health, character, and even life, are endangered by the use of stimulants, which excite the exhausted energies to unnatural, spasmodic action.” Ibid., 428–430.

Restoring the Temple – Teaching Health Principles

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Education in health principles was never more needed than now. Notwithstanding the wonderful progress in so many lines relating to the comforts and conveniences of life, even to sanitary matters and to the treatment of disease, the decline in physical vigor and power of endurance is alarming. It demands the attention of all who have at heart the well-being of their fellow men. . . .

“There is great need of instruction in regard to dietetic reform. Wrong habits of eating and the use of unhealthful food are in no small degree responsible for the intemperance and crime and wretchedness that curse the world.

“If we would elevate the moral standard in any country where we may be called to go, we must begin by correcting their physical habits. Virtue of character depends upon the right action of the powers of the mind and body.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 441.

Many Enlightened

“The gospel and the medical missionary work are to advance together. The gospel is to be bound up with the principles of true health reform. Christianity is to be brought into the practical life. Earnest, thorough reformatory work is to be done. True Bible religion is an outflowing of the love of God for fallen man. God’s people are to advance in straightforward lines to impress the hearts of those who are seeking for truth, who desire to act their part aright in this intensely earnest age. We are to present the principles of health reform before the people, doing all in our power to lead men and women to see the necessity of these principles and to practice them.” Ibid., 442.

“We should put forth greater efforts to teach the people the truths of health reform. At every camp meeting an effort should be made to demonstrate what can be done in providing an appetizing, wholesome diet from grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. In every place where new companies are brought into the truth, instruction should be given in the science of preparing wholesome food. Workers should be chosen who can labor from house to house in an educational campaign.

“As we near the close of time, we must rise higher and still higher upon the question of health reform and Christian temperance, presenting it in a more positive and decided manner. We must strive continually to educate the people, not only by our words, but by our practice. Precept and practice combined have a telling influence.” Ibid., 443.

“Those who are struggling against the power of appetite should be instructed in the principles of healthful living. They should be shown that . . . only by living in obedience to the principles of health can they hope to be freed from the craving for unnatural stimulants. While they depend upon divine strength to break the bonds of appetite, they are to cooperate with God by obedience to His laws, both moral and physical.” Ibid., 445, 446.

Leaves From the Tree of Life

“We are not to delay to do the work that needs to be done in health reform lines. Through this work we are to reach souls in the highways and byways. I have been given special light that in our sanitariums many souls will receive and obey present truth. In these institutions men and women are to be taught how to care for their own bodies, and at the same time how to become sound in the faith. They are to be taught what is meant by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. Said Christ, ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ John 6:63.

“It is labor lost to teach people to look to God as a healer of their infirmities, unless they are taught also to lay aside unhealthful practices. In order to receive His blessing in answer to prayer, they must cease to do evil and learn to do well. Their surroundings must be sanitary, their habits of life correct. They must live in harmony with the laws of God, both natural and spiritual.” Ibid., 447.

Moral Courage Required

“A great amount of good can be done by enlightening all to whom we have access, as to the best means, not only of curing the sick, but of preventing disease and suffering. The physician who endeavors to enlighten his patients as to the nature and causes of their maladies and to teach them how to avoid disease, may have uphill work; but if he is a conscientious reformer, he will talk plainly of the ruinous effects of self-indulgence in eating, drinking, and dressing, of the overtaxation of the vital forces that has brought his patients where they are. He will not increase the evil by administering drugs till exhausted nature gives up the struggle, but will teach the patients how to form correct habits, and to aid nature in her work of restoration by a wise use of her own simple remedies.

“In all our health institutions, it should be made a special feature of the work to give instruction in regard to the laws of health. The principles of health reform should be carefully and thoroughly set before all, both patients and helpers. This work requires moral courage; for while many will profit by such efforts, others will be offended. But the true disciple of Christ, he whose mind is in harmony with the mind of God, while constantly learning, will be teaching as well, leading the minds of others upward, away from the prevailing errors of the world.” Ibid., 449.

Evangelistic Work

“As a people we have been given the work of making known the principles of health reform. There are some who think that the question of diet is not of sufficient importance to be included in their evangelistic work. But such make a great mistake. God’s word declares, ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ 1 Corinthians 10:31. The subject of temperance in all its bearings, has an important place in the work of salvation.

“This necessary work is not to be carried on in such a meager way that an unfavorable impression will be made on the minds of the people. All that is done should bear favorable witness to the Author of truth, and should properly represent the sacredness and importance of the truths of the third angel’s message. . . .

“Women of intelligence should have charge of the domestic arrangements,—women who know how to prepare food nicely and healthfully. The table should be abundantly supplied with food of the best quality. If any have a perverted taste that craves tea, coffee, condiments, and unhealthful dishes, enlighten them. Seek to arouse the conscience. Set before them the principles of the Bible upon hygiene.” Ibid., 450, 451.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime. Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English.

Restoring the Temple – Responsibility of Health Reform

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As a people we have been given the work of making known the principles of health reform.  There are some who think that the question of diet is not of sufficient importance to be included in their evangelistic work.  But such make a great mistake.  God’s word declares, ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’  1 Corinthians 10:31.  The subject of temperance in all its bearings, has an important place in the work of salvation.”  Counsels on Diet and Foods, 450.

Teach Reform Principles

“We should educate ourselves, not only to live in harmony with the laws of health, but to teach others the better way.  Many, even of those who profess to believe the special truths for this time, are lamentably ignorant with regard to health and temperance.  They need to be educated, line upon line, precept upon precept.  The subject must be kept fresh before them.  This matter must not be passed over as non-essential; for nearly every family needs to be stirred up on the question.  The conscience must be aroused to the duty of practicing the principles of true reform.  God requires that His people shall be temperate in all things.  Unless they practice true temperance, they will not, they cannot, be susceptible to the sanctifying influence of the truth. . . .

“As we near the close of time, we must rise higher and still higher upon the question of health reform and Christian temperance, presenting it in a more positive and decided manner.  We must strive continually to educate the people, not only by our words, but by our practice.  Precept and practice combined have a telling influence.

Responsibility of Leaders

“Our ministers should become intelligent on health reform.  They need to become acquainted with physiology and hygiene; they should understand the laws that govern physical life, and their bearing upon the health of mind and soul.

“Thousands upon thousands know little of the wonderful body God has given them or of the care it should receive; and they consider it of more importance to study subjects of far less consequence.  The ministers have a work to do here.  When they take a right position on this subject, much will be gained.  In their own lives and homes they should obey the laws of life, practicing right principles and living healthfully.  Then they will be able to speak correctly on this subject, leading the people higher and still higher in the work of reform.  Living in the light themselves, they can bear a message of great value to those who are in need of just such a testimony.

“There are precious blessings and a rich experience to be gained if ministers will combine the presentation of the health question with  all their labors in the churches.  The people must have the light on health reform.  This work has been neglected, and many are ready to die because they need the light which they ought to have and must have before they will give up selfish indulgence. . . .

“The work of educating in medical missionary lines is an advance step of great importance in awakening man to his moral responsibilities.  Had the ministers taken hold of this work in its various departments in accordance with the light which God has given, there would have been a most decided reformation in eating, drinking, and dressing.  But some have stood directly in the way of the advance of health reform.  They have held the people back by their indifferent or condemnatory remarks, or by pleasantries and jokes.  They themselves and a large number of others have been sufferers unto death, but all have not yet learned wisdom.

“It has been only by the most aggressive warfare that any advancement has been made.  The people have been unwilling to deny self, unwilling to yield the mind and will to the will of God; and in their own sufferings, and in their influence on others, they have realized the sure result of such a course.

Failure to Practice

“Why do some of our ministering brethren manifest so little interest in health reform?  It is because instruction on temperance in all things is opposed to their practice of self-indulgence.  In some places this has been the great stumbling block in the way of our bringing the people to investigate and practice and teach health reform.  No man should be set apart as a teacher of the people while his own teaching or example contradicts the testimony God has given His servants to bear in regard to diet, for this will bring confusion.  His disregard of health reform unfits him to stand as the Lord’s messenger.

“The light that the Lord has given on this subject in His word is plain, and men will be tested and tried in many ways to see if they will heed it.  Every church, every family, needs to be instructed in regard to Christian temperance.  All should know how to eat and drink in order to preserve health.  We are amid the closing scenes of this world’s history; and there should be harmonious action in the ranks of Sabbathkeepers.  Those who stand aloof from the great work of instructing the people upon this question, do not follow where the Great Physician leads the way.  ‘If any man will come after Me,’ Christ said, ‘let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’  Matthew 16:24.

Education at Home

“Parents should live more for their children, and less for society.  Study health subjects, and put your knowledge to a practical use.  Teach your children to reason from cause to effect.  Teach them that if they desire health and happiness, they must obey the laws of nature.  Though you may not see so rapid improvement as you desire, be not discouraged, but patiently and perseveringly continue your work.

“Teach your children from the cradle to practice self-denial and self-control.  Teach them to enjoy the beauties of nature, and in useful employments to exercise systematically all the powers of body and mind.  Bring them up to have sound constitutions and good morals, to have sunny dispositions and sweet tempers.  Impress upon their tender minds the truth that God does not design that we should live for present gratification merely, but for our ultimate good.  Teach them that to yield to temptation is weak and wicked; to resist, noble and manly.  These lessons will be as seed sown in good soil, and they will bear fruit that will make your hearts glad.

Selfish Indulgence

“There is a message regarding health reform to be borne in every church.  There is a work to be done in every school.  Neither principal nor teachers should be entrusted with the education of the youth until they have a practical knowledge of this subject.  Some have felt at liberty to criticize and question and find fault with health reform principles of which they know little by experience.  They should stand shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, with those who are working in right lines.

“The subject of health reform has been presented in the churches; but the light has not been heartily received.  The selfish, health-destroying indulgences of men and women have counteracted the influence of the message that is to prepare a people for the great day of God.  If the churches expect strength, they must live the truth which God has given them.  If the members of our churches disregard the light on this subject, they will reap the sure result in both spiritual and physical degeneracy.  And the influence of these older church members will leaven those newly come to the faith.  The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth, because of the church members who have never been converted, and those who were once converted, but who have backslidden.”  Ibid., 451–455.

Restoring the Temple – Proper Education, Part I

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Health is a great treasure. It is the richest possession we can have. Wealth, honor, or learning, is dearly purchased, if it be at the loss of the vigor of health. None of these attainments can secure happiness if health is wanting. It is a terrible sin to abuse the health God has given us. Every abuse of health enfeebles for life, and makes us losers, even if we gain any amount of education.

Parents who are wealthy, in many cases do not feel the importance of giving their children an education in the practical duties of life, as well as in the sciences. They do not see the necessity, for the good of their children’s minds and morals, and for their future usefulness, of giving them a thorough understanding in useful labor. This is due their children, that, if misfortune should come, they could maintain noble independence, having a knowledge how to use their hands. If they have a capital of strength, they can not be poor, even if they have not a dollar. Many, who in youth are in affluent circumstances, may be robbed of all their riches, with parents and brothers and sisters dependent upon them for sustenance. Then how important that the youth be educated to labor, that they may be prepared for any emergency. Riches are indeed a curse when the possessors let them stand in the way of their sons’ and daughters’ obtaining a knowledge of useful labor, that they may be qualified for practical life.

Useless Lives

Those who are not compelled to labor, frequently do not have active exercise sufficient for physical health. Young men, for want of having their minds and hands employed in active labor, will acquire habits of indolence, and will frequently be obtaining, what is to be most dreaded, a street education, lounging about stores, smoking, drinking, and playing cards.

The young ladies will read and excuse themselves from active labor, because they are in delicate health. Their feebleness is generally the result of their lack of exercising the muscles. They may think they are too feeble to do housework, but will work at crochet and tatting, and preserve the delicate paleness of their hands and faces, while their care-burdened mothers toil hard in washing and ironing their garments. These ladies transgress the fifth commandment. They do not honor their parents. But the mother is most to blame. She has indulged and excused her daughters from bearing their share of household duties, until work becomes distasteful to them, and they love, and enjoy, delicate idleness. They will eat, and sleep, and read novels, and talk of the fashions. Their lives are useless.

Teach Children to Work

Poverty, in many cases, is a blessing; for it prevents youth and children from being ruined by inaction. The physical should be cultivated and properly developed, as well as the mental. The first and constant care of parents should be that their children may have firm constitutions, that they may be sound men and women. It is impossible to attain this object without physical exercise. Children, for their own physical health and moral good, should be taught to work, even if there is no necessity as far as want is concerned. If they would have virtuous and pure characters, they must have the discipline of well-regulated labor, which will bring into exercise all the muscles. The satisfaction children will have in being useful, of denying themselves to help others, will be the most healthful pleasure they ever enjoyed. Why should the wealthy rob themselves and their dear children of this great blessing?

Parents, inaction is the greatest curse that ever came upon you. Your daughters should not be allowed to lie late in bed in the morning, sleeping away the precious hours lent them of God to be used for the best purpose, and for which they will have to give an account to God. The mother is doing her daughters great injury in bearing the burdens the daughters should share with her for their own present good and future benefit. The course many parents have pursued in allowing their children to be indolent, and to gratify a desire for reading romance, is unfitting them for real life. Novel and story-book reading are the greatest evils that youth can indulge in. Novel and love-story readers always fail to make good, practical mothers. They live in an unreal world. They are air-castle builders, living in an imaginary world. They become sentimental, and have sick fancies. Their artificial life spoils them for anything useful. They are dwarfed in intellect, although they may flatter themselves that they are superior in mind and manners. Exercise in household labor will be of the greatest advantage to young girls.

Advantages of Physical Labor

Physical labor will not prevent the cultivation of the intellect. Far from this. The advantages gained by physical labor will balance them, that the mind shall not be overworked. The toil will then come upon the muscles, and relieve the wearied brain. There are many listless, useless girls who consider it unlady-like to engage in active labor. But their characters are too transparent to deceive sensible persons in regard to their real worthlessness. They will simper and giggle, and are all affectation. They appear as though they could not speak their words fairly and squarely, but torture all they say with lisping and simpering. Are these ladies? They were not born fools, but were educated such. It does not require a frail, helpless, overdressed, simpering thing to make a lady. A sound body is required for a sound intellect. Physical soundness and a practical knowledge in all the necessary household duties, are never a hindrance to a well-developed intellect, but highly important for a lady.

Well-Balanced Minds

All the powers of the mind should be called into use, and developed, in order for men and women to have well-balanced minds. The world is full of one-sided men and women, because one set of the faculties are cultivated, while others are dwarfed from inaction. The education of most youth is a failure. They over-study, while they neglect that which pertains to practical business life. Men and women become parents without considering their responsibilities, and their offspring sink lower in the scale of human deficiency than they themselves. Thus we are fast degenerating. The constant application to study, as the schools are now conducted, is unfitting youth for practical life. The human mind will have action. If it is not active in the right direction, it will be active in the wrong. And in order to preserve the balance of the mind, labor and study should be united in the schools.

Education

There should have been in past generations provisions made for education upon a larger scale. In connection with the schools should have been agricultural and manufacturing establishments. There should have been teachers also of household labor. There should have been a portion of the time each day devoted to labor, that the physical and mental might be equally exercised. If schools had been established upon the plan we have mentioned, there would not now be so many unbalanced minds.

The Health Reformer, April 1, 1873.

—To be continued . . .

Restoring the Temple – Proper Education, Part II

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God prepared for Adam and Eve a beautiful garden. He provided for them everything their wants required. He planted for them trees of every variety, bearing fruit. With a liberal hand he surrounded them with his bounties—the trees, for usefulness and beauty, and the lovely flowers, which sprung up spontaneously, and flourished in rich profusion around them, were to know nothing of decay. Adam and Eve were rich indeed. They possessed beautiful Eden. Adam was monarch in this beautiful domain. None can question the fact that Adam was rich. But God knew that Adam could not be happy unless he had employment. Therefore he gave him something to do. He was to dress the garden.

The Creator of man never designed that he should be idle. The Lord formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. It was the law of nature, therefore the law of God, that brain, nerve, and muscle, should be in active motion. Young gentlemen and ladies that refuse to labor because they are not compelled to, and because it is not fashionable, are not guided and controlled by enlightened reason. Those who shun manual labor, cannot have physical stamina. In order for the young to enjoy perfect health and perfect happiness, every organ and function must be in perfect operation as God designed they should be. If all the organs act their natural part, life, health, and happiness, will be the result. Too little exercise, and staying in-doors too much, will bring on feebleness and disease of some one or more of the organs. It is sinful to impair or weaken one of the powers God has given us. The great Creator designed that we should have perfect bodies, that we might preserve them in health, and render to him the offering of a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

Exercise in useful labor will be carrying out the original plan of God, when he bade Adam and Eve to dress the garden. Life is precious, and should be preserved intelligently by regarding the laws of our being.

Idleness = Unhappiness

Fashionable idlers, who have plenty of leisure, fail to attain happiness. They have been educated to regard honest labor as only fit for the poor, while it would degrade the wealthy. They rob the brain and nervous system, by fashionable indolence, of a supply of animal energy that keeps the machinery of the body in healthful activity.

In order for the brain to have clearness and strength of thought, retentive memory, and mental power, the muscles of the body should have exercise a portion of each day in order to preserve and improve health.

Adam was in glorious Eden. He was perfectly developed, and then set to work by his Maker that in exercise all his muscles should preserve their elasticity. Many young men and ladies are too proud, or too lazy, to engage in useful labor in the house or in the garden.

Role of Women

The world is full of women with but little vitality, and less common sense. Society is in great need of healthful, sensible young women, who are not afraid to work and soil their hands. God gave them hands to employ in useful labor. God did not give us the wonderful human machinery of the body to become paralyzed by inaction. The living machinery God designed should be in daily activity, and in this activity or motion of the machinery, is its preserving power. Manual labor quickens the circulation of the blood. The more active the circulation the more free will be the blood from obstructions and impurities. The blood nourishes the body. The health of the body depends upon the healthful circulation of the blood. If work is performed without the heart being in it, it is simply drudgery, and the benefit which should result from the exercise is not gained.

Toiling mothers, who have given their children the advantages of education, and have brought them up without disciplining them to self-denial and physical labor, and have given them liberty to follow their own pleasure, will not receive much happiness and comfort from these children. In my travels I have seen that those women who entered upon the married life wholly unprepared for domestic duties, were not happy. They did not receive the training and the education in their youth that fitted them for the responsible position they had by most solemn covenant agreed to fill. The parents had made a great mistake. When children, they were excused from exertion in order “to enrich the mind.” They could play an instrument of music, but were not educated to take responsibility. They enjoyed burying their minds in novels, but had no love to keep their houses in order. They were as incompetent for the responsible position of mothers as a girl of fifteen years. Economy of means they knew nothing of, and yet these are the mothers that are bringing up children to take their place upon the stage of action, to act their part in the drama of life. The characters of youth should not be spoiled by over-fond mothers. Parents should consider that as they neglect to thoroughly educate their daughters in domestic labor and economy, they are giving characters to them which will make their f ture married lives miserable. There will be disappointed husbands, and neglected children, because of inefficient wives and mothers.

What Constitutes Wealth?

Men and women of this age who have a large amount of earthly treasure may be estimated as wealthy. But their riches, in comparison with the paradise of wealth given the lordly Adam, are very insignificant. Yet the so-called wealthy sometimes regard it degrading for them and their children to engage in useful physical labor. Their views are not in harmony with God’s original plans. They educate their children by precept and example that physical labor is beneath their exalted station, and, in order to be gentlemen and ladies, their hands must be unemployed, so far as useful labor is concerned. They are early sent to a boarding school or a seminary to obtain book knowledge, or they pass away their time in ornamenting their persons, or in gratifying their inclination for amusements. For this education, high and noble duties are neglected.

We have no right, my Christian sisters, to waste our time, and give example to others who are less able than we to waste their time and energies, upon needless ornaments, upon dress or furniture, or to indulge in superfluities in food. We have religious duties to perform, and if we neglect these duties, and give our time to needless things, we will dwarf the intellect, and separate the affections from God. The Author of our existence has claims upon our time and our money. He has poor and suffering ones all around us that money may relieve, and cheering, encouraging words bless. Christ identifies himself with the wants of suffering humanity. As you neglected to visit the widow and orphans tried in the furnace of affliction, suffering want and privation, you did not realize that Christ would mark the circumstances against you in the book of records, as though you had neglected him.

The impression that in order to be gentlemen and ladies the hands must be unskilled in useful employment, and delicate idleness be cultivated, is not in accordance with the Lord’s plans in the creation of man. These false notions open a wide door for temptation.

Purpose

Many professed Christian parents show by their course of action that the main object of their lives is to secure their own enjoyment. They follow inclination and look for happiness in amusements. Happiness is not secured by depending on various gratifications within our reach. All who imitate the life of Christ, and conform their character to his, and engage in active, useful labor in self-denying benevolence, will have happiness. “For even Christ pleased not himself.” He said, “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” [John 6:38, 39.]

Inaction and delicate idleness is weakening the life-forces of young women. There are those who spend hours of precious time in bed, which is not blessing them with increase of strength, or relieving others from burdens, but is bringing upon them debility and confirming them in wrong habits. These hours idled away needlessly in bed can never be regained. The sin of time thus lost is marked in the book of records.

There is enough to do in this busy world of ours. There are enough in God’s great family who need sympathy and aid. If our own work does not demand our time, there are sick to be visited, the poor to be helped and encouraged. But while hours are being idled away, there is a pressure frequently of labor close at home. Rooms may need to be put in order, garments may need repairing, and there may be a variety of little duties that some one must attend to. There may be a necessity for careful oversight of provisions, that nothing may be wasted.

The Health Reformer, May 1, 1873; June 1, 1873.

To be concluded . . .

Health Nugget – Vegan vs. Vegetarian

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The study in the area of health is never ending. One health article brought to my attention that there were more than just two or three categories of vegetarians and vegans. I am sure many of you will be as surprised as I was to know just how many different descriptions there are. You may find the category you are in, or maybe you are in the middle of a couple of them. Read on!

“According to the Vegetarian Society, ‘Vegetarians don’t eat any fish, meat or chicken’ and also ‘don’t eat products or by-products of slaughter.’ Vegetarian diets may contain variable amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. Dairy and eggs may be included, depending on the type of diet you follow. The most common types of vegetarians include:

  • Lacto-ovo vegetarians: Avoid all animal flesh, but do consume dairy and egg products.
  • Lacto vegetarians: Avoid animal flesh and eggs, but do consume dairy products.
  • Ovo vegetarians: Avoid all animal products except eggs.
  • Vegans: Avoid all animal and animal-derived products.*
  • Pesco: Pescatarians, while not technically meeting the common definition of vegetarian, follow a semi-vegetarian diet that includes fish and other seafood but no poultry or meat.
  • Flexitarians: Part-time vegetarians do eat animal flesh and, although primarily plant-based, they technically do not fall under the definition of vegetarianism.

“In some literature you might come across these as well:

  • Demi Vegetarian: Consumes fish, eggs, and dairy products but not meat.
  • Semi Vegetarian: Another group of vegetarians who sometimes voluntarily control their meat intake and who may be viewed as flexitarians.

“Veganism is currently defined by the Vegan Society as ‘a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.’ Since this is the strictest form of vegetarianism, a vegan or plant based diet not only excludes animal flesh but also any animal-derived ingredients, as well as dairy and eggs.

“These products include gelatin, carmine, pepsin, shellac, albumin, whey, casein, among others. Vegans consciously choose to avoid all animal by-products because they believe not only that this has the largest impact on their health and the environment but also because they seek to avoid all forms of animal exploitation and harm.

“Vegans may be categorized into different types:

  • Ethical Vegans are the most common and put their ethics first. They respect and care for animals and the environment. Ethical vegans do not consume any dairy product, whether it is animal milk or cheese made from animal milk. They also avoid eggs and honey, as well as the use of any product made from animal skin or parts.
  • Plant-Based Vegans follow diets based on plant foods only.
  • Raw-Food Vegans do not eat any animal by-product or anything cooked above the temperature of 115-degree Fahrenheit. It is believed that this causes food to lose its nutrients and enzymes.”

www.myhdiet.com/healthnews/science_of_her/what-is-the-difference-between-vegan-vegetarian

Were you able to figure out into which category you might fit?

The reality is that God wants each of us to be health-conscious and to preserve our bodies in the best condition we can that we may give glory to Him.

Most people are aware of the health-destroying foods that are available. May God give us the courage to choose the right and to live the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). We must preserve our bodies in the best way we can. God says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6).

*Much counsel has been given in regard to the healthiest balanced diet—the vegan diet, consisting of fruit, grains, vegetables and nuts. However, the vegan lifestyle, as with many others, has ditches on either side which are easy to fall into. One is to eliminate all animal products including honey and leather. To eliminate the use of skins and furs from those people living in freezing climates would cause great hardship. The other ditch claims that soft drinks and potato chips are an acceptable vegan diet. God calls upon His people to be balanced and use common sense.

Restoring the Temple – Proper Education, Part III

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I have observed a great deficiency in so-called educated ladies. They may have graduated with honors, but are shamefully deficient in the practical duties of life. They are destitute of the qualifications necessary for the proper regulation and happiness of the family. They may talk of woman’s elevated sphere and of her rights, while they themselves sink far below the true sphere of woman. God designed that women should become intelligent in the most essential duties of life. . . . It is the right of every daughter of Eve in our land to be thoroughly educated in household duties, having a knowledge of all the branches of practical life in domestic labor. She may preside in her family as queen in her domain, her household being her kingdom. . . . It is woman’s right to be qualified to direct the expanding minds of her children. It is her right to have an understanding of her own and her children’s organisms, that she may know how to treat her children, and save them from the poisons of doctors’ drugs. She may adore her gracious Creator as she contemplates how beautifully and simply nature carries on her work when she is not interfered with. She may be an intelligent nurse and physician of her own dear children . . . . It is woman’s right to know how to regulate her own habits, and those of her children, in diet and dress, in exercise and in domestic duties, and employment in the open air in relation to life and health.

Of all the living organisms that God has created, none rank in the scale of value with him anywhere near to man. And if human beings would become intelligent in regard to their own bodies, and understand their relation to life and health, and regulate their habits of eating, of dressing, of working and resting, their lives would be prolonged in health and happiness. Many mothers do not take half the interest in the constitutional wants of their children that the intelligent farmer shows to the brutes around him. It is woman’s right to look after the interest of her husband, to have a care for his wardrobe, and to seek to make him happy. It is her right to improve her mind and manners, to be social, cheerful, and happy, shedding sunshine in her family, and making it a little heaven. And she may have an interest for more than “me and mine.” She should consider that society has claims upon her.

The false education of young ladies leads them to regard uselessness, frivolity, and helplessness, as desirable attainments. Many parents give their daughters the advantages of literary attainments, support them in amusement, and relieve them from the burdens of domestic care. They give them an abundance of time and nothing to occupy it. Flattery and the artificial, without an object or aim—nothing substantial to satisfy the mind and strengthen principle—leave empty nothingness.

I copy the following appropriate paragraph from “The American Woman’s Home,” by C. E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe:

“Our land is now full of motorpathic institutions, to which women are sent at a great expense to have hired operators stretch and exercise their inactive muscles. They lie for hours to have their feet twigged, their arms flexed, and all the different muscles of the body worked for them, because they are so flaccid and torpid that the powers of life do not go on. Would it not be quite as cheerful, and a less expensive process, if young girls from early life developed the muscles in sweeping, dusting, starching, ironing, and all the multiplied domestic processes which our grandmothers knew of? A woman who did all these, and diversified the intervals with spinning on the great and little wheel, did not need the gymnastics of Dio Lewis, or the Swedish movement cure, which really are a necessity now. Does it not seem poor economy to pay servants for letting our muscles grow feeble, and then to pay operators to exercise them for us? I will venture to say that our grandmothers went over, in a week, every movement that any gymnast has invented, and went over them with some productive purpose, too.”

There are many popularly-educated women who have no love for domestic labor because they have cherished thoughts that their education placed them above household employment. Young women should be educated for their important life-work with the advantages of the highest moral and physical strength, and should receive the purest cultivation.

God placed Adam and Eve in the garden to labor. They were both to unite their efforts in dressing and keeping the garden. If young women waste their time in uselessness, they are meeting with great loss. Their time should be employed in becoming rich in good works, and in this manner they are indeed cultivating the intellect for a purpose. The most essential education for youth is a knowledge of the branches of labor important for practical life.

“The American Woman’s Home” continues: “There has been a great deal of crude, disagreeable talk in these conventions, and too great tendency of the age to make the education of woman anti-domestic. It seems as if the world never could advance, except like ships under a headwind, tacking and going too far, now in this direction, and now in the opposite. Our common-school systems now reject sewing from the education of girls, which very properly used to occupy many hours daily in school a generation ago. The daughters of laborers and artisans are put through algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the higher mathematics, to the entire neglect of that learning which belongs distinctively to women. A girl often cannot keep pace with her class if she gives any time to domestic matters; and accordingly she is excused from them all during the whole term of her education. As the result, the young women in some of our country towns are, in mental culture, much in advance of the males of the same household; but with this comes a physical delicacy, the result of an exclusive use of the brain and a neglect of the muscular system, with great inefficiency in practical, domestic duties. The race of strong, hardy, cheerful girls, that used to grow up in country places, and made the bright, neat, New England kitchens of olden times—the girls that could wash, iron, bake, . . . embroider, draw, paint, and read innumerable books—this race of women, pride of olden time, is daily lessening; and in their stead come the fragile, easily-fatigued, languid girls of a modern age, drilled in book learning, ignorant of common things. The great danger of all this, and of the evils that come from it, is, that society, by-and-by, will turn as blindly against female intellectual culture as it now advocates it, and having worked disproportionately one way, will work disproportionately in the opposite direction.”

The Health Reformer, June 1, 1873.

Restoring the Temple – Indulgence of Appetite

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Christ paid a dear price for man’s redemption. In the wilderness of temptation He suffered the keenest pangs of hunger; and while He was emaciated with fasting, Satan was at hand with his manifold temptations to assail the Son of God, to take advantage of His weakness and overcome Him, and thus thwart the plan of salvation. But Christ was steadfast. He overcame in behalf of the race, that He might rescue them from the degradation of the Fall. Christ’s experience is for our benefit. His example in overcoming appetite points out the way for those who would be His followers and finally sit with Him on His throne.

Christ suffered hunger in the fullest sense. Mankind generally have all that is needful to sustain life. And yet, like our first parents, they desire that which God would withhold because it is not best for them. Christ suffered hunger for necessary food and resisted the temptation of Satan upon the point of appetite. Indulgence of intemperate appetite creates in fallen man unnatural desires for the things which will eventually prove his ruin.

Degradation

Man came from the hand of God perfect in every faculty of mind and body; in perfect soundness, therefore in perfect health. It took more than two thousand years of indulgence of appetite and lustful passions to create such a state of things in the human organism as would lessen vital force. Through successive generations the tendency was more swiftly downward. Indulgence of appetite and passion combined led to excess and violence; debauchery and abominations of every kind weakened the energies and brought upon the race diseases of every type, until the vigor and glory of the first generations passed away, and, in the third generation from Adam, man began to show signs of decay. Successive generations after the Flood degenerated more rapidly.

Appetite and Passion

All this weight of woe and accumulated suffering can be traced to the indulgence of appetite and passion. Luxurious living and the use of wine corrupt the blood, inflame the passions, and produce diseases of every kind. But the evil does not end here. Parents leave maladies as a legacy to their children. As a rule, every intemperate man who rears children transmits his inclinations and evil tendencies to his offspring; he gives them disease from his own inflamed and corrupted blood. Licentiousness, disease, and imbecility are transmitted as an inheritance of woe from father to son and from generation to generation, and this brings anguish and suffering into the world, and is no less than a repetition of the fall of man.

Transgression of Rules

A continual transgression of nature’s laws is a continual transgression of the law of God. The present weight of suffering and anguish which we see everywhere, the present deformity, decrepitude, disease, and imbecility now flooding the world, make it, in comparison to what it might be and what God designed it should be, a lazar house; and the present generation are feeble in mental, moral, and physical power. All this misery has accumulated from generation to generation because fallen man will break the law of God. Sins of the greatest magnitude are committed through the indulgence of perverted appetite.

Stimulants

The taste created for the disgusting, filthy poison, tobacco, leads to the desire for stronger stimulants; as liquor, which is taken on one plea or another for some imaginary infirmity or to prevent some possible disease. Thus an unnatural appetite is created for these hurtful and exciting stimulants; and this appetite has strengthened until the increase of intemperance in this generation is alarming. Beverage-loving, liquor-drinking men may be seen everywhere. Their intellect is enfeebled, their moral powers are weakened, their sensibilities are benumbed, and the claims of God and heaven are not realized, eternal things are not appreciated. The Bible declares that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Tobacco and liquor stupefy and defile the user. But the evil does not stop here. He transmits irritable tempers, polluted blood, enfeebled intellects, and weak morals to his children, and renders himself accountable for all the evil results that his wrong and dissipated course of life brings upon his family and the community. The race is groaning under a weight of accumulated woe, because of the sins of former generations. And yet with scarcely a thought or care, men and women of the present generation indulge intemperance by surfeiting and drunkenness, and thereby leave, as a legacy for the next generation, disease, enfeebled intellects, and polluted morals.

Selfishness

Intemperance of any kind is the worst sort of selfishness. Those who truly fear God and keep His commandments look upon these things in the light of reason and religion. How can any man or woman keep the law of God, which requires man to love his neighbor as himself, and indulge intemperate appetite, which benumbs the brain, weakens the intellect, and fills the body with disease? Intemperance inflames the passions and gives loose rein to lust. And reason and conscience are blinded by the lower passions. Testimonies, vol. 4, 29–31.

Health – A Little Dirt Won’t Hurt

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As a little girl, I always liked to share. I would prepare in the back yard the most awesome meals and for dessert—pies! For some reason many people did not want to participate but my little brother was always very happy to join me. I would present mud patties and my dessert of mud-pies sprinkled with grass, flowers and any other pretties found in the dirt. I was just so proud! We would enjoy it until, suddenly, mama would come barreling out of the house with a dish rag and water and her big finger to try to clean all of that good food out of our mouths. I just couldn’t understand why she would do that! Oh, if Mama could read the latest headline: “Dirtying up our Diets,” she might have appreciated my mud pies!

Here are a few excerpts to show why a few little mud-pies won’t hurt.

“Increasing evidence suggests that the alarming rise in allergic and autoimmune disorders during the past few decades is at least partly attributable to our lack of exposure to microorganisms that once covered our food and us. …

“In a world of hand sanitizer and wet wipes, we can scarcely imagine the preindustrial lifestyle that resulted in the daily intake of trillions of helpful organisms. For nearly all of human history, this began with maternal transmission of beneficial microbes during passage through the birth canal — mother to child. However, the alarming increase in the rate of Caesarean section births means a potential loss of microbiota from one generation to the next. And for most of us in the industrialized world, the microbial cleansing continues throughout life. Nature’s dirt floor has been replaced by tile; our once soiled and sooted bodies and clothes are cleaned almost daily; our muddy water is filtered and treated; our rotting and fermenting food has been chilled; and the cowshed has been neatly tucked out of sight. While these improvements in hygiene and sanitation deserve applause, they have inadvertently given rise to a set of truly human-made diseases.

“While comforting to the germ-phobic public, the too-shiny produce and triple-washed and bagged leafy greens in our local grocery aisle are hardly recognized by our immune system as food. The immune system is essentially a sensory mechanism for recognizing microbial challenges from the environment. Just as your tongue and nose are used to sense suitability for consumption, your immune system has receptors for sampling the environment, rigorous mechanisms for dealing with friend or foe, and a memory. Your immune system even has the capacity to learn.

“For all of human history, this learning was driven by our near-continuous exposure from birth and throughout life to organisms as diverse as mycobacteria from soil and food; helminth, or worm parasites, from just about everywhere you turned; and daily recognition and challenges from our very own bacteria. Our ability to regulate our allergic and inflammatory responses to these co-evolved companions is further compromised by imbalances in the gut microbiota from overzealous use of antibiotics (especially in early childhood) and modern dietary choices.

“The suggestion that we embrace some ‘old friends’ does not immediately imply that we are inviting more food-borne illness — quite the contrary. Setting aside for the moment the fact that we have the safest food supply in human history, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and food processing plants and farmers continue to take the blame for the tainted food that makes us ill, while our own all-American sick gut may deserve some blame as well. …

“As we move deeper into a ‘postmodern’ era of squeaky-clean food and hand sanitizers at every turn, we should probably hug our local farmers’ markets a little tighter. They may represent our only connection with some ‘old friends’ we cannot afford to ignore.” Excerpts from: www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/opinion/lets-add-a-little-dirt-to-our-diet.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

In his article, “Why I Don’t Use Hand Sanitizers,” Al Sears, M.D. states: “I went out to my favorite restaurant with my friend. Instead of washing her hands, she rubbed hand sanitizer on while we were waiting for our food. Then she handed it to me. But I told her I wasn’t touching the stuff.

“The truth is, hand sanitizers don’t do what they’re intended to do. A new University of Virginia study tested hand sanitizers on two groups of people. One used hand sanitizers every three hours for 10 weeks. The other group just went about their daily lives, as usual. The result? There was no difference in the viruses on the hands of the participants in the two groups. And that’s a good thing. Because being exposed to germs can help prevent a ton of health problems. …

“Bottom line: Not only do you not need hand sanitizers to fight off germs, it’s a very bad idea to use them. What you really need to do is be exposed to bacteria and build a stronger immune system. … eat natural foods. They’re the best source for the vitamins and nutrients you need to prevent colds. Load up on immune-boosting foods like red and pinto beans, blueberries, cranberries, artichokes, raspberries, strawberries, apples, plums, pecans, oranges, and green leafy veggies. These foods will help you fight off infections and protect your cells from damage. … you can boost your immunity by eating garlic. It’s one of nature’s best antibiotics. And unlike antibiotics, it doesn’t kill off the good bacteria in your gut while fighting off the bad stuff. All you need are a few cloves a day to wipe out germs. You even can create your own natural “V8” by blending some tomatoes, sea salt, garlic cloves and your favorite mix of veggies.” https://alsearsmd.com/2010/10/why-i-dont-use-hand-sanitizers/

Oh, if mama could understand that my mud pies were just fine!

Restoring the Temple – Is Milk Necessary? Part I

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In much of Westernized society, the concept that milk (cow’s milk) is necessary for strong bones is widespread. From early in life, children are encouraged to drink their milk by well-meaning parents who have been taught that milk is the ideal food from which to obtain calcium for growing and maintaining healthy bones and teeth. As a child grows into a teenager, he or she is further taught that milk is necessary if a young person wants to grow tall and excel in sports or any other activity of choice. Then, in adulthood, this person is encouraged to continue drinking milk to make sure of maintaining those strong bones, and, especially if that person is a female, she is told that she must drink milk in order to avoid getting osteoporosis later in life.

However, is all of this true? Is milk the miracle food for bones? In this article we will look at these issues, as well as take a much broader view of the subject of bone health.

“Got Milk?”

The National Milk Mustache “Got Milk?” campaign and website target young people, and the public in general, in an effort to convince them that milk is absolutely necessary for a healthy diet. Actors and sports stars are shown with milk mustaches along with their comments about how important milk is to them and their performance. Nutritional information is provided, particularly about calcium, and it is stated that three glasses of any kind of milk will give your body the calcium it needs. The website even states that milk is a better choice compared to soda pop, sports drinks, and many juices.(1)

However, since this campaign is “funded by America’s milk processors” and they believe that “America finds itself in a calcium crisis today because consumers aren’t drinking enough milk,”(1) it may be wise to look to some other potentially less biased sources of information that do not have something to gain through increased sales of milk.

Studies are mixed as to whether or not dairy supports bone health and will prevent osteoporosis. In one study which measured the BMD (bone mineral density) of 745 men and women more than 60 years old, higher dairy product consumption was associated with greater hip BMD in the men, but not in the women. However, calcium supplementation protected both men and women from bone loss in those whose dairy intake was low.(2) In a review of 57 studies of the effects of dairy foods on bone health, 53 percent were not significant, 42 percent were favorable, and 5 percent were unfavorable. Of 21 stronger-evidence studies, 57 percent were not significant, 29 percent were favorable, and 14 percent were unfavorable.(3)

The Big Picture

The status of bone health is not limited to how much dairy a person consumes. Generally, the underlying premise that increased milk consumption will strengthen bones is based upon the fact that bones contain a high percentage of calcium (the biggest reservoir of calcium in the body), and that the more calcium you consume the more likely your bones will be strong. And since milk contains fairly large amounts of calcium, all you need to do is to drink your milk, and your bones will be fine. However, this is a very narrow view of bone health.

There are a variety of other factors that influence bone health, and when these are taken into consideration, milk is no longer the miracle food for bones and, at best, is unessential and, at worse, a detriment to bone health. In addition to calcium, bone formation is also dependent upon vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin K, and phosphorus. Other factors include increasing calcium absorption, minimizing calcium loss from the bones, minimizing calcium loss from the body, and promoting bone strength through other healthy means.(4)

Milk and dairy products are the best known sources of calcium, but they are not the only foods that contain good amounts of calcium. Other sources of calcium are green and leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens, sesame seeds, almonds, soymilk, calcium-set tofu, and beans, such as pinto beans, black-eyed peas, and navy beans.

Many people think that just because they eat or drink a food with lots of calcium that all of the calcium ingested will contribute to strong bones. However, this is not the case. All sources of calcium have various calcium absorption percentage rates. For instance, the calcium absorption rate for milk is about 32 percent. That means that if you drink one cup of 2 percent milk with 297 mg. of calcium, only about 95 mg. of calcium is actually absorbed into your bloodstream for use in your bones. However, the absorption rate for many green vegetables is 50 percent or even more, as is the case with broccoli at almost 53 percent and mustard greens at almost 58 percent.(5) Along with these plant foods come cancer fighting phytochemicals and fiber; they are low in hypertensive sodium and artery clogging saturated fat, and have no heart disease promoting cholesterol. Milk does not have all of these benefits!

Another important consideration is that as calcium consumption increases, calcium absorption decreases. Thus, just throwing more calcium at your body does not automatically mean stronger bones. Reducing calcium loss from the bones and ultimately from the body is very important. Without minimizing calcium loss, merely consuming more calcium is like trying to fill a bucket with water that has a hole leaking out a similar amount of water to the amount being poured in.

A high intake of acid-forming foods, high intake of sodium, and low intake of potassium all contribute to calcium loss from the bones and the body. Acid-forming foods increase the acid load in the body, and the body responds by releasing calcium, which is alkaline and will neutralize the acid, from the bones. The foods that increase the acid load most significantly are all meats, fish, cheese, and eggs. These items are also low in calcium, so the resulting calcium balance is much lower, meaning that there is less calcium in the body than before these foods were eaten. Milk also increases the acid load, but since it also supplies calcium, the resulting negative calcium balance in the body is not so great. Some grains, particularly refined grains, are also acid-forming, but not as much as animal foods. However, fruits and vegetables positively affect the body’s calcium balance and minimize calcium losses. Thus, even though plant foods appear on nutritional charts to have less calcium per serving, the calcium that is consumed from them is much more effective in maintaining positive calcium levels in the body, and the net result is positive instead of negative. Again, milk is not able to out-perform plant foods for bone health.(6)

References:

1. MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program). Internet: http://www.whymilk.com (accessed February 20, 2005).

2. L. D. McCabe, B. R. Martin, G. P. McCabe, C. C. Johnston, C. M. Weaver, M. Peacock. “Dairy intakes affect bone density in the elderly.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2004 October; 80(4):1066–1074.

3. R. L. Weinsier, C. L. Krumdieck. “Dairy foods and bone health: examination of the evidence.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001 March; 73(3):660–661.

4. Stephen Walsh. “Diet and bone health.” A Vegan Society briefing paper. January 2002. Internet: http://www.vegsource.com/articles/walsh_diet_bone.htm (accessed February 20, 2005).

5. Brie Turner-McGrievy. “Sources of calcium and calcium balance.” Vegetarian Nutrition. Internet: http://webct.ua.edu/SCRIPT/1554820051/scripts/serve_home (accessed February 20, 2005).

6. S. A. New. Nutrition New. Nutrition Society Medal lecture. “The role of the skeleton in acid-base homeostasis.” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2002 May; 61(2):151–164.

To be continued . . .

Diane Herbert is a naturopath and lifestyle consultant. She received training from the NAD Lifestyle Consultant program, Thomas Edison State College, Clayton College of Natural Healing, and Bastyr University. Diane teaches health classes at the Gilead Institute located in Norcross, Georgia, gives health presentations, and contributes to the Institute’s literature and health flyer series. She may be contacted by e-mail at: gilead.net@usa.net.