Diets Work...Until They Don't
In 2005 I had a Stent implanted due to a blocked artery. A few years later, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I took a Statin for Coronary Artery Disease and another ten pills a day to manage my health. I was also getting a shot in the eye for Macular Degeneration every few months.
After some research, I learned that Type 2 Diabetes could be managed through diet and weight control without prescription medication. I was overweight and the research indicated that losing the extra pounds would go a long way toward kicking the meds.
I saw the ads about Keto. The weight loss testimonies were so convincing, that I decided to try it. I followed a “modified” Keto Diet Plan (no fruit or grains and reducing carbs and sugar) for about nine months...and lost over 45 lbs.
I questioned how God’s food (fruit and grains) could be bad for you, but I trusted my doctor knew what he was talking about…and, after all, I did lose 45 lbs.
When COVID-19 hit, I was reminded that nowhere in scripture does it say, “Trust the Science.” We are to trust God for our health, as it is written, “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26) "Who healeth all thy diseases" (Psalms 103:3).
It's easy to forget that God is alive and still on the throne. Thank you Dr. Fauci for reminding me.
I passed on the COVID-19 vaccines, kicked the eleven pills and shots, and put my health in God's hands.
My doctor wasn’t happy and said my Cardiologist might have something to say about kicking the Statin, but at that point, I was convinced that by trusting medical science, the “cure was worse than the disease.”
Over the last couple of years, my blood work numbers began inching up...nothing drastic, and even without the pills still within the “acceptable” range, but at my last checkup, the numbers had risen dramatically.
My HDL (the good stuff) was okay, but my A1C was 9.2, my Cholesterol was 262, my Triglycerides were 196, and my LDL (the bad stuff) had risen to 184...all danger signs, according to medical science.
My doctor said I was headed for a heart attack and needed to be back on a Statin.
I knew I wasn’t in tip-top shape. Climbing stairs or walking quickly was becoming difficult, and I had to stop and rest a few times when mowing the lawn...but why the sudden explosion in my blood work numbers?
I was searching YouTube for a Mickey Mouse video to entertain my great-grandson when the video “What the Health?” came up in the search.
God works in mysterious ways.
The video indicated the low-carb, high-fat diet was not the “cure,” it was the cause.
Saturated fat and cholesterol, not sugar and carbs, cause Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease by filling our cells with excessive fat, creating insulin resistance. According to the video, both could be reversed by switching to a plant-based diet.
Plant-based diet? What an amazing coincidence.
God designed us to be plant-eaters, so why did we start eating meat, and why would God say it was okay to consume something so harmful to humans like meat and dairy? And why did it take me so long to recognize the obvious? God's way, works.
Did God change his mind? Are we no longer supposed to be plant-eaters?
A thought occurred to me...just because God allows something doesn’t mean he wants us to do it.
There’s no prohibition against smoking, but that doesn’t mean God wants us to smoke. Divorce is allowed, but that doesn’t mean God wants us to get divorced.
God didn’t change his mind, we changed ours.
There is a lot of meat and dairy consumption in scripture, but I recalled what the Apostle Paul said, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.” (1 Corinthians 6:12) It means you can eat, or even do, anything you want, but that doesn’t mean everything you eat or do is good for you.
Our bodies were designed to eat plants. Consuming meat and dairy are not required for life or survival, they’re simply choices.
The Standard American Diet, while good for the meat and dairy industries, was not what God intended for human consumption.
Could following God’s original plan reverse my Type 2 Diabetes and restore normal blood flow in my arteries as the testimonies in the video indicated?
Could it really be that simple?
I haven’t done an exhaustive study, but there are several words for “Meat” in the Bible...almost always defined as “food or nourishment,” not steaks and chops...and usually in conjunction with eating the “sacrifice,” which are "clean" animals burnt to a crisp on the altar. “Cooking” removes some of the saturated fat and cholesterol...but not all of it. It becomes less toxic to the body, but it’s still toxic.
Animal fat has been linked as the primary cause of almost every disease known to man. God, in his infinite wisdom, said, “Don’t eat the fat.” Do you think he might have known about the dangers of animal fat?
God's dietary laws and restrictions are for our benefit, not his. Pigs, the harbinger of saturated fat and high cholesterol (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.) and shellfish (lobster, shrimp, crab, etc.) are not "clean" animals and were not to be eaten.
Can you imagine the uproar if you tried to remove pork and shellfish from menus? Or milk and eggs?
What about fish?
I doubt the level of mercury from industrial waste in the water was the same six thousand years ago, so while it might have been safe to eat fish in Biblical times, today, not so much...and in case you’re wondering, “Dairy” is not a fruit, vegetable, grain, nut, or seed.
After being weaned from “Mother’s milk," milk is not required for life or survival. Don’t you think it strange that we’re the only “animal” that nurses from a completely different species...and continues to nurse as adults?
You see, the question is not, “Is it okay to consume meat and dairy?” Knowing the effect it has on the body, the question is, “Why do we?”
If meat and dairy are the primary cause of disease, why would you subject your body and life to something so dangerous to your health?
I have been answering tough questions about God in my books. Still, it seems as if no one questions the dietary laws and restrictions.
Admittedly, I never considered God’s dietary laws and restrictions relevant.
Consuming meat and dairy was a natural part of growing up. Whether it was good for us or not was never an issue...at least not at our house.
I suppose we just took for granted that it was okay, and bought into the clever marketing tactics of the meat and dairy industries that consuming meat and dairy was not only good for you....it was necessary for good health.
The high incidence of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in the United States and elsewhere, say otherwise.
Look, I’m not saying you need to be a vegan or even a vegetarian to please God...Jesus said, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matthew 15:11)
God doesn't care what you eat. Consuming meat and dairy, like smoking, is not a sin, it’s a choice...but as Paul indicated, not all choices are good for us.
According to the evidence presented in the video, consuming meat and dairy are not only bad choices...they are a major contributor to our health problems, and may even lead us to an early grave.
Perhaps consuming meat and dairy is why our lifespan dropped from several hundred years before the flood...to less than a hundred years today. Just a thought.
Remember, the Bible is God's instruction manual for living an abundant life. His rules for living are for our benefit. If God created us to be plant-eaters, he must have had a good reason.
You can find “experts” on the Internet to support any dietary program, but most are selling something, or touting the Standard American Diet of meat, dairy, highly processed food, added sugar, fat, and sodium.
They all claim to know the truth, but which one is right?
I recalled the words God spoke to me that changed my life: "Stop listening to the words of man, and start listening to the Word of God."
The Internet “experts” may all be charlatans, and I know the Bible can be misread, misinterpreted, and even manipulated to fit any narrative.
Irrespective of what you hear from the pulpit, on radio and television, read in books, or see on the Internet, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.
Did God change his mind? Did he redesign the human body after the flood...adding fangs and shortening our digestive system like carnivores? Did he add an innate desire to rip open the flesh and lap up the blood when we see a squirrel?
He did not.
We were designed and created to be plant eaters.
If eating a plant-based diet as God intended would reverse Type 2 Diabetes and restore blood flow to arteries, I’d be a fool to ignore it, but I didn’t switch to plant-based eating to reverse disease...I switched because God said, “Every herb bearing seed and tree bearing fruit is for your food.” (Genesis 1:29)
Our "food" was to be fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds.
Is it okay to consume meat and dairy, sure...but since almost every disease known to man, including Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Obesity, Coronary Artery Disease, and even Cancer, has been linked to animal fat and high cholesterol, why would you choose a shortened diseased life by consuming meat and dairy?
Do you think God was just kidding when he said, “Don’t eat the fat?”
God’s instructions for living a happy, healthy, wealthy life are for our benefit.
We just need to follow the instructions.
Just some food for thought...
If you want your eyes opened, watch this video