Health Destroying Foods
Foods contain nutrients that are our body's building blocks for life. We are told in Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Then, we are told in Genesis 1:26, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. God being the Creator of all things, including man, knows what his creation and created beings need to be healthy and strong. God did not leave us to guess what food we should and should not eat.
The Bible is the spoken Word of God. When it comes to health, it is our only safe guidebook to health and happiness. In the Bible, Leviticus chapter 11 gives us a detailed list of foods humanity is allowed to consume and what should be avoided. Food is divided into two groups clean and unclean, more simply said, "healthy and unhealthy." Of the healthy foods, the clean foods, we may eat freely. But of the unclean foods, the unhealthy foods we are not to partake.
Because Leviticus is in the Old Testament of the Bible, many persons believe these instructions are not intended for us but were for the Jews of old. It is believed that we are under the New Testament, under Jesus Christ, and the laws given to the Jewish nation do not pertain to us. But Jesus says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17. Jesus did not come to take away or remove the laws. He came to teach us how to keep them. We are also told that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, " Hebrews 13:8. God and His Word do not change or become irrelevant. God says of His Word, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
To add further clarity to our duty and requirements, God defines who his people are and that they are under the covenant promises of Abraham. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise,” Galatians 3:28. The promises have conditions that must be met to claim them. We are heir to the promises, so we must meet the conditions to enjoy the promises. To have health and a good quality of life, we must obey God's health laws. There is no getting around it. Life is in obedience to God's commands.
This dietary choice of eating from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a choice of life or death for Adam and Eve. They knew the consequences of their choice; God told them the day they ate from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. God has given us a command as well. Just like they were told not to eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we are told not to eat unclean food. For us to knowingly disobey God, we are as guilty before God as Adam and Eve were, and we choose the results of sin as they did; death.
In the wisdom of God, having created us, has made the distinction between clean and unclean foods; all we need to do is to obey his commands. After the Creation of Man, we are told in Genesis 2:8-9, "God planted a Garden and placed man in it. "And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.”
The tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was also in the garden. This tree was as beautiful, and its fruit looked as luscious as all the other trees. There were no visible defects in the quality of the tree or it's fruit. Having this tree in the garden gave Adam and Eve a choice. Of our foods today, some look so beautiful and taste so delicious, but looks and taste are not a safeguard against deception. When we eat food that we have been given a direct command not to eat, we are still eating from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We gain knowledge God would never have given us. Knowledge of obesity, stroke, diabetes and all forms of health destroying sickness and disease.
Looks and taste can make unhealthful food even more deadly because it can be eaten unsuspectingly. We often indulge without restraint. God tells us "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things," 1 Corinthians 9:25. If you are striving to accomplish health and healing, you must practice temperance in all things. Temperance is the most critical factor in life and health. Temperance not only does things in the right amounts but also avoids those things that are not conducive to good health and life. Refined sugars decrease the immune system's effectiveness and its ability to fight disease. Our safest option is to simply obey God and eat plain and simple healthful foods.
To find out about the foods that are clean and unclean, please take time to read Leviticus chapter 11. In this article, we will only mention a few typical unhealthy food articles. In Leviticus, God identified foods we commonly accept as healthy as not healthful to eat. God says, swine is unclean meat, it is not good for human consumption. Swine is pork meat and pork products such as lard. Pork consumed in many forms and used in countless recipes. This meat is thought to be very delicious. Pork deceptively poisons the system with fat and other impurities. Eating pork can lead to high blood pressure, which can be deadly, causing a stroke.
Other unclean meats include camel and reptiles such as snakes, turtles, lizards, and creatures like mice, weasels, snails, moles, and fish without fins and scales. Many of which are considered delicacies. The unclean food group also include catfish, sharks, shrimp, lobster, crab, and oysters. Some of these are known as scavengers. God specially designs scavengers to be able to eat dead and decaying things. They help to keep the earth clean and free of diseased and dying animals. Some of them also eat the waste products of other animals. When we eat animals that are scavengers, we take into our bodies all the sick and diseased foods they have eaten. Our bodies are not designed to handle this type of food. They do nothing to maintain or improve our health, and they are harmful to our health. God says, "Thou shall not eat."
God gave us clean meats but he also instructed the Israelites in Leviticus 3:17, "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat, not blood." Perpetual means forever. We have already established that through Christ we are Abrahams seed, and heir to the promise. Therefore we must also obey God's commands.
There are health considerations as to why we should not eat fat and blood. Health risk factors are factors in the lifestyle that will increase the possibility of developing a disease. Some common risk factors for developing heart disease and stroke are obesity, diabetes, hypertension, lack of exercise, a high-fat diet, alcohol, and smoking. As we look at these factors in this way, we can see that fat is not the only contributing factor in these disorders, but it is the most common. The body also stores impurities in fat.
God further instructs in Leviticus 17:14, concerning blood, “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”
Knowing the life giving principles of blood, let’s look at it from a medical standpoint. Blood is vital for life. Many illnesses and infectious diseases are detected by examining the blood. The blood circulates throughout the body carrying its life forces whether they are rich in vitality or contaminated with life-threatening organisms.
Blood denotes the condition of that life. Illnesses can pass from person to person through contaminated blood. It has been found that many animals have the same or similar diseases, as do humans. These diseases can be detected in their blood. As a health consideration, health-care workers try very hard not to become even externally contaminated with blood, yet we introduce the blood of sick and diseased animals into our bodies through our diet.
Cooking the meat is no guarantee that the contaminates will be destroyed. God would have us to avoid this health risk by obeying His Word. Eating no blood or fat is a serious health consideration and a direct command of God. With the serious diseases of animals today, doing away with meat eating and animal products all together would be a wise consideration. We truly are what we eat. Our best choice of food is fruit, grains, nuts, vegetables, and herbs for more excellent health benefits.
