Based on Ellen White's extensive writings on health and diet, here is comprehensive guidance on this important topic: ## Core Dietary Principles **God's Original Plan:** "Again and again I have been shown that God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to his original design,— that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth" (CTBH 119.1). Ellen White emphasized that "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" (HL 78.6). ## Specific Dietary Recommendations **Foods to Emphasize:** - **Fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables:** "Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, in proper combination, contain all the elements of nutrition; and when properly prepared, they constitute the diet that best promotes both physical and mental strength" (Ed 204.3) - **Simple preparation:** Food should be "prepared with simplicity, yet with a nicety which will invite the appetite" (2T 63.1) - **Variety and appeal:** "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" (2T 63.1) **Regarding Meat:** Ellen White taught that "those who eat flesh are but eating grains and vegetables at second hand; for the animal receives from these things the nutrition that produces growth. The life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the eater. We receive it by eating the flesh of the animal. How much better to get it direct, by eating the food that God provided for our use!" (MH 313). She warned: "If meat eating was ever healthful, it is not safe now. Cancers, tumors, and pulmonary diseases are largely caused by meat eating" (9T 159). ## Foods and Substances to Avoid **Stimulants:** "In relation to tea, coffee, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks, the only safe course is to touch not, taste not, handle not" (MH 335.3). These substances create dependency: "The tendency of tea, coffee, and similar drinks is in the same direction as that of alcoholic liquor and tobacco, and in some cases the habit is as difficult to break as it is for the drunkard to give up intoxicants" (MH 335.3). **Condiments and Spices:** "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" (HL 92). **Harmful Foods:** "Tea and coffee, fine-flour bread, pickles, coarse vegetables, candies, condiments, and pastries fail of supplying proper nutriment" (Ed 204.3). ## Proper Food Preparation and Eating Habits **Cooking Principles:** - "Food should be thoroughly cooked, neatly prepared, and appetizing" (HL 48) - "You should keep grease out of your food. It defiles any preparation of food you may make" (2T 63.1) - "Food should be prepared in as simple a manner as possible, free from condiments and spices, and even from an undue amount of salt" (HL 92.4) **Temperature and Timing:** "Food should not be eaten very hot or very cold. If food is cold, the vital force of the stomach is drawn upon in order to warm it before digestion can take place" (MH 305). **Liquid with Meals:** "The more liquid there is taken with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must be absorbed before digestion can begin" (MH 305). ## Making Dietary Changes **Gradual Transition:** "None should be urged to make the change abruptly. The place of meat should be supplied with wholesome foods that are inexpensive" (MH 316.4). Ellen White cautioned: "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" (HL 80.1). **Avoiding Extremes:** "Some of our people, while conscientiously abstaining from eating improper foods, neglect to supply themselves with the elements necessary for the sustenance of the body" (9T 161). She emphasized that "food should be prepared in such a way that it will be appetizing as well as nourishing. It should not be robbed of that which the system needs" (9T 161). ## The Connection Between Diet and Spirituality Ellen White taught that diet profoundly affects spiritual life: "If those who profess to be Christians desire to solve the questions so perplexing to them, why their minds are so dull, why their religious aspirations are so feeble, they need not, in many instances, go farther than the table; here is cause enough" (CTBH 83.1). She emphasized that "our habits of eating and drinking show whether we are of the world or among the number whom the Lord by His mighty cleaver of truth has separated from the world" (6T 372). This comprehensive guidance shows that Ellen White viewed proper diet as essential not only for physical health but also for mental clarity and spiritual development, advocating for a return to God's original plan of simple, natural foods prepared with care and wisdom.