Based on the writings of Ellen White, eggs can be beneficial in certain situations, although she also provides significant cautions regarding their use. ### Benefits of Eating Eggs * **Counteracting Poisons**: Eggs are described as having healing properties. "Eggs contain properties that are remedial agencies in counteracting certain poisons" (9T 162.1). * **For the Malnourished or Ill**: In cases where people have weak "blood-making organs" and cannot get other necessary foods, "milk and eggs should not be wholly discarded" (MH 320.1). * **For Those in Poverty**: For those in "poverty-stricken districts, where fruits and nuts are scarce," she advises that they "should not be urged to exclude milk and eggs from their dietary" (MH 320.1). * **Not Classed with Flesh Meat**: While encouraging a plant-based diet, she distinguished eggs from flesh meat. "Milk, eggs, and butter should not be classed with flesh meat. In some cases the use of eggs is beneficial" (7T 134.6). ### Cautions and When to Avoid Eggs Ellen White strongly cautioned against the use of eggs in other contexts: * **For Children**: She gave repeated warnings about the effect of eggs on children. "The evil of the free use of eggs by small children" was a specific point of concern (9T 162.1). In another instance, she wrote, "Eggs should not be placed upon your table. They are an injury to your children" (2T 399.3). * **Stimulating Animal Passions**: She advised that eggs could have a stimulating effect on the "animal passions," particularly for certain individuals. "Persons in full flesh and in whom the animal passions are strong need to avoid the use of stimulating foods. Especially in families of children who are given to sensual habits, eggs should not be used" (MH 320.1). She also stated, "You place upon your tables butter, eggs, and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions" (2T 362). ### General Guidance The overall counsel was to move toward a diet free from animal products as circumstances and knowledge allowed. She stated, "The time will come when we may have to discard some of the articles of diet we now use, such as milk and cream and eggs; but it is not necessary to bring upon ourselves perplexity by premature and extreme restrictions. Wait until the circumstances demand it and the Lord prepares the way for it" (9T 162.3).

Based on the writings of Ellen White, the term "blood-making organs" is used to describe the parts of the body responsible for converting food into healthy blood. She does not provide a specific anatomical definition, but the context of her writings points primarily to the digestive system. Here are a few key points from her writings that clarify the meaning: * **Function is to Convert Food**: The primary role of these organs is to process what is eaten and turn it into pure blood. She wrote, "The blood-making organs cannot convert spices, mince pies, pickles, and diseased flesh meats into good blood" (2T 383.2). * **Connection to Digestion**: The health of the blood is directly linked to the digestive process. When the digestive organs are overworked, it affects the quality of the blood. She explains, "if so much food is taken into the stomach that the digestive organs are compelled to overwork in order to dispose of it... the mother does injustice to herself and lays the foundation of disease in her offspring" (2T 383.2). * **Influence of Lungs and Air**: While digestion is key to creating blood, she also emphasizes the role of the lungs in purifying it. "The waste, poisonous matter, which should be thrown off in the exhalations from the lungs, is retained, and the blood becomes impure. Not only the lungs, but the stomach, liver, and brain are affected" (MH 273.1). In summary, when Ellen White refers to "blood-making organs," she is speaking functionally about the system of organs, primarily the stomach and other digestive organs, that create blood from food, as well as other organs like the lungs that are vital for maintaining its purity.

While the writings of Ellen White do not mention "alpha thalassemia" by its specific medical name, she wrote extensively about the importance of blood quality and inherited health conditions. Her counsel focuses on the principles that contribute to creating and maintaining pure, healthy blood. Here are the relevant principles from her writings: ### 1. The Importance of Pure Blood Ellen White considered the health of the blood to be fundamental to overall health. She believed that impure blood could lead to a wide range of diseases. ### 2. Influence of Diet on Blood Quality She taught that diet was a primary factor in determining the quality of the blood. * **Harmful Foods**: She warned that certain foods could not be converted into healthy blood: "The blood making organs cannot convert such things into good blood" (HL 180.7). * **Consequences of Poor Diet**: A poor diet was seen as a direct cause of blood-related problems. She wrote, "Luxurious living and the use of wine corrupt the blood, inflame the passions, and produce diseases of every kind" (4T 30.1). ### 3. Inherited Conditions She frequently wrote about parents passing on health conditions to their children through the blood. * **Legacy of Disease**: "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" (4T 30.1). * **Inherited Blood Taints**: She used the term "scrofula" (a historical term for a type of tuberculosis infection, but often used more broadly for inherited diseases) to describe conditions passed to children: "Very many children are born with their blood tainted with scrofula, through the wrong habits of the mother in her eating and dressing" (HL 155.3). ### 4. Lifestyle and Circulation Proper lifestyle choices were also seen as essential for healthy blood and circulation. * **Improper Dress**: She warned that fashionable but impractical clothing could restrict circulation and cause disease: "In order to follow the fashions, mothers dress their children with limbs nearly naked; and the blood is chilled back from its natural course and thrown upon the internal organs, breaking up the circulation and producing disease" (2T 531). * **Lack of Exercise**: Inactivity causes the blood to become stagnant: "When the body is inactive, the blood flows sluggishly" (YI, February 27, 1902). In summary, while Ellen White does not address specific genetic blood disorders like alpha thalassemia, her health principles are centered on creating the best possible environment for health through diet, lifestyle, and parental responsibility, all of which she believed had a direct impact on the purity and vitality of the blood.