Based on the writings of Ellen G. White, health and diet are of primary importance, affecting not only physical well-being but also mental and spiritual health. Here is a summary of her guidance on this topic. ### The Foundational Principle The preservation of health is a crucial duty. Ellen White emphasizes that our dietary habits have a direct impact on our spiritual lives and our ability to serve God. * "The question of how to preserve the health is one of primary importance. When we study this question in the fear of God we shall learn that it is best, for both our physical and our spiritual advancement, to observe simplicity in diet." (9T 153.3) * "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) * "The diet has much to do with the disposition to enter into temptation and commit sin." (CD 52.2) ### The Original Diet The ideal diet consists of the foods God originally provided for humanity. * "Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance, and a vigor of intellect that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet." (MH 296.1) ### Key Dietary Guidelines 1. **Simplicity and Preparation**: Food should be simple and prepared without harmful additives. * "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." (HL 78.6) * "Much tact and discretion should be employed in preparing nourishing food to take the place of that which has formerly constituted the diet of those who are learning to be health reformers." (9T 161.3) 2. **Temperance and Overeating**: Even healthful food should be eaten in moderation. * "As a people, with all our profession of health reform, we eat too much. Indulgence of appetite is the greatest cause of physical and mental debility, and lies at the foundation of feebleness which is apparent everywhere." (HR August 1, 1875, par. 6) * "...strict temperance in eating and in drinking is essential to a healthy preservation and vigorous exercise of all the functions of the body; for intemperance in eating, even of healthful food, will have an injurious effect upon the system, and will blunt the mental and moral faculties." (HR December 1, 1887, par. 7) 3. **Flesh Foods (Meat)**: A meat diet is not considered the most wholesome. * "It is a mistake to suppose that muscular strength depends on the use of animal food. The needs of the system can be better supplied, and more vigorous health can be enjoyed, without its use." (PHJ September 1, 1905, par. 13) * However, she advised against rigid rules for everyone, especially those with specific health challenges: "A meat diet is not the most wholesome of diets, and yet I would take the position that meat should not be discarded by every one. Those who have feeble digestive organs can often use meat, when they cannot eat vegetables, fruit, or porridge." (YI May 31, 1894, par. 7) 4. **Adapting the Diet**: Diet should be suited to individual needs and circumstances. * "Our diet should be suited to the season, to the climate in which we live, and to the occupation we follow. Some foods that are adapted for use at one season or in one climate are not suited to another." (MH 296.2) * When preaching to the poor, she was instructed to be practical: "I cannot say to them: 'You must not eat eggs, or milk, or cream. You must use no butter in the preparation of food.' The gospel must be preached to the poor, but the time has not yet come to prescribe the strictest diet." (9T 163.1) ### Avoiding Extremes Ellen White cautioned against an impoverished or poorly prepared diet in the name of health reform. * "A diet lacking in the proper elements of nutrition brings reproach upon the cause of health reform. We are mortal and must supply ourselves with food that will give proper nourishment to the body." (9T 161.3) * "We would not recommend an impoverished diet. I have been shown that many take a wrong view of the health reform, and live upon an impoverished diet. They subsist upon a cheap, poor quality of food, prepared without care or reference to the nourishing of the system." (T18 19.2)