"Diet and Mental Development The relation of diet to intellectual development should be given far more attention than it has received. Mental confusion and dullness are often the result of errors in diet. Ed 204"
"Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:"
While Proverbs 23:20 warns against overindulgence, EGW makes a more direct connection between diet and mental clarity. The connection is possible, but not a strong direct principle.
"It is frequently urged that, in the selection of food, appetite is a safe guide. If the laws of health had always been obeyed, this would be true. But through wrong habits, continued from generation to generation, appetite has become so perverted that it is constantly craving some hurtful gratification. As a guide it cannot now be trusted. Ed 204.2"
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."
Both passages highlight the conflict between what one knows is right and what one desires. Romans 7:15 describes the struggle with sin, while EGW describes the perversion of appetite due to wrong habits. Both point to a disconnect between will and action.
"In the study of hygiene, students should be taught the nutrient value of different foods. The effect of a concentrated and stimulating diet, also of foods deficient in the elements of nutrition, should be made plain. Tea and coffee, fine-flour bread, pickles, coarse vegetables, candies, condiments, and pastries fail of supplying proper nutriment. Many a student has broken down as the result of using such foods. Many a puny child, incapable of vigorous effort of mind or body, is the victim of an impoverished diet. 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"
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
Both passages relate to the care of the body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 speaks of the body as a temple, implying a need for respect and proper care. EGW discusses the importance of proper nutrition for physical and mental health, aligning with the idea of caring for the 'temple.'