General News
22 June, 2025
In good faith
Like a lot of people my age, it is fair to say that my weight tends to go up and down, usually with a greater emphasis upon the ‘up’ side.
This means, that like so many of us, from time to time I need to go on a diet to keep that pesky weight under control.
It is during the times that I am working away from home that I usually try to undertake this task, and this time, while I am again working in the Northern Territory, is no exception.
It is no secret to anybody that unnatural weight gain can have serious consequences for one's
health.
Neither is it any secret that this, for the most part, is an issue that has emerged in earnest
only in the last few decades.
If you want to do an interesting experiment, go onto the Internet and Google ‘Photos of people in the 1950's’ and see what comes up.
It is unlikely that you will see so much as a single photograph of anybody who is overweight.
So, the question is, what has caused this problem since the 1950’s?
I think we all know the answer to this, it is lifestyle, including ‘fast food’ and supermarket convenience foods.
Today, it is so easy to buy a hamburger from a takeaway or a frozen pizza from a supermarket which provides a quick and easy meal with little to no preparation.
I remember when I was young, in the 1960’s, normally the only shops my parents’ bought food from were the butcher and the greengrocer.
Oh, how things have changed.
But sadly, as we all know, the price of convenience has been health with many, perhaps even most, convenience foods containing excesses of ingredients which are far from ideal.
One consequence of this is the emergence of many ‘fad‘ diets, such as the ‘paleo’ diet, the ‘keto’
diet, the ‘Atkins’ diet, and many others.
But were you aware that the Bible also has a lot to say about healthy eating?
Some Christian nutritionists who I came across provided some rules for healthy eating, rules which are very much just common sense.
They included:
1. Eat the foods that God intended as food.
2. Follow the example of Jesus and others in the Bible.
3. Do not eat or drink to excess.
There are many verses in the Bible that talk about a healthy diet.
They prescribe certain foods to be eaten which are good for you, as well as others which should be avoided.
For example; Genesis 1:29, “And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
Genesis 9:3, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”
Daniel 1:12, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.”
Leviticus 7:23, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, “You shall eat no fat of ox or sheep or goat.”
Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine,” and many, many others.
The dietary advice given in the Bible remains equal to the best advice of today.
Fresh, natural, healthy and in good balance to provide everything that you need and nothing that you don't.
– DAVID YOUNG