Biblical Diet(part 2)

Food for healthy and glowing Skin

The Bible gives us a huge list of foods that should be eaten for healthy living. Food gives joy, and most people look forward to its rich flavours and textures.

God gave us food to glorify him, it's very important to please God with a healthy body, soul and mind.

The Bible speaks about clean and unclean foods. (Leviticus 11:4-44)

There are certain foods especially meats which we should refrain from. 

Food is fuel for our body, hence eating the right foods is very important.

God gave us dietary laws in the Old Covenant but they still apply, ignoring these food laws puts our bodies at stake. 

Meats

We must eat red meats sparingly. In the Biblical days, red meat was eaten at feasts, banquets and celebrations. It is a well-known fact that too much consumption of red meat raises cholesterol and is not good for cardiac health.

Fish and fowl 

The Bible recommends several servings of fish and fowl for healthy living. Chicken, goose, pigeon, quail, partridge and duck are a rich source of Vitamin B12, B6, it promotes our heart health, it raises our HDL (high-density lipoprotein)

The omega 3 fatty fish oils are very good for our healthy skin too, besides having a host of heart benefitting nutrients.

Olives &Olive oil 

A moderate intake of olive oil in our diet on a day to day basis promotes Our cardiovascular health. But the oil must be virgin or extra virgin oil. Besides these oils coconut oil, sunflower oil is a heart-healthy oil. 

Dairy products 

We often read about God's promised land flowing with milk and honey. References have been made in the old covenant of the health benefits of goat milk. Dairy products should be used sparingly, as it raises the cholesterol levels in the blood.

Cheese is a good source of calcium but is high in fats, so it should not be a regular part of our daily diet. It was often eaten at feasts and celebrations.

Lentils & Wholegrains

Lentils were a good source proteins, they were often stewed or made into soups. 

Whole grains were daily staples with lentils and were often used to bake bread.

Reference has been made to bread as Jesus Christ " I am the bread of life"(John 6;35,48)

Just as Christ is essential for our salvation (Acts 4:12) , whole grains are essential for healthy living. They give us 20-30% of fibre. Soluble and non soluble fibre and are rich source of vitamins especially B12,B6.

Fruits & Vegetables 

Fruits and vegetables along with whole grains constitute the bulk of our biblical diet.

Fruits were consumed as fruit sugars were natural sugars and were good for our health.

Grapes were very popular and the Bible has made many references to fermented grape juice or the"Red Wine" as being beneficial for heart health. 

Grapes were known to fight tooth decay, they also had antioxidants, in facts grapes were used as anti-cancer medicines.

Grapes also promoted intestinal health.

Nutritional sugar in fruits were recommended as they were healthy

Sadly we have given into modern eating habits ofter adopted from the western culture. Junk food, drinks high on caffeine and sugar and processed foods are mostly favoured by our youth.