I often gauge my behavior by investigating the Bible’s perspective. A passage that I have wondered about is the application of God’s word to man in Genesis:

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; (Genesis 1:29)

Is God saying that we must be vegetarians? We know that man is an omnivore and later in the Bible we see the list of clean foods that includes meat. A mitigating factor is “What role does the fall of mankind play in our eating habits?” Did the fall cause us to move from eating plants to eating meat?

Let’s look at another issue – that of divorce. We read that Moses allowed divorce, but Jesus pointed out God’s standard from Genesis 2:24 that husband and wife are to become one. In Matthew 19:8, Jesus clarified His position:

He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

Divorce is allowed, but it was not God’s best. Man is able to eat meat, but is it God’s best? The Standard American Diet (SAD) seems to be an appropriate acronym. This consists of a diet high in animal-based and highly processed foods that results in a host of medical diseases and leads to obesity. The good news is that many of these deleterious effects can be prevented and even reversed by eating a whole-food, plant-based diet.

A plant-based diet supports your immune system since plants have essential nutrients that you cannot get from other foods. The vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants in plants help keep your cells healthy. A healthy immune system is essential for reducing your risk for infections and diseases because it can recognize and attack mutations in cells before they can progress to disease.

Plants contain essential nutrients that can reduce inflammation in your body. The same phytochemicals and antioxidants that can boost your immune system can also neutralize toxins from pollution, processed food, bacteria, and viruses.

Plants are high in fiber. Fiber is to a plant, what bones are to an animal. A plant-based diet improves your microbiome so you are better able to absorb the nutrients from food that support your immune system and reduce inflammation.

You may be thinking, “Okay, I can see that plants are good but where do you get your protein?” Let’s address the elephant in the room by giving you an analogy. Years ago, before it was popular, Jeanne and I home schooled our children. People would ask me, “What about socialization?” May standard was response was, “I never thought about that (tongue in cheek).” Socialization was one of the primary reasons why we home schooled our children (see Proverbs 13:20).

A healthy diet of plants, beans, legumes, and nuts will give you plenty of protein. Dr. Michael Greger makes this statement, “But 97% of Americans get enough protein. There is a nutrient, though, for which 97% of Americans are deficient. That nutrient is fiber. Less than 3% of Americans get even the recommended minimum adequate intake of fiber.”

You may be thinking, “But this is too confusing, there are so many diet plans – keto, paleo, Atkins, South beach, North beach, etc.” I have found the website NutritionFacts.org a wealth of information. This website has no corporate sponsorship, they’re not selling anything, they provide you with evidence based nutrition information. In summary here are some of the advantages of a whole-food, plant-based diet:

Lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar
Prevent or reverse heart disease
Prevent and reverse obesity
Lower risk of cancer and diabetes
Improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Improve overall quality of life

I have been on a whole-food, plant-based diet now for about six months and I feel great. I also want to thank my good friends, Phil and Laura, and Mike and Carolyn, who have modeled the way and encouraged me in my new eating habits. To borrow a phrase from Michael Greger, I share these thoughts with you, my faithful blog readers, as a labor of love, and as a tribute to my beloved wife who has joined me on this journey.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

Follow me on twitter:  rickhiggins5