Does that sound strange? Does the Lord really tell us how to eat? Can we even learn that from scripture? Yes, we can! But what is the Bible Diet?
I set out on mission years ago to share the treasure of health information buried in the pages of Scripture. Every day, God revealed more and more Treasures of Healthy Living.
While there’s no specific meal plan the Lord sets out for us to follow, exploring His Word helps us learn how to eat for health.
Are you tired of a new diet every 6 months? The various options can be overwhelming:
- Keto
- Paleo
- Low-Fat
- Calorie-Counting
- Mediterranean
- Whole30
- Atkins
- THM
- South Beach
We could go on and on. There’s actually a website with a list of 100 diets. How confusing is all that? We’d do untold damage to our bodies if we tried them all.
Instead, we can turn to the Bible to learn simple principles of healthy eating.
And thus, a diet based on scripture.
First and foremost, the Bible Diet is a health plan given to us from God that delivers all necessary nutrients we need to live the most abundant life possible.
What is the best medicine for continued health benefits? FOOD!
What is the most confusing topic today? FOOD!
Yet, this biblical diet is different. It helps us make clear decisions on what, and how to eat.
Doesn’t that sound refreshing?
A Biblical Example
Olive oil is a great example of a powerful biblical food. It’s seen throughout Scripture and is well known as a healthy food today.
In Israel, the first pressing of olives gave the purest, most health promoting oil possible. It’s the key to prevention and healing. This is still true today.
No wonder God included so much about this little fruit in His Word.
Yet, there are many fake and faulty olive oils on the market. As with lots of other foods on grocery store shelves, many have added ingredients not labeled. Some are processed with heat and chemical solvents.
This is where food, even those good for us, becomes confusing. What existed for thousands of years in natural forms, we ‘ve managed to adulterate and corrupt in the last hundred or so years.
The same is true of God’s Word – and the Bible-inspired Diet.
Let’s take God’s Word for its full value and not let man change it or try to make it say something it doesn’t.
The biblical diet starts with 3 simple principles. These are the same principles that helped me lose 60 pounds and, even better than that, continue to help me enjoy life more every day.
When I became healthier, lost extra weight, and experienced the benefits of eating for health, I enjoyed being a mom and wife more. And now I have loads of energy to relish being a grandma.
Even if your goal is just to lose weight, the exponential benefits will amaze you. Your whole life will be more enriched. You'll discover your mindset will be more jovial. And your friends will wonder what happened.
3 Principles of The Bible Diet
What are those life-changing principles? I’m excited to share!
# 1 – Eat the Food God Created for You
Every food God called good for us is better than anything man can imitate.
The good news about food: God provided a bountiful supply of delicious foods. A brief glance around the world reveals the vast array of foods. A deeper look confirms an abundance of options.
Here are the boundaries for beneficial foods. Dr. Rex Russell wrote these words many years ago, but they are timeless.
- When the Designer calls an item food. Refer to Genesis 1:29 – seed-bearing plants and trees with fruit.
- When God brings items to His people as a gift. See Ezekiel 16:19 - fine flour, olive oil, & honey.
- If Jesus ate or served an item. See Matthew 15:36 - loaves of bread & fish.
Interested in knowing what foods are mentioned in the Bible? Find the full list of the foods in Scripture here to help you build a complete grocery list.
# 2 Eat the Foods as Close to His Design as Possible
Whenever God’s food is altered, it diminishes the goodness He’s infused in them.
Ignorance around food is a plague in our world. Especially in the church. Too often, food is seen as something to enjoy for its own sake, not for the sake of fueling our temples in the best way possible.
Romans 1:22 says, “...although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
This is so true when it comes to food today!
We also see this truth in Proverbs 16:25. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.”
As much as possible, stepping outside the media and google doctors, look to God’s Word to find the foods that build strength and health.
When God’s foods are altered – such as GMO, pesticides that are still on the foods when we eat them, adding additives to processed foods – all these elements cause harm.
So, while we clean, cut, and cook food, that’s not the type of altering we’re talking about. Here, we’re talking about processing and modifying foods from their original state in ways such as those listed above.
When we stay as close to natural as possible with our food, our taste buds and our bodies will rejoice!
# 3 Don’t Let Any Drink or Food Become Your God
No one can serve two masters. This means when food is the most important part of your day, it’s become an idol or false god.
When you can’t stop eating or stop eating a certain food – it’s serving as a god.
When we crave food more than we crave time with the Lord, it’s become a god.
Food has an important place in life, but shouldn’t hold a place of top priority. This is a hard concept, even within the Church, but an essential one.
Food is ingrained in almost every element of life. But, the hold it often has on us can be broken. The powerful tools of prayer and fasting help us break these strongholds.
The Bible Diet is applying these three principles – the same principles that I have been teaching in churches, as a coach, and online since 2005 – because they work.
These are the same principles used in our BNA Coaching. When these principles are applied, health changes happen.
Eating according to the Bible diet, according to the principles above, leads to improved health: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, AND physically!
Bible-Based Diet Plan
I remember in one of my early classes of the Treasures of Healthy Living Bible Study.
A family of 4 came every week for 12 weeks. They had never heard that God provides what we need to live our healthiest life. They were all overweight and suffered from depression and numerous health challenges, despite that the parents were only in their 30’s.
At the end of the Treasures of Healthy Living Bible study program, they had lost collectively over 65 pounds!
In that same class a woman who had never memorized a chapter in the Bible – not even one verse – stood up and spoke God’s Word – fully memorized.
Another testimony was another lady who learned these principles and put them in practice and for the first time was healthy enough to go on a mission trip.
So let me ask: Does God’s Word speak to us in the area of eating?
Most certainly!
Does God care about our health and what we eat?
Most definitely!
There are numerous verses that directly discuss food and eating, but there are also many biblical principles we can apply to our health and eating. Such as:
Exodus 23:2 “...do not follow the crowd in doing wrong….”
3 John 11 “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but what is good…”
God loves you with an everlasting love.
- Investigate what the Bible says about food.
- Apply what the Bible says about food.
- Share what the Bible says - i.e. the Bible Diet - with everyone you know.
Bible-Based Diet Resources
I have resources that make this easy for you!
The Treasures of Healthy Living Bible study lays it all out in an easy to understand and apply format. There’s also a DVD series to help teach this in your churches and in homes.
The 40-day Transformation gives you the tools to break free from man’s lies and stronghold in your health physically and spiritually.
Our BNA Coaching is by far the most amazing way to achieve a complete health transformation. In this coaching forum, everyone gets coaching from our team: Annette Reeder, Rhonda Carroll with meal prepping, and also Carol Graham, our prayer coach.
I want you to succeed in living the healthiest life possible and have made it my mission to arm you with all the resources and support necessary to do so!
2 Reasons to Start the Bible Diet
If you’re here reading this, I’m guessing you’re ready to be healthy. Or healthier.
A desire to take care of our temple is the first reason to start the Bible Diet.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? -1 Corinthians 3:16
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself
should be disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:27
Reason #1 - Health
God created health. He has given us an abundance of tools and resources to improve and maintain our health.
Gluttony is addressed multiple times in scripture. Not in a flattering way. This isn’t because God wants to deprive us of good things (food pleasing to our emotions), but because He wants better for us!
God made us for health. Eating unhealthy items or overeating will never deliver optimal health. Processed foods lead us to the seven dwarfs of Snow White: Grouchy, Grumpy, Doopey, Sneezy, Sleepy - you get the picture.
2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus ourLord.
Multiplied means through knowledge of God. This includes our health. The more we learn about His plan - which we have titled The Bible Diet the more we see His hand in our lives. Even our health!
Reason #2 - Glorifying God
Did you know that even in our eating and drinking we can glorify the Lord?
We see this truth in 1 Corinthians 10:31.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
If living a lifestyle of gluttony can drag us down and distract us from the Lord, then recognizing food as a gift from God and taking care of our bodies by eating well can help us draw closer to Him and bring Him more glory.
Self-control is a godly character trait.
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 1 Corinthians 9:25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
And my favorite verse for this topic:
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation. 2 Peter 2:9
As we exhibit self-control by eating the things God called food, eating them as close to the way God made them, and not letting any food become an idol, we glorify God.
When we are set apart from the world in order to bring praise to the Lord, we glorify Him.
And when we take joy in the gifts He’s given us, we glorify Him.
Nothing we do, say, or think in this life is separate from our relationship with the Lord. He has given us everything and we can use everything to love, serve, and honor Him.
Especially our eating.
3 Steps to Start the Bible Diet
So how should you start the Bible diet? There are 3 steps you can take:
Step 1 - Awareness
In Ephesians 2:10 we’re told that “...we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Walking in the way God has prepared for us requires awareness of who we are and why we were created. Since God created us for good, He also created us to enjoy his foods as close to His design as possible.
Without awareness of who you are and why you are here the concept of eating according to the Bible will quickly be replaced with the newest diet on the market and 2 years from now you’ll still be searching for answers.
God built within us the desire to know who we are and why we are here.
Have you felt that desire? Maybe questioned directly or indirectly what on earth you’re on earth for.
God placed that question in you because He loves you and has a great purpose for your life!
Too often, we move through life remotely and like we’re on autopilot. Rarely do we stop and examine what we’re doing. And what we were made to do.
You’re at the first step! You want something different. The desire for health is strong and you’re ready to make real change.
Pausing to acknowledge that desire and seeking the Lord’s purposes for you is the step one of starting and succeeding in the Bible diet.
Step 2 - Believe
Matthew 19:26 records Jesus telling us that “with God all things are possible.”
Do you believe that? Is your faith placed in the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of the universe and in His power?
We can’t believe in just anything. Definitely, we won’t find consistent, long-term success if we believe in just ourselves. We’re imperfect and will always fail at some point or other.
God never fails and will strengthen us to do what He’s called us to do when we believe in and rely on Him.
How do we know God desires us to be healthy? He loves us and wants the best for us. We can’t experience the best He has to offer if we live unhealthy, overweight, and not taking care of our temples.
Check out this video about the 5 evidences of God's love for you!
Scripture is full of God’s promises and truths of how much He desires us to live this life abundantly, even in the area of our health.
I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
Lord, my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:17
All healing comes from the Lord. Man cannot heal. Medicine cannot heal. Surgery cannot heal. God works through many of these ways. There’s a need for each of these remedies these days.
Yet, ultimately He created our bodies to heal.
Believe God Heals
When we learn to believe God is the one who heals, we realize looking to Him for answers to weight and food is spiritually correct.
Also our personal beliefs about who we are and how we lose weight can either be a lie or a truth.
In the 40 Day Transformation this is our first step: identifying truths and lies.
We start with believing God loves us.
We then check our beliefs that we can lose weight, we can be healthy, we can live abundantly.
Any belief in contrast to that is a lie. Lies keep us yo-yo dieting. Lies keep us as a slave.
Beliefs in the truth - we are loved, we are able to lose weight, we are able to be set free - are the TRUE freedom offered only by Christ alone.
Step 3 - Commit
If you look at the full timeline of your life compared to the full timeline of history, you’ll realize the time spent on this earth is very short.
We have forever to enjoy the presence of God. Thousands of years times thousands of years. It’s hard to wrap our brains around, but true.
When we have an eternal perspective, we better understand how temporary the things of this world are. Including food.
Also, as we discipline our lives while on earth, our ability to experience more of God here grows exponentially.
We benefit greatly from discipline and self-control in various areas - time, money, eating, activities, work, and more!
Everything is a gift from the Lord. If we commit to viewing everything, including food, as a gift from Him to equip us to live the life He gave, we’ll be faithful and steadfast in this life.
Planning for Success - How to Start the Bible Diet
Get yourself prepared!
A great resource to help you is my brand new book Hunger Satisfied Journal. It has everything you need to set yourself up for success.
Follow these three steps to start:
1. Be Aware - take stock of your eating patterns
2. Believe - put your faith in the Lord and know that anything is possible in Him
3. Commit – determine that this is a lifetime you want to enjoy; no more days of regret
When these 3 elements are in place, you’re set free mentally and spiritually to see your health improve and armed for life-long weight loss.
4 Steps to Succeed in the Bible Diet
Every good plan has a place to start and resources to get you to the finish line.
Of course, there’s no finish line on the Bible Diet like we’re used to. It’s not a crash diet for two weeks or two months or even until you’ve obtained your goal weight.
The Bible Diet is life to the fullest. A way of eating and living for health. Who wouldn’t want to do that for a lifetime?
I want health today, tomorrow, and the rest of my days.
Do you?
The Bible Diet equips us for health - mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Lifestyle changes are hard. Breaking habits - especially lifelong habits - is difficult.
However, you can do it! By following these steps and reminding yourself of these truths, new habits will form which create a new way of living.
A healthy way of living.
Step 1 - Mark your Bible
The logical place to begin with the Bible Diet is in the Word.
That’s where I began searching for what true health is. I dug into scripture and marked every single verse that related to food, the body, or eating.
The number of references amazed me! I bet you'll be amazed, too.
There are a couple ways to do this. As you read scripture, use a specific colored highlighter or symbol (I used a green star) to mark these passages.
As you read the Bible in future years, I’m sure those markings will bless you as much as they have me.
These markings, on almost every page of my Bible, are reminders of why this matters to God that I set myself apart and achieve the health to fulfill the mission He’s given me.
Another tool is an online Bible search website like BibleGateway. Look up words like food, stomach, drink, eat, and glutton. Then search for specific food items like figs, honey, meat, bread, grapes, pomegranates, etc.
I have lots of videos and posts about biblical foods, including this one about the 7 Foods of the Promised Land.
Other words to consider are fasting, fast, clean, and unclean.
As you search, copy the scriptures relating to food, eating, and health in a special notebook. You’ll have no problem filling it up!
Step 2 - Journal
Journaling is powerful because it forces us to stop and take note of what’s going on in our life, heart, and mind.
It’s always a powerful way to reinforce truths found in God’s Word.
Again, the Hunger Satisfied Journal is a great tool to use. You can purchase it or as a part of the 7 step course or the 40 day transformation course, both of which you can access through the Biblical Nutritionist Academy.
When journaling is used well, complete healing in the troublesome areas of life result.
Step 3 - Stock up on Healthy Food
Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy foods.
Clean out the junk. It’s hard to throw away food, but better to fill the trash can than fill you with trash.
I have a pastor friend who says, “If it gets near you, it’ll get in you.”
Make a new grocery list with all foods that fit the 3 principles. Don’t bring home foods that are toxic to your success! Don’t invite temptations into your safe place: your home.
Instead, set yourself up for success!
Step 4 - Stay Set Apart
Don’t look to the latest diet and try to add it to your plan. Stay committed to this way of eating. It works and is a blessing to you and all those around you.
Within days, you should experience more energy, less volatile emotions, and better focus.
Set yourself apart. Pray for God’s strength and provision to stay the course. Get an accountability partner.
Live and eat for the glory of the Lord.
God’s Word is true and when we follow His Word in every area of life, even our eating, He fulfills His promises.
We can’t experience the abundant life He came to give us if we’re drowning in food excess or chemical-laced or genetically-modified foods. These things harm us!
God’s food provisions shore us up and help our bodies heal.
Watch this video where I discuss these 3 steps on how to start the Bible diet and succeed in it!
Abundant Living with the Bible Diet
So, start with the mental shift: awareness, belief, commitment.
Then add the action steps: – mark your Bible, journal, stock up on healthy food, and stay set apart.
You won’t be sorry to start this journey and will rejoice with every step of success.
Are you planning to start the Bible Diet? I’d love to know so I can pray for your success and share lots of helpful tools with you.
There’s no time like right now to start the Bible Diet and live the healthiest, most abundant life you can possibly live on this earth.
Thank you for getting to the basics for eating the way God planned. I’m a Christian widow with Acute Myeloid Leukemia & my goal is to stay cancer free & be healthy. I’ve been in remission for 8 months. I can’t afford to buy your resources on my limited fixed income. Do you have any free resources or suggests books I could find at a library?