God-Given Food by Celia Marie: https://amzn.to/3Z2XZXE
Chapter 3 in God-Given Food outlines what foods are God’s foods and gives a lot of ideas for meals.
God-Given foods are foods created by God for the purpose of nurturing His created people. (Animals and plants should also be nourished naturally, we will talk about that later). God-God-given foods are anything naturally known as food for thousands and thousands of years, except for maybe the last 100 or even 150 years, when “fake foods” started to appear. Simply eat natural meat, eggs, dairy, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts and grains. Try to buy organic. Some of these foods do need to be prepared properly for maximum digestibility and to neutralize anti-nutrients.
God-Given food does not include anything genetically modified, altered by pesticides, pasteurized, denatured by ultra-processing and added chemicals that were never present in God’s original creation.
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We should be treating ourselves with honor and respect, not only because God created us, but also because He cares for us and He lives in our hearts. 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” You are not your own. You can’t just eat whatever you want. You should not eat stuff that is not food and is actually bad for you; you are not honoring your body. You are making yourself sick.
One of the exceptions of a non-God-given food that has been around for more than 100 years: Sugar.
Sugar in very small amounts is okay for most people, in other words, will not cause any harm. Also, if you buy slow-processed, unrefined sugar that is better. Look for names like rapadura, sucanat (unrefined sugars from different countries) and unrefined coconut sugar. These sweeteners could be considered God-given; sugar as close to its natural state as possible. But please be aware! Do research on brands and make sure you’re buying good quality unrefined sugar. Companies are very sneaky and try to get you to buy their so called “raw sugar” when it is not what they say it is. Maple Syrup (organic, processed naturally) and raw honey (buy at farmer’s markets) are also good sweeteners to be used in moderation. However, we need to be mindful of the fact that so many of us are addicted to sugars and other ingredients in ultra-processed foods. One bite of something sugary or ultra-processed can lead to many more bites. Be very careful and use with caution and minimally.
In Support of Low-Carb/Keto:
When I was in late elementary school and early mid-school, I was considered a bit over-weight. I started running cross country and track in my teens and I lost the extra fat, grew a few inches and was super skinny for a while. I was not eating well (high school = McDonald’s and pizza.), but I was running it all off. In my late thirties, prior to starting my “only God-created foods” lifestyle (not without lapses), I was slowly and steadily gaining weight but most people who looked at me couldn’t tell that I was heavier than I should be. I was putting on weight around my stomach but not really anywhere else. For my height my weight was considered “normal.” After I learned about eating all natural foods I jumped in with both feet and made sudden changes in the way I was eating. But I fluctuated a lot on what I allowed myself to eat. I just love chocolate (milk chocolate, the “worst”) and there are several different brands that are my favorites. I love homemade buttered popcorn and I love bread. Even while I am eating God-given food, my weight will still go up and down depending on what I am allowing in my diet. I do get exercise and I take long walks, but my weight depends on what I am eating. I have done the keto diet many times during this journey, and I would lose weight while on it but would put it back on when I allowed myself to go off of it. Again, all of this was extra fat around my stomach and everyone I knew still thought I was skinny. I am not comparing my weight concerns to those of you who struggle with obesity.
So, here is a repeat of a story I posted a few days ago about my New Year’s resolutions to do the keto diet, with additional comments about weight loss. A few months ago, a chiropractor told me I was developing arthritis in my hips. I did some research online looking for some advice on food and arthritis that lined up with my own beliefs on what is healthy. I found this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpZHKGGCK-o. I liked everything that he was saying about what to eat and not to eat (specifically, sugar is the enemy. Stay away from sugar). A few days later I started eating the way he recommended, which was basically a keto diet. For some reason I was eating more animal products and very little vegetables (more like a carnivore diet). It just worked out that way, happy surprise, and I lost a lot of weight. I lost more than I had doing past keto diets. All the fat around my stomach melted away, making me pretty happy. I started thinking about the term “skinny fat” which I think applied to me. My weight was normal for my height, even when I weighed the most, but maybe my percentage of body fat was too high. I have also read that skinny fat can mean that you have too much fat around your organs even if you don’t look overweight.
Chapter 3 in God-Given Food discusses the benefits of a low-carb or keto diet. The only thing I would change on the list of foods to avoid is milk. I think you need to evaluate what is right for you in this instance. I drink a lot of milk while doing low-carb/keto and still lose weight. That is, milk in its natural state, unprocessed, organic and sourced from reputable farms. If you want to do a keto diet and include milk that is fine, but if you are not losing weight like you want to try eliminating milk.
Supplements:
I do take supplements. There are traditional foods the Weston A Price Foundation recommends that we include in our diet that I do not eat a lot of. This is based on Dr. Prices’ research on traditional diets, which people groups were healthiest and what they were eating. I do believe these recommended foods are healthy so I take supplements to make up for not including them.
I do not eat a lot of organ meat, so I take a liver supplement. I like these:
Perfect Supplements Dessiccated Grass Fed Beef Liver https://amzn.to/3NbfsL2
Optimal Carnivore Grass Fed Beef Liver https://amzn.to/3Z3omg7
There are also supplements that include a mix of organ meats:
Optimal Carnivore Grass Fed Beef Organ Complex: https://amzn.to/45zrjJ2
I take fermented cod liver oil. I like Green Pastures Butter Oil/Cod Liver Oil. It’s really difficult to take if it’s not flavored so I buy the cinnamon. Or you can buy it in capsules. Here is the link:
Cinnamon https://amzn.to/4qfXwO0
Capsules https://amzn.to/4jEkqfC
I also add collagen/gelatin to my milk/kefir drink every morning. I like this one:
Great Lakes Wellness Collagen: https://amzn.to/49dzzkj
I haven’t studied herbs and essential oils yet, but I do support using what you can to stay off drugs as much as possible.