The Eight Laws of Health

When Ellen White wrote about the health message she was way ahead of her time.

Here are the eight health laws:

  1. Nutrition
  2. Exercise
  3. Water
  4. Sunshine
  5. Temperance
  6. Air
  7. Rest
  8. Trust in God

The acronym for this is "N.E.W. S.T.A.R.T.".

I've just added some random comments for each section.

Holistic Approach

Most people think that their well-being is "A + B + C", but in reality it's more like "A * B * C".

For example. You can drink all the water you want, but if your diet is bad, your overall result will still be bad.

So it's best to address all areas of your life at the same time.

Nutrition

Let's say you have a food intolerance for sugar (which is really quite common), and your diet is high in sugar (again, this is very common). Your body will attack the sugar, and in the process will destroy things like vitamins and nutrients. In doing so, you might disrupt the production of serotonin which regulates mood (think depression). Or it might disrupt the production of melatonin which regulates sleep.

So you can see that with a poor diet you could feel utterly miserable (depressed and tired).

We can therefore say "food = mood".

Exercise

Walking is great (during a lunch break, or after work). A beach walk is even better.

We are simply not designed to sit behind a computer all day.

Motion = emotion.

Water

Variety is good.

What I mean by that is to add a bit of flavour to your water, e.g. lemon juice or lime juice. You can find both of those at your supermarket for about $2 each. Made a huge difference to me. I enjoy drinking water now.

Sunshine

Spend some time outside, and get some vitamin D.

Temperance

Ellen White suggests about 2-3 meals per day, with 5-6 hours in-between meals (your digestive system really needs a rest in-between meals).

The most important meal is breakfast, then lunch, and then dinner (small meal really).

Moderation is important, e.g. decide in advance how much to eat. Your stomach is a lot smaller than you might think.

Temperance is also a form of discipline which is a transferrable skill. Resist the flesh, and you will be spiritually stronger in the long run.

Air

Sea air is especially good. It contains negative ions which help with the absorption of oxygen, and also balances serotonin levels (mood).

Rest

We need the Sabbath day of rest - both physically, and spiritually.

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.
- Mark 2:27 (KJV)

It's also important to wind down in the evenings, etc.

Trust in God

Very important.

Trusting God will help with stress and anxiety.

Reading the Bible will give peace.

Summary

I would recommend doing some brainstorming on this, e.g. write down on a bit of paper "What can I do to improve my health?", and just write down everything your brain comes up with.

Check out this website for a more detailed study about a Bible based diet.