The very good foods

The very good foods are mostly to be found in Genesis, chapter 1.

The Bible is not a scientific textbook but a revelation of God in the world; and it His declared will that we should in body, mind and soul be strong and healthy^[1]. So He has given us these "very good" foods; but you won't find mushrooms, probiotics and a heap of other excellent nosh listed.

Behold I have given you these foods.

• Every plant yielding seed.
• Every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
  
• And to every beast.
• And to every bird of the air.
• Every green plant for food.

And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was "very good."

Every plant yielding seed

From the Very Good pantry we have a multitude of foods yielding seed; grains, cucurbits and legumes. They contain many of the important nutrients without which healthy life of body, mind and soul cannot continue; B-vitamins, beta carotene and protein for example.

Vitamin A is fundamentally important for our wellness; a deficiency is rife in Africa. In SA for example, scientists estimate that 42 children die every single day because their meals do not deliver this essential nutrient. Changing from white to yellow maizemeal would change all of that.

• What is yellow maize good for?

Legumes like the broad beans shown below are a rich source of protein. Kwashiorkor is a disease caused by a chronic deficiency of essential amino acids.

• How to plant broad beans

Butternut and wheat are excellent sources of whole carbs, fibre and important vitamins for example.

• Beta-carotene is also called vitamin A
  

Every tree with seed in its fruit

From the Very Good pantry we also have fruit trees; citrus, avocado and mulberries for example. They are loaded with vitamins, important fats and the fibre that our colons are utterly dependent on; only 5% of those eating typical grocery store food are getting the required daily allowance.

• How to get more fibre

Fats remain controversial in the healthy dietary regimen; but all scientists are in agreement that those from fruit are best. Avocados and olives are two examples.

• Health benefits of avocado fat

Some of those nuts and seeds shown below are from trees, others from plants. They are the richest source of lignans, the nutrient that will halve the prevalence of breast and prostate cancer; if we eat them regularly.

• Lignans protect the prostate gland
  

Pumpkin seeds also lower blood glucose by a massive 65%.

Every beast

There are cattle, sheep and pigs for more than adequate protein; animal fat remains controversial.

The great debate remains whether organic, grass-fed red meat and dairy products would also have such a deleterious effect on our wellbeing. Are we not all doubtful that cattle should be restrained in feedlots, pigs in sties and hens in cages?

Birds of the air

This is not a debate about the virtues and demerits of vegan principles. For much of the world the birds of the air provide us with very good food; meat and eggs.

Eggs are the only common source of vitamin B12; a deficiency causes certain death from pernicious anaemia.

Every green plant

The profusion of green plants provide food for humans, all animals and the birds of the air; and of course for the creatures of the oceans too. They contain many specialised phytonutrients like lutein; without this substance from kale and spinach for example we would go blind. There are thousands of them, mostly unknown.

It is estimated that five million Americans are blind because they stubbornly won't eat their greens; many more are partially sighted.

• Lutein macular degeneration
  

Green plants are also the source of minerals and many vitamins which sustain life. Potassium for example is commonly deficient in the diet; with devastating consequences for blood pressure.

• Salt versus potassium blood pressure debate
  

Green herbs also contain many important nutrients. The sweet basil shown above is a rich source of eugenol, a powerful anti-inflammatory which also blocks the pathway that leads to the bone destruction of osteoporosis.

• Herbs eugenol oil
  

The Fall of mankind

The story of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden gives us an allegory of the fall of man; the dark side of human nature.

Food remains fallen; nowhere is it more apparent than in the ultraprocessed products sold in supermarkets^[2]. Nutrient-rich parts of grains are extracted, textured vegetable proteins are synthesised from legumes and noxious chemicals are added; artificial flavouring, preservatives and emulsifiers for example.

• What is emulsifier in food?
  

Three-quarters of the food in the typical grocery store is ultraprocessed; that's where the profit is.

The Devil's Pantry

So there are the "very good" foods and there are their fake counterparts from the Devil's Pantry; those designed to make humans ill, put them in great pain and cut short their lives. But we remains oblivious of the wiles of Screwtape and Wormwood as portrayed in C.S. Lewis' classic book.

The dogs and our chickens have to be very hungry before they will eat white bread; humans are less fussy.

We delight in cake flour, sugar and cherries soaked in the now banned red dye; it was on the okay list of the FDA for decades. I wonder how many people it poisoned.

Much of the "food" on supermarket shelves is ultra-processed. It comes straight from the Devil's Pantry; but the FDA reckons it's okay. It comes as no surprise to scientists that cancer, cardiovascular conditions and the neurodegenerative diseases are proliferating.

• The 10-year diabetes rule
  

The very good foods

The very good foods are to be contrasted with those from the Devil's Pantry; those that make us constantly sick, sore and cut short our lives.

But as a Christian community we have to face the fact that even within the church ultra-refined flour, sugar and super maizemeal have an entrenched place. Only the grace of God is going to open our eyes to what Devil's Pantry food is doing to us; obesity, hypertension and the complications of diabetes just to begin with.

• What is health span?
  

A return to true wholegrain bread would dramatically improve our health; we would lose weight, have much less heart disease because of the vitamin E and regain the protection against cancer from important phytonutrients like the lignans.

• Are whole grains good for breast cancer patients?

In any case the very good foods taste so much better; flavour-enhancers are a poor shadow of the natural substances that are inevitably also extracted by ultra processing.

Once you have tasted a slice of the sourdough loaf above you'll never go back to commercial bread. Those enjoying the very good foods have little fear of butter; they are most unlikely to have a cholesterol problem.

• Easy sourdough bread recipe

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