Chapter 62—Eating to Live
God Appointed the Inclinations and Appetites—Our natural
inclinations and appetites ... were divinely appointed, and when given
to man, were pure and holy. It was God’s design that reason should
rule the appetites, and that they should minister to our happiness. And
when they are regulated and controlled by a sanctified reason, they are
holiness unto the Lord
A Subject of Divine Solicitude—The education of the Israelites
included all their habits of life. Everything that concerned their well-
being was the subject of divine solicitude and came within the province
of divine law. Even in providing their food, God sought their highest
good. The manna with which He fed them in the wilderness was of
a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral strength.... Notwith-
standing the hardships of their wilderness life, there was not a feeble
one in all their tribes
Built From the Food We Eat—Our bodies are built up from the
food we eat. There is a constant breaking down of the tissues of
the body; every movement of every organ involves waste, and this
waste is repaired from our food. Each organ of the body requires its
share of nutrition. The brain must be supplied with its portion; the
bones, muscles, and nerves demand theirs. It is a wonderful process
that transforms the food into blood and uses this blood to build up
the varied parts of the body; but this process is going on continually,
supplying with life and strength each nerve, muscle, and tissue
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Begin With Correct Infant Feeding—The importance of training
children to right dietetic habits can hardly be overestimated. The little
ones need to learn that they eat to live, not live to eat. The training
should begin with the infant in its mother’s arms. The child should
be given food only at regular intervals, and less frequently as it grows
older. It should not be given sweets, or the food of older persons,
1
Temperance, 12
.
2
Education, 38
.
3
The Ministry of Healing, 295
.
289