Daniel's Meatless Wellness

Although we all know the Bible story from Daniel 1 about four young noblemen of Judah who were taken as captives to Babylon, this discussion will be more meaningful if you will re-read the chapter now and keep it open for reference. We will see that the four were enrolled in the royal university to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Initially, they were provided choice food and fine wine from the king’s own select supply, but Daniel convinced his caretaker to let them have vegetables and water instead. The immediate results were so apparent that the caretaker consented to let them continue with vegetables and water instead of meat and wine through the entire course of study.

At the end of the three year program, the four Hebrew youths looked better and scored higher than any of their classmates. Later chapters of the book of Daniel tell of the long and fruitful service that Daniel provided to Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, continuing until the reign of Cyrus, a span of service of about 60 years. Daniel not only was first in his class, he also outlasted all the competition.

Let’s focus our attention on the results achieved by Daniel and his companions, and on the reason for those results. The facts are straightforward: the young men ate vegetables and drank water rather than eating the king’s choice food and drinking his fine wine. What is not as clear is why they proved superior to all the rest of the class when final exam time came. A couple of explanations are possible: it was miraculous, a gift from God to reward them for their single-minded faithfulness; and, it was the natural consequence of maintaining purity by avoiding the toxicity of rich food and alcohol. I can not solve that dilemma, but let us suppose that at least to some degree, the latter was a factor. That is that their choice of a vegetarian diet enabled them to perform at a higher level. As later events in the life of Daniel make very clear, divine power was at work in his life to enable him to interpret dreams and foretell coming events, so I will not assume that natural factors were the only influences at work here.

My conclusion is supported by the results of recent nutritional research. Just within the past few days, I learned of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study which showed that a single serving of particular plant-based dietary supplement significantly improved visual discrimination and working memory. The overwhelming body of evidence that I have reviewed over the past dozen years demonstrates that people who choose a diet consistent with that prior to the flood (in the days of Noah) tend to live longer and with far less disease. That is proof enough for me to give up what I don’t need so I can preserve my wellness and serve more of my remaining years as a good steward of the blessings the Lord has graciously given me. I invite you to join me.

The Lord Provides!

Myron Remington