White, Ellen Gould Harmon, and James White. Counsels on Diet and Foods.

Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946: 101-102. Print.

Overeating has many physical effects that are detrimental to one's health. Ellen
G. White writes that overeating causes digestive organs to become weakened
and can lead to various diseases. She makes it clear that overeating will cause
one's life to shorten considerably mainly because the stomach is working in
excess. This goes against the natural plan that God has for the human body to
work thus shortening one's lifespan. White writes that the symptoms of
overeating include headache, indigestion, and stomach aches. White also
provides a short statement of solution regarding overeating and writes that
rather than eating more physical food, one should seek after spiritual food.
Overeating is a serious problem albeit common. Many do not realize that they
are overeating because they are able to maintain weight. However, Ellen G.
White shows the various symptoms of overeating and how it effects one's
lifestyle and health. Thus, White shows the significance and dangers of
overeating. One should not belittle overeating simply because they maintain
their weight but realize that overeating is a serious issue that one should resolve
in order to maintain their body and health. White also states the significance of
seeking spiritual food over physical food which is an important element that one
should implement in their daily lives. Thus spiritual food is a vital factor in
preventing overeating.
White, Ellen Gould Harmon, and James White. Counsels on Diet and Foods.
Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946: 109-110 Print.
Knowledge in food combination is another important element in maintaining
one's health. Ellen G. White writes that knowledge in food combination is to be
discerned as wisdom from God. She also writes that there should not be too
much variety in a meal and limits to three of four dishes per meal. White says
that food should be simple yet pleasant enough to satisfy appetite. If it goes
beyond two or three types of food per meal, White says that it will place too
much stress on the stomach. Once again she makes it clear that overindulgence
of appetite may result in diseases and that too great of a variety causes
fermentation which results in blood contamination. White also writes that
overeating is common when there is too many variety of food in a meal which
results in indigestion. Indigestion is a serious problem because it places
unneeded stress upon the stomach.
In this excerpt from Counsels on Diet and Foods, White makes it clear that one
should limit the amount of variety of food per meal. This is because too much
variety may cause one to overeat which places unneeded stress on the
stomach. Thus White shows that overeating can be prevented by limiting the
variety and types of food in a meal. An interesting point that White makes is that

limiting the variety of food does not mean making the food less appealing.
White says that while limiting the variety of food is important, food should still
be appealing and satisfying. Another reason for limiting variety of food is that
too many combination of foods may cause fermentation which contaminates the
blood. This results in injuring the body and preventing the body to function
properly. Thus, limiting the variety of food is an important element in
maintaining one's health and can also prevent other factors such as overeating.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon, and James White. Counsels on Diet and Foods.
Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946: 131. Print.
Ellen G. White writes that overeating is a common but serious sin. White shows
that when eating too much food, the human system is heavily burdened. This
results in shortening of life and decreasing vitality. White makes it clear that
overeating is part of Satan's plan and goes against the principles of God. By
overeating, one spends unnecessary energy trying to digest excess food. White
also mentions that the body is a temple of God thus we should maintain our
body. However, overeating is essentially defiling the temple of God because it
becomes weakened and crippled.
The spiritual implication of overeating is clearly shown by Ellen G. White. White
shows that our body is a temple of God alluding to the Bible verse, 1 Corinthians
6:19 which says, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own."
Thus it is important that we maintain our body because we want to keep it in a
pristine condition for God. However, by overeating, we go against this principle
and becomes a sin because overeating is Satan's plan of destruction.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon, and James White. Counsels on Health. Washington:
Ellen G. White Publications, 1957: 120-121. Print.
Another aspect on health that Ellen G. White emphasizes is eating slowly because it
secures healthy digestion. By eating slowly, White says that one can avoid
indigestions. By avoiding indigestion, one can continue on with his daily works and
service for God. Also, for those that have little time to eat, White tells them to
simply eat less while eating slowly. White continually emphasizes that eating slowly
is important in all aspects when consuming meals even when you have little time.
The reason why White emphasizes in eating slowly is because it allows time for
digestive fluids to do its work. By eating fast, the digestive fluid are unable to aid in
digestive processes and will burden the stomach in digestion. White also connects
eating slowly to temperance. Temperance is a vital principle in many of the health
messages of Ellen G. White and she says it is important to practice temperance in
eating. Thus slowly eating will allow one to preserve their health and maintain their
body.

White detailed work on health is shown where even the small details such as slowly
eating is heavily emphasized in this excerpt. White places great importance in
eating slowly and relates it with temperance of mind because often, people tend to
rush things especially meals which may cause problems in the future. The reason
White places so much emphasis on health is because health directly correlates with
ones ability to perform. In order to efficiently perform Gods duties and plan, one
needs to be healthy, otherwise they inhibit their ability to work at their fullest
potential. In Romans 12:1, it says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in
view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
Godthis is your true and proper worship. We do not want to present our body to
God marred and broken, but present a body that is well maintained and able to work
at its best for God. Thus, Ellen G. White places great importance on health and is
shown through a simple concept such as eating slowly.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon, and James White. Counsels on Diet and Foods.
Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946: 137-138. Print.