Avoid the Extremes of Diet Reform

Although it is important to resolutely abstain from all the foods that are harmful to our body, what is more important is that when you start living on a vegetarian diet, you should get enough nutrition, even more than you received when you ate meat. Vegetarians must be careful to get enough fat and calcium; therefore, laver, sea lettuce, brown seaweed, and kelp are all very good sources of calcium. We should not suffer from malnutrition because we are not eating meat. With the money we normally spend on meat and fish, we can buy peanuts, sesame seeds, perilla seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts, etc., and we can get more than enough nutrition from eating such nuts. We should not roast sesame seeds and perilla seeds too long. Even vegetable oil congeals when used too long for roasting or frying. Hardens on the walls of our blood vessels and hinders the flow of blood, causing arteriosclerosis. As much as possible, it is better to eat them raw, but if you would like to roast them, roast them lightly. If we simply eat the foods heaven has given us, we should not have to worry about falling ill. In addition, vegetables grown with fertilizers have different nutritional values than vegetables grown without them. Therefore, it is not enough to merely explain this from a nutritional standpoint.

A benefit of living in the countryside is that you can carry a hoe to the mountains and shop for all different kinds of wild roots, herbs, and greens before lunch. It is so nice to see the table full of what you have brought from the mountains; it is far better than the ginseng now sold in markets. These days, they must spray the leaves of the ginseng with layer after layer of agricultural chemicals to the point they become white, and so many do nut call it ginseng but instead “poisonous ginseng.” However, bellflower roots, Codonopis lanceolata, and other small rooted grass are very similar to wild ginseng. Because heaven has grown them, they are very fresh. In addition, all the seasonal fruits like persimmons, chestnuts, pears, peaches, strawberries, grapes, apricots, oranges, as well “as vege-fruits” such as watermelons, (like honeydew and cantaloupe), cucumber, and tomatoes are so delicious and fresh that when we eat them, our blood becomes clean and our complexion looks healthy. We can look beautiful without applying any make-up. When eating fruits and vegetables, we should make a clear distinction between them. Otherwise, the wrong combination of eating fruits with vegetables will make our head feel heavy and we cannot be perfectly healthy. When planning our menu, we should either eat bread with fruits or rice with vegetables, or else have vegetables in the morning, something else for lunch, and fruits for suffer, so that our menus do not overlap. In addition, “vege-fruits” like melons, watermelons, cucumber, and tomatoes can be considered neutral and may be eaten with either vegetables or fruits.

Our nutrition should be well balanced, and our menu simple, with just two, or three to four dishes. If we eat five to six different dishes or too much all a once, our brain becomes confused. The simpler our foods are, the clearer our head will be. Those who eat too many different kinds of foods at once in order to balance their nutrition will confuse their brain. If we eat three to four different dishes for breakfast, other kinds of fruits at lunch, and then something else for suffer, even if we just eat three different kinds of foods three meals a day, our nutrition is well balanced since we are eating nine different kinds of food. When invited over to someone else’s house, it is better to eat just a few dishes that have been prepared. Our mind becomes confused when we take in too many different kinds of food at the same time. This is why people are so complicated these days. Because the truth is simple, only those who are simple-minded understand it.

Taking a stroll after your meal is the best digestive. In addition, do some light work. Going into the mountains and fields and engaging in moderate labor is the first blessing of health. Work not only keeps us healthy, but also spiritually and mentally healthy. Those who confine themselves to reading books and doing research in a room without any physical labor will soon upset their physical, mental, spiritual and character equilibrium. We should eat a well balanced diet, sleep well, and work deligently. This is the life of a saint. Heaven dislikes lazy people the most. Even God runs the sun, the earth, the moon, and all the galaxies everyday, and earnestly looks after all His creatures and each one of His children. Let us also try to work faithfully.

“Do you see a man who exceeds in his work? He will stand before kings, he will not stand before unknown men.” (Prov. 22:29)