That sounds like bad news.
True nutrition research is not agenda driven. It speaks the truth. Sometimes that truth is bad news. True nutrition research lets the science speak for itself. When Dr. Weston A. Price embarked on his research of people groups all over the globe to study their nutritional habits, nutrient density of their foods; he didn’t have anything to sell. He was simply curious. When other nutritional pioneers validated his findings with their own… when history verifies modern research… when full disclosure is given to all the results vs. just a chosen “cherry picked” segment… then true research is a powerful tool. Not to create truth, but to reveal it. As I was going through my nutritional therapy training, I was learning about real foods of real people groups all across the world over the generations of history.
True nutrition science revealed there is bad news…
#1. Nutrients can be naturally occurring, but be BOUND, or not bio-available for us to metabolize.
#2. Some nutrients needed to be CRUSHED in order to be released.
#3: Some nutrients have to undergo a CONVERSION process to be considered active and useful.
Why is this reality? Why the bad news in nutrition? The Bible tells us the answer. Genesis 3:17-19 “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. Till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The ground was cursed as a result of unbelief and disobedience. God had provided everything for life and pleasure in the Garden. His very presence walked with Adam and Eve. “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.” Genesis 2: 16-17 The serpent (inhabited by Lucifer – a fallen, disembodied spirit) deceived Adam and Eve to believe the lie that they needed more. That God was withholding something good from them. “You will not surely die… For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
The ground is the foundation of our physical life… the source of our food system. Not only did the curse of Genesis 3 affect the effort or toil of producing food; it also affected the food itself.
Plants became INCOMPLETE.
The greatest disappointment of Dr. Price and other nutritional pioneers was that they were not able to find any healthy people groups who were vegan. (plants only) They found a variety of healthy diets and some contained much higher amounts of plants, but every healthy people group used some sort of animal food. I believe the curse of the ground is the reason. What do I mean plants became incomplete? Plants are healthy. No doubt about it. But plants are NOT enough. They WERE originally… in God’s perfect world. And they will be again. But not now. Why? Because I believe the sin that caused the ground to be cursed resulted in the following nutritional realities highlighted in this slide from Module 1: Foundational Nutrition.
CAPTURED NUTRIENTS: I was learning that nutrients are bound or CAPTURED in plants (refer to The Seed) by enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid, and need to be set FREE or released in order to be utilized in the body. So grains (seeds of grasses) were fermented or soured or sprouted throughout history (we’ll take a closer look at grains in a later post). The process of freeing the nutrients from seeds enables those nutrients to provide their benefit.
CRUSHED NUTRIENTS: Many vegetables, like onion, garlic, leeks, all the cruciferous vegetables, their nutrition is more bio available CRUSHED. These vegetables are also easier to digest when lightly cooked. The cruciferous family of vegetables got its name because their flowers are in the shape of crosses. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.” Isaiah 53:5 speaks of Jesus. Food gives us a framework to know God. What food provides for us physically, Jesus – His person and work – provide for us spiritually. Nutrition science is part of the evidence!
CONVERTED NUTRIENTS: Science confirms plant versions of nutrients need to be CONVERTED. Plants contain the pre-cursors, but not the real thing. They contain inactive forms of nutrients that need to be converted to active forms.
Here are some common examples:
VITAMIN A: Carrots contain beta carotenes (the precursors to Vit. A). These need to be converted to Vit. A. Some people make this conversion easier than others, and it requires the help of other nutrients and enzymes. Whereas by comparison, salmon actually contains Vitamin A that needs no conversion.
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS: Flaxseed, chia seed, walnuts contain ALA – alpha linoleic acid – the inactive form that needs to be converted to the active form of EPA and DHA to be utilized by the body. Some people make this conversion easier than others, and it requires the help of other nutrients and enzymes. Whereas by comparison, wild caught cold water fish or grass fed beef contain the active forms EPA or DHA that need no conversion.
IRON: Leafy greens, some seeds and legumes contain the ferrous form of iron. It is well known in the nutrition world that “iron in its ferric form is poorly absorbed. But heme iron, found in meats, is the form of iron that is best absorbed.” – Staying Healthy with Nutrition, p 190.
Does this mean we abandon plant foods altogether? Of course not. But it does tell us that their nutrients are incomplete without ADDITIONAL EFFORT made to FREE, CRUSH and CONVERT them. God’s provision in animal foods and in the sprouting/fermentation of plants represent our need for DEATH to LIFE nutrition. From death comes life. It’s the reality of our food system and physical life, AND it’s the reality in our spirits and eternal life! You’ll notice a crown of thorns over the tilling tool in the image below.
You see, God covered our work with HIS.
In next week’s Food Faith Friday video on our FACEBOOK PAGE and E! Journal post we’ll discover more about the world’s food system after the FALL in NATURAL LAWS. I’m excited to share more with you through the E! Journal and our Eureka! Holistic Nutrition Facebook Page Live each Friday afternoon!
You’re also invited to join our private Eureka! Holistic Nutrition Facebook Group for more nutrition and healthy living resources shared from a Christian, faith based perspective!Here is the link for this week’s – Food Faith Friday VIDEO: Cursed Nutrition