“If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” (James 1:5)
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and
lean not unto thy own understanding, in all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Prior to being diagnosed with colon cancer in 1976, at the age of 42, I had never given any thought as to what I was placing into my body for nourishment, nor had I any knowledge concerning the subject.
If it tasted good – I ate it!
However, that cancer diagnosis in 1976 set me on a learning journey that has continued to this very day.
At the time of my cancer diagnosis I was not only a Christian, but also pastor of a successful church in upstate New York that had grown from just my family of 6 to a membership of over 600 people in six years. As a Christian, immediately upon learning I had a serious physical problem I did what most Christians would do, I sought the Lord.
In Such A Circumstance Most Christians Would...
In such a circumstance, most Christians would ask the Lord to heal them of their cancer, but I did more than just ask the Lord to heal me. Because I had seen so many Christians before me who had asked the Lord to heal them of a cancer and He hadn’t (but went on to die after sometimes years of unsuccessful medical treatments),
I did something different.
I asked the Lord to
lead me to a source of information that would reveal what I could do to help myself resolve my situation. I believed that if I was to get well and recover from the cancer I needed to do more than just ask the Lord to heal me,
I needed to participate in my healing.
Here is how the journey began:
The first step was
trying to determine what protocol to follow after the cancer diagnosis. Prior to my being told I had cancer, I had lost my mother to colon cancer after she had blindly followed the medical route protocol for year for her cancer with devastating results.
In fact, at mother’s death I was convinced it wasn’t the cancer that ultimately had caused her death, but rather it was
the treatments administered to her by the medical community that had
caused her death. The cobalt (radiation) treatments and
chemotherapy had destroyed her immune system and she died a slow and horrible death over a number of years.
So not wanting to go the same route my mother had gone before me,
I went looking for an alternative way of dealing with my cancer, asking the Lord to guide me.
God Answers My Prayers
In response to that prayer the Lord led me to
Lester Roloff, a nutritionally aware evangelist in Texas who had been trying for years to get preachers, as well as any Christian who would listen, to change their diets. Sadly, he had not been very successful in getting Christians to make that diet change, and was even criticized for attempting to do so.
Though I also had been one of those who had not heeded his admonition to change diet before my cancer diagnosis, because of my changed circumstance,
I was now ready to listen. Upon contacting Brother Roloff he told me that if I wanted to get well I had to stop doing two things:
- First, I had to stop consuming the SAD diet I had previously been consuming for the previous 42 years of my life, because he said that diet had been the cause of my cancer.
- Secondly, he told me that in place of the SAD diet, I had to start eating those foods that would help my body recover from my cancer.
He also discouraged me from seeking any medical help in my effort to restore my health, telling me that these
medical modalities would do more harm to my body, and thus make it more difficult for my body to heal.
He encouraged me to
stop eating all animal source foods and sugary foods, foods that had been the basis of my diet for the past 42 years. In their place he encouraged me to begin eating
the foods God had told Adam to eat in Genesis 1:29. He also encouraged me to drink lots of vegetable juices.
I now know that what Brother Roloff told me in 1976 was God answering my prayer for guidance as to how to deal with my cancer, because it resulted in the healing of my cancer in less than one year and without any help from the medical community.
What Happened Next...
Following that experience, the Lord brought many
other learning experiences into my life, learning experiences that ultimately led to the birthing of Hallelujah Acres in 1992.
In 1976 I had obtained healing of my cancer by
simply changing to a vegan diet (God’s Original Diet as found in Genesis 1:29) and drinking lots of vegetable juices. When Hallelujah Acres began ministering to the Christian community in 1992, I encouraged others to try the same diet I had if they wanted to recover from their numerous physical problems.
This simple diet change approach
worked for many but not for all. Apparently something was still missing and I was determined to find out what the missing ingredients were. So once again, as He had already done numerous times before,
the Lord led me to another person who had the answers, a person who would provide me with the rest of the story.
Not many years after Hallelujah Acres had its beginning in 1992 I received a letter from Michael Donaldson, a young man who was about to graduate from Cornell University with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. In that letter Michael told me that most in his graduating class were going to work in the drug industry but because he was a Christian he didn’t want to go that route.
Michael was having trouble as a Christian reconciling going to work in an industry that manufactured and sold drugs because they did great harm to people.
His wife had previously developed some physical problems during a pregnancy and The Hallelujah Diet had helped her overcome those problems and he was interested in working for a Christian organization that had not only helped his wife in her time of need, but also promoted health.
Michael’s wife has now given birth to a total of 12 "Hallelujah" babies (and 2 more due in January 2013). Mother was on The Hallelujah Diet through pregnancy and all children have been raised on The Hallelujah Diet, and all have exhibited outstanding health their entire lives.
In that letter Michael asked if there might be a position for him at Hallelujah Acres; a position where he could scientifically evaluate and
validate The Hallelujah Diet, check the diet for deficiencies, do
research for Hallelujah Acres, all while making sure what Hallelujah Acres was teaching was
the most scientifically correct, accurate, and up-to-date information available.
I invited Michael for an interview. I was impressed with not only with his knowledge and desire to help me make sure that what we were teaching here at Hallelujah Acres was the most accurate possible, but I was also impressed with his Christian character. That interview resulted in Michael being asked to join the Hallelujah Acres team in 1998.
The B12 Controversy
Immediately upon joining Hallelujah Acres, Dr. Donaldson began looking for weaknesses in what Hallelujah Acres had been teaching. In an effort to do that,
his first endeavor was concerning vitamin B12, a subject that was creating a lot of controversy.
Some were saying that a 100% raw vegan diet was of no concern for a person on a 100% plant diet because the plants would provide all the B12 a person needed. On the other side there were those challenging that line of thinking.
Who was right? In an effort to determine who was right, Dr. Donaldson had 54 of our Hallelujah Acres trained Health Ministers, individuals who had been on The Hallelujah Diet for at least two years, to be tested for B12 adequacy. To our amazement, 47% of those tested revealed a deficiency in B12.
If this was God’s Diet, how could it be deficient in any nutrient, including B12?
Further research revealed that there was no B12 to be found in anything of plant origin; including blue green algae (the
B12 found in algae we learned was in an analog form, a form which is unusable by the body).
Next, research revealed that not only was B12 not available inside anything of plant origin, but rather the source of
B12 was found in the bacteria clinging to the outside of the of the plant — and only if the plant had
not been thoroughly washed before consumption.
This bacteria provides the body with the bacteria it needs to manufacture B12 on its own. This bacteria is also the reason B12 is found in grazing animals.
While grazing, the animal picks up that bacteria, which its body uses to manufacture B12. If the grass the animal ate was thoroughly washed before consuming, the animal could not produce B12 anymore than a human could.
Dr. Donaldson’s next challenge was how best to correct the deficiency in those showing a B12 deficiency. In an effort to answer that question, he divided those with a deficiency into three groups:
- One group was given probiotics to provide the bacteria the body needed to manufacture B12 (the beneficial bacteria we humans wash off our vegetables before consuming).
- Another group was given nutritional yeast which contains B12.
- A third group was given a B12 supplement.
The results were very revealing:
They all after a period of time showed improved B12 readings.
Those that showed the quickest improvement were those in the third group who were given a sublingual (under the tongue) form of methylcobalamin B12 tablet; those given nutritional yeast showed a slower improvement; and the slowest response came from those given probiotics.
This research by Dr. Donaldson led to the development of the first Hallelujah Acres supplement – a sublingual B12-B6-Folic Acid (B9) tablet. The nutrients in these tablets are
delivered to the bloodstream faster through membranes under the tongue than swallowed tablets that must pass through the digestive system.
It was interesting to note that after Dr. Donaldson findings were announced to the vegan community, claims that there was adequate B12 in a 100% vegan diet ceased. Dr. Donaldson had resolved the argument.
Because of Dr. Donaldson’s findings, today
most persons on a pure vegan diet realize that they need to supplement with B12 or potentially experience the negative effects of a B12 deficiency.
Here are some of the
benefits of our B12-B6-Folic Acid supplement (see
more info on our website):
Vitamin B12 Benefits
- Maintains healthy nerve cells
- Maintains red blood cells
- Makes DNA, the genetic material in all cells
- Aids in proper digestion and the absorption of foods
- Helps with the synthesis of protein
- Helps metabolize carbohydrates and fats
- Plays an essential role in many other metabolic processes
- Aids in cell formation and cellular longevity
The Health Benefits of Folic Acid (Folate)
- For pregnant women and women who hope to become pregnant, Folic Acid plays a vital role in the healthy development of the fetus
- Crucial for a healthy heart
The Benefits of B6 (Pyridoxine)
“Pyridoxine is involved in more bodily functions than almost any other single nutrient. It affects both physical and mental health.” (Prescription for Nutritional Healing)
May improve:
- production of hydrochloric acid
- absorption of fats and proteins
- sodium and potassium balance
- promote red blood cell formation
- support for normal brain function
- absorption of B12
- support of the immune system
- hormonal balance
You can read more about the vitamin B12 on the
National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements website.
Conclusion
Rhonda and this editor each consume a Hallelujah Acres B12-B6-Folic Acid tablet following our green smoothie each morning. Tests for B12 adequacy consistently through the years have shown both of our levels to be in the excellent range.
Next week, the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, we will take a look at Dr. Donaldson’s next discovery: A nutrient that is vital to every person’s health but is lacking not only in a vegan diet, but is even more deficient in the body of a person who consumes a meat based diet. Trust you will join us.
