The History Behind the Hallelujah Diet

Unlike so many new diets and weight loss gimmicks on the market, the Hallelujah Diet was born out of a real history of discovery, scientific research, data and most importantly, is biblically based from real-world outcomes that span over four decades. The founder of Hallelujah Diet, Reverend George Malkmus, built our headquarters—Hallelujah Acres—from the ground up. He has remained a staunch advocate on the health benefits afforded through a plant-based eating lifestyle and has made it his life’s mission to help others along the way. Reverend Malkmus also coined the well-known label, Standard American Diet or SAD. In effect, the Standard American Diet happens to be the very diet that’s causing the increasing rates of chronic disease we see today. Keep reading to find out how the Hallelujah Diet came about, and the steps Reverend Malkmus has taken to ensure this diet provides the level of nutrition the body most needs to thrive.

1976 - The Hallelujah Diet … Born out of a Personal Crisis

Poor health, more than anything else, wreaks havoc on a person’s quality of life. While there’s a lot to be said about the miracles of science and medicine, medicine isn’t always the do-all and cure-all it appears to be. Like so many other great inventions and ideas, the Hallelujah Diet was born of out of dire circumstances that required an “outside-the-box” solution. Such was the case with Reverend George Malkmus. Back in 1976, Reverend Malkmus, the founder of the Hallelujah Diet, pastored a church in upstate New York. It was at this time that he learned he had a baseball-sized tumor under his ribs. With the help of his friend, Lester Roloff, Reverend Malkmus made the decision to follow God’s Word and deal with this health crisis by changing his diet. Based on Genesis 1:29, Reverend Malkmus began following a strict diet of whole plant-based foods along with drinking 1 to 2 quarts of vegetable juice daily. Within a year’s time, the tumor was gone. Not only that, but other ailments affecting his health (poor eyesight, allergies) also disappeared. The effects of plant-based eating essentially built up his immune system to the point where his body was able to fend off sickness and disease. Soon after this “Hallelujah” revelation, Reverend Malkmus felt a burning need to spread the word about this new philosophy of eating. By 1989, he wrote his first book on the benefits of a plant-based diet entitled “Why Christians Get Sick.” Since that time, over one million copies of the book remain in print.

1992 - The Founding of Hallelujah Acres

During the early years, Reverend George made it a point to study traditional and alternative healthcare approaches while working with researches and medical professionals in the field. It was during this time that he met a woman name Rhonda whose life was greatly affected by George’s new philosophy of eating. By 1992, George and Rhonda married. It was in this same year that the two of them founded Hallelujah Acres. Unlike mainstream opinions, Hallelujah Acres advocated healthy eating and regular exercise as a means to promote optimal health, vitality, and long life. Hallelujah Acres was founded to offer anyone interested or curious about this new eating lifestyle the opportunity to learn about plant-based eating and the benefits it has to offer. It didn’t take very long before testimonials from people from all walks of life who tried the new diet started pouring in.

1998 - Where the Rubber Meets the Road

In 1998, Reverend Malkmus took steps to formalize his new eating philosophy by incorporating a science-based approach. It was in this year that Dr. Michael Donaldson, Ph.D. took on the role of Research Director at Hallelujah Acres. Dr. Donaldson specifically set out to measure real-world outcomes to see how the diet impacted the lives of the people who tried it. A big part of his role involved uncovering nutritional gaps in the diet to create an eating program that meets the body’s nutritional leaves on every level. Dr. Donaldson also plays a key role in the development of Hallelujah Diet products, such as BarleyMax, our premier superfood. Today, science continues to uncover the many benefits of plant-based eating that Hallelujah Acres has been advocating for decades.

2013 - The Hallelujah Diet Is Born

It wasn’t until the year 2013 that the “Hallelujah Diet” took on a brand and identity of its own with the MyHDiet.com website soon to follow in 2014. Through the years, George and his wife Rhonda developed many programs to help people make the change to a plant-based eating lifestyle. Hallelujah Acres took steps to train over 10,000 health ministers consisting of doctors, nurses, pastors, and people from all walks of life, from 68 countries to act as health ministers for people looking to improve their health and overall well-being. Our 60-day, video-based class, Reclaim Your Health, is another one of our key resources designed to help people make simple changes every day that center on healthy eating habits.

The Hallelujah Diet - Supporting the Body’s Natural Self-Healing Abilities

The history behind the Hallelujah Diet has given way to an eating lifestyle that’s designed to support the body’s natural self-healing abilities. Using God’s Word as a guide, Reverend Malkmus developed a diet that acknowledges the innate healing abilities our Creator built into the human body. When the body’s self-healing mechanisms receive the nutritional supports they need, optimal health, protection from disease, and long life are the natural results.