It is with great thankfulness that I say that I am not a medical doctor, university trained nutritionist, or dietician! If I had gone that route, I would have been programmed with all the errors of this world’s system concerning nutrition, diet, and lifestyle. I may never have found the truth concerning how God intended His human creation (our physical bodies) to be nourished. Rather, I am an ordained Baptist minister. My knowledge in the field of nutrition came not through any formal training, but through personal experience — what is often referred to as the "school of hard knocks", self-study, and the teachings of the Bible. I consider the Bible’s teachings concerning nutrition to be the only source of true knowledge, because it is God who designed us, told us what we should eat, and had the following to say about the world’s “wisdom”:
“The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:19Sadly, the Christian community, rather than seeking God’s knowledge concerning how they should nourish their God created bodies, have sought the knowledge of this world. They have paid a horrible price for seeking the world's wisdom, evidenced by the numerous and constantly increasing number of prayer requests for healing in our churches.
My search for “truth” concerning what was proper nourishment for my God-created physical body began in 1976 after I had followed the nutritional teaching of this world for 42 years of my life. I knew this teaching had failed me when I was told I had colon cancer. Instead of turning to the world's medical system in an effort to undo the damage, I turned to one of God's servants in Texas by the name of Evangelist Lester Roloff. Roloff was not a nutritionist but rather an evangelist who not only proclaimed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but was constantly trying to get Christians, especially preachers, to change their diets. He was well loved and respected for his Gospel message but often criticized for his teachings on nutrition, especially by some preachers. I had, at times, also ridiculed Roloff for his efforts to get Christians to adopt a plant based diet. Ironically, I turned to him after being told I had cancer. I turned to him because I didn’t want to go the medical route my mother had gone for her cancer before me, which produced horrible results. Brother Roloff’s advice was “don’t go the world’s medical route” of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Rather, he encouraged me to adopt God’s “original” diet as revealed in Genesis 1:29 and to drink lots of freshly extracted vegetable juices. That route sounded much more appealing to me than the medical route my mother had gone. By following Brother Roloff’s advice, I quickly became well and have stayed well ever since! Since that initial search for nutritional truth in 1976, I have been searching for ever more truth concerning the proper nourishment of these bodies we each possess. Below I share some of the many experiences God used to reveal His truths to me.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32The first stop was a search of the Bible to see what God had to say on the subject. From the Bible I learned that the original diet God gave to mankind was comprised exclusively of the raw vegetables and fruits, seeds and nuts God had placed in the garden and instructed man to eat in Genesis 1:29.
“AND GOD SAID, behold, I have given you every herb (VEGETABLE) bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the FRUIT of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (FOOD).”
- At the recommendation of Roloff, that is all I ate (along with one to two quarts of freshly extracted carrot juice each day) for that first year after being told I had cancer. On God's original diet — and without any medical treatments — I saw all my physical problems simply disappear, including the cancer, within a year.
- Next stop was the Shangri-La, a Natural Hygiene fasting resort in Bonita Springs, Florida, where I remained on staff as lecturer and head organic gardener for two years. Natural Hygiene teaches distilled water fasting to rid the body of toxins, and then a 100% raw plant-sourced diet (predominantly fruits with no vegetable juices) to rebuild and sustain the body. It was there that I obtained a very strong foundation for much of what I believe and teach today. But on the flip side, I learned some things there that are hindrances to obtaining ultimate health.
- I journeyed to Blue Ridge, Georgia, where I studied under Dr. Carey Reams. He had an uncanny means of determining a person's physical problems using a urine/saliva test along with iridology. Then he would prescribe a lemon juice/distilled water flush to detoxify the liver, along with a "green drink" made from fresh raw leafy vegetables to rebuild the immune system. Dr. Reams also prescribed heavy doses of vitamin and mineral supplements. Again, I learned some positives along with some negatives.
- Then it was on to Boston, Massachusetts where I sat at the feet of Dr. Ann Wigmore at the Hippocrates Health Institute. Dr. Wigmore taught a 100% raw vegan diet, using an abundance of sprouts, along with the use of freshly extracted wheat grass juice, which was consumed both orally and rectally. Her kitchen didn't even have a stove. While this program produced dramatic results, I found it impractical for the masses.
- The Gerson Diet, and the healing results they have obtained through the years with terminally ill cancer patients, caused me to thoroughly research their program. Their incredible results come after a person is taken off all animal products and placed on (eight) eight-ounce glasses of carrot juice, plus four green juices each day, along with both raw and cooked vegan foods. Charlotte Gerson has been a keynote speaker here at Hallelujah Acres at one of our Health Minister Reunions.
- Then there were the writings of Dr. N. W. Walker, D. Sc, whose books I devoured. He was seriously ill in his early 50s, and by changing to a basically raw vegetarian diet, was totally healed. He then went on to discover the benefits of carrot juice, finally dying in his sleep only a few months from his 100th birthday. The knowledge this man possessed nearly 100 years ago was incredible and as up-to-date as tomorrow’s newspaper. Science is just catching up to much of what Dr. Walker was proclaiming.
- Paul Bragg and his writings also had a tremendous impact upon me. Not only did he teach a basically raw vegetarian diet along with raw juices, but he heavily emphasized vigorous physical exercise, while discouraging a 100% raw diet. His writings caused me to put a heavier emphasis on vigorous physical exercise, and to start questioning an all-raw vegan diet. He died as a result of a surfing accident in his late nineties.
- I studied the works of Dr. Page, who established the Page Institute in Tampa, Florida. Many people were healed of life threatening physical problems by removing five "white killer" foods from their diet: white fat (found in meat), white milk, white sugar, white salt, and white flour. They then consumed a vegetarian diet. Again, I learned what I considered to be both pluses and minuses.
- I have read all the writings I could get my hands on by T. Collin Campbell, PhD, author of “The China Study.” Dr. Campbell, was raised on a farm and consumed animal source foods until his research caused him to become a vegan, has done more scientific research on the relationship of diet to disease than any other scientist ever in history. When he writes, I listen!
- In addition, I have studied most of the writings and/or viewed the videos of Dean Ornish, MD; John McDougal, MD; Neil Barnard, MD; Joel Fuhrman, MD; Russell Blaylock, MD; Dr. Mary Ruth Swope; Lorraine Day, MD; Joel Robbins, MD; John Robbins; Ross Horne; Dr. C. Samuel West; Dr. Yoshihide Hagiwara; Dr. Edward Howell; Dr. Paavo Airola; Dr. John Christopher; Harvey and Marilyn Diamond; Arshavir Hovannessian; Dr. Bernard Jensen; H. E. Kirschner, MD; Robert Mendelsohn, MD; Dr. Herbert Shelton; Dr. John Tilden; Professor Arnold Ehret; Frank Oski, MD; Gabriel Cousens, MD; Viktoras Kulvinskas, MS; along with many others.
- I have also learned from the tens of thousands of letters and testimonies I have received since starting Hallelujah Acres in 1992. I have also heard personal testimonies from talking to people on the phone, and in person as I journeyed around the world holding “How to Eliminate Sickness” seminars in South Africa, Australia, Canada, and across America.
- I have also researched and written four books and am currently writing a new book coming soon, and my first book, "Why Christians Get Sick" currently has over a million copies in print.
- I am also publisher of “Hallelujah Acres Health News”a bi-monthly publication started back in 1993. It is currently available in both paper and electronic form.
- Since 1997 I have been publishing a FREE electronic Health Tip that currently goes out to nearly 100,000 subscribers weekly. Thus far I have written over 750 of these weekly electronic Health Tips.
- In 1995, in recognition of my work in biblical nutrition, an honorary doctorate in literature (LitD) was awarded to me by Louisiana Baptist Seminary in Shreveport, Louisiana.
- Through the years, tens of thousands of people have written to tell me what worked and didn’t work for them as they sought to improve their heath through diet and lifestyle changes. This feedback from so many people has been invaluable and their testimonies number in the thousands.
- Last, but not least, I have personally been on a basically raw vegan diet since 1976, with lots of daily raw vegetable juices. I have often used my own body as a guinea pig as new products and teachings came along. Rhonda and I have wanted to know the very best way to nourish our bodies, so that we could personally experience the ultimate health God designed for us, and then pass what we learned to others.
