My name is James Daniel Simmons, and this picture is of my youngest son, whose name is Daniel Simmons. Daniel is an elite high school distance runner. In this article I will share with you how he fuels his body to support his performances, as an athlete. But first, let's consider some back story.
As a boy my body was fueled with whole, pure, and natural foods that were grown on our family farm. I enjoyed exceptional strength and endurance, I loved to run. After leaving home and going out into the world, I was introduced to the convenience of ultra-processed foods. By 32 years of age my poor eating habits led me to become chronically ill; and by 42, I was diagnosed with only a few weeks left to live. Because medical experts could not tell me how my body could be healed, I turned to God to learn if a way existed. I promised if there was a way, and if He would reveal it to me, I would do whatsoever instructed me to do. Because of my real intent, He instructed me dhow to eat in a manner that would allow my body to heal itself. I obeyed His divine instructions, and my body entirely healed itself in just six months!
My son Daniel thrives as an elite distance runner fueling his body, as I was divinely instructed to eat. In contrast, consider the following history of America's trending away from foods God ordained for our use, to indulge in man-made, ultra-processed foods. In the early 1900s, prior to the advent of ultra-processed foods, most calories consumed in America were derived from whole, pure, and natural plant-based foods—harvested fresh from family and community gardens. During this period of our nation's history only one in five Americans was overweight, and only one in 150 was obese. Harvested and eaten as whole, pure, and natural plant-based foods enabled Americans to thrive!
In contrast, American adults and children today consume respectively, 57 and 67 percent of their calories from ultra-processed foods.1 One in three Americans today is obese, rather than one in 150; and two in three are overweight. We now host the highest rates of obesity, disability, and disease worldwide.2 If you would thrive, rather than merely survive until you die, then fuel your body daily with a variety of foods from each of the following food groups:
Leafy Greens: arugula, baby greens, basil, beet greens, Bibb lettuce, bok choy, Boston lettuce, celery greens, chicory, cilantro, collards, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, frisée, mesclun mix, mustard greens, oak leaf lettuce, radicchio, romaine lettuce, rosemary, red and green leaf lettuce, rutabaga leaves, kale, kohlrabi, spinach, Swiss chard, spinach, turnip greens, watercress, and micro greens (basil, broccoli, cilantro, radish, sunflower, and tendril peas).
Non-Starchy Vegetables: alliums (garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, and shallots), asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, green beans, jicama, mushrooms, okra, sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, paprika peppers, and pimento peppers, radicchio, radishes (all kinds), scallions, scallop squash, seaweeds, snow peas, string beans, sugar snap peas, summer squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, and zucchini.
Legumes (beans, lentils, peas, and soy): beans (adzuki, black, black turtle, butter, cannellini, garbanzo, great northern, kidney, lima, mung, navy, pink, pinto, small red, and white); lentils (all colors), split and sweet peas (all colors), and soybeans (edamame, miso, tempeh, and tofu).
Berries: acai berries, blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries, mulberries, raspberries, strawberries, goji berries, golden berries, and gooseberries.
Sweet Fruits: apples, apricots, bananas, breadfruit, cantaloupe, cherimoyas, cherries, clementines, cranberries, currants, dates, dragon fruit, figs, grapefruit, grapes (all colors), guava, honeydew, jackfruit, kiwis, kumquats, lemons, limes, lychees, mangoes, melons (all kinds), nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapples, plums, pluots, pomegranates, prunes, starfruit, tamarind, tangelo, and tangerines.
Grains: amaranth, barley, buckwheat (kasha), bulgur (cracked wheat), millet, oats, popcorn, quinoa, rice (brown and wild), rye, spelt, teff, and Kamut wheat.
Starchy vegetables: artichoke, beets, carrots, chestnuts, sweet corn, green peas, jicama, kohlrabi, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, turnips, water chestnuts, winter squashes of every variety, and yams.
Natural fats: avocados, olives, acorns, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, coconut, filberts, hazelnuts, macadamia, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pistachios; and chia, hemp, flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds.
Flavor your food naturally with herbs such as basil, bay leaf, chives, chervil, cilantro, dill, fenugreek, garlic cloves, ginger, horseradish, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sorrel, savory, tarragon, and thyme; and with spices such as allspice, anise, Cajun seasoning, caraway, cardamom, cayenne, celery seeds, chili powder, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, curry, fennel, garam masala, garlic, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, onion powder, paprika, pepper flakes, peppermint, poppy, saffron, turmeric, and white pepper; and natural sweeten you food using dates, figs, raisins, fruits, berries, blackstrap molasses, and honey.
Covenant promises made to us by God offer hope to all who obey his health counsels. If you will obey the do's and don'ts of his health counsels, and keep his commandments, you will receive his covenant promises.
- Therefore, abstain from alcohol, coffee, tea, and other substances known to diminish human health.
- Eat and fuel up on wholesome herbs and their fruits: Eat wholesome herbs or plants of the earth and their fruits, as described above. They are created by God to nourish our spiritually begotten natures and our temporal bodies. Eat them fresh and whole in their seasons.
- Wheat is "the staff of life." Learn to naturally leaven wheat, that it may best bless you. Grains and starchy vegetables provide more than fifty percent of calories consumed worldwide. They fuel the trimmest people and the largest populations on earth. For example, barley and oats are the primary staples in the Middle East; corn in North, Central, and South America; legumes in the Americas, Asia, and Europe; millet in Africa; potatoes in South America; sorghum in East Africa; sweet potatoes in South America and the Caribbean; Rye and rice in Asia; and wheat in the Near East. By complimenting these generously with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, they provide all essential elements the body needs to best support its spiritually begotten nature and its temporal constitution. If we can eat them without compromising them with sugar, oil, salt, preservatives, coloring, and others chemicals which lead the body to experience chronic inflammation, we will come to thrive and not merely survive.
- Animal Products: Holy writ instructs that it is pleasing to God if we spare the lives of animals, except when they are needed as food to help us survive excessive hunger or famine. If you need animal flesh to survive, eat it gratefully, with thanksgiving toward the animals who forfeit their lives for you. Eat it with judgement, gratitude, and thanksgiving, and without extortion or excess. When they are an unnecessary part of your diet, spare the lives of animals and treat them as you would be treated, that they too may fulfill the measure of their creation and find joy therein.
We can live free from today's food-induced degenerative diseases by removing ultra-processed foods from our lives and eating whole, pure, and natural plant-based foods. Eating in this manner is allowing my son Daniel to run exceptionally fast, and it helps to quicken his mind in his studies, relationships, and all things necessary for his growth. The prophet Daniel was taught to eat in his youth in this manner, which helped enable him to become the healthiest and wisest man in the entire kingdom of Babylon. Because of covenants Daniel made with God, he chose not to defile himself with the kings' meat and wine. Instead, he asked his keeper if he and his three cousins could eat pulse instead of meat, drink water instead of wine, and to eat whatever fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables that his keeper could find for them in the local marketplace. His keeper agreed to a 10-day trial to determine if Daniel's requested manner of eating would cause him to appear in better or worse condition than other slaves who were eating the King's meat and drinking his wine. After ten days, the countenances of Daniel and his 3 cousins were fairer and their bodies stronger than those who ate and drank the king's portions of meat and wine. Daniel and his friends where afterward permitted to continue to eat in this manner. After the three years the king found that in all matters of wisdom and understanding; Daniel and his three friends were ten times better than anyone else in all the king's realm, including the king's magi. Daniel subsequently became the king's most trusted adviser, which greatly blessed the whole of Israel and other nations that were under Babylon's rule.
It is likely that Daniel would not have fulfilled the work God sent him to earth to do had his health been impaired by the King's meat and wine. Thankfully, Daniel provided a righteous influence to be upon Babylon's kings throughout Daniel's life, according to the existing record. If you desire strength to fulfill your life's mission by doing the work God sent you to earth to do, then exercise faith to keep God's health counsels with exactness, as do I, and my son Daniel, and the prophet Daniel of the Old Testament. And, keep all God's commandments.
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1. Adults: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/115/1/211/6396017?redirectedFrom=fulltext Children: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782866?guestAccessKey=c646e502-898f-443b-8558-d90a74e35415&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=081021
2. Major Trends in U.S. Food Supply, 1909–1999; Food Review Volume 23, Issue 1; Credit and Source: USDA’s Economic Research Service; http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan2000/frjan2000b.pdf
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