Rest Principle
From the Seventh-day Adventist Diet
“A life in Christ is a life of restfulness.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ
What is Rest?
Rest may be thought of as good sleep, meditation to relax your brain or “taking it easy” after excessive physical activity or sickness. While it can be all these things, Seventh-day Adventists also include the Sabbath which is an entire day devoted to resting.
As the disciples returned from Olivet to Jerusalem, the people looked on them, expecting to see on their faces expressions of sorrow, confusion, and defeat; but they saw there gladness and triumph. The disciples did not now mourn over disappointed hopes. They had seen the risen Saviour, and the words of His parting promise echoed constantly in their ears.
Fresh Air Principle
From the Seventh-day Adventist Diet
“The stomach, liver, lungs, and brain are suffering for want of deep, full inspirations of air which would electrify the blood and impart to it a bright, lively color, and which alone can keep it pure, and give tone and vigor to every part of the living machinery.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies Vol. 2, pp. 67-68
It may seem silly-obvious, but one of the Seventh-day Adventist health principles is to get out in fresh air. While this may be one of the simplest principles, it is often forgotten, or just simply not practiced with the same importance of other things such as nutrition or exercise.
Air Is Important
Although you can go a few days without most things like food and water you can only go a few minutes without air. The better the air quality, the more oxygen that is available for your body, and the easier it is on your lungs! When we inhale bad quality air our body has to work extra hard to filter out the oxygen to use.
What Exactly is Fresh Air?
Fresh air can be hard to define- although it is chemically different than indoor air or outdoor polluted air. One characteristic of fresh air is that it has negatively charged ions. In Animal Studies negative ions in fresh air were shown to normalize animal behavior and increase animal growth and health. Other studies show that children with disabilities had a statistically significant improvement in their functioning when exposed to negative ions. These ions have also been shown to increase serotonin in the brain, lower our resting heart rate, and body temperature. Not to mention that bacteria have a harder time thriving in negatively charged air.
Benefits of Fresh Air
Besides those listed above, there have been lots of studies showing that good ol’ fresh air is a true champ. Kids who are outside more have been found to have less ADHD and more success in school. Fresh air also makes you happy, decreases your chances of lung disease, improves your immune system, gives you energy, and sharpens your mind.
What if I Don’t Have Access to Fresh Air?
A large portion of the population doesn’t have access to “fresh air”. While organic fresh air is the best, there are alternatives to get fresher air and even negatively charged air particles. If you live in a city with a large park, going for a walk or doing deep breathing exercises in that environment will help you get some good quality air. On the other hand, you can buy an air purifier-some air purifiers even claim that the air that comes out has a negatively charged ion!
Want to Get More Fresh Air?
http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/fresh-air-can-help-your-brain
http://aqua4balance.com/healing-power-of-nature/climatotherapy/fresh-air.html
Continue with the NEWSTART Bible principles for health.
If you miss scrambled eggs, this Tofu Scramble Recipe is for you! An easy vegan breakfast staple made with just 7 ingredients in 10 minutes.
Temperance Principle
From the Seventh-day Adventist Diet
“Abstemiousness in diet and control of the passions, will preserve the intellect and give mental and moral vigor, enabling men to bring all their propensities under the control of the higher powers, and to discern between right and wrong, the sacred and the common.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 491
What is Abstemiousness?
Abstemiousness is an old word that simply means temperance. It's synonyms include self-discipline, moderation and restraint. Abstemiousness is one of the eight SDA health principles and is especially relevant to diet.
Why is it Important?
Self-control or discipline, is a predictor of how “successful” you will be in life. I put successful in quotes because there are many different forms of success with the most common ones being money, career and status. While self-control can definitely help you reach those forms of success, it also helps you to achieve whatever you put your mind to. It is critical to achieving any short term or long term goals. It's been shown that children with higher self-control grow up to be wealthier and healthier than their counterparts. While still in school, self-control is a stronger indicator (even over IQ) of how well a student will do academically.
Self-control is a huge part of life in whatever field you end up in and it's important for your overall well-being and health. Furthermore, developing self control allows the body to be servant to the mind rather than the mind be servant to the body.
Abstemiousness and Diet
In diet, abstemiousness/temperance is important in avoiding foods and drinks that are harmful to you and your body. Many are of the view that we should consume everything, however, in moderation. Here is an important consideration; One of the first principles of detoxing is to avoid what is harmful to the body that you are trying to detox from. Some examples of things that Adventists avoid include animal products, fast food, alcohol, drugs, tobacco and caffeine. The idea here is that it's important to only eat foods that benefit our bodies so that our bodies can function optimally.
Of course, there are members whether through ignorance or other habits, who do struggle in following an abstemious diet. Fortunately, the great thing about temperance or self-control is that by practicing it, it becomes easier to make smarter decisions which will lead to better health and in turn, a better overall lifestyle. Most lifestyle diseases do not develop over night. Gradually, our lifestyle practices over the years add up. This is a key reason why following an abstemious diet should not be over looked or taken for granted. The temptation to eat and drink as we please is mostly because oftentimes we do not immediately experience the negative results. However, prolonged wrong habits will eventually result in disease.
Abstemiousness and Frugality
The principle of abstemiousness/temperance and frugality go hand in hand. As it relates to diet, in an effort to avoid poor and harmful food choices, you will quickly realize that your spending will also change drastically. You will become more frugal as you stop buying many food items and meals that no longer serve your health objectives. Examples of such foods may include meats, cheese and eggs, which have become quite costly. As your drinking habits change, you will also spend less on intoxicating drinks. You will reach for healthier yet more cost effective drinks such as water. Being abstemious in your food and drink consumption choices will also help to be more vigilant as it relates to your consumer spending in general. As you avoid the temptation of compulsive buying, this will eventually lead to a general abstemious life.
A short note on alcohol
It adds no nutritional value to the body and is considered a homeostatic threat. Because it is water soluble, it diffuses into the majority of tissues, particularly the liver. It is not enough to be temperate while drinking alcohol. It is better to avoid it completely.
Trying to Lose Weight or Eat Healthier?
Learning to practice self-discipline in small areas of your life can help you achieve your goals and improve your lifestyle. The best way to “learn” better self-discipline is to focus on only one thing at a time. Very few people do well trying to change everything at once. When they become overwhelmed and fail, they feel as if they don't have any self-control or will power, when in reality, they just aren't utilizing it effectively. For instance if your goal is to cut out all fast food and stop biting your nails then you should just focus on cutting out fast food first. When you have been successful for 30 days straight, then you can start working on not biting your nails. By doing it this way, you will see a positive cycle start to form.
http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full.pdf+html
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.aspx
Continue with the NEWSTART Bible principles for health.