Health and Nutrition

My Bahá’í Perspective: Our happiness depends on both our spiritual and physical health. Aside from this,we have a moral obligation to do our best to remain healthy. Our body is atemporary home for our spirit. To disregard the needs of our home is to show alack of respect to the One who designed that home.Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá teach us that physical health must receive thehighest priority.In the last few years, I have been traveling through several states, and havespoken on both physical and spiritual health. Many listeners have asked: “Whydon’t you write a book on health and nutrition, especially from Bahá’íperspective?” This brief paper is a response to that request. Many people areeither confused or do not have the will power to choose a healthy diet. Here, Ihave tried to offer general guidelines that are in harmony with both science andreason, as well as the basic health principles emphasized in Bahá’í Writings.They are:

• Balance: This principle helps us receive all the nutrients in the right proportion.
• Harmony: This principle enhances digestion and absorption.
• Simplicity: This principle helps us avoid allergy and improve digestion.

In the light of the preceding principles, I would like to suggest the followingguidelines.Please consider them only as suggestions and not rules. Adapt themto your needs and taste. The First GuideYour first goal is to keep your blood sugar in balance. To reach this goal, youmust consume some protein several times during the day, depending on yourneeds. The best known sources of proteins are:

• Nuts and seeds
• Meat
• Dairy products
• Legumes
• Other plant proteins, such as quinoa, soy products, and sprouted multi-grain breads

The best choice is to combine, only one protein with vegetables, raw or cooked.To offer an example, I would like to suggest the following class of proteins foryour three meals:

• Nuts or seeds for breakfast
• Plant proteins for lunch
• Animal proteins for dinner

Partake of as much and as many vegetables—raw or cooked—with the precedingproteins as you can. Let me now be more specific by offering some suggestionsfor each meal. Breakfast Bahá’u’lláh states that a small breakfast is like a lighted lamp to the body. Hedoes not mention any other meal. Breakfast is the most challenging meal, for tworeasons: lack of appetite and lack of time. For this reason, here more choices areoffered for breakfast than for any other meal. The choices offered are not onlysuitable for breakfast, but for any meal, any time. 1. If you can find fresh nuts, your first choice for breakfast is raw nuts with rawvegetables as often as possible. Use a variety of fresh nuts such as almond,walnut, pecan, macadamia, pistachio, hazelnut, cashew, as well as seeds, such assunflower, sesame, and pumpkin. Use nut butters, only occasionally for they areoften roasted. 2. Your second choice should be fruit salad: raw nuts with fruits. This combinationis much tastier. 3. If you prefer to drink your breakfast, make a shake in a blender with vegetables,nuts, and aloe vera juice—a juice that will enhance your health in many ways.Other liquids you can choose: wild blueberry juice, pomegranate juice or syrup,almond milk, coconut water, or any other juice that is not too sweet. 4. If you cannot find fresh nuts, or do not like them, choose the following:

• Organic yogurt, kefir, or whey powder with vegetables or fruits, every other day or every third day.
• Two organic eggs with vegetables every other day or every third day.
• A mixture of goat cheese, avocado, and tart cherry syrup with Ezekiel bread, every third day. It is a delicious combination. The reason for not using the preceding proteins every day is to prevent allergy. The frequent use of certain foods, such as dairy products, wheat, and eggs is the rootcause of many diseases.
• Nutritious bars with no wheat, no dairy products, and no sugar. Look for one with the highest protein and as little sweet fruits as you can tolerate.
• Vegetable salad or fruit salad.
• Apple with nut butter, such as sesame or almond. (Use peanut butter sparingly.)
• Apple or pear with goat cheese.

It is best to start the day with a light breakfast, but if you are not hungry, youshould search for the reason. Perhaps you eat too much or too late at night. Drinka glass of warm water with lime or lemon juice. The sour taste may stimulate yourappetite. If you are not hungry even for an apple, you should drink some liquid. The bestchoice is organic white or green tea with raw honey or fruits and/or organic coffeewith canned coconut milk (without preservative). The best-known brand is: Thai.(Make sure the word “light” does not appear on the can.)The preceding choices suggested for breakfast can also be consumed instead ofany other meal, or between meals. They take little time to prepare, and they areextremely healthy. Lunch Lunch is quite easy. Vegetable protein is an excellent choice. Use as manyvegetables as possible. Make a soup for 3 or 4 days. Then change to another soup.The only change needed is the protein. Every time you make a soup, use one ofthese proteins: lentils, black, red, or white beans, quinoa, or millet. Do not addany noodles to your soup. Use any flavor you like to make your soup tasty. If youdo not have time, buy organic canned soups that contain legumes, with nonoodles. Many brands are available. Warm up a can at home and take it to workin a thermos. Dinner For dinner, choose one kind of protein, such as, organic meat (chicken, turkey,beef ), wild salmon, or organic eggs. The best choice is to combine the proteinwith salad and cooked vegetables. All vegetables are valuable. It is best not to usebread with protein.For variety, use sprouted bread (such as Ezekiel), avocado, and olives forbreakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes substitute quinoa for rice. It is far morenutritious than rice. Between Meals Between meals, consume any kind of fruits, especially the type that is not toosweet, such as berries, apple, and grapefruit. Another choice: unsweetened soymilk with cacao. Gently heat two cups of soy milk (do not boil) in a nonstick pan,add one tablespoon of cacao, and use as much stevia as your taste buds require.Have this every other day or every third day. If you like to experiment with newflavors, use a little vanilla or coffee. The foods suggested for breakfast are also anexcellent choice for snacks. Raw nuts are always a good choice if you have nothad them for breakfast. Nutritious Salad Dressing Making nutritious and tasty salad dressings or dips, which contain some protein,is perhaps the most significant skill you can master. They are the gateway to theworld of vegetables, the least desired, yet the most significant part of any gooddiet. The combination of vegetables (cooked or raw) and protein is the bestpossible choice in any good diet. It is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.Please experiment to discover a tasty recipe. Here are some suggestions:

• Almond or cashew butter, lemon juice, and raw honey or stevia.
• Sesame butter, raw honey or tart cherry syrup.
• Goat cheese, pomegranate syrup, raw honey and avocado, blended with a fork.
• Olive oil, lemon juice, avocado, and organic cheese.
• Organic Greek yogurt, pomegranate syrup, and avocado.

Add pomegranate or tart cherry syrup as well as avocado and herbs to most or allyour salad dressings. (Tart cherry is the only known fruit that does not raise yourblood sugar.) Food Allergies Allergy to food is the root cause of many diseases. It undermines our immunesystem; our first line of defense against disease. Do your best to keep this first lineof defense strong.In this age, two categories of foods are the source of many diseases: dairyproducts (especially milk), and grains (especially wheat). They undermine yourdefense system. In the long run, you will be healthier if you avoid them or usethem only occasionally. For instance, milk and cereal is a bad choice. Avoid thisextremely popular, but unhealthy breakfast. A healthy cereal is oatmeal, providedyou do not cook it in milk. Sprouted breads, such as Ezekiel is an excellentsubstitute. (Sprouting reduces the level of allergy.) This bread is usually found inthe frozen department of grocery stores. Allergy to milk and wheat is a newphenomenon. The reasons: Our immune system has become weak, the quality ofwheat has changed, and dairy products have found their way into many foods.Next in line for causing allergies are: peanuts, eggs, soy, and corn. Do not use thepreceding foods every day.The principle of simplicity applies mostly to starches and proteins. At a givenmeal, consume only one protein and only one complex carbohydrate. Observingthis rule minimizes repetition, which is a main cause of allergies.Most people do not know the foods to which they are allergic. It is the mostfrequently undetected disease. The best way to reduce your “allergy load” is topractice the principles of simplicity and diversity. Diversity is a master key toyour health. In a given week, eat as many kinds of foods as possible. Diversitynot only prevents allergy, it also provides you with a set of balanced nutrients—aprinciple emphasized by -‘Abdu’l-Bahá....the human body is composed of numerous elements, but in the measure of anespecial equilibrium. As long as this equilibrium is maintained, man ispreserved from disease; but if this essential balance, which is the pivot of theconstitution, is disturbed, the constitution is disordered, and disease willsupervene. -‘Abdu’l-Bahá And again:The Báb hath said that the people of Bahá must develop the science ofmedicine to such a high degree that they will heal illnesses by means of foods.The basic reason for this is that if, in some component substance of the humanbody, an imbalance should occur, altering its correct, relative proportion to thewhole, this fact will inevitably result in the onset of disease...It is the function of a skilled physician to determine which constituent of hispatient’s body hath suffered diminution, which hath been augmented. Once hehath discovered this, he must prescribe a food containing the diminishedelement in considerable amounts, to reestablish the body’s essentialequilibrium. -‘Abdu’l-Bahá Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables The 15 most contaminated vegetables in order of contamination are:1. Celery: This vegetable is highly contaminated. A recent study showed theresidue of 64 pesticides in celery.2. Peaches: Farmers treat them with many different pesticides to keep pestsaway. More than 96 percent of all tested peaches contained pesticides.3. Strawberries: These delicate fruits are heavily sprayed, especially when theyare imported.4. Apples: Even peeling apples does not remove the pesticides. A recent testfound that they contain at least 32 different pesticides.5. Cherries: These delicious fruits contain many chemicals.6. Bell peppers: Their thin skins offer no protection against chemicals.7. Carrots: Carrots come into direct contact with fungicides, chemicalfertilizers, and pesticides.8. Pears: Farmers spray them heavily with chemicals because so many insectslove them.9. Blueberries: You cannot get rid of the chemicals by washing them.10. Nectarines: More than 95 percent of all tested nectarines had pesticideresidue.11. Spinach: This vegetable can contain as many as 48 pesticides.12. Grapes: Imported grapes are worse. This fruit’s thin skin lets chemicalspermeate into the fruit.13. Potatoes: This vegetable is exposed to pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.14. Leafy greens: Leafy greens, such as Swiss chard, lettuce, and parsley, arevery delicate, so insects love them. They are one of the most heavily sprayedcrops.15. Tomatoes: Farmers sometimes spray them heavily, although they may besafer than other foods on this list. Your best guide to the level of contamination is the presence of skin and itsthickness. The skin protects nutritious foods from pests. Therefore, they are lesslikely to be sprayed. For instance, grapefruit is well protected. Enjoy it frequently.Further, it has little impact on your blood sugar. Supplements Supplements are a separate issue, and they need to be dealt with separately. Forthe time being, let me refer to two vitamins: A and D.It is essential to keep your vitamins A and D at 60 to 70 percent. Most peoplehave low levels. Use 10,000 units of vitamin D every day with your biggest mealfor two months. Then ask your doctor to test your blood to know how far you arefrom the optimum. If you are much lower, say 30 or 40, use 15,000 units ofvitamin D every day until you reach 60, then reduce to about 5,000 units,depending on your needs. A low level of vitamin D is linked to almost everyknown disease. A normal or average level of vitamin D is about 40 to 50. Butthere is a big difference between normal and ideal. The ideal level is 60 to 70. It isnot toxic until it passes 100%. If you are conservative, first test your vitamins Dand A (blood test). Then decide how much to take. The probability of harmingyourself by not having ideal amounts of vitamin D and A is greater than theprobability of having too much. Blood testing is your best guide. A Few Reminders 

• Never consume broken walnuts or pecans (out of shell); they become rancid in a short time.
• Never consume canola, corn, or soybean oil. The best oils are: olive oil and coconut oil.
• To meet your requirement for omega 3, the best choice is plant foods such as flaxseed, chia seed, and fresh walnut.
• Some scientists now question the value of fish oil, because it becomes rancid as soon as it is consumed. This question has not yet been settled. In the meantime, it is best to consume fish, such as wild salmon or sardines, at least twice a week and preferably 3 times a week.
• Consume only one protein at a given meal. For instance, do not combine dairy products with meat, eggs, nuts, or soy.
• Raw nuts are extremely nutritious, provided they are fresh. If you cannot find fresh nuts, eliminate them from your diet. The best way to find fresh nuts is to buy them directly from the farmers. Some companies cheat by mixing this year’s nuts with last year’s. Walnuts and Brazil nuts are
• commonly subject to this malpractice. If you know a reliable source, please let us know.
• Do not use the same nut every day. Repetition is a major cause of allergy. I know two individuals who had become allergic to almonds by eating them every day. Only a blood test revealed their allergy.
• Include quinoa in your soup, and chia seed (raw and grinded) in your diet as often as possible.
• After dinner, instead of pastries, consume some dried sweet fruits, such as mulberries, goji berries, or mangoes.
• Green and white tea have many benefits. Bahá’u’lláh encouraged the pilgrims to drink white tea.
• Include organic “spring mix” (a mixture of green leaves) in your salad. Use it every day.
• Start each meal by consuming some liquid that stimulates and prepares your stomach. Bahá’u’lláh asks us to consume liquids before solids. The best stimulants are vegetable soup (only vegetables), salad, or some warm water with lime or lemon juice, or organic apple cider vinegar. This practice enhances digestion and absorption of nutrients. (Many people over age 50 have low levels of acid in their stomach.)
• Doing our best to remain healthy is not a personal choice. It is a moral and spiritual obligation. Serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes do not come to us by chance. They come to us either from a lack of knowledge or from negligence. Preventing disease is a thousand times easier than treating it. Staying healthy is a struggle. But it is worthy of the rewards. As stated, the One who designed us teaches us to place the “knowledge of the body” first in our lives—even before the “knowledge of religion.” Can we blame God for our own failure? Failure to prevent or postpone disease is a sin of omission—a sin easy to commit.
• Changing one’s habits is difficult. Set goals and advance gradually. Review this paper every week to evaluate your progress.

What is most important for your health is to consume healthy foods. The onessuggested here are the best. Making them tasty is entirely up to you. Be creative.Experiment with new combinations and flavors, and then share your recipes withothers. Please also share with me your thoughts about the information offered inthis paper. Be critical. The science of nutrition is constantly growing. I hope tooffer a revised version of this paper after it has been evaluated and criticized byyou, the readers. May God bless you and protect you from disease and death until you are at least 100 and more! With warmest greetings and best wishes for all of you,-Hushidar Motlagh