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Biblical look at the Netflix documentary “WHAT THE HEALTH”

What the Health, vegan, cancer, diabetes, hearth disease, meat, dairy, butter, milk, cheese, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, Bible, science

A Biblical perspective on the Netflix documentary, “WHAT The HEALTH”

What the Health, vegan, cancer, diabetes, hearth disease, meat, dairy, butter, milk, cheese, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, Bible, science

My daughter-in-law Anya, came to me the other day and asked me to watch the Netflix documentary, “What the Health”, she said that it is super popular right now and a lot of her friends have changed their diets after watching it. Now, they are  wondered why she and her family still eat meat and dairy products, because, “WHAT The HEALTH” clearly shows how bad meat and dairy products are”. Anya asked me to give some kind of rebuttal, because frankly, she didn’t know what to say to all of her friends who had seen the movie, and because she knows that we have always eaten a lot of meat, dairy and eggs and our family is very healthy.

What the Health, vegan, cancer, diabetes, hearth disease, meat, dairy, butter, milk, cheese, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, Bible, science
Kip Anderson
What the Health, vegan, cancer, diabetes, hearth disease, meat, dairy, butter, milk, cheese, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, Bible, science
Leonardo DiCaprio

According to WHAT THE HEALTH creators, Kip Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio…

“What The Health is a groundbreaking documentary. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases. What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.”

The movie is backed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and is getting a fantastic reception here in the U.S. and changing the way America eats.

The basic message of the movie, WHAT The HEALTH.

  • We have a lot of disease in the U.S.; Cancer, diabetes, heart disease etc.
  • Processed foods are contributing to the problem.
  • Sugar and high carbohydrate diets are not the problem.
  • Meat and Dairy products are the biggest reason for disease.
  • The meat and dairy industry is destroying the planet.
  • Becoming a Vegan is the solution.

When we first got interested in eating healthy we were pulled to and fro by all the “expert voices”.

We heartily agree with the first two messages in the documentary but disagree with the last four. When we first got interested in eating healthy we were pulled to and fro by all the “expert voices”. The Bible calls it “winds of doctrine” they blow every which way. We even tried being vegetarians for a while, but we found that all the voices were not singing in harmony. They actually contradicted each other on a daily basis. So who were we going to believe? We finally decided to let God be the judge as to what is healthy and what is not, what we should eat and what we shouldn’t. That is when I quit getting sick and when we quit needing doctors and medicine altogether. My wife Shary says that her friends often ask her what medications she takes. Here answer is “none”, we don’t want or need them.

WHAT The HEALTH suggests we not eat…

  • Any type of meat, (beef, poultry, fish, etc).
  • Dairy products of any kind, (Milk, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc). This includes goats milk and they even suggested that human milk was dangerous to babies.
  • Any type or form of Eggs.

What does the Bible say?

The authors of “WHAT THE HEATH”, believe that eating animal products is not only unhealthy but immoral. Obviously, God does not agree, since none of the great men and women in the Bible were vegans. Able ate meat but Cain did not.  Moses ate meat, Samuel ate meat. David ate meat, all of the priests ate meat. Most of them lived to be more than 100 years old. Jesus and the disciples ate meat. Abraham ate meat and dairy and offered meat and dairy products to God and his angels before they destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. And… wait for it… they ate meat and dairy products!

 Genesis 18:1-8      

      1 Now the LORD appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4 “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

 Our experience, eating meat and dairy products.

What the Health, vegan, cancer, diabetes, hearth disease, meat, dairy, butter, milk, cheese, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, Bible, science
If WHAT The HEALTH teaches was true, our family would look more like this.

WHAT The HEALTH tries to make the case that beef, chicken, turkey, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs are very bad for us and the reason people are getting diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Our family has been consuming these foods as the foundation of our diets for over 40 years. About 40 years ago we began to eliminate highly processed foods, especially sugar. Then we started eating more Biblical; (Red meat, milk, butter, cheese, eggs and poultry, the result is that none of us have diabetes or heart disease.

When all of our kids lived at home.

When all the kids lived at home, our family consumed 6 gallons of milk a day and ate innumerable eggs. We never paid for health insurance and never needed it. Most of our children never saw a doctor while living with us and following Biblical dietary habits. Shary gave birth to 13 healthy babies. We then raised those babies to be very healthy children and adults. So far those 13 children have raised 48 very healthy grandchildren.

relaxation breathing in labor
Shary stayed healthy and produced thirteen healthy babies eating eggs, meat. and drinking lots of milk.

For an in-depth look at what the Bible and science says about meat, eggs, milk, butter, salt, and processed foods, just go to our website, wellnessgospel.net and use the search option for the food item you want to research.

In Conclusion

The Bible does encourage fasting for limited periods of time. We believe there are spiritual and physical benefits to fasting. Eating a vegan diet can produce beneficial results if done for a short time, but making this a permanent lifestyle change will shorten your life. In our research we have never found a lifelong vegan or vegetarian, that made it to the 100 year mark. Conversely, all of the super-centenarians and oldest living persons, ate meat, eggs and drank milk and lots of it.

ONCE AGAIN, WE BELIEVE THE ONLY WAY TO EXCEPTIONAL EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, IS TO SPEND TIME EACH DAY LISTENING TO THE GREAT PHYSICIAN, JESUS CHRIST, AND DOING WHAT HE SAYS.

  • Often people have questions or comments about Wellness Gospel articles, please feel free to send an email to chrisschauermann@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.
  • If you believe God knows what is best for us, join us and the Wellness Gospel team and spread the word, share this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.
  • To keep improving your health, and enjoy this kind of biblical, scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books and the link to Youngevity a wellness company founded by Dr. Joel Wallach. Simply click on the titles below for purchase information.
  1. “God’s Guide to Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris and Shary Schauermann
  2. “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallach
  3. “None of These Diseases” by S.I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M. D.
  4. “Youngevity website by Dr. Joel wallach

REFERENCES

  1. WHAT THE HEALTH trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf44vLndiRM
  2. Debunking WHAT THE HEALTH http://nationalpost.com/life/food/why-netflix-documentary-what-the-health-has-got-nutritional-advice-very-very-wrong/wcm/054ced0f-08a0-4c96-9bee-7a868cda405d
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Which fish improves your health or makes you sick?

seafood poisoning

Eating fish can make you sick or make you healthy, it’s all in what fish you eat. God said not to eat fin-less or scale-less creatures, that live in water.  God also told us that fish with scales and fins are good food. Once again we have so called, “experts” who tell us that eating shellfish is harmless. Why? Because of toxin advisories. Experts also tell us not to eat fish with fins and scales. Why? Because of mercury contamination. So, who are you going to believe?  The problem stems from the fact that our bodies are infinitely complex; the functioning of our immune systems is beyond complex. We at Wellnessgospel, believe that God created our complex bodies and he knows what foods are good for us and what foods are not. So, let me share with you one story and some science that should encourage us to believe that our God still knows what is best for us.

In his blog, Wandering Earl, Derek Earl Baron describes his bout with seafood poisoning.  As he puts it, “Seafood poisoning is less fun than I ever imagined”

seafood poisoning
Seafood poisoning is not fun!

Shortly after eating some questionable seafood curry in Goa, he had this reaction.13,14 (in Goa one of the traditional ingredients of seafood curry is shellfish)14

“I only remember a little from the following couple of hours but according to my friend, who has had the most unfortunate job of taking care of me, I was in a most delirious state. I passed in and out of sleep, often times waking up in an instant, muttering some nonsense and then closing my eyes immediately after. My words were jumbled, I couldn’t focus on any one location for more than a second and I wasn’t comprehending much of what she was saying to me. Using my own strength to sit up was impossible and I would alternate between very quick and extremely slow breathing.

After about an hour of this, my friend finally managed to get me to stand up and while she wanted to take me straight to the hospital again, I used my ridiculous stubbornness to convince her that I should eat some lunch and see how I felt after that. And then, on the way to the restaurant in front of my beach hut, I nearly walked into a tree. I didn’t even see it and again, according to my friend, I could barely walk in a straight line at all.”

If you read Derek’s entire story, he had all the classic symptoms of domoic acid poisoning; memory loss, dizziness, itching and shortness of breath, to name a few. Domoic acid poisoning can leave the person with permanent memory loss and, in some cases, death may result.

On Prince Edward Island, Canada, there was a shellfish poisoning resulting in 3 deaths. Blue mussels contaminated with domoic acid were blamed.9,10 In 1987 there was an outbreak of domoic acid poisoning, 14% of all those effected died. 11

shellfish poisoning
Don’t eat these Blue Muscles!

Shellfish always contain toxins. They are not always at the “danger” level, but any amount of toxins will put an unnecessary strain on our bodies, especially the kidneys and liver. Both are important to our immune system. The liver actually scans the blood for cells that fight disease. When it recognizes a disease-fighting cell, it selectively enriches that cell. Pretty awesome huh? God has reasons for his food advice, it is great that we can now see what some of those reasons are, but we still don’t know all the reasons. We just know that when God said he would take away sickness from us, and give us a full life span, the condition was that we pay attention him and listen to what he says. 

                                            Exodus    23:20-21, 25-26                                                “I am sending an angel (The angel of the Lord, Jesus) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him…Worship the Lord your god and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

I have been on many mission trips where my friends eat shellfish and get sick. Derek and my friends could have saved themselves a lot of pain and suffering had they listened to God’s advice in the old testament.

                                                 Leviticus 11:9-12                                                      “of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales . But all creatures in the seas and streams that do not have fins and scales…you must not eat their meat.”

God’s word is not silent about the benefits of eating kosher fish in the New Testament either. Jesus called fish, “Good gifts”.

                                                “Luke 11:11-13                                                     11 If a son asks for bread[a] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Jesus was trying to communicate how great a gift the Holy Spirit was, so he used bread, eggs and fish as examples of very good gifts. Jesus ate fish after he was raised from the dead and he cooked and served fish to his disciples before asking Peter, “do you love me”. 

Why did God put his stamp of approval on fish with fins and scales? Because fish with fins and scales generally eat living things. Creatures without fins and scales are primarily bottom feeders eating dead and decaying things. Commonly eaten seafood without fins and scales are:

Shrimp, clams, lobster, crab, oysters, abalone, scallops, catfish, sturgeon, shark, crayfish, bullhead, whale, and calamari. As these creatures clean up the seas, they collect toxins that are harmful to our bodies.

shellfish warning
shellfish warning

My family lives on the Oregon coast; our local radio stations will routinely give a “toxin report.”  They will report the levels of toxins in shellfish (clams, crab, etc.). They never say there are no toxins (poisons). One of the most prevalent toxins in shellfish is demoic acid; demoic acid can cause dizziness, nausea, permanent short-term memory loss, which is what Wandering Earl experienced.

newspaperclam toxin report
newspaper clam toxin report

My question is this – If toxins are poison to our bodies, how much poison do you want?  What level of poison do you consider safe for you and your family?  The Bible says to avoid it altogether.

Your kidneys filter out toxins (poison), these toxins inhibit our body’s natural immune system. Also, if our kidneys receive too many toxins they cannot do their other job, which is to control proteins in the body. Why is that so important? Well I’m glad you asked, antibodies which fight disease are made of protein.

But people will tell me, this is a new day, the bible is outdated, the writers of the bible didn’t know that we would pollute our streams, rivers and oceans with mercury. And everyone knows that fish contain dangerous levels of mercury. OK, did you know that sharks contain the highest levels of mercury of any fish. And, sharks have no scales, thus not to be eaten by us.

seafood mercury warning

Next, Greenpeace is promoting this mercury alert. Since when did Greenpeace become a nutritional advisory. They have an ulterior motive. Their goal is to stop as much fish harvesting as possible. Scaring us out of eating fish is part of their strategy and they usually throw in the scare tactic that, pregnant women especially, should not eat fish. So here are the facts.

  • Fish is a high-protein, low-fat food that provides a range of health benefits. White-fleshed fish, in particular, is lower in fat than any other source of animal protein, and oily fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, or the “good” fats.
  • The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists note that, considering all the dangers and benefits, the overall result of eating fish in the United States is likely to improve personal health rather than damage it. The Seychelles Child Development Study traced more than seven hundred mother-child pairs for nine years, and found no neurological problems in the children resulting from both prenatal and postnatal methylmercury exposure. A study done with marketed fish in Oman concluded that, except in a few rare cases, the fish available for consumption had lower levels of mercury than limits defined by various health organizations.[50] Clearly, these studies call into question whether or not normal everyday consumption of fish is dangerous in any way.6
  • Mercury is an essential nutrient. We must have mercury in our diets, in order to metabolize carbohydrates. The body uses mercury as a cofactor and expels it after use. Mercury has always been in our water, as a natural element. Yes, we can overdose on mercury, but probably not by eating fish a few times a week.7
  • Selenium is an element that is known to counteract some of the dangers of ingesting mercury.[18] Multiple studies have been done, such as those in New Jersey and Sweden, that take into account selenium as well as mercury levels. Fish often do contain selenium in conjunction with bioaccumulated mercury, which may offset some of the dangers associated with the mercury ingested.6
  • Mercury in dental fillings is probably a more realistic threat to your health than eating fish. Mercury in dental fillings has been linked to cases of Multiple Sclerosis.8

seafood mercury warning

If you believe God and want to be disease free, living out your full life span, you’ll have to eat fish with scales and fins a few times a week and abstain from all other creatures that live in the water. That means, Flipper and Willie the killer whale will be safe from us. If everyone followed God’s advice about shellfish, it would mean that clams at high tide would not be the only happy clams. 

If you believe God knows best, join us and the Wellness Gospel team and spread the word, share this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.

If you want to keep improving your health, and enjoy this kind of biblical scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books.

You can get all these books at Amazon,com

  1. “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M.D.
  2. “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallach
  3. “God’s Guide To Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris & Shary Schauermann

References

  1. Explanation of the human immune system webmd.com/immunesystem
  2. The livers function in immunology http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.21060/pdf
  3. Kidney function in immunologyhttp://www.kidneyservicechina.com/ckd-basics/1546.html
  4. Kidneys remove toxinshttp://www.livescience.com/52047-kidneys.html
  5. FDA recommendation/mercury in fish http://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm110591.htm
  6. American college of obstetricians and Gynecologist study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish
  7. Mercury in filling may cause MS http://www.gotminerals.com/quackwatch.html
  8. Mercury is an essential nutrient. https://www.uwsp.edu/cols-ap/nadf/Workshops/Mercury/Mercury-Se-Nutrition%20Effects%20Review%20Chan%202000.pdf
  9. Deaths from domoic acid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domoic_acid
  10. Deaths from domoic acid. Gilbert, Steven. “Domoic Acid”. Toxipedia. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  11. Deaths form domoic acid. http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/etox/resources/case_studies/redtide2.pdf
  12. https://www.adn.com/outdoors/article/clam-gulch-probable-case-paralytic-shellfish-poisoning-first-ever-reported-popular/2014/06/18/
  13. http://www.wanderingearl.com/seafood-poisoning-is-less-fun-than-i-ever-imagined/
  14. Goan fish curry includes prawns. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1121651/goan-fish-curry
  15. Omega 3 fatty acids  edf.org/benefits-eating-fish
  16. Blue muscle recall  https://www.bitterwallet.com/consumer-advice/wham-bam-avoid-ms-clams-70327