“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable with the word of God and prayer.”1 You say, “I am allowed to do anything,” but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.”(This is true, though someday God will do away with both).”2“And so, I judge that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food offered to idols, sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.3 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.”4 (NLT).
A healthy lifestyle includes avoiding an unhealthy diet. As pointed out in the Bible verses above, your body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit at the very moment you are born again (see “Your new nature created to be like God under God and humanity”). As a person with a new nature, you begin to pattern your life after the character traits of Christ: appreciating everything that God created as good and setting apart the food you eat with the word of God and prayer. However, you must abstain from food offered to idols, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. Yes, you can eat any food that has been sanctified with the word of God and prayer, but not every food may be good for you, and you must not become a slave or a glutton to any food that will increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and some cancers. Such food constitutes an unhealthy diet.
The following unhealthy diets are identified from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA 2025-20230)
Avoiding an unhealthy diet is a deliberate action you must adopt, maintain, and practice daily to live a healthy lifestyle. Adopting, maintaining, and continually making healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle requires behavioral change. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM,2001), “Behavior can be changed, and those changes can influence health. However, “Initiating and maintaining behavior change is complex and difficult” (Pellmar, Brandt, and Baird, 2002). According to DiClemente et al (2019), “Before behaviors can change, the determinant(s) of behavior, the nature of the behavior, and motivation for the behavior must be understood.” There are several behaviors change theories and models that can be applied at multiple levels of influence on human behavior, using a socioecological approach: which states that “humanbehavior shapes and is shaped by multiple levels of influences.” Such levels of influence include intrapersonal (individual), interpersonal (family, friends, peer groups), organizational, community, and public policy.
WLT provides the fundamental truth, rooted in God’s word, for behavior change that promises benefits in this life and in the life to come. This truth brings profound change to individuals’ hearts and minds, transforming their character, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, enabling them to easily adopt, maintain, and continually make healthy daily choices. When individuals adopt a healthy lifestyle, they serve as a model for other family members, including children, and for the broader community. Many diseases, injuries, disabilities, and premature deaths from heart diseases, strokes, cancers, and diabetes can be prevented or reduced with behavior change by adopting, maintaining, and continually practicing daily healthy choices to live a healthy lifestyle.
Follow us on our website, blog, and social media platforms, and at conferences, seminars, workshops, community spiritual well-being events, as we use truths rooted in the Word of God to bringyou a profound change in your heart and mind, transforming your character, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, enabling you to easily adopt, maintain, and continually make healthy daily choices. We use evidence-based health education and health promotion interventions to provide equitable opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and insights needed to avoid unhealthy diets, adopt and sustain healthy lifestyles, and lead purpose-driven, transformative lives.