When Ellen G. White in 1864 began to speak and write on proper nutrition
and a way of living that took into account nature's laws, average life
expectancy in the United States was 32 years; meals, served three, four, or five
times a day, were highly spiced, heavy with meats, rich gravies, fried foods,
and a vast array of pastries loaded with sugar and fat. Milk was often supplied
by cows poorly cared for and sometimes tuberculous. Testing was unknown, and
pasteurization was decades away. Except for salting and drying, the science of
food preservation was still in the future. It was in this climate that Ellen
White, with a pen dipped in the wisdom and knowledge of the Designer of the
human form and the Author of nature's laws, called for a dietary program that
was simple, healthful, nutritious, and appetizing. To this end she spoke for
fifty years, writing her views in articles, books, and personal correspondence.
Nutritionists today are aware of people's resistance to changes in their diet.
Yet Ellen White succeeded in changing the dietary practices of hundreds of
thousands who today profitably follow these counsels, now well supported by
scientific research. Counsels on Diet and Foods presents this rich knowledge in
topical order for convenient study.