Joy Kauffman
February 27, 2019Why? Because He wants us to live and to have life abundantly (John 10:10)! Grains, beans and nuts are actually all seeds. Combine with fruit* that bears seeds and you have a great whole foods plant-based diet.
But what does “whole food” really mean? God made seeds in a perfect package. Every seed has three parts, but often they get separated!
1) The seed coat is essential. It’s also called bran and is filled with fiber, vitamins and minerals, protecting the precious life inside. Industrial processing of foods often removes it, selling most of it for animal feed. Animal producers know the value of the nutrients. Sadly, most parents don't. Many people don't realize that all rice is brown when harvested!
2) The embryo is like the starter kit for the plant with its earliest form of roots, leaves and stem. It is full of nutrients and healthy fats. Those fats and oils are necessary for your mind, skin and eyes. This part is also often removed in industrial processing, sold later as germ, or pressed for the oil. Sadly, the most beneficial oils go rancid shortly after being removed from their perfect package — the seed.
3) The endosperm is the food storage for the nourishment of the embryo in the form of new leaves called cotyledons. Depending on the kind of seed, it has a specific ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fats, but it is often primarily starch — a simple sugar. This endosperm is the part that is used most often for human food; while it has value, it is sorely missing its companions, the seed coat and embryo.
Eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet, is simple. Whole foods use all three parts of a seed. It’s the way God made them. When you eat all three parts, you get the most nutrition. And why not? Any farmer or gardener knows that when one of these three parts is removed, the seed would never germinate. So how can we imagine that it will give life to our bodies without the whole three-in-one?
We’re told the invisible things of nature reflect God. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and Divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20 NIV).
God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Together they form the Godhead (Trinity). This truth, an essential Christian understanding and the second of the 28 fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is revealed in seeds. Have you ever thought that the gospel could be shown in a seed? I encourage you to share that news! In this way, a whole foods diet is an act of worship. Your diet can be seed-saving!
*Seeds from stone fruits (peaches, apricots, etc.) and apples should be avoided due to low levels of amygdalin which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide when ingested.
Joy Kauffman, MPH, is founder/president of FARM STEW International ministry. For more information, visit www.farmstew.org
