Good point! I don't think Brigham Young was criticizing anyone, but was speaking the truth that existed among most of the saints who suffered unduly from illnesses at the time. According to the American Cancer Institute, up to 98% of incidences of cancer are caused by environmental factors. I think it would be safe to say that less than 10% of people who suffer today qualify as Job did and that Brigham Young's sweeping statement is probably more accurate. If you read the article LDS Health Today, you will note food trends have shifted gradually over several decades to create today's extremely poor eating habits. We taught over 3000 people in kitchen settings during the past couple of years. Most have no idea they consume about 30% of their calories from oil, yet that is the national average. Most have no idea they consme 42% of their calories from animal-based foods, yet that is the average. I would venture to say that well over 90% of those who suffer from diet-induced diseases today do not understand why, other than in vague general terms. How many know that consuming more animal protein that the body can use for growth, repair, and maintenance leads to several known diseases? How many know that nearly everyone can consume up to 10% animal-based calories without causing such problems, but that between 10 and 20 percent the problems begin to grow exponentially in our population. At 42%, today's national average, there is hardly a person who will escape the effects of such choices. In fact 80% of today's U.S. population suffers from one form of degenerative disease or another. These are not the Jobs of the world, but are those who have been swept along by the current of significant food trends that have caught most of us unawares. Most of those who suffer attribute their issues to factors such as genetics, but when you see 100% success rates among those who follow certain recommendations, it doesn't take long to figure out that for the person ready to make the change in their lives, the truth will work for them, everytime. When China's incidence of cancer is 1/17 the U.S. rate, or their incidences of osteoporosis are just 1/50 the U.S. rate of osteoporosis, it is time we wake up to the possibilities rather than attribute our problems to a Job-like condition. By shifting eating patterns from the low end of the nutrient-density chart to the high end (see chart in article), we see person after person lose excess weight and overcome true health burdens permanently. The science and common sense behind this recommendation is so simple I'm surprised the USDA doesn't shout it from the house tops. For nearly 30 years now, a doctor from the Cleveland clinic has been able to arrest and reverse heart disease in each and every patient willing to follow his dietary recommendations. Eighty-eight percent of his patients, while waiting in line for donor hearts, followed his recommendations. One hundred percent of those who chose to do so arrested and reversed their conditions, without the heart transplant. We now see similar success rates with numerous conditions. The body is ready to respond when we are, but not before. In our book we share the work of a number of doctors who have made the same recommendations we make in order to achieve the arrest and reversal of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporsis, multiple sclerosis, several auto-immune disorders and so forth. Because of the controversy involved, they don't talk about the arrest and reversal of various terminal illnesses, but these often occur as well. Once you understand how the 12 systems of the body work and how vitality is achieved, it is no mystery why the body can self-regulate and self-correct when nourished most intelligently. The great thing about truth is that it isn't critical of anyone or anyone's efforts in any aspect of their lives. Truth is just there to liberate us, the moment we bend to it rather than expect it to bend to us. In 1988 President Benson declared, "As far as we've come in both understanding and overcoming the don'ts of the WoW we still have to go in understanding and overcoming the Do's. The promises are there and they are the Lord's promises. They are true for anyone who is willing to try Him upon His word.
