Health
The eight principles of health
Good health is built from simple things God has already given us: trust in Him, good food, movement, water, sunlight, a balanced life, fresh air and rest. None of them costs much, and you can start on most of them today.
We begin with trust in God, because it is the foundation the other seven stand on. Each page explains one principle in plain words, shows where it is found in the Bible, shares what our teachers have written about it, and suggests a few small things to try this week.
Choose a principle to read
Trust in GodThe foundation: lean on God and find peace.
NutritionEat plenty of plants, at regular times.
ExerciseMove your body every day. Walking counts.
WaterDrink water through the day, and enjoy it.
SunlightSpend some time outdoors in daylight each day.
TemperanceEnough of good things, and none of harmful ones.
AirBreathe deeply, open the windows, get outside.
RestSleep well, and take a weekly day of rest.
Why trust in God comes first
Dr Mark Sandoval, in his book The Law of Life, pictures a person as a fruit tree. The fruit and leaves are how we feel. The branches are our habits: breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping. The trunk is our needs. Under the ground are the roots, which are our beliefs, and the soil, which is what we draw from.
Seven of the principles are like branches: things we do each day. Trust is the root. That is why it stands first here, with the other seven built on it.
“You do what you do because you believe what you believe.”
How to use these pages
There is no need to read them all at once. Pick one principle, read its page, and try one small thing from it this week. When that feels settled, come back for another. Small steps, kept up, do more good than big changes that do not last.
Every page rests on the Bible, quoted from the King James Version, so you can look up each verse for yourself. You do not have to share our faith to use them. The practical advice is simple and well known, and you are welcome to it.
Where these come from
The same eight are listed together in Ellen G. White's book The Ministry of Healing, which you can read free in our health library. She wrote them in a different order, and used the old word “abstemiousness” for temperance:
“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power—these are the true remedies.”
These pages also draw on the teaching of Dr Horst Müller, a doctor who has spent many years asking why people get sick. His book Why Do We Get Sick? is free to download. Dr Mark Sandoval's The Law of Life explains how each of our needs has a source outside us, and its first chapter is free to read.