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Counsels on Diet and Foods
felt, their tongues are loosened, and they begin the wicked work of
talking against others. Their words are not few or well chosen. The
tidbits of gossip are passed around, too often the poison of scandal as
well. These thoughtless gossipers forget that they have a witness. An
unseen Watcher is writing their words in the books of heaven. All these
unkind criticisms, these exaggerated reports, these envious feelings,
expressed under the excitement of the cup of tea, Jesus registers as
against Himself. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”
We are already suffering because of the wrong habits of our fathers,
and yet how many take a course in every way worse than theirs! Opium,
tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor are rapidly extinguishing the spark
of vitality still left in the race. Every year millions of gallons of
intoxicating liquors are drunk, and millions of dollars are spent for
tobacco. And the slaves of appetite, while constantly spending their
earnings in sensual indulgence, rob their children of food and clothing
and the advantages of education. There can never be a right state of
society while these evils exist.
Create Nervous Excitement, Not Strength
737. You are highly nervous and excitable. Tea has an influence
to excite the nerves, and coffee benumbs the brain; both are highly
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injurious. You should be careful of your diet. Eat the most wholesome,
nourishing food, and keep yourself in a calm state of mind, where you
will not become so excited and fly into a passion.—
Testimonies for
the Church 4:365, 1879
738. Tea acts as a stimulant, and, to a certain extent, produces
intoxication. The action of coffee and many other popular drinks is
similar. The first effect is exhilarating. The nerves of the stomach are
excited; these convey irritation to the brain, and this in turn is aroused
to impart increased action to the heart, and short-lived energy to the
entire system. Fatigue is forgotten, the strength seems to be increased.
The intellect is aroused, the imagination becomes more vivid.
Because of these results, many suppose that their tea or coffee is
doing them great good. But this is a mistake. Tea and coffee do not
nourish the system. Their effect is produced before there has been
time for digestion and assimilation, and what seems to be strength is