"I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life..." Deuteronomy 30:19 KJV
For years, I thought I was eating healthy.
Our family ate vegetables.
We enjoyed broccoli with dinner. We bought spinach for salads. We occasionally served cabbage or cauliflower. Compared to the typical American diet, I believed we were making good choices.
Yet something wasn't adding up.
My joints still hurt.
Inflammation lingered.
My energy wasn't where I wanted it to be.
And despite my efforts, the scale continued an upward trajectory.
Not all at once, but slowly, I saw my weight increase over the years.
I remember thinking, I'm eating vegetables. Why isn't my body responding?
It wasn't until I changed two things that everything began to make sense.
How I prepared the foods and the quantity.
The Difference Between "Some" and "Enough"
Imagine a physician prescribing an antibiotic and saying, "Take one tablet twice a day for ten days."
Would taking one tablet every few days produce the same result?
Of course not.
The medicine must reach an effective level to do its work.
The same principle exists throughout creation.
Seeds must be planted in sufficient numbers to produce a sufficient harvest.
Water must be supplied consistently for a garden to flourish.
Our bodies also respond to what we repeatedly and abundantly receive.
For years, our family shared one pound of cruciferous vegetables among four people when we did eat them.
Most of those vegetables were cooked.
Our salads were occasional and until recently only included lettuce. Later, we added spinach and removed the lettuce and thought that we were aiding our bodies.
A bag of spinach was divided between everyone and topped with a variety of ingredients.
Technically, we were eating vegetables.
Practically, each of us was receiving only a small portion of foods that research continues to identify as nutritional powerhouses and while spinach is very nutritious it is not cruciferous and therefore plays a different role for the body.
That realization changed everything.
Why Cruciferous Vegetables?
Cruciferous vegetables include:
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Purple cabbage
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Green cabbage
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Broccoli
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Cauliflower
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Kale
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Brussels sprouts
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Bok choy
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Arugula
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Collard greens
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Mustard greens
These vegetables are rich in compounds called glucosinolates. When the vegetables are chopped, chewed, or blended an enzyme called myrosinase helps convert glucosinolates into biologically active compounds, including sulforaphane.
Researchers continue to study sulforaphane for its role in supporting the body's natural antioxidant defenses, healthy inflammatory responses, and detoxification pathways. It is one example of the remarkable chemistry God built into ordinary foods.
It's fascinating to me that some of the simplest vegetables that can be grown in your back yard or purchased at the grocery store contain some of the most extensively studied plant compounds in nutritional science.
Why I Chose One Pound
As I studied Scripture and current nutrition research, I wanted to know,
"What it would look like to consistently supply my body with an abundance of the foods it was designed to use?"
That question led me to adopt an approach centered on:
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A minimum of one pound of raw cruciferous vegetables each day.
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12–16 cups of water throughout the day.
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Freshly ground flaxseed (¼ cup whole flax seeds ground fresh, or approximately ½ cup pre-ground flax meal).
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Appropriate supplementation with vitamin B12, iodine, and vitamin D3 with K2, recognizing that individual needs vary.
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Whole, unprocessed plant foods while avoiding ultra-processed foods and since I never ate meat. I didn't worry so much when I knew that should not be eaten.
As healing progresses, I hope to gradually add cooked whole foods such as sweet potatoes and beans.
But one thing isn't changing.
The pound of cruciferous vegetables stays.
Not because it's a magic number.
But because I have learned that consistency matters.
Quantity matters.
What About Flaxseed and Water?
Flaxseed is one of the richest whole-food sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 fat. It also provides fiber and lignans—natural compounds that continue to be studied for their potential role in cardiovascular health, digestive health, and hormone metabolism.
Water, meanwhile, is involved in virtually every system of the body. Adequate hydration supports circulation, digestion, kidney function, temperature regulation, and the movement of nutrients throughout the body.
Neither flaxseed nor water is glamorous.
Yet both are foundational.
Sometimes the greatest improvements come not from extraordinary measures, but from faithfully meeting the body's ordinary needs.
God's Design Is Abundant
One of the things I appreciate most about Scripture is that God's first dietary instructions were generous.
In Genesis 1:29, God didn't merely tell humanity what to avoid.
He pointed Adam and Eve toward abundance.
"Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed... and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (KJV)
Notice the language.
Every herb.
Every tree.
God's provision was never one of scarcity.
It was one of abundance.
Long before scientists discovered glucosinolates, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients, our Creator had already filled the garden with foods designed to nourish the body He had made.
A Final Thought
If you're reading this while struggling with your health, I want to encourage you.
Don't become discouraged because you're not seeing immediate results.
Don't assume that because you've eaten a few healthy meals your body has had time to recover from years of accumulated wear.
Healing often follows the same principle that disease does.
One choice at a time.
One meal at a time.
One day at a time.
And perhaps that's why Moses' words still speak so powerfully today:
"I have set before you life and death... therefore choose life."
Every healthy meal is one more opportunity to choose life.
Every walk is one more opportunity to choose life.
Every glass of water is one more opportunity to choose life.
Not because those things save us.
Only Christ can do that.
But because they honor the life He has so graciously given us.
Continue the Conversation
This article expands on ideas from this week's episode of Law & Order, in which I explore the broader meaning of the Sixth Commandment and how God's moral law and natural laws work together to protect the gift of life.
If you haven't listened yet, I'd love for you to join me as we continue discovering that God's commandments are not burdens—they are invitations to life.
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