The Hallelujah Diet, also known as The Hallelujah Diet and Lifestyle, was created as an attempt to be a biblically-based diet.
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The diet was first developed by Rev. George Malkmus, Lit. D. in the 1970s from a dietary regimen he was taught by fellow pastor Lester Roloff based on a strict, all-natural diet that originated from their interpretation of the Bible in Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 29.[1]
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."
The diet is promoted by Malkmus' company, named Hallelujah Acres.[2]
The diet follows vegan principles and consists of living (raw) foods, juices, and distilled remineralized water. Specifically, a daily ratio of 85% raw and 15% cooked foods is prescribed. The lifestyle associated with the diet promotes exercise, proper cleansing, adequate rest, spiritual well-being, sufficient amounts of sunshine, and the elimination of stress.
The diet in its current form focuses on health and nutrition from a biblical standpoint. However, Stephen Barrett, psychiatrist and debunker of alternative medicine, has reviewed the nutritional value of the diet and claims, "Although low-fat, high-fiber diets can be healthful, the Hallelujah Diet is unbalanced and can lead to serious deficiencies."[3] Nonetheless, many doctors, including Joel Fuhrman, Dean Ornish, John McDougall, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, support plant-based diets, which have been shown to reverse disease in epidemiological research, clinical trials, and patient studies.[4]
Critics of the biblical credentials of this diet have brought up Genesis 9:3, which lifts the dietary restrictions of Genesis 1:29 as part of God's blessing:[1]
"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
Nonetheless, in giving blessing, God commands humanity to exercise dominion. The ethical implications of diet have been discussed from a conservative, Christian viewpoint by Matthew Scully.[5]