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The Babylonian king had just taken over the reign that had belonged to the king of Judah, Jehoiakim. King Nebuchadnezzar began building his empire by bringing in his royal family, the nobility and some of the children of Israel. The king was determined to have only the best of the best to represent his kingdom. The youths that he brought into his kingdom to surround himself all had to be the most perfect in skill, wisdom, appearance, understanding and discernment. They had to be able to serve him well and to stand in a place of competence as they represented the king and his reign. These youths were to learn the language and the literature of the Chaldeans.
Part of the special training that these young men received was to be the foods that the king himself ate and drank which were sweets and fatty foods with wine to drink. There were given these foods to eat and higher education for three years before being presented to the king.
Some of the youths were the children of Judah, Azariah, Mishael, Hanaiah and Daniel. These youths were given special names by the chief of the eunuchs. Daniel became known as Belteshazzar which meant the attendant to the king.
Belteshazzar or Daniel knew in his heart that eating the sweets and fatty foods of the kings table and drinking wine was not in keeping with the wisdom of God that he knew as the truth of his heart. He asked the eunuch's chief if he might be permitted to keep his diet pure instead of defiling his body with the king's foods and drink.
God worked on the heart of the chief of the eunuchs and made him to feel compassion toward Daniel (Belteshazzar). The chief confided to Daniel that he was afraid for him not to eat the foods and drink that the king, himself had chosen for them to eat. He felt that if Daniel and his friends became more haggard and weak looking than the other young men his age who were eating the king's diet that he would be at risk of losing his head at the hand of the king.
Daniel struck a deal with the chief of the eunuchs and asked for a trial period of ten days to prove that eating a diet of vegetables and drinking water would prove to make him in better condition than those who were eating of the king's rich diet. He begged the chief to compare him and his friends with the others at the end of this time and judge for himself by what he sees. The chief of the eunuchs took the challenge and allowed Daniel the ten day trial of eating just vegetables and drinking water.
At the end of the ten day trial, Daniel and his friends who ate vegetables and drank water were much healthier in appearance and had much stronger bodies than those who continued to eat the king's diet. After seeing this, the rich foods and the wine of the king were taken away from the other youths and they were given vegetables and water to drink as well.
Daniel and his four friends who had been eating as God directed were not only strong in their bodies but became very wise and learned. Daniel was given the gift of dreams and visions by God. At the end of the training period, all the youths were brought before king Nebuchadnezzar by the chief of the eunuchs.
After the king talked with the youths, Daniel and his four friends were found to be far superior to their peers and were ordered to stand before the king. Daniel and his friends were judged to be ten times more learned than anyone in his entire realm.
This is a pretty dramatic story about a young man who knew in his heart of hearts that living on fatty foods, sweets and wine instead of water was putting his health at risk. Being a vegetarian worked well for Daniel but what really made the difference was feeding his body all the nutrients and vitamins necessary to develop a healthy body and alert mind. The body needs to be hydrated so choosing to drink water instead of wine alone made Daniel thrive. Daniel wore a red badge of courage by taking a stand before the king and refusing to eat what he knew in his heart of hearts was bad for his health.
Are you ready to take a stand for your health? Eating nutritious, balanced meals and drinking plenty of water does not mean you have to be a vegetarian, but it does mean the foods you choose to include in your daily diet do need to be healthy, nutritious foods containing fiber and high water content. Drinking sufficient amounts of filtered water each day combined with intelligent eating choices will strengthen your body and enrich your mental capacities. After all, this was proven in biblical times so it is certainly not a new concept. It does work!
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Learn about healthy foods and how they not only make your body healthier but are a natural way to prevent diseases. Detailed information on the nutritional value and how certain foods can even burn fat. There are several lists of foods in different categories as well as information about vitamins, antioxidants and more.
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