Reasons Why ‘The Daniel Plan’ May Kick-Start Your Kind New Life
Growing up in a traditional, Southern, Christian family, I never gave much thought to our Sunday post-church lunches and massive family dinners around tables weighed down with meat, vegetables cooked in fat and covered with butter, and heavy desserts. We knew to avoid the seven deadly sins—except for the one about gluttony. That was somehow always more of a suggestion than an edict. I also never gave much thought to the prevalence of health problems, which everyone seemed to have. Heart attacks, strokes, cancer, obesity, and diabetes were tragic but apparently just what happened as people got older.
Surprisingly, it was an agriculture class that I took as an elective in college—mainly because it conveniently filled a hole in my schedule—that would alter the course of my life and save me from going down the same path.
There, in that class, I faced the horror of factory farming for the first time. I was sickened. The cruelty, the suffering, the fear—I knew that I had to stop eating animals.
But why was this practice seemingly OK with almost everyone, including Christians? I was firm in my conviction, but it was years before I got the answers. I finally found them in The Daniel Plan.
Pastor Rick Warren, minister and author of The Purpose Driven Life, realized that he was devoting immense energy to caring for his mind and soul but completely neglecting his body. As a result, he was overweight and unhealthy. He did some research and found inspiration in the story of Daniel.
Daniel was an Israelite whom King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to train to serve in the palace. The king mandated that his trainees were to eat the same foods that he ate. But Daniel knew that the fatty diet wouldn’t be healthy and asked if he and his friends could eat vegetables instead. After just 10 days, he and his companions looked so much healthier than the rest of the king’s trainees that they were switched to vegetables as well.
Daniel 1:17 says, “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning” (New International Version). And verse 20 goes on to say, “In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.” When the men followed God’s plan, they were rewarded.
Together with two physicians, Pastor Warren created a scripture-based health and fitness program outlined in The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life.
The plan involves eating 75 percent vegetables and whole grains, avoiding dairy “products”, and having fruits for dessert, and it promotes vegetables as a great source of lean, healthy protein.
When Pastor Warren’s congregation tried the plan, in one year, 15,000 people lost 260,000 pounds. They reported improvement or resolution of chronic diseases, and many who had type 2 diabetes were able to stop taking insulin.
Just like Daniel, when they followed God’s plan, they were rewarded.
Drawing his inspiration from Daniel as well, Reverend Franklin Graham announced that his New Year’s resolution this year was to go vegan in order to get healthier and lose weight. He explained his decision to his massive social media following: “Remember in the Bible, Daniel went on a complete vegetable diet and after 10 days his appearance was better than the others who hadn’t.”
No matter our religious beliefs, we can all agree that killing animals is killing us. And we all deserve to live free from suffering. That’s why people from all walks of life are embracing The Daniel Plan.
To learn more, you can find Pastor Rick Warren’s The Daniel Plan here and check out How to Go Vegan here.
