How To Eat To Live

Although it was difficult to withstand many of the racist overtones of this book, one has to appreciate that Elijah Muhammad's How to Eat to Live was certainly ahead of its time. These dietary laws were written in the early 30's, decades before the health food craze began. Popularity has only recently began to catch on to a lot of the principles written in this book more than a generation ago.

Some of the ideas presented in this book are still very radical but at times it lacks any scientific evidence to back its perspective (such as the idea of only eating only once every 48-72 hours for example) however, much credit due to Elijah Muhammad for his warnings against eating red meats and synthetic foods such as, margarine, refined sugar, white flour, white rice, and fast foods. After all, black Muslims adhering to the laws of this teaching were eating health food long before it was called "Health Food."

Of course there is an underlying spiritual message behind the dietary lessons illustrated here as well and overall the book has a lot of interesting points despite the redundant repetition rolling throughout the chapters.

Here are a few of my favorite lines:

"We have been made ugly by our enemies' rearing of our parents. We know that many of our people throughout the earth have been ugly by not practicing culture that would beautify them."

"Americans are a very gluttonous people who prepare their own sick bed, hospital bills, and undertaker bills with what we eat and what we drink. And besides this comes a sick mind, and after a sick mind comes death."

"...He is the greediest animal. He never knows or cares to stop eating as long as he sees something to eat. He is the dumbest animal. He keeps his nose smelling and eyes looking for something in the earth. You could feed him all day long, and he will never even look up to see his feeder."