Eat one meal at the end of every 24 hours and nothing between, if you are not sick. If you are sick, that is different. Sickness takes away strength. Therefore, you have to eat something like food to replace it. But, if you are well and want to stay well, eat only one meal a day. Eat good food. Regardless to the variety of foods find that which is best for you to eat, and eat it. Do not try eating all the different types of foods, lest you will be found dead one morning in your bed. Try and eat fresh foods and not stale foods. Cook it done, and not half done. Just done and that is all, not too done that all of the taste is out of it through cooking.
Stay away from eating a lot of meats and do not eat too much fish weighing from 20 to 50 pounds. You should eat fish weighing a half-pound to 10 pounds. Be sure not to eat the scavenger fish that lives off filth. Do not eat a fish that sucks its food, but eat one that swallows its food whole. Do not eat fish that look like animals, with heads like animals, nor forefronts built like an animal. Do not eat such fish as eel, which should not really be referred to as a fish, but as a water snake. And, never eat slimy oysters, lobsters, crabs, clams, shrimps and snails.
For your own good health, and for the sake of the Law of Allah (God), do not think of going near a piece of carcass of the swine (hog). Do not burn your hearts and brains up with alcoholic liquids.
Do not eat field peas, black-eyed peas, brown peas, yellow peas nor red peas. Do not eat the great big lima beans nor the little lima beans. The only kidney-like bean should you eat, as Allah (God) taught me, is the navy bean. There are the white ones and the red ones. You may eat them. Do not eat too many green greens. They are not good for you, especially the collard greens and the cabbage sprouts. Do not eat them. There are plenty of herbs and vegetables that you can eat other than these. But, seek mostly the white ones, such as white-head cabbage and white cauliflower.
You may say this type of food that I am mentioning to you is high. But life is high, and to keep it, you had better eat the things that will maintain that high life. You and I live only but once. Eat the good things of life and think good things. Do not fill the brains up with evil thoughts. Think good things and then you will be good. I hope that you will take this for your own sake. How to eat to live.
(Reprinted from “How To Eat To Live,” Book Two, 1972.)
