God cares about your body. From the diet He gave in Eden, to the laws of clean and unclean, to Daniel’s ten-day test, the Bible teaches that how we eat and live is part of how we honor Him. Seventh-day Adventists call this the health message. But today even careful eaters face a new problem: independent laboratories keep finding lead, arsenic, cadmium and pesticide residues in foods sold as “natural,” “clean” and “organic.” This study covers what the Bible teaches, what the latest testing shows, and which products tested cleanest.
A Bible study · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 15 min read
Your Body Is His Temple
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Our bodies are not our own. Jesus bought them at the cross, and the Holy Spirit lives in them. That turns eating, drinking and resting into acts of worship:
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
And God wants us well. John wrote to his friend Gaius:
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
3 John 1:2
The Health And Wellness page on this site compares the Bible to the owner’s manual for a very expensive car. You only get one body in this life, so read the manual. (See Health And Wellness, Present Your Bodies A Living Sacrifice on Romans 12 and No Greater Joy on 3 John.)
The Diet God Gave In Eden
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
Genesis 1:29
The first menu God wrote for the human race was seeds, grains, fruits and nuts. After the fall, “the herb of the field” was added (Genesis 3:18). Flesh food was not permitted until after the flood, when the earth had been stripped bare (Genesis 9:3), and the long lifespans of the patriarchs dropped sharply in the generations that followed.
“Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing.”
Ellen G. White · The Ministry of Healing, p. 296
Notice the words “as simple and natural a manner as possible.” That line matters more today than ever, as we will see below. (See also Genesis 1-3: Where Everything Begins.)
Clean And Unclean
When God did allow flesh food, He drew a line. Leviticus 11 lists the animals He created to be food and the ones He never meant to be eaten, such as the pig, shellfish and scavengers:
“This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.”
Leviticus 11:46-47
This distinction was not just for Israel. Noah knew it long before there was a Jew (Genesis 7:2). And Isaiah says that when the Lord comes with fire at the end of time, people will still be judged for eating what He called unclean:
“They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.”
Isaiah 66:17
“Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing. Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating.”
Ellen G. White · The Ministry of Healing, p. 313
“Little know what they are eating.” That was written in 1905 about meat. Today, as the research below shows, it can apply to almost anything on the grocery shelf. (See Between The Clean And The Unclean on Leviticus 11. Peter’s vision in Acts 10 was about people, not pork: “God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean,” Acts 10:28; see God Is No Respecter Of Persons.)
Daniel’s Ten-Day Test
When Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon, they were offered the king’s rich food and wine. Daniel asked for a simple test instead:
“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.”
Daniel 1:12-15
“Pulse” means food grown from seed: vegetables, grains and legumes. Ten days on God’s diet, and they looked better than everyone at the king’s table. At the end of their training, the king found them “ten times better” than all his wise men (Daniel 1:20). (See The First Test!)
Why A Health Message?
Why would a church preaching the soon return of Jesus care about diet? Because the human race fell through appetite, and Jesus began His work of saving us right there.
“Adam fell by the indulgence of appetite. In order to impress upon man his obligations to obey the law of God, Christ began His work of redemption by reforming the physical habits of man.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 486
Jesus’ first great temptation in the wilderness was about food: “command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). A clear mind hears God’s voice more clearly, and the last message to the world needs a people with clear minds.
“God has shown that health reform is as closely connected with the third angel’s message as the hand is with the body.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 62
God’s Eight Natural Remedies
“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power—these are the true remedies. Every person should have a knowledge of nature’s remedial agencies and how to apply them.”
Ellen G. White · The Ministry of Healing, p. 127
- Pure air: open windows, time outdoors, deep breathing.
- Sunlight: daily time in the sun, the way God made our bodies to make vitamin D.
- Abstemiousness (temperance): moderation in good things, and none of the harmful ones.
- Rest: enough sleep every night, and the weekly rest God built into creation (see The Bible Sabbath).
- Exercise: useful work and daily movement.
- Proper diet: whole plant foods, simply prepared.
- Water: plenty of clean water, inside and out.
- Trust in divine power: the remedy that makes all the others work.
“True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful and to use judiciously that which is healthful.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 562
What’s Really In Your “Health” Food?
Many Christians who follow the health message carefully buy organic, plant-based and “clean” products and assume they are safe. Independent testing over the last few years shows that the label is not the whole story. These findings come from government reports, peer-reviewed research and Consumer Reports’ own laboratory tests.
What “Organic” Does And Does Not Mean
The USDA Organic label regulates how a crop is grown: no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. It is worth something. Consumer Reports found that pesticide residues on organic produce are usually 10 percent or less of what is found on conventional produce (Consumer Reports). But the organic label does not test for heavy metals. Lead, arsenic and cadmium come from the soil, the water and the processing plant, and an organic plant absorbs them from the ground just as a conventional one does. Organic produce can also pick up pesticides by drift from neighboring farms.
Organic Baby Food
In February 2021 a U.S. House subcommittee released Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury. It examined internal test results from the largest baby-food makers, “including both makers of organic and conventional products.” Results for baby foods and their ingredients ran up to 91 times the arsenic level, 177 times the lead level and 69 times the cadmium level allowed in bottled water. Earth’s Best Organic sold finished products with as much as 129 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic, and used ingredients with as much as 352 parts per billion of lead.
Plant-Based Protein Powders
Consumer Reports, October 2025 tested 23 popular protein powders and shakes. More than two-thirds contained more lead per serving than its experts consider safe for daily use. Plant-based products were the worst: on average they had nine times more lead than dairy-based powders. Two plant-based products had over 1,200 percent of CR’s daily level of concern in a single serving. Plants pull lead from the soil, and grinding and drying concentrate it. CR’s advice: “We advise against daily use for most protein powders, since many have high levels of heavy metals and none are necessary to hit your protein goals.”
Dark Chocolate And Cocoa
Consumer Reports tested 28 dark chocolate bars and found lead and cadmium in every one. For 23 of them, one ounce a day would put an adult over a level health authorities consider potentially harmful for at least one of those metals. A George Washington University study of 72 cocoa products over eight years (Frontiers in Nutrition, July 2024) found that 43 percent exceeded the California maximum allowable dose for lead and 35 percent for cadmium. And the researchers reported something most shoppers would never guess: “organic” products were significantly more likely to show higher levels of both lead and cadmium.
Rice, Including Brown And Organic
Consumer Reports, July 2026 tested 142 samples of 52 rice products. Every one contained inorganic arsenic, and 42 percent had enough that a daily serving could significantly raise the long-term risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes. Brown rice, the “health” choice, averaged more arsenic than white (113 vs. 72 parts per billion), because arsenic concentrates in the bran. Some organic brown rice was among the highest in the test.
Spices
Consumer Reports, September 2024 tested 36 ground cinnamon products and spice blends. Twelve had so much lead that CR said to avoid them; for some, a quarter teaspoon held more lead than a person should take in all day. In 2023 and 2024, cinnamon applesauce pouches for children were recalled after lead poisoning cases, and the FDA warned about several more ground cinnamon brands.
Pesticides On Produce
Consumer Reports’ review of years of USDA testing data rated about 20 percent of conventional fruits and vegetables as high risk for pesticide residues, including green beans, potatoes, blueberries, kale and bell peppers (Consumer Reports). Even a few organic items rated poorly, such as U.S.-grown organic spinach, where pesticides were found on most samples. The USDA Pesticide Data Program, 2024 found no detectable residue on only 42.3 percent of the samples it tested.
None of this means we should panic or stop eating fruits and vegetables; Consumer Reports itself warns that most Americans already eat too few of them. It means the words on the front of the package are marketing, not a lab result. God’s ideal was always food grown in clean soil:
“Through them the Lord designed to teach all the nations of the world how to cultivate the soil so that it would yield healthy fruit, free from disease.”
Ellen G. White · The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 1112
Products That Tested Clean
Here are specific products that came out lowest in the same independent tests described above. Two cautions: these results apply to the batches that were tested, and a brand’s sourcing can change from year to year. Check for newer results before you rely on any one product, and rotate your foods rather than eating the same thing every day.
Rice
- Lundberg Family Farms. Consumer Reports said “Lundberg consistently had some of the lowest levels of arsenic in its rice products.” Lundberg Organic Sushi White Rice tested at 39 ppb, and Lundberg 90 Second Organic Jasmine Rice at just 10 ppb. Lundberg has sent every crop to an accredited third-party lab for arsenic testing for 16 years running, and publishes the results (lundberg.com). This is the rice we use and recommend.
- Royal Basmati Rice: 32 ppb, the lowest white rice in the test.
- Great Value Basmati Rice (Walmart): 44 ppb.
- 365 Whole Foods Market 90 Second Organic Brown Basmati Rice: 12 ppb.
- Lotus Foods Organic Brown Basmati Rice: 53 ppb, the lowest regular brown rice.
- Basmati and sushi rice averaged the least arsenic of any type (55 and 57 ppb).
Protein Powders
In its follow-up tests, January 2026, Consumer Reports found four products below its daily level of concern for lead (0.5 micrograms per serving):
- Clean Simple Eats Protein Powder, Chocolate Brownie Batter: 0.21 µg
- Equate Whey Protein Powder, Rich Chocolate (Walmart): 0.27 µg
- Premier Protein Protein Powder, Chocolate Milkshake: 0.38 µg
- Truvani Plant-Based Protein, Chocolate: 0.46 µg, the best plant-based result
CR also noted that Momentous and Transparent Labs publish their own test results. Whole foods such as beans, lentils, nuts and seeds remain the best protein sources.
Dark Chocolate
Of the 28 bars Consumer Reports tested, only five were relatively low in both lead and cadmium: one each from Mast, Taza and Valrhona, and two from Ghirardelli (its Intense Dark line). Keep chocolate an occasional treat.
Cinnamon
The six lowest-risk products in the Consumer Reports, September 2024 test:
- 365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon, and 365 Organic Ground Cinnamon
- Loisa Organic Cinnamon
- Morton & Bassett San Francisco 100% Organic Ground Cinnamon
- Sadaf Cinnamon Powder, and Sadaf Seven Spice
Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes are acidic, and acid pulls chemicals out of a can’s lining. For years most can linings were made with BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical. Cento canned tomatoes are the ones we trust and use: Cento moved all of its cans to linings made without BPA in 2014 (Cento’s own FAQ). Whatever brand you buy, look for BPA-free cans, or tomatoes packed in glass.
Labels Worth Looking For
- USDA Organic: lowers pesticide exposure a great deal. It does not test for heavy metals.
- Clean Label Project Certified: the product is lab-tested for heavy metals, hundreds of pesticides (including glyphosate) and plasticizers such as BPA. The brand pays to take part, so treat it as a helpful screen, not a guarantee.
- NSF Certified for Sport: for supplements and powders. Products are tested for contaminants and banned substances, with ongoing retesting.
- Brands that publish batch test results: the most honest sign of all. If a company will not tell you what its own lab found, ask why.
Practical Steps For A Christian Kitchen
- Eat whole foods, simply prepared. The more a food is processed, powdered and concentrated, the more chances it has to pick up contaminants. An apple is safer than an apple-flavored “superfood” powder.
- Vary your grains. Rotate rice with oats, barley, quinoa, millet and buckwheat instead of eating rice every day.
- Cook rice like pasta. Boiling rice in plenty of water and pouring off the excess lowers its arsenic.
- Wash produce, and choose organic especially for the items that test highest in pesticides.
- Skip the daily protein shake. Beans, lentils, nuts and seeds do the job without the lead.
- Grow what you can. A garden, even a few pots on a balcony, is food you know the history of. It is also fresh air, sunshine and exercise, three of the eight remedies at once.
- Drink clean water. Have your tap water tested if you are unsure, and use a filter certified to remove lead.
Trust In Divine Power
Reading lab reports can make anyone anxious. But fear is not part of God’s health plan, and the last of the eight remedies is the one that holds the rest together:
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8
We do our part: we learn, we choose carefully, we grow what we can. And then we leave the rest with our Father, who knows our frame and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). The same God who kept Daniel healthy in Babylon can keep His people today.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Keep Studying
- Health And Wellness: read the owner’s manual
- The First Test!: Daniel 1 and the power of appetite
- Between The Clean And The Unclean: Leviticus 11
- Present Your Bodies A Living Sacrifice: Romans 12
- Know Ye Not That The Saints Shall Judge The World: 1 Corinthians 6, your body the temple
- Genesis 1-3: Where Everything Begins: the Eden diet
- The Bible Sabbath: God’s weekly rest
Sources
- U.S. House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury, February 4, 2021.
- Consumer Reports, protein powders and shakes: Consumer Reports, October 2025; follow-up tests, January 2026.
- Hands JM, et al., “A Multi-Year Heavy Metal Analysis of 72 Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Products in the USA,” Frontiers in Nutrition, July 2024.
- Consumer Reports, lead and cadmium in dark chocolate, December 2022.
- Consumer Reports, July 2026, arsenic in rice.
- Consumer Reports, September 2024, lead in cinnamon.
- Consumer Reports, pesticides in produce; USDA Pesticide Data Program, 2024.
