Health
Bible-based diet could unlock the secret to lasting wellness, experts say
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Many people turn to the Bible for guidance in times of both triumph and hardship — but some say it can also serve as a guide for physical health.
Dr. Josh Axe and Jordan Rubin, co-authors of the book “The Biblio Diet,” believe that ancient foods of the Bible can be transformed into a modern dietary plan to enhance health and even help reverse life-threatening conditions.
“I think the Bible is the greatest health book ever written,” Axe, a doctor of natural medicine in Tennessee, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “If somebody’s dealing with any health condition, whether it’s depression, anxiety, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, PCOS, infertility, hypothyroidism or low testosterone, the Bible has a solution. If you follow a diet based on the Bible, you can be made well.”
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Here are more details.
Faith and healing through biblical principles
Both Axe and Rubin have faced serious health challenges that deepened their faith and inspired their work, they said.
Dr. Josh Axe and Jordan Rubin are co-authors of the book “The Biblio Diet.” (Hannah Corwin; courtesy of Dr. Josh Axe.)
Rubin was diagnosed with Crohn’s colitis as a teenager, and later with severe cancer.
After visiting dozens of doctors with no success, he met a man who told him that if he were to follow a diet based on the Bible — proven through history and confirmed by science — he could be well.
“After another 40-day period of an upgraded diet — plus detoxification, and emotional and spiritual therapy — I overcame cancer that was referred to as terminal and did not undergo chemotherapy, radiation or additional surgeries,” Rubin told Fox News Digital.
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Dr. Axe’s own journey began while he was helping his mother overcome breast cancer.
“I put together a program for my mom that included certain foods in the Bible, like pomegranate and olive oil — and also prayer, faith, praise and worship,” he said.
“I think the Bible is the greatest health book ever written.”
Later, when a medical procedure left Axe with a spinal infection, he again turned to a Bible-based diet and prayer, combining them with regenerative treatments to heal.
“I listened to the diagnosis of my great physician, not my ordinary physician,” the doctor said. “The great physician tells you to live with hope in all things and believe in the miraculous — and I did. Now I’m 100% healed.”
What a Bible-based diet looks like
Food is mentioned repeatedly in the Bible, and both authors believe the core foods discussed can form the foundation of a healthy modern diet.
Key examples include red meat, whole-grain sourdough bread, olive oil, dairy, fruits like pomegranates and figs, and natural sweeteners, such as raw local honey.
A Bible-based diet includes foods like red meat and dairy, which some have argued should be foods to avoid. (iStock)
Red meat, the authors say, is a “superfood” that provides protein, creatine, glutamine, carnitine, zinc, iron and B6.
“If you look at the Bible’s longest-lived heroes, anytime they could afford red meat, they would consume it,” Rubin said.
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Bread, often demonized in modern diets, also plays a key role when prepared correctly.
“Properly sourced and properly prepared grains can be a part of a healthy diet,” Rubin said. “With Jesus being called the bread of life, it wouldn’t make sense if bread was bad for everyone. The way it’s processed and preserved matters.”
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Olive oil, frequently referenced in scripture, supports skin, metabolism and cardiovascular health. Dairy — particularly from sheep, goats or certain dairy cows — can also be beneficial.
“The land of milk and honey was not just a euphemism,” Rubin noted. “Dairy can be very healthy if it’s whole, raw and grass-fed.”
Raw, local honey serves as a natural sweetener and immune system booster, while unprocessed whole salt provides essential minerals. Avocados, figs and fresh fruits are other staples.
“Eat foods that God created and in a form that’s healthy for the body,” Rubin advised. “You can take red meat or an apple and make it unhealthy by how you grow, raise, process and prepare it.”
Foods to consider avoiding
The authors argued that people should avoid foods labeled “unclean” in Leviticus — such as pork, shellfish and shrimp.
“Pigs, shrimp and other scavengers don’t have the system to properly process toxins,” Rubin said.
Axe believes that living a healthy life is one important factor to living faithfully. (Courtesy of Dr. Josh Axe.)
They also warned against modern processed foods, including those with high-fructose corn syrup, food dyes and refined sugars.
Even foods considered healthy can become harmful when overly processed.
“If Moses were here today, what would the food laws look like?” they ask in “The Biblio Diet” — encouraging readers to apply biblical principles to modern nutrition.
Fasting and other biblical health practices
Beyond food, Axe and Rubin highlight spiritual disciplines that impact both body and soul — particularly fasting.
“There’s no doubt that fasting is one of the greatest healing breakthroughs someone can experience,” Dr. Axe said.
Fasting can begin simply by avoiding food for a 10-hour window overnight, allowing the body to “clean up damaged cells, cancer cells, parasites and infections.”
“Fasting is one of the greatest healing breakthroughs someone can experience.”
He added, “There’s a lot of medical literature on it being the greatest thing you can do to reverse the aging process and activate longevity.”
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For some, fasting can also bring spiritual clarity.
“I can tell you personally [that] spiritual growth [brings a] deeper connection to God [and] clearer thinking — the ability to hear God’s voice,” Dr. Axe said.
Olive oil is a key food noted in the Bible, and can be used in a variety of recipes. (iStock.)
Rubin agreed, emphasizing the importance of emotional healing as well.
“During my successful battle with cancer, I made spiritual health a priority,” he said. “I wrote out a prayer from the Bible and quoted it out loud three times a day — it was medicine to me.”
He also focused on forgiveness, calling it “essential” to his recovery.
Best to consult multiple sources
The authors stressed that “The Biblio Diet” isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
“It’s a great diet for everyone, but due to the number of health problems people have today, there is a level of customization that people can benefit from,” Dr. Axe said.
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The diet, they noted, isn’t restrictive — it can even include waffles, pizza, cookies and ice cream made with wholesome, Bible-approved ingredients.
Rubin advises anyone facing health challenges to stay calm, seek peace and consult multiple sources.
Jordan Rubin still eats delicious foods while following a Bible-based diet, but he does so in a healthy way. (Sarah Partain Tran.)
“Take a deep breath. Believe that God has provided for your healing. Seek a second opinion, and most of all, do what you have peace about.”
Axe and Rubin view health as a form of worship, they said — a way to honor God through the body.
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“I think God wants us to be excellent in everything we do,” Dr. Axe said.
“One of the greatest things we can do to influence others and let them see the truth of the Bible and what Jesus teaches is by being physically healthy.”
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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