'Recipes' for Healthcare in the Bible?

When I look at the collection of books, known as the Bible, it is fascinating to me that people many, many centuries ago repeated these stories out loud and passed them down.  These stories intricately conveyed deeply held and time proven truths about daily life, including healthcare. Wow!  What can I learn from them today?

I have read the Bible many times and enjoyed meditating on different verses.  Each time I do this, I find something else that makes me "dig" deeper about who I am and ask what in the world we are all doing here.  Are we just hurling through space on a spinning rock with molten lava at its core?  Why aren’t we more connected with life beyond our own little atmosphere?  Like in the movie “Contact”, if we are the only living beings in all of the infiniteness of an infinite number of galaxies and universes, then “what a waste of space!”

An example of my “digging deeper” in prayer is found in the verse from Psalm 51 “Create in me a clean heart, O God [Good].”  For many years I have interpreted this verse in times of severe frustration in business and relationships that God is creating a fresh, new start for me.  Wiping the slate clean so to speak.  A study carried out by researchers at the Universites of Leicester, Ulster and Sheffield Hallam and other institutions - entitled Prayer and subjective well-being: the application of a cognitive-behavioural framework (click for study) explored the idea that "prayer has a beneficial effect on subjective well-being".

Several months ago, a friend of mine told me that she had been diagnosed with heart disease and had surgery to correct the problem.  After the surgery, the problem worsened and her doctored decided that she needed further surgery to correct the problem.  After hearing this she, in a quiet moment one night, prayed.

According to 2007 findings roughly 49 percent of Americans pray for their health, up from 43 percent in 2002. That means she is one in a crowd of over 150 million other Americans praying and singing to God in care of their health. Psalm 51 seared like a branding iron on her mind.  She asked if her heart could be cleaned in this way. This Psalm led her to other verses, which led to a whole host of ideas and possibilities. Without talking to anyone she prayed these Psalms every morning. She felt a burden lift and at her next appointment, her physician asked her if she was doing anything different in her daily diet and exercise.  She said no and that she was singing Psalms every morning. The doctor’s response was to keep it up because the heart was becoming “clean” and functioning more efficiently.

Another example of Bible verses as recipes to healthcare can be found with George Malkmus Health tips from hacres.com and his biblically based dietary life style and healthcare system. One statement he makes is:

“Friends, what I have just shared is the key to life, health, and longevity! And with this knowledge almost every individual can take control of his or her own health. Yes, with this knowledge each person can now determine whether they want to “be in health” (3 John 2) or live in sickness.

Here is how the Bible expresses this individual responsibility:

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man (or woman) soweth, that shall he (or she) also reap.”
Galatians 6:7”

If we look beyond what we know right now, can we find answers previously obscured and hidden?  Even if that source may be extremely familiar?