George Wangemann had followed what he thought was basically healthy eating, aside from the occasional samplings of sweets and carbohydrate-rich foods.

So when he entered the doctor’s office about a year ago with complaints of lower back pains and walked out with a diagnosis of Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes, Wangemann got a big surprise.

“That was not a good thing to hear,” he said, “but I needed to hear it. It turned my life around and brought on this greater commitment to (eating well).”

Wangemann, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has turned more vigorously to following revelation, or “Word of Wisdom,” as revealed by God to Joseph Smith in 1833, primarily about physical health.

There are dont’s in the revelation, such as not using tobacco or alcohol. But it also advises the faithful to partake in wholesome grains, ripened fruits, raw vegetables and, sparingly, meats.

Those are commonly known rules today but not so much in the early 19th century.

“Scientific breakthroughs and knowledge usually catch up with revelation, but revelation is always far ahead of science because it does come from God and God knows all things,” said Wangemann, who serves on the Gainesville City Council.

Faith-based diets have emerged in recent years as alternatives to more “secular” diets. “The Maker’s Diet” and “The Hallelujah Diet” are a couple of the major ones.

“Daniel’s Diet” is considered a fast because, according to the Bible, Daniel gave up certain foods to honor God. He was fasting from “royal food” that would defile his body and God.

“There’s a lot of information out there,” said Lori Floyd, nurse at the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville.

“My approach has been more of a stewardship kind of thing. God has given us wonderful things, one of which is our body. (The Bible says) our body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, and God instructs us to take care of it.

“I’ve offered several programs here geared more toward not so much diet alone — although that’s part of it — but a balanced approach.”

She’s working with church staff on an eight-week program, “Get My People Going,” that focuses on “trying to promote a healthy lifestyle.”

“Our goal is to be whole, and in order to achieve that, you really have to address mind, body and spirit,” Floyd said. “If one suffers, really the other two suffer.”

Wangemann agreed.

He said the Lord speaks of physical health consisting of three major aspects: proper nutrition, adequate rest and well-balanced exercise.

Wangemann said that since he has adjusted his lifestyle, “I feel better.”

“I brought my life in line with the word of God,” he said. “Through obedience ... we can receive blessings. We all need to make changes in our lives.”

Lillian Welch, associate professor at Gainesville State College in Oakwood, has finished a Scripturally based book about nutrition and exercise, “Healthy, Happy and Heaven Bound.”

“In terms of nutrition, I think it’s important that people of faith realize that God loves us however we are,” she said. “However, he sends us these Scriptures to provide warnings and motivation, a lot of encouragement for positive health behaviors.”

She said she believes people shouldn’t consider food merely as “pleasure for our senses, but as nutrition for our bodies, so that we can — and I think this is where the faith-based thing come in — serve God better and perform our daily functions and tasks if we fuel our bodies with good food.”

Welch said “everybody needs to eat a little bit of what they love,” but they need to have “stopping sense.”

One way to help that is, while at the dinner table, “feed other senses, to have flowers and candles and relaxing music, when you can’t eat all you would like to,” she said.