But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. . . . “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.” Dan. 1:8-12, NIV.

A number of years ago my mom gave me a tape by Dr. Elden Chalmers about how to make better grades. One of the things he mentioned was not to eat any sweets for five to 10 days prior to exams. But I never tried it.

Then when I was a physical therapy student studying for my written comprehensive exams, I was really scared. I had so much material to cover, so much I had to learn. Plus I’ve always had a tough time expressing myself on exams. So I asked myself, “What could make a big difference as I study and complete these exams?”

Then I came across the story of Daniel resolving not to eat the rich food served at the king’s table, and I challenged myself not to eat sweets and desserts until I had written the exams. What made things really tough was that it was during the time we celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, with all the traditional rich holiday foods and sweet desserts!

I prayed for God’s strength, because I really love good-tasting food. My husband encouraged me and never once tried to entice me to sample what I had chosen to not eat. Just sticking to my resolve was an incredible miracle, since we received invitations to many special occasions serving scrumptious homemade cookies, candy, cakes, and pies.

But the biggest difference I felt was that my mind was clearer and I was able to concentrate on my studies for longer periods of time. How I wish I had taken Elden Chalmers’ advice before!

You’re probably wondering if it made a difference in my exam scores. I’m sure it did. I went into the exams with a confidence I had never possessed before, and passed them all.

Ellen White said: “The free use of sugar in any form tends to clog the system” (Counsels on Health, p. 154) and “A great amount of milk and sugar . . . clog the system, irritate the digestive organs, and affect the brain” (Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 370).

Do you have a sweet tooth? What could you do without today to have a clearer mind for the Holy Spirit to impress?u could do to make others happy?

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.