Your Physical Health is Important Too, Christian
I’ve written hundreds of articles related to aspects of religion, doctrine, and theology. I’ve also written many articles on health and nutrition, not because I’m an expert, but because of the path that I’ve taken that has restored my health to a great degree. I still have a ways to go, but I know I’m on the right path because of the results I’ve seen and experienced.
Many who have been reading this blog for a number of years know of my health struggles. They also know where I am now. Nearly six years ago, I was at my wit’s end where my health was concerned. I was severely overweight and my health was on a downward spiral and showed no indication of improving. Now, several years later, I have lost nearly 80 pounds and my health has markedly improved. Was it solely due to the fact that I lost weight? No, though certainly, losing weight helped, but it was how I lost weight that made the difference. In fact, the weight came off not because of a consistent workout program (which I was not involved in), but it came off as a natural result of changing my eating habits.
We just celebrated New Year’s Eve from 2017 to 2018. Gyms and exercise places normally have an uptick in new members this time of year because everyone knows they have a few to many pounds to lose and their resultant New Year’s resolutions to lose the weight. They believe that exercise is the best way to achieve it. Obviously, exercise is good for you (unless you suffer from a number of maladies that don’t allow it). But if you don’t change the way you EAT, all that exercise doesn’t do much. It simply makes you think that you’re becoming healthier because you might see a difference on the scale or in the mirror.
The plain fact of the matter is that the processed foods that most people eat today are simply not good for us. I know…I know, that sounds so conspiratorial, doesn’t it? The truth is that more and more people in the medical/health professions are coming out to warn us of the fact that, for the most part, highly processed foods are nutrient poor. It’s natural to wonder how this can be since so many food products are labeled “enriched,” or advertised as being “heart healthy,” and other things.
In their book, It Starts with Food, authors Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig highlight the problems with highly processed foods. The reality is that food that goes into the processing plant often nutrient rich comes out lacking in any valuable substantive benefits. This is because of the processing that the foods undergo. Often, nutrients are stripped away from the foods and while the manufacturers do add things, the things they add don’t really benefit us much because of the way our bodies absorb (or not), those substances.
I wish I had time to go into all the facts regarding our foods, but I can provide something to help folks understand the problem. In general, we need to understand that most of the foods produced today are created to have an extraordinary taste for us. This actually tricks us into thinking that if it tastes good, it must be good. This of course, extends to foods labeled non-fat or low-fat. The FDA will tell you that if you are going to diet, choose low-fat foods. The problem with this is that our brains actually need fats to work properly.
But this is also part of the problem – the word “diet.” Several years ago, I realized that dieting is not the answer because it implies a temporary nature. In other words, people go on a diet and eventually get off the diet to go back to whatever way they ate prior to being on the diet. This does nothing to solve the underlying problem and the underlying problem is how and what the average person eats.
Let’s take a look at Egg Beaters. Look at the chart from the Egg Beaters website. Seems to paint a decent, healthy picture of that product, right? The problem is that there are 31 ingredients in Egg Beaters, as opposed to real, actual eggs. The other major problem is that Egg Beaters is a highly processed product. Here are the ingredients:
Egg(s) Whites, Water, Pepper(s) Red, Pepper(s) Green, Onion(s) Contains Less than 1% of the following:, Pepper(s) Chili, Salt, Spice(s), Onion(s) Powder, Garlic Powder, Flavoring Natural, Food Starch Modified, Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Lactic Acid, Color(s) Artificial (Beta Carotene), Vitamins And Minerals (Calcium Sulphate (Sulfate), Ferric Phosphate, Alpha Tocopherol (Tocopheryl) Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (HCL), Biotin, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin D3.
Even though they list several vitamins and minerals, the problem is that those are simply added back into the product. It does not mean our bodies will be able to properly absorb them. “Eggs contain 13 essential vitamins, antioxidants, vitamin K2 and minerals. With a mere 70 calories each, eggs are a great option for anyone watching their waistline.”
There is also the greatest chance that the egg whites used in products like Egg Beaters are from chickens kept in horrible conditions and the eggs themselves are not top of the line. This is a possibility. Egg Beaters will tell you that it really does not compete with the real egg and they point to the amount of fat in real eggs compared to their Egg Beaters. Once again, our brains need fat, but not the kind that is normally in most processed foods! I could not find anything in their FAQ that noted what type of eggs they use and where they get them. As for me and my family, we generally use the eggs our own chickens give us. If we have to buy any, we buy eggs that are from free range chickens.
Consider the ingredients again. Note that these ingredients are put together for two purposes: 1) to make the product taste good, and 2) to make the product look good. It certainly resembles eggs that have been whisked, don’t they? But how can that be since Egg Beaters contains no yolk at all? Remember, they start with egg whites. The yolks are excluded, which means they use beta-carotene to make their product look like real eggs. When you scramble Egg Beaters up, it closely resembles real eggs. However, you’d be far better off eating actual eggs, which do not have things like, “…Pepper(s) Chili, Salt, Spice(s), Onion(s) Powder, Garlic Powder, Flavoring Natural, Food Starch Modified, Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Lactic Acid, Color(s) Artificial (Beta Carotene)…” in them. Why do you need to eat food starch or modified yeast extract autolyzed, or xanthan or guar gum, etc.? Short answer – you don’t. Many of these things are simply flavor-enhancers, nothing more. We have gotten used to how our food tastes, so when we eat something natural (like plain fruit or vegetables), that actually lets our taste buds down due to a lack of kick.
Recently, I had a bowl of steamed broccoli with nothing added. No butter, no salt, no pepper – nothing. It was actually very good and very rich in flavor and nutritional value.
Consumers have become highly conditioned to believe that if processed foods look or taste great, then they must be great for your body. This is simply not true. In fact, the opposite is often the case. My wife and I have come to the conclusion that trying to explain good health and the way to achieve it to people is like trying to explain salvation and the need to receive it. Again, we are not experts. We both simply know the benefits that are ours from the major lifestyle change with respect to foods we began several years ago.
Everyone knows salvation has eternal rewards. No one should leave this life without it. Yet, what is troubling to me is when I try to tell my Christian friends how they should begin to eat to heal themselves and/or avoid potential problems down the line. They will often look at you, smiling benignly, as if to say, “Well, that’s good for you. But I don’t have your health problems.” This may well be the case, but mine didn’t happen overnight either. It took decades of eating foods I thought at the time were fine. Eating a steady diet of foods over decades can and will harm our health and those “harms” will come out in different ways for each person because a great deal of it has to do with genetic factors.
Try telling a male friend of yours that he should go out of his way to avoid soy and he’ll probably laugh at you. Few understand that as soy breaks down in men’s digestive systems, it is actually releasing a form of estrogen. This can create havoc in men, including problems in the prostate. Men do not need estrogen in greater supplies that we already naturally have.
I am gluten-free, but I am so not because of any allergies to it, but because I want to avoid grains, not just wheat. Many of the grains we eat are nothing more than carbohydrates after the manufacturing/refining process has taken its toll. It is very sad what manufacturing companies have done and continue to do to our foods. The refining process literally strips most nutritive benefits out of food, but since the same manufacturer adds enrichment back into the foods (vitamins/minerals), we think it’s fine. In fact, the advertising for these food products tells us it’s fine and advertisers would never lie, would they?
Most of the foods we eat (highly processed, preservative-laden, store-bought fare), are simply not good for us. I realize that is an over-the-top huge statement, grounded in what might appear to be audacity (or conspiracy).
But let me attack the problem head-on and it is found in either a lack of education, an unwillingness to hear truth and apply it, or both. This is the problem with many Christians today and I’ve talked about it before in numerous articles. It is two-pronged.
Many Christians do not open God’s Word to read, study, or memorize it. The Bible lies there on the shelf all week and maybe gets carried to church on Sunday. Often, these same people also do not care what they put into their bodies. How many overweight, lethargic, seemingly unhealthy Christians do you know? Maybe you’re one of them. There is hope but only for those who are willing to take the bull by the horns and do something about it. Or, you can continue to eat your daily supply of garbage that we call food and suffer ill heath because of it. You’ll be running to doctors all the time and at best, they will be treating symptoms. Once your symptoms clear up (if they do), without changing the way you eat, expect those symptoms to return.
How often have you wished health for yourself or someone you know? Wouldn’t it be nice if people ate healthier foods? Can it really be that easy? Since I have taken different path where my food intake is concerned, I marvel at how much has changed. One would think Christians especially would want to hear about it because so many of them suffer from problems and maladies that makes them constantly run to doctors. My heart goes out to these folks, yet when I have talked to them about certain foods to avoid or how they should change their eating habits, they look at me like the unsaved person does when talking about receiving Christ and the only salvation that is available.
I know Christians who have had their gall bladders removed, they’re experiencing heart issues, they lack energy, can’t think straight, and more. Yet, they never miss a meal. They’re always eating out and “enjoying” their favorite dish from their favorite restaurants. My wife and I? We eat simply and our food is largely unadulterated. Yet, we enjoy what we eat and never go hungry.
Christians are notorious for wanting “more” of God. Certainly, that is a good thing and it is something we should pursue (as long as we pursue it correctly, according to Scripture). However, these same Christians seem to care not one iota for their own health. I’ve lost count how many Christians I know who suffer from mild to severe health problems (including obesity/belly fat), but seem to not notice the connection between what they eat and the resultant health issues that they experience. It’s mind-boggling.
Folks, 2018 just began. It’s normally the time of resolutions. Resolve to do two things this year: 1) read God’s Word daily. Read, study, and memorize His Word, and 2) start being far more careful about what you put into your mouth because everything you eat or drink will affect your health in either good ways or bad.
Entry filed under: Agenda 21, Atheism and religion, christianity, Cultural Marxism, Demonic, Emotional virtue, eternity, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, salvation. Tags: big foods, health, it starts with food, nutrient poor foods, processed foods.
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