Friday, April 28, 2023

FOOD BY FAITH

 

Instruction for Health and Nutrition is all through the Bible.

There is good news. All our food can be good, healthful, nourishing, energizing. It is there, coming from the earth, the trees, the vine, coming from rain from heaven. But of late, if we have been hurting ourselves because we are taking the “wide road” with devitalized food, why just quick and easy? Why processed food, chemical additives, devitalized, bleached and degermed grains and a listed “ingredient” called “natural flavor”? (So called “natural flavor” is a lie). It is making us unhealthy, sick; making us less than we want to be and can be. There is another way.

This “other way” has been a profound subject for me, too high, too broad, and too deep. At the same time, the worthiness and fascination of it calls me. It has for a lifetime. It is a “Way” which is hopeful because the Bible is correct in every respect. Spiritual food and physical food have similarities: one is for the spirit and soul, the other for the body. God promised over and over to bring His people into a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is an example of abundant spiritual and physical nourishment. When Scripture highlights food it can apply to our whole person: “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ…;” (I Thessalonians 5:23). One type of food (spiritual) teaches about the other type (physical), but also the other way around.

From the first day I was born, and every day thereafter, my father and mother with their family of eight children read the Bible aloud together every day. Seven siblings and I learned to read this way. It influenced me, and even before I realized, it directed my life. By my twenties, my health pursuits became an adventure primarily because of Scripture.

At one point I traveled to Texas. I could type well and got a job at Link-Temco-Vought (LTV) in Dallas. There all the ways of the culture came up, including food and alcohol. Instead of going rogue, I decided to follow the Bible already planted in my head and heart. My spirit, soul and body needed to be fed. I saw good food described in Scripture.  For example, Ezekiel’s bread. God told Ezekiel, "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof..." (Ezekiel 4:9). Food is also figurative, "And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35). Physical bread and spiritual bread are a highlight in Scripture, in both the Old Testament and the New.

The Bible has vital information about food and health sprinkled all the way through and in surprising places. We can go to it with certainty. Here is dependable wisdom and knowledge because our Creator wrote it all for us. It is the “bottom line” in nutritional wisdom. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”  (2 Peter 1:21).

The more you learn about nutritious food, its value to your health, the more you will enjoy it. Get it into your head and heart. Once convinced, eating knowledgably, eating wisely becomes a habit. Habitually eat what is good, you will soon look forward to it, even crave it. Grab salted almonds or a crisp apple and cheddar cheese or grapes. Two pieces of Ezekiel Bread, available in grocery stores (freezer section), with butter heated in the microwave for 30 seconds, then honey added, with it a half cup of grass-fed milk is one effective way to begin the day. Alternate with your simple homemade Granola. You and your body are happy.

"And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the land." (Isaiah 7:22).

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

OIL IN TODAY'S DIET ARE OFTEN PROBLEMATIC...GO FOR OLIVE OIL

 

OILS THAT CAUSE HARM

Ava Rockwell, founder of the School of Holistic Medicine, commented that any mixed vegetable oils or straight vegetable oils, such as corn, canola, or soybean, are terrible for you. 

“They cause awful inflammation and are implicated by a famous, now-retired heart surgeon who has 1,000 bypasses under his belt. He claims that sugar and refined vegetable oils are the real cause of heart disease,” she said. “They damage the arterial walls, leading to injury, causing the body to create layers of deposits to repair the damage.” Ava Rockwell - Certified Holistic Health Professional - Self-employed | LinkedIn

Fast-Food Fans May Face Liver Damage

Written by Megan Brooks

Jan. 13, 2023 – A new study that shows the harm to the liver of eating fast food might provide people with motivation to eat less of it in the new year.

https://www.webmd.com/

Partly hydrogenated oil

Partly hydrogenated oil is often part of processed foods and is the principal source of dangerous trans fats in a person’s diet, crediting the American Heart Association (AHA). 

“These synthetic trans fats are made in an industrial procedure that involves adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to solidify them.

Trans fats raise your LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol levels and lower your HDL (or “good”) levels and increase your risk of developing heart disease and stroke, per the AHA.

 

TRANS FATS

"Artificial trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid."

"The primary dietary source for trans fats in processed food is partially hydrogenated oils. Look for them on the ingredient list on food packages. In November 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer Generally Recognized as Safe.

“Trans fats are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time. Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture. Often restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers. Several countries (e.g., Denmark, Switzerland, and Canada) and jurisdictions (California, New York City, Baltimore, and Montgomery County, MD) have reduced or restricted the use of trans fats in food service establishments.”

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/trans-fat

According to LIVESTRONG.COM

Hydrogenated oil, more specifically partially hydrogenated oil, contains a type of man-made fat, called trans-fat, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Although once "generally recognized as safe," the FDA has declared that after January 1, 2020, no food manufacturers are allowed to add partially hydrogenated oils to their foods. https://www.livestrong.com/