How Then Shall You Eat?

“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;” Deuteronomy 8:7-8

The answer to what shall we eat is simple: better and less. Eat less and eat foods that are as close to the way God made them as possible-straight from the ground, straight from the trees. Eat food for health and not because you think it will make you happy.

God is one cool God. He created food and He wants us to enjoy our food. He put 10,000 taste buds on the tongue, in the throat and esophagus that provide information about the taste of the food we eat. Taste buds detect the four elements of taste perception: salty, sour, bitter, sweet. The food we eat hits a cluster of these taste receptors and transfers the information to the cortex of the cerebrum in our brain. It’s a complicated process that was given to us for one reason. God wants us to enjoy the taste of our food.

Food is beautiful-especially food in its natural state before all identity has been processed out of it. I suppose God could have made all our food gray in color and it could have been just as nutritious, but He didn’t do that. He made food orange, dark green, red, purple, yellow and white. God made food to appeal to the eye and then to the palate. God wants us to enjoy the way our food looks and taste.

“But I don’t do vegetables, and very little fruit, either,” I hear you say. Well, that has to change. Remember that taste is acquired. There are places in the world people eat grasshoppers and insect larvae. There are places where people eat animals we consider pets. And they enjoy what they eat! Taste is something we learn. Some of our learning has not been good for our health. We have to unlearn the kinds of eating behavior that hurt us and relearn healthier ways of eating. We can learn to eat fruits and vegetables and enjoy them-and we must.

I suppose the next question would be, “How much should I eat”? You should eat enough to fuel your body so that it is at its peak efficiency for what God wants you to do in life. God intended that you glorify him with your body in your eating. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, ”Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Even in your eating you can glorify God.” I’ll be honest: I’m not sure about all the ways you can glorify God by what you eat, but I am sure that overeating and gluttony are not among them. (see Proverbs 23:1-3).

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the importance of drinking plenty of water and leaving the sugar laden soft drinks and fruit juices on the store shelves. Water works to transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. It functions as a lubricant and a coolant. Water is used by the body for respiration, regulating the body’s temperature, increasing metabolism and is necessary for the removal of body wastes. Water is also a great aid to losing weight because it is calorie free, has no fat or cholesterol and is low in sodium.

So the bottom line is-eat better, healthier foods that are found on the outer perimeter of the grocery store like fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water and avoid purchasing the dead-processed foods found in the middle aisles.