Information Really Is Power

When it comes to good health, knowledge is power. This is why I spend at least thirty minutes everyday reading something about how to live healthy. Remember Hosea 4:6a says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:…” The enemy wants to destroy you through ignorance so wise up.

We can’t say a lack of information is responsible for the unhealthy and overweight condition in which we, as a nation, find ourselves. The USDA Food Guide, provided online at www.choosemyplate.gov, is a great tool in helping you eat in a healthy manner. The website has many tools for learning how to eat in a healthy manner.

Let’s get into it and talk about what kinds of foods to eat. There are some guidelines that will help you. First and foremost, shop for the “live” foods. Live foods are those found around the outside aisles of the grocery store. That’s where you find the fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats, poultry and fish that are so healthy for us. Down the inside of the aisles is where you find processed foods that are “dead” foods, and perhaps they have been on those shelves for months or years. Do you really want to focus on putting that kind of-food often loaded with preservatives-into your body?

Learn to read nutrition labels on the back of food packages. You won’t find nutrition labels on fruits and vegetables but they are on anything humans have processed.

Calories per serving: the first thing to look at when reading a label is the portion size. Many people don’t consider this and think they are taking fewer calories than they really are because instead of eating a half-cup serving of something, they have eaten a cup.
Check out the calories in a single serving. Calories are fuel for the body and we need them to live, but if we have become overweight, it’s an indication we have consistently taken in more calories than we can burn and the excess is being stored as fat. If you’re going to lose weight you have to cut back on caloric intake.

Fats: Next look for fat grams. Fat is dense, and a little fat can pack a lot of calories. There are healthy fats and dangerous trans-fats. Trans-fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. These fats can increase the risk of heart disease by raising LDL (bad cholesterol) and lowering the HDL (good cholesterol). Everyone needs some fat in their diet to maintain healthy cells and a strong nervous system and good skin and hair. However these fats should be mono-unsaturated fats, Omega 3 oils, such as those found in nuts, olive oil and other unsaturated oils.
The healthy kinds of fats are necessary for the ultimate functioning of the body and mind. They promote a healthy heart. They help prevent cancer. They keep down inflammation. They benefit nerve cells in the eyes and promote eye health. Because the brain is 60 percent fat, fat is necessary for healthy communication between the brain and nervous system. The right fats improve your mood and help in weight loss by increasing satisfaction from the foods you eat so that you will eat less.

Fiber: Check out the fiber grams on the label. You want to choose foods with high fiber content, as most Americans don’t eat enough fiber. You need 30 grams of fiber every day to keep the body functioning at its optimum.

Make wise choices with your food purchases. Read those labels and know what you are putting in your mouth. It matters. It makes a difference, and the difference shows up in added weight or loss of weight.

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.