To Prosper You—Not To Harm You

For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’ says ADONAI [God],’plans for well-being [shalom, wholeness], not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future.      Jeremiah 29:11  Complete Jewish Bible translation

When I lived in Nashville, my Pastor at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church was Bishop James King. Every Sunday he ended his message with the affirmation,

“God’s plan for you is good, you must do the rest.”

We were encouraged to trust God and to also recognize that God gives us the knowledge, resources, and faith to be a co-creator in God’s plan for our good.

The Hebrew word translated here as well-being is shalom which is sometimes translated peace. The word also means wholeness. God’s plan is for our wholeness—body, mind, and spirit well-being. The way we eat is part of how we experience wholeness. God plan is that we be well.

It is challenging to change the way we eat, which is the way our Mama and Daddy eat, and the way our grandparents ate (or eat—Praise God). Our lives are different. Our stressors are different. We don’t live in neighborhoods where we can walk to the drugstore or the post office. If we do live in a walkable neighborhood, we don’t. No problem, we may work out in a gym. Good. Then we go home, grab a cool beverage filled with sugar, sit down and eat whatever we bought on the way home. On good days we cook our favorite foods: mac and cheese, we may bake the chicken, greens/green beans cooked until they cry “mercy,” and our favorite dessert—mine is peach pie. (I said “we;” I know from experience.)     🙂

Now, we know that what we eat makes a difference in our well-being. Here are a few thoughts based on recent research and understanding of the positive effect certain foods have to improve our wholeness, our well-being, our future.

Eat Healthy Whole Foods (not talking about the grocery store!!) When I say whole foods I mean food that is not processed and the vitamins and minerals reduced or removed. It is food in its natural state: a whole apple—not apple sauce; fresh or frozen blueberries—not blueberry juice. 

Healthy Whole Foods

Many studies have found that a diet high in healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as:

• cardiovascular disease
• many types of cancer
• type 2 diabetes

So what’s so good about healthy whole foods? For one, they’re loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  They also contain phytochemicals, the general name for natural compounds in plants.  While thousands of individual phytochemicals have been identified, countless more remain unknown.  They help in different ways.  Some are antioxidants, which protect cells against damage.  Examples of antioxidant phytochemicals are flavonoids, carotenoids, and lycopene.

Usually, the term whole foods is confined to vegetables, fruits, and grains.  But any dietitian will agree that eating a skinless chicken breast is preferable to eating processed chicken nuggets.

One problem with processed food is that, during manufacture, many healthy nutrients are removed.

For instance, “When whole grains are refined, the bran and the coat of the grain are often removed,” says Kaiser.  Some nutrients are lost, most significantly fiber.  Then, during the enrichment process, nutrients may be artificially added back in.  But even after enrichment, the final product is likely to be less nutritious than the whole grains you started with. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-healthy-whole-foods

Prayer for Day  16: Provider God, we thank you for inviting us into a life of wholeness. We ask for your grace as we seek to accept and have a healthy future. Amen.

Resources 

http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/whole_advantages.html    More about whole foods

http://www.mindfuleats.com/mindfuleats/2009/02/eat-more-whole-foods.html  This writer gives suggestions on how to get more whole foods in your diet

Abundant Life

The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. I [Jesus] came that you might have life and life abundantly. John 10:10

I have never said, “I don’t want abundant life. I’m fine with plain ol’ life” I never said that, but there have been times when my food choices screamed, “Kill, steal, destroy!!” There was a time when I could walk into my (it felt like mine) neighborhood Baskin Robbins and the clerk would reach for the banana because she knew what I would order. I was Queen of the Banana Split.

Also, (since I am repenting–it is Lent after all) I confess to buying a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, opening it, and eating it before I got into the house. Okay, those were not moments that make me proud. But, I’m telling you this because our food choices make the difference between living  and living abundantly. I had to change what I ate to life better. I exercise by walking which probably kept me from developing Type 2 Diabetes, but I did have more aches than I liked. I knew I could and should do better.

In my 20’s I was trained as a Nutrition Aide by the City of Detroit Department of Public Health. I loved the job because I trained new mothers in how they could eat better and feed their babies the right foods. This began a lifelong interest and investment in eating good food. (Hey, just because we know better does not always mean we will do better—just sayin’—Don’t Judge). Though I may wander off from what I know I should do, my training and delight in delicious food keeps me running back to healthy food.

We are on the Daniel Fast. We know it is not just about food. We know we are on a spiritual journey to listen for God’s voice, to draw closer to God by reading God’s word, and to spend more time in spiritual practices.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/9717704932/

But, for the next few days, I am focusing on food. Not to give food priority, but to make it plain that our physical witness is part of our spiritual witness. We can serve abundantly, worship abundantly, have abundant joy when we live abundantly by eating better. Let’s talk about food.

Food As Medicine

Food that is used as medicine is sometimes called nutraceuticals:

“Food, or parts of food, that provide medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.” Dr. Stephen DeFelice, Foundation for Innovation in Medicine

Okay, before you shut down the page let me say what I mean by nutraceuticals.  Nutraceuticals are foods I eat that make me feel better: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans. Sound familiar??!! Right, those are most of the foods we eat on the Daniel Diet. Have you noticed a change in how you feel since following the Daniel Fast? Studies show that people who eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains have lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and reduced probability of heart disease, diabetes, and strokes. What you are eating matters!!

There’s more. . . Will talk tomorrow about the benefits of specific foods. (Disclaimer: I am not an expert on food or your health. You are. Please consider your own health needs when making food decisions.)

Prayer for Day 15: O God of Abundance and Love, You provide us with healthy food. We offer our healthy bodies, minds, and spirits to you in service. 

Resources

http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/activities/healthy-foods-have-hand-quick-easy-meals You can find a list of foods that are inexpensive (most are) and can be used to make a quick meal. Example: whole grains, rice, vinegars, canned seafood, and beans

http://students.brown.edu/Brown_Nutrition/fruit/  “Food as medicine: A Practical Approach to Healthy Eating”