Human beings have a tendency towards self-destructive behavior. It’s an unfortunate fact that has revealed itself time and time again through history with every race and people who have ever lived. People have descended into moral, spiritual and physical ruination at nearly every turn down through the generations. Now, in the modern world, this is especially true when it comes to the way we treat our bodies, and the food we eat. Faced with the decision of what to nourish our bodies with, most people choose the worst food possible. Many young people cringe at the idea of even accidentally eating any kind of green vegetable with their meal. It doesn’t help that many of us have grown up eating junk food, and can name more candy bars than US presidents. We are often more influenced by the catchy jingles of fast food television commercials than what we know to be good for us. Why do we choose to treat ourselves so badly?
So what will you eat for supper tonight? Will it be a microwaveable dinner, delivered pizza, or food from one of the many restaurants near you? There are a multitude of choices to make over what we choose to eat, more so than ever before. The rarest option nowadays seems to be cooking and preparing dinner like it was done way before the advent of facebook or the internet. Due to the cultural shift into one of continual busyness and high speed, people have been forced to adapt their eating habits in like manner. Several decades ago, taking notice of the increasing faster pace of society, some acted upon the growing trend, and now, we have a plethora of fast-food, but low-nutrition establishments littering the landscape. Although not entirely impossible to get a nutritious meal while eating out, it is difficult. It’s no wonder obesity rates have skyrocketed, and it’s now become a major epidemic.
A major issue effecting everyone today is what our food consists of. What chemicals are we ingesting by eating certain things from certain places? Organic and natural food products have been on the rise for a number of years now, and for good reason. It makes perfect sense to question what pesticides are used on foods, and how genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) effect our health. Many would tell you that there’s no scientific or medical evidence whatsoever that can prove that organic food is any better for you than non-organic, but the vitality of natural food consumers stand as a testimony to themselves. Many Americans aren’t aware that most store bought red meat contains nitrates that cause cancer, that high fructose corn syrup, a synthetic liquid sugar, used in many food and drinks, contributes to type one and type two diabetes, and that refined white flour can lead to heart disease. It’s the nutrient-depleted, artificial ingredients that many store bought foods contain that impact our health in a way that the majority of people are blinded to.
Beyond whatever solid food we choose to subject our physical bodies too, we also must decide what to drink along with it. It’s no secret that soft drinks are the popular choice among those from kids and adults, and even the elderly. This hasn’t been helped by the constant super-sizing of drinks. Even sports drinks and so-called healthy beverages are so loaded with sugar and artificial ingredients that one is almost better off drinking liquified cotton candy. The pure, simplistic choice of water has largely been left in the cold like a rejected prom date. Encouragingly, there has been an H2O renaissance over the last decade, and more people have become aware of just how important it is to drink pure water. It’s often said that if God created it, you can’t improve upon it. Such is true, especially in the arena of food and drink. One doesn’t need a degree in astrophysics to understand that food eaten in its natural form is better for you than the food-like substances that aren’t. In other words, if your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, it’s probably a good idea not to eat or drink it.
The bottom line is, we should take better care of ourselves. Fad diets are prone to fail, and trends come and go. By now, many of the new year’s resolutions regarding your health have worn off, and perhaps you’ve settled back into old eating habits again. The good news is that all is not lost. You can start new dietary habits today that will make a difference in the years to come. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that ‘our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit’. We were created in the image of God. We should be taking better care of our bodies for spiritual reasons, just as much as physical ones. Start by learning what ingredients are in the food that you eat, and what the long, unpronounceable words on the back on food labels actually mean. Check out natural health websites such as naturalnews.com and naturalhealthgazette.com, that contain a wellspring of information on what foods are beneficial and detrimental to you. Take responsibility for your own health. After all, you only have one body to take care of, so treat it well.
