~ Book of Judges
Dear family in the Lord!
Today I quote a whole book of the Bible! The quoted sentence you will find multiple times. It expresses a state in the history of the people of Israel when they didn't have a King yet. Sometimes they would have Judges though. They were instituted by the Lord, because the people had caused themselves so much trouble and chaos by leading their lives in the ways they saw fit- that they would finally cry out to the Lord for help! And then it is recorded that history repeated it self over and over- people would be okay for a while, but as soon as the Judge is gone, they would go back to a lifestyle that glorified the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. What a graphic way to understand why this world is in the mess that it is in. Human kind corporately lost the fear of God in every way and that shows. But this is not a blog about socio-economics, but socio-nutrition. Which is, as we know, just as messed up as the rest of areas of society.
I did a little research on the FDA, the US food and drug administration. In a healthy nutshell, they allow or restrict all sorts of products on the market to regulate and ensure quality. So the fact that you can read the nutritional value and ingredients in tiny letters somewhere on products is thanks to them guys. I read in their mission statement that their goal is to help with public's health. Well (imagine me clearing my throat), I read as well that they call a lot of things unlawful, amongst many: Misleading information. Let me show you in the following why I don't think they are the God sent Judges to listen to.
How can the front of a product say "All natural whole wheat tortilla wraps" and then in fine prints on the back you learn about enriched and bleached ingredients and only 51% whole wheat! If you have three little kids screaming their lungs out in your cart or rely on your magnifying glasses to read the paper, you will not be able to take the time and study each and every item you intend to purchase. I call that misleading.
How can big companies be allowed to call their artificial sweetener products "DIET" when artificial sweetener mess with your hormone household and can make or keep you fat and likely sick?
How can dairy and deli products en mass be on the market AT ALL that are produced from cows which convenient grass-diets have been exchanged with the inside of a chem lab, when we learned hundreds of years ago that a nursing mothers' milk is influenced by her diet, therefore she for example can't have alcohol or certain medications, likely no hormones!!
Let me add about the FDA that I got the impression that they really don't care what exactly is in a product ingredient wise, but they lay an emphasis on caloric value. Let me say it this way: If a huge company, let's say like Coca Cola, funds a FDA study on diet-soda you can pretty much guess what the outcome is going to be and if it is going to end up on the market. Think of this in many different scenarios and resist the creeping feeling of paranoia- like me!!
About hormones in dairy and deli. Yes, who ever paid for the study on acceptable hormones in animal diet (God will hold all of them accountable), made it happen that the FDA can call it "safe" and "no significant difference has been found between synthetic hormones and regular hormones". This is all CRAP. I will say it again: CRAP-CRAP-CRAP! There.
Why is it CRAP? Well, do you currently take hormones or ou are coming off? Did your Doctor inform you about the links to all sorts of cancer? Meno-pause, birth control, hormonal disorders are commonly treated with magical hormones, but did you know that there are natural ways to deal with these topics (that a medical Doctor would not like you to hear about...)? I mean, we made it up to 21st century somehow, and most of it without synthetic or real hormones added to our diet...
Besides that, the amount of hormone traces in 1 glass of milk might be fine, what if you have 2 glasses, 1 steak, 2 cheese strings, 1 yogurt, 4 slices of turkey deli and some butter a day? That all adds up and your body will be the garage for all of that (on top of the medication you might take and the chemicals in household products). So, anymore questions why we need education on making the right choices?
Now let me talk about for a little why it is not enough to only care about the caloric intake per day: The common chips bag suggests that the consumer's caloric need is about 2000 calories per day. Granted, they do mention that it might be less or more than that. Let me make one thing clear: It is very likely less. Do you have a car? Does it matter what kind of fuel you put into your car? Does it matter what, if you like to keep track of your daily calories, you eat? Well, we wouldn't meet here to talk about nutrition if that wasn't the case. So, yes it matters your world what you put into your body. So, just knowing how much sugar is in a product won't matter if you only care to look at the calorie amount.
What am I suggesting after bringing up all these horrible facts about the products on the market? I am saying, realize that you are in charge. You choose what you purchase. The FDA is not interested in making bad choices obvious and they will allow companies to move in gray areas, to your disadvantage. I am suggesting to stop and think when you are in the grocery store and read all labels carefully. I mostly only shop at Trader Joe's. They still have some real bad stuff sitting between the treasures, but it is worth the ride over there, for they offer wonderful Ezekiel bread, whole wheat tortilla and pasta, meat and deli without any additives, natural yogurt, organic fruits and vegetables, sulfur free dried fruits, less harsh body care or household products, wine without any sulfites, organic frozen berries and pizza with whole wheat crust....and all of that cheaper than most other grocery stores. For me it is a treat to go to Trader Joe's and shop. I'm taking time, reading labels, talking to the staff (for some reason m husband never wants to go with me?!).
Here a rough list of words to look out for (I am always very attracted to buy the products with the least ingredients):
Stay far away from:
-enriched (unless it is shampoo)
-bleached
-MSG
-white flour (directly from hell)
-something other than "whole wheat" or "sprouted wheat"
-refined sugar (pretty much everything in America), if you have to have sugar go for 10g or less per serving products. This is VERY important for you and your kids or grand kids.
-deep fried or pre-fried foods (fries, patties, you name it). Make them your self!!!
-processed foods. Stay away from them. Cook your own meals. Buy good ingredients.
-Get Jillian Michaels' book "Master your Metabolism" to get a grand overall idea on why we are fooled and how we can eat on our behalf again.
-artificial sweeteners (Splenda, Aspartame etc.)Let me wrap this up: In the market place everyone does as they see fit. FDA tries to bring some regulations into the chaos, they mean very well, but they compromise and support the American people getting sicker and sicker with every time you deep fry-microwave-grill-or cook with most products purchased. FDA vs. GOD approved means a mindset of: Honoring the creation (animals and fruits and veggies= go as organic as you can afford) and taking care of the body's needs. And GOD approved food won't work against you either. That just doesn't make any sense! God created food for our body to his service and not to need the service of a Doctor immediately or down the road.
Do humans have a need for refined sugar? No, there is no nutritional value in refined sugar. In the doses consumed today it is actually very harmful.
Do humans need Vitamin C? Yes DAILY, they do, they need it in form of REAL FRUIT though, over the counter supplements are not able to perform the job. And I'm not talking about fruit in jam or cake either, go for one organic apple, orange and banana a day minimum, daily!
In the time of the Judges we would cry out to God since we realized we messed up big time and he would sent a Judge like Deborah, Gideon or Samson and they would clean up big time! Remember Jesus cleaning up the temple? That's what we need! How about we start praying corporately about this and expect God to help us?! As believers in Jesus Christ we have the Holy Spirit and can be led by him if we ask our father in heaven to fill us with him, and through being obedient to the leading of this divine councilor we can come to the right judgments. Now who can afford to listen to the wrong council anymore??
Be blessed abundantly,
Christina
