Spiritual Spa #13: Foods and moods in the eye of the beholder

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?  

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 
Psalm 121, 1-2

Dear family in the Lord!

Let's start today with some food for thought; chewing on this amazing psalm!

We all have been in need of help. Getting older, and with that hopefully more mature, may have helped us overcome our desire for dependence or independence and opened our sight up for interdependence. There is no shame in asking for help. It takes a wise person to realize that one's wisdom has come to an end. Sometimes all we need is a little push in the right direction. There is great power in a social network that displays common interests on the one hand and varieties of talents, experiences or backgrounds and, with that, resources on the other. What you know or can do may be of dire need to a friend of yours! Are you aware that life can be called fruitful when you make yourself approachable? 

Well, part of the Good News, the Gospel, is that God is approachable! And He is very fruitful. That is what the quoted verses talk about. Man realizing that he is totally dependent on God, who created the majestic mountains, the humbling heaven and the enormous earth. Man realizing, as well, that God made him an interdependent being. Body, soul and spirit- Jesus is the foundational fulfillment of all our needs. (I of course say that from a New Testament point of view) As a former theology student I had to add this notation!!

The psalmist talks about lifting his eyes to the mountains. Maybe you can compare that to your soul trying to see the world from a "higher perspective," a different point of view,  the famous "meta-level." As much as this might help us see things clearer or feel superior for a while, the soul is limited just as a mountain is incapable of actually touching heaven. I believe this is essentially why people share a feeling of deep emptiness inside; they haven't connected with God in their whole life or that day.  

God is also the creator of heaven and with that we are eternal beings that can have the Holy Spirit if we believe in Jesus Christ and asked our Father in heaven to seal and baptize us with His Spirit. With the Spirit we can see the world truly from "God's perspective" which will always be higher than any high place man can climb on. That is part of being a son or daughter of God, we have a Father who empowers us to face the world and with that glorify His name! 

Then we are also fleshly beings. And the flesh (the body) connects the most with the visible earth. There is wisdom and healing in the creation of God - the earth. By realizing that God will answer the call for help, I believe He steers our attention, wholesome as always He approaches us, through Jesus to the earth as well. And when I say earth I mean of course environmental influences, lifestyle and nutrition.
You might wonder by now how I come up with these clever ways of connecting various Bible verses with nutrition :) Believe me, it is the Holy Spirit weaving it into my thoughts. This one literally came while taking a shower. All I can do is sit down with preferably a laptop and follow the thread - that is usually after the shower and much better for our domestic laptops. Praise to the Lord!

Now let us see in what way God could meet you and your needs through nutrition! 

If you need help right now because you feel the winter blues, I would, first of all, ask you if you and your creator are on the same page. Is God feeling blue? Does he want you to feel blue? Is the ball in your court to clean up a situation by making a tough but healthy choice? Or are you eating like your are eating out of a garbage can? Do you eat mostly without fruits and veggies and skip breakfast all together? 

Here are some tips that will help you deal with winter blues if you feel like God wants you to start "beholding" your earthly being more:

- Vitamin D is important! Go outside and take 20-30 minute walks in the sun. Fifteen minutes of that should be without sunglasses so your body can absorb the positive effects of the sun.

- Food sources of Vitamin D include organic eggs, fatty fish like salmon or tuna, liver and milk.

- Vitamin B. There are five important B's to keep in mind: B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12. 

 Food sources include fish, meats, dark green leafy veggies like spinach, carrots, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, black beans, pinto beans, organic corn, mushrooms, nuts, flaxseeds, yogurt, whole grains, bananas, strawberries, oranges or kiwi. 

Aim daily for various rainbow colors and emphasize the veggies! A minimum of 5-7 servings should become a lifestyle!

- Here is a list of true good mood food. Always try eating it in it's least processed form (I only mention foods that I haven't listed before but you can also include the foods mentioned above!):

~ Asparagus

~ Swiss Cheese

~ Chicken

~1-3 pieces of Dark Chocolate

~ Chickpeas

~ Lemons

~ Oats

~ Protein

~ Saffron

~ Sardines

~ Seafood

Adding to this list, you want to mostly stay away from simple carbs that will give you the emotional roller coaster (found in [refined] sugar, honey, agave nectar, artrocious artificial sweeterners like aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, white flours, white rice, enriched grains, alcohol).

You want to grab the whole grain foods (found in Ezekiel Bread or whole wheat pasta) or other sources of complex carbs (such as sweet potatoes or spaghetti squash), the good fats (as found in butter from grass-fed cows, swiss cheese, cold pressed olive oil, coconut oil, avocados or raw and unsalted nuts). Remember to have a serving of that kind of fat with your 5-7 servings of fruit and veggies! Eating meats along with these proteins will make you feel full longer and help your body replenish itself.

Hey, and by the way, frequent vigorous exercise is a great idea for most people!

With that I release you, dearest reader, into the winter that hopefully soon appears to you in it's unique and potentially divine beauty!

Be blessed abundantly!

Spiritual Spa #12 Hearts on fire!

 ³⁰ When he (Jesus) was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24, 30-32

Dear family in the Lord!


Welcome to 2012! The year is as new as the list of things to talk about is long. So let's begin by talking about biblical heartburn.

If you thought the Bible doesn't address heartburn, be hereby proven otherwise!

What is the biblical definition of heartburn (in my own words)?
A strong conviction of the Holy Spirit within a follower of Jesus Christ, leading to a deeper relationship with Jesus, more love, more founded and personal understanding, God-glorifying spiritual fruit and advancing of the Kingdom of God.

Causes: The Holy Spirit.


What is society's definition of heartburn (inspired by the Mayo Clinic)? 
Heartburn is a burning sensation in your chest, just behind your breastbone. Heartburn pain is often worse when lying down or bending over, advancing the Kingdom of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). 

Causes (thanks, Mayo Clinic):  Heartburn occurs when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus.
Normally when you swallow, your lower esophageal sphincter — a circular band of muscle around the bottom part of your esophagus — relaxes to allow food and liquid to flow down into your stomach. Then it closes again.
However, if the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes abnormally or weakens, stomach acid can flow back up into your esophagus causing heartburn. The acid backup may be worse when you're bent over or lying down.

Now that is what you can call a discrepancy between the Kingdom of God and the world!


Selah (chew on this one).

Writing about Stomach issues is near and dear to me for a few reasons that I will focus on today;

1. As a child I suffered from frequent stomach ache.
2. We are still paying off a big bill from an endoscopy for my husband's stomach ache, executed by zealous doctors and nurses, with ZERO results. Ouch!
3. I really get angry when TV tells me to "fight back" by popping pills when bad food choices reveal their painful consequences.

All three points have one common solution: Lifestyle changes. 

Point 1; My parents could have figured out sooner to not feed me multivitamins on an empty stomach. It probably would have helped also to hug me more and tell me that school doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of life.
Point 2; We could have figured out sooner (and saved a lot of ka-ching!) that sleeping on the stomach can be a reason for (to doctors) mysterious stomach pain.
Point 3; According to cnn.com sources 60-70% of antacid consumers should not take them, but "fight back" with smarter food choices. I am tired of using the words "quick-fix culture," but they again apply.

Let me dwell on that point. Americans spend over $10 billion every year to deal with their tummies running over with acid. Do you have antacids in your house? Imagine what a country can do with $10 billion spare, left over, donated for charity...

Let me give you analogies about the lifestyle of nutrition induced heartburn treated with antacids: 
It is like sleeping around and then taking the "pill after" to not have to deal with consequences. Or, if this was too drastic, it is like having your car sit outside through the seasons and then just paint over the rust instead of cleaning it first. You know the rust will cause you problems in the long run.

And that is exactly the case with taking antacids. You need acids to digest food. That's why the side effects of taking antacids are, amongst others, diarrhea or constipation. Both not pretty. Besides bones become more porous. Not helpful either. Those are just a few thoughts about antacids, not treating heartburn though is just as dangerous, it can develop into serious reflux issues, asthma, ulcers or, even worse, stomach cancer.

So what to do?

As always, let's seek out where culture has helped us become complacent and allow the Holy Spirit to bring us back on track. As always I am not giving medical advice, see your doctor, or better in my experience, chiropractor and learn why you have the condition and what could be a solution rather than a symptom quencher.

-If you deal with heartburn start paying attention to WHEN it happens. If you know that eating spicy foods will hurt you, stay away from them. Television will tell you different. Choose to be "above the influence."

-If you know coffee or alcoholic beverages cause you pain; make the hard but smart choice because you love yourself.

-If your cloths are too tight, especially the belt, loosen up but on that note lose excess weight. That is always a good idea and will help your health in every way.

-Stay away from eating or drinking sour or acidic foods, like fruits or juices, on an empty stomach. Listen to your body! When you consume fruits and vegetables have a little processed form of fat with it (an organic apple with a cheese string, banana with a handful of raw and unsalted almonds, frozen berries with plain unsweetened greek yogurt and so forth!)

-Fatty foods, which I call processed "Franken food," are a common cause for heartburn. Consuming these (many of which you have been warned about) actually slows down you digestion and with that your metabolism. The food stays longer in the stomach, meaning more acid has to come around, leading likely to heartburn. Does it makes sense or not? How many more reasons do you need to stay away from deep fried, greasy, no nutritional value empty calories?!

-When you eat, take your time! Abundant chewing is always a good idea as well, especially when dealing with digestive issues.

-According to my research fruit juices, tomatoes, garlic and onions can lead to heartburn as well, so pay attention to what you eat and how your body responds. I for one, at this point, cannot handle raw spinach, even if is organic. That makes me very sad but for now I have to live with it and respect my body.

-As a personal trainer I should mention that there is such a thing as exercise induced heartburn. If you deal with too much acidity avoid jumping, running and especially crunches. But if I met you in the club, believe me we would find a way to work your abs!

Let me wrap up today's post with one more important and very common cause of heartburn: Stress.

Stress can lead to bad food choices, leading to heartburn. Simple changes like preparing your food at home, bringing along a healthy snack (as described above) can prevent a last resort stop at you-know-where-you-shouldn't-be.

Distress can actually slow down your digestion, causing a whole bunch of varied problems within your intestines. So, remember when we talked about what Jesus said about food going through the body and then leaving it (Post #7)? Stress in your life should do the same. Don't hang on to your responsibilities as if you didn't have a Father in Heaven who knows what you need before you can think it.

Tell your Father that you long for the heartburn as described in Luke; that kind of sensation that has you caring about all the pieces of Jesus and not all the pizzas with cheeses.  And then walk 14 miles in one day just to share him with others.

Be blessed abundantly!