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| photo credit: my beautiful friend Judy Krahn |
I should be used to it
by now...
but every time
it happens, it always takes my breath away
for the ignorance
that surrounds
our society
about the human body and how it is made to function well on
clean fuel from
raw foods from
the Garden,
and then I realize anew just how far from understanding basic good eating habits we have gone through the generations.
Yesterday was one
such day again,
as the words I said were taken in a way that unlearned people often take them, and I was left feeling like
"what is the use?
People don't get it anyway."
But a good chat with my bestest sister who has taught me many things in life, including that good nutrition is not found in eating the Standard American Diet, nor is it found in bandaids such as pharmaceutical drugs or herbal/vitamin supplements, had me encouraged and making sense of the senseless again. This sister has been one of the main reasons that I have stuck with the hard parts of changing from the SAD to the plant-centered way of eating. After talking with her yesterday, I was encouraged that of course we do not argue with people and get into tense moments of disagreement but that we share where we can and live every day the blessing of having the knowledge that we reap what we sow.
Then I read this article by a man who inspired me in my early days of discovering how God made our bodies and what maintains the good health He provided for us. This man, George Malkmus, has blessed me in many ways and I have learned ALOT from him and from others whose research and findings, completely independent of one another, agree and prove themselves over and over again by the millions that they have helped through the years.
So I started pondering. Why do I do what I do when it comes to plant-strong eating? And here is what I came up with:
1. God used sickness to show me His plan that has been in place for thousands of years already: we are made to sustain His gift of health by nutrition from plant foods.*
2. The results of thousands of studies are overwhelmingly clear to me: garbage eaten results in garbage out (disease). I am not going to stand here arguing the facts. I choose to be taught, and to unlearn what I have learned that was false information (like: we need protein from animals to have good health and that milk is good for your bones and teeth). I will just do what I understand to do regardless of who does or who doesn't.
3. I can't go back now. I was privileged to find healing from changing my lifestyle because God graciously showed me the way to change before my body was too diseased and shut down to make a difference anyway.
4. I do not want to be involved in the gluttony and eating-for-pleasure mentality that is running rampant in society around me. I cannot conscientiously eat meat that comes from feedlots, drink milk from factory farms, eat preservatives and altered foods that are known to produce disease. God gave me health. I cannot compromise it with indulging in the garbage that many around me enjoy. I have chosen to maintain that gift God gave me the way He intended for it to be cared for.
In saying all that, I want my friends to know that I do not stand in judgement of them for the way they choose to treat their bodies. I cry for you sometimes, especially when you don't get what I try to tell you from things I have learned. But I love you and bless you however you choose to live your lives.
However, I really do wish that you would choose a lifestyle conducive to preventing the diseases that have been proven by many doctors and others to be totally preventable. Do it for your sake. Do it for your family's sake. Not to 'love your life' selfishly but to care for the gift of good health that God has given you, and to allow yourself quality of life to do the work He put you here to do.
This is why I do what I do. I have been graciously healed and given knowledge. I cannot keep it to myself. I have to pass it on.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Your friend,
Marcia
*plant foods must comprise the majority of the food we eat. Having said that, however, I do believe that animal products that have been raised properly can be a 'flavor' part of our meals. If I hear the word moderation (like I did yesterday!), I agree in as much as it means:
**no dairy milk;
**a teeny bit of cheese (such as today for lunch we had whole grain flat bread to go with our soup. I took about 2 T of shredded cheddar and put it over an 11x15" pan. Very minimal amount compared to the amount of the bread) for flavoring,
*meat in small amounts and not every day (it takes a few days for meat to pass through your digestive system, not to mention that animal fat is a huge culprit in clogging the arteries and creating stroke and heart diseases besides aiding in obesity, something that touches more Americans than it doesn't; minimal amounts of meat would mean like my 15 quart batch of taco soup that calls for 7 qu beans, 7 qu of corn and 7 qu tomato juice for 3 lb of meat. That results in not much meat per serving, but gives flavor to the dish)
**sugar in very low amounts (we work this out in our family by having special desserts that pass the whole grain/low oil and butter test on Friday nights when we have our special family night. Any leftovers may be eaten over the weekend)
**very little oil and salt
**NO white flour, sugar or salt!
