Obedient Lifestyle

How healthy are we? Many of us say and think we are healthy, and for the most part we could in fact be. I have even said it myself, but after a recent conversation about health, it had me thinking… Am I really as healthy as I think I am? Is this person next to me really healthier than I am? How about we examine ourselves? Do an in-depth study of how we live our lifestyles and see how healthy we really are.  From the studies I have done, I am learning more and more that being healthy is judged on the lifestyle we live. Like for instance, what we are putting into our bodies, or what we are putting on our bodies, are we exercising enough? Most importantly, do we have God in our lives? We have to consider all of the answers to these questions may be the fate of our health.

What kind of food and or substances do we put into our bodies? Is it organic? Do we eat meat? Do we drink enough water? Do we get enough fresh air from outside? Do we get enough sunlight? Do we drink Alcohol? These are really important questions, and I know organic foods can be expensive to buy, but if you buy in small quantities and just eat what you need daily it could be affordable. There are some people that give away free organic food to those in need, or because they have too much.  I know I would help people in need if I had the money to make a huge organic farm. But if you have a very large family and simply can’t afford to buy organic then just pray before you eat every time you eat and pray that God sends you better food or helps you to be able to afford the food. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Luke 11:7,  He will help you. He helps me all of the time. And with meat, there are so many people that disagree with having meatless diets, but there is so much proof that this is the healthier way. Some benefits are aging slowly, clearer mind, it makes us avoid common health problems that we get from eating meat which also prevents us from going to the doctors that misdiagnose us and tell us we have Multiple Sclerosis or something else and feeds us pills which makes us worse. We have to understand that by eating the wrong foods like too much sugar, pork or processed foods is really just making us sicker.

Have you ever given much thought into how diseases and cancer “run in the family genes?” Have you ever really thought about that question? Well I have, for example, if someone says lung cancer, liver cancer or an auto immune disease ran in their family for generations, think about how they live their lifestyle. After doing research you find out all of their 3 or 4 generations smoked cigarettes or were by people that smoked or lived in the same or similar neighborhood that had bad pollution, or they all ate and drank the same unhealthy processed foods and alcohol. Family traits often are passed down from parents to children, and this cycle has been repeated for thousands of years. Here is a Lifestyle example from an article from an unknown source, (I have read this on several websites but can’t find the original source) of how history repeated itself:

In 1874 a member of the New York State Prison Board noticed that six members of the same family were incarcerated at the same time. The board did some research, looking back a few generations to try to find the original couple who initiated this tragic family legacy.

They traced the family line back to an ancestor born in 1720, a man considered lazy and godless with a reputation as the town troublemaker. He was also an alcoholic and viewed as having low moral character. To make matters worse, he married a woman who was much like himself, and together they had six daughters and two sons.

Here is what the report revealed about the approximately 1,200 descendants of this couple who were alive by 1874:

• 310 were homeless.
• 160 were prostitutes.
• 180 suffered from drug or alcohol abuse.
• 150 were criminals who spent time in prison, including seven for murder.

The report also found that the State of New York had spent $1.5 million—a shockingly high number at the time—to care for this line of descendants, and not one had made a significant contribution to society.

In contrast, another family heritage was studied involving a couple who lived about the same time. This second family study began with the famous preacher Jonathan Edwards, who was born in 1703. A deeply religious man, he lived a life of strong moral values and became a minister and a dedicated family man.

He married a deeply religious woman named Sarah who shared his values, and together they had 11 children. Eventually, Jonathan Edwards became the president of Princeton University. Here is what researchers discovered about the approximately 1,400 descendants of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards by 1874:

• 13 were college presidents.
• 65 were college professors.
• 100 were attorneys.
• 32 were state judges.
• 85 were authors of classic books.
• 66 were physicians.
• 80 held political offices, including three state governors.
• 3 were state senators.
• 1 became vice president of the United States.

What a difference it makes in the kind of example and values that are passed down to the next generation! Strong moral values can indeed bring blessings and opportunities for generations yet to be born!

So it’s not just in the food we eat, it is how we are raised and how we choose to live our lifestyles after we leave the homestead. Once we leave our parents’ home or we are at that age where we can make our own decisions, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. For example, if you grew up eating unhealthy junk foods, and after you get to that age of accountability and know you can eat healthier but you still chose to eat unhealthy junk foods, then that would be your own fault. Why would anyone want to continue to eat unhealthy after knowing the truth? Studies have shown by changing our lifestyles to healthier ones we live longer and free from disease and cancer.

There was a study done by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Researchers for the study found that while fast food does contribute to unhealthy children, the main culprit for childhood obesity is learned dietary habits children observe at home. Science Daily reports that the poor eating patterns consist of drinking sugary drinks and eating processed foods as oppose to eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Not only are these bad habits observed at home, they are enforced in schools that lack healthy food options.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity has more than doubled in Children and more than tripled in adolescents in the last 30 years. They say that, ‘The dietary and physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents are influenced by many sectors of society, including families, communities, schools, child care settings, medical care providers, faith-based institutions, government agencies, the media, the food and beverage industries and entertainment industries.

We have to remember just because we were brought up like this for generations, doesn’t mean we have to live this way, we can break the cycle and be BETTER. (God wants us to be better than our parents)

And just because we think we are healthy doesn’t mean we are, we need to examine ourselves.  We should ask ourselves, what problems to we have?  Do we have any pain? Teeth problems, allergies, stomach problems, depression, and/or anxiety and so forth… All of that is cause by the stuff we are eating. I used to be one of these people, and I still have challenges, I would love to eat a big fat sugar filled brownie because they taste so good! But now knowing what I am really eating and how it actually affects my brain and immune system I can’t put my body through that. My body wasn’t made to be destroyed, God made us to be healthy and happy, our bodies belong to God so we should do everything in our power to show God we can be how he wants us to be. The finest source of Fuel for our bodies were originally raw fruits, vegetable and nuts. Man lived to be hundreds of years old, over seven feet tall, healthy and strong. So if they can live on that, then why can’t we? If animals can live off of a vegan diet then why can’t we? I always knew the dangers of eating pork so I barely ever ate it, and now haven’t ate it in probably over 10 years, and my fibromyalgia that my doctor diagnosed me with miraculously disappeared. When I was a regular meat eater and decided to quit eating all red meat, I went to only eating chicken and turkey and then after I learned of all of the hormones and chemicals that they pump into these animals, I went organic. And it went to eating it 3 times a week to 2 until I am done completely. I believe we have been brainwashed into believing that meat and meat proteins are a daily must, many people argue that since we have been eating it for thousands of years it is a must, and yes after the flood of Noah, God did allow us to eat certain meats (to learn about unclean foods click here) but we also have to remember the quality is nowhere close to how it was back then, even fruits and vegetables don’t have even half the nutritional value like it had back then.  Start to learn how to read labels it will help you eat better. Earlier this year it was decided not to make it legal for GMO labeling so we really won’t know what we are eating…. I guess all we can do it pray before we eat, get closer to God and ask him for his help.

Now, what are we putting on our bodies? What we put on our bodies goes in our bodies, literally into the bloodstream. The lotions and makeup we put on our bodies could be affecting our health, it could be what is making us break out or have allergies or even give us nausea. We should do some research of what chemicals we are putting on our skin. In an article by Dr. Amy Myers reports that According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington DC-based advocacy organization, the average American uses approximately 10-15 personal care products with a total of 126 different ingredients daily. This figure doesn’t even take into account re-applications of products throughout the day. We brush our teeth three times a day. We wash our hands 6-12 times a day. We re-apply sunscreen every few hours that we are in the sun. We may even shower more than once per day. When you do the math, it’s incredible to consider the number of items that we slather across our skin every day. However, the number of products used isn’t the issue; rather, it’s the ingredients in those products and what they do once in our bloodstream that is cause for concern.

The cosmetics or personal care product industry in the United States is estimated to be a $50 Billion-Dollar per year industry. Now that is a lot of chemicals being produced to go into our bodies. An average of seven new industrial chemicals get approval by the US government daily, and 80 percent of these are approved in three weeks or less with little or no safety testing. Many of these industrial chemicals are the basic ingredients in our cosmetics and personal care products. What is most shocking about the cosmetic industry is that our government doesn’t regulate the safety of its products. You read that correctly – the FDA does not investigate or test for the safety of personal care products before consumers buy them! Instead, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an industry-appointed and funded panel, reviews the safety of cosmetic ingredients. According to EWG, there are approximately 10,500 ingredients used in cosmetics in our country, and in its 30-year history, the CIR has screened only 11 percent of those ingredients. This means that, if we do the math again, nearly 90 percent of cosmetics ingredients are left, un-reviewed and un-tested for safety.

The cosmetic industry argues that it’s okay to put these toxic ingredients into products because only tiny amounts are used in each product, and therefore they are not harmful. However, as you already know, each of us is using ten or more products a day. If you add to that several applications a day and multiply that over a lifetime, then these toxic chemicals do add up and wreak havoc on our bodies and our health! And what’s even worse is the number of loopholes that the cosmetic industry has in place to make it difficult for even the most educated consumer to read and understand its labels. For example, the industry is not required to use the FDA’s ingredient name convention guidelines. Therefore, one ingredient can be spelled and labeled many different ways in different products. Any product with the word “fragrance” could have virtually anything in it and need not be disclosed to the consumer, because the chemicals that go into making a fragrance are considered “trade secrets.” In one study by the EWG, phthalates, a known toxin, were found in 75 percent of all products yet was not listed on the label but rather hidden in the word “fragrance.”

Another of the “dirty dozen,” parabens, a ubiquitous ingredient in hair care products, lotions and other skincare items, are known estrogen mimickers; that is, once applied to the skin, they travel through the bloodstream, appearing to the body to be estrogen. This incognito approach causes the body to react as if true estrogen is present in excess. Too much estrogen can cause a decrease in muscle mass, an increase in fat deposits throughout the body, early onset of puberty in boys and girls, reproductive difficulty in men and women, and a host of other issues. While estrogen is an important hormone that regulates many functions in the body, just as we know “we are what we eat,” we also know that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

Infants and young children with developing endocrine systems have an even greater risk of being adversely affected by these harmful chemicals. Using a lotion to moisturize a baby after a bath can mean that, simply because of his or her size, five to ten times as much of the product and its chemical make-up are being absorbed into the bloodstream. And, because the infant’s endocrine system is working non-stop, hormone disrupters and estrogen mimickers are sending mixed signals to the child’s body on how to develop. Boys may develop breasts; girls may have their first menstrual period before hitting ten years of age; children of both genders may become overweight or obese – all of these can be external manifestations of the hormone disrupters that are present. Dr. Amy Myers also set out some good pointers below:

Here is what you can do to protect yourself and your family from exposure to harmful cosmetic ingredients:

• Permanently avoid any products that contain “the dirty dozen” toxic ingredients: parabens, phthalates, sodium laurel sulfate, propylene glycol, DEA, diazolidinyl urea, butyl acetate, butylated hydroxytoluene, ethyl acetate, toluene, triethanolamine, petrolatum and “fragrance.”  For a more comprehensive list of toxic ingredients go to Teens Turning Green.
• Read all ingredient labels carefully! The US government does not regulate the words “natural” or “organic.” To carry USDA Organic Seal of Approval, at least 95 percent of the ingredients must be organic. No seal, no purchase!

• If the idea of tossing everything is too overwhelming, or cost prohibitive, set a goal of replacing one item per week or month until you have replaced everything.
• Check out the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website: http://www.ewg.org, which has a comprehensive cosmetics database called its “Skin Deep Report,” which ranks over 25,000 products on a 0-10 scale of toxicity.

Are we exercising enough? According to Medicalnews.com, only 20% of adults in the United States are getting enough exercise.

According to a Medline Plus article from the United States National Library of Medicine exercise helps decrease your chances of developing heart disease and keeps your bones healthy and strong. Another article by fitday.com reports about recent studies that have been done suggested that if you complete moderate exercise just a few times every week, you can drastically reduce the number of colds that you get every year.

When you exercise regularly, there are a number of things that benefit your body. Your heart gets stronger and is able to pump more blood throughout your body when you exercise. Your lungs get better equipped at handling oxygen and dishing it out to the rest of your body. Your muscles also get stronger as you use them more often. Your bones get stronger too. Your bones are a living tissue, weight-bearing physical activity causes new bone tissue to form, and this makes bones stronger. This kind of physical activity also makes muscles stronger. Bones and muscles both become stronger when muscles push and tug against bones during physical activity. Your immune system is no different. Doctors have found that exercise can boost your immune system by providing a boost to the cells in your body that are assigned to attack bacteria. These cells appear to work more slowly in people who don’t exercise than in those that do. As a result, if you exercise, your immune system is better equipped to handle bacteria that could cause you to become sick. Though this boost only lasts for a few hours after you exercise, it’s often enough to help keep you healthier than you would be if you didn’t exercise.

Stick with an exercise routine and you won’t regret it, but remember you have to eat healthy as well. You can’t do one or the other, they go hand in hand. For an example of an exercise click here. Remember, walking to and from the parking lot or bathroom is not adequate exercise. It is very important to stay on an exercise schedule not only for your body to maintain its weight but to keep your heart muscle working as well. The heart muscle is often put on the back burner due to the lack of knowledge about the heart. No matter how old you are it is never too late to start. The longer you wait, the longer it will take. Be a leader NOT a follower, push yourself! Be better than the rest! Anything is possible, with God ALL things are possible.

Speaking of God. He is supposed to be our first love, after all He is our creator. He made us from the dust of the earth and His breath of life. Without Him we are nothing. Many people disagree on how they don’t need God in their lives, and how they have perfect lives and/or they have been fine so far. Sure, they may seem like that, but then what often floods my mind is why is this person so negative if they are fine, why are they so insecure with themselves, why are they always broke, or jealous, sick, mad, sad, overweight, suspicious, stressed, anxious..etc Then I start to feel like I am judging them because I know even as followers of God we have problems too, but we refer to them as trials or tests. God has to test us or put us through trials so we conquer them which makes us stronger. As I think more about it, the problems followers of God have are different from the ones who follow the world/self. What I mean is the problems followers of God have usually never comes back after we conquer them, the followers of the world/self keep having these repeated problems over and over again. Once the followers of God Truly trust in God that he will take care of a certain problem then that problem doesn’t come back because the devil knows he can’t temp you with that anymore and he goes to find something else, only after getting permission from God of course. God only will give us what we can handle, if you think you can’t handle something then it would not be happening. Once we give our lives to God and keep him first we will be much happier guaranteed. Yes, the trials will happen, which sometimes discourages us (thanks to the devil making us feel that way) but we just have to stay focused and know God will take care of this, we just have to stay strong. I remember when I was first told to trust in God, my reaction was the same as everyone else, with sarcasm, eye rolling and disbelief. I always believed in God and at the time thought I had a good relationship with him. I would talk to him often when I was alone, and pray once in a while and even read my bible sometimes. I knew I was in sin, although I was unhappy most of the time it was too fun to get out of so I never thought I was good enough for my prayers to be answered. It wasn’t until years later that I slowly got into the bible more and understood that I was good enough. At that point my life started to change for the better, things that I thought were impossible became possible. If we just put God ahead of everything else, friends and all, we will have no limits of what we can do or have. If you want a healthier lifestyle, start with God, he will lead the way. Just Pray, God knows your heart. If you change for Him, you can only win.

Works Cited:

Klausner, Alexandra. “Study Reveals Parents’ Poor Eating Habits Are to Blame for Childhood Obesity, NOT Fast Food.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.

(2000). In Deluxe Study Bible King James Version. Harrah: Mission Publishing

How Does Physical Activity Help Build Healthy Bones? Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 14 May 2014. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.