Choose God’s Sensible Dietary Guidelines
By Ellie Marrandette
When are we going to learn that God is actually smarter than we are? When are we going to trust that the diet plan, He proclaimed 6,000 years ago, is still nutritional Truth for today?
Everyone searches for instant gratification, especially at this time of year. There’s a cute, but true, saying I heard years ago that professed: Today’s generation is the only one who can stand in front of a microwave and complain it’s not fast enough!
Everyone searches for instant gratification this time of year. Please don’t fall for it! Slower weight loss allows the brain to adjust to losing. Lose too quickly and your brain will believe you are ill. To compensate, it will slow your metabolism to protect the body in times of starvation.
God realizes we are a simple people. He made His rules uncomplicated. It’s mankind who adds convoluted mental gymnastics to His simple rules in life. That included dietary plans. If we don’t suffer, it must not be the right way, some surmise. This is what I call “the penance principle.” (Salvation can’t be by Grace alone, that’s too easy! I must sacrifice something!!!)
It’s February. Sadly, most people who went on “diets” on January 2nd have already given up. Whether it was peer pressure, a moment of weakness, or boredom with the same foods, they surrendered. Now they feel defeated.
Others are becoming so desperate that they will attempt any crazy diet plan that proclaims quick weight loss. (The tapeworm or cotton ball diet anyone? No, I’m serious. Unbelievably, these are diets.) The faster the better, who cares if it’s not healthy? I want weight loss and I want it now!!!
There are plenty of false diet gurus who testify how, by abstaining from this or that particular food group, you’ll lose weight. Please don’t be a sheep and follow blindly. We must realize if someone is pushing a diet agenda, there’s usually something profitable for the one doing the pushing!
God’s not Lucy waiting to snatch away your football. Following His simple dietary plan laid out in Genesis 1:29 & 9:3 will allow us to enjoy a healthier lifestyle! Even though anything is fine in moderation, it’s our choice what and how much we consume. I know it sounds like a broken record but God already laid out the perfect diet plan. Genesis 1:29 for fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbs. Then in Genesis 9:3, He advised us to consume meat for essential amino acids. Practice moderation in 1 Corinthians 10:23 and do not create an idol of food in Phil 2:19.
Contrary to what secular scientists believe, our DNA wasn’t derived from apes, crystals, or aliens. God created Adam with the perfect brain and physique. His original intent was to avoid the Second Law of Thermodynamics when He said, “Do Not Eat!” But Adam believed the false
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)
Your Goal in February: Slow Down and Chew to Burn Calories Effectively.
Our Lhasa Apso and Cocker Spaniel were different dogs in nearly every way! One was laid back the other, hyper. One was a happy-go-lucky Tigger-type, the other, Eeyore. They were especially different in their eating habits. Our Cocker would casually dine on his chow for fifteen minutes while our Lhasa nearly inhaled her food in fifteen seconds! Talk about “woofing” it down!
But who am I to make fun of her? She’s a dog, I’m a human – I should know better but wasn’t much different. While working in the corporate world, I never spent much time eating lunch – had to get back to my desk. I was important! Then I got tired of the 60-hour work week. Time for a career change. I longed to make a difference in someone’s life. I took additional college credits and learned about physiology. Wow! What incredible machines we are!
Isn’t it true that “when we learn better, we do better?” The first aspect of change is awareness. I acknowledged I had to take care of my health, it’s the only body I have! I began to practice the “fork down, spoon down” routine in-between bites, slow down, and change my destructive habits.
My mom was always reprimanding me to slow down and chew my food. So what? Why? Then I learned that chewing releases ENZYMES.
What the heck are enzymes, you’re probably asking, and why should I care? Glad you asked!
Digestion can’t happen without enzymes. Nor can we breathe, eat, think, walk, or do anything else without enzymes. No vitamin, mineral, or hormone can work without enzymes. Therefore, when digestion is poor, even the best eating plan won’t work! You’re spinning your wheels.
Visualize your body as a house that’s ready to be moved into. A moving van is parked at the curb. Imagine all your household items are boxed within the truck. Movers are waiting to carry those items inside the house; plates, small appliances, furniture, boxes of clothes, etc.
Nutrients are like boxes sitting in the truck and enzymes are the workers who transport those items into the house. Even the most beautiful crystal glasses won’t be useful if they simply sit there on the lawn. Something has to move them. Enzymes are those movers!
In other words, enzymes are like a “chemical moving company” taking those intricate, specific nutrients within “food boxes” and moving them to where they’ll work effectively.
Each enzyme has a specific purpose. Chewing your food releases enzymes that digest food so those specific nutrients can be transported. Enzymes are also found in the stomach, intestines, and mitochondria.
Amylase breaks up carbohydrates
Lipase breaks up fats
Cellulose digest soluble fiber
Disaccharidase digests sugars
Digestion begins in the mouth with saliva – the more we chew, the more enzymes we release. Digestion then stimulates the hypothalamus gland, the control center in the brain which regulates daily activities such as appetite, nervous system, moods, and the senses. Powerful, complicated stuff!
And some believe all this “complicated stuff” evolved from mud clumps or crystals! It takes more faith to believe that than if God created us.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
Psalm 139:13-15
Praise God that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
After attending Graham Jr. College in Boston and Moody Bible College, Ellie Marrandette earned her Bachelor of Ministry (BMIN) from Trinity Theological Seminary. Fascinated by psychology and physiology, God directed Ellie toward a rewarding healthcare career. She is a certified nutritional counselor, working with doctors, nutritional centers, and independently as the founder of New Creations Ministries, a faith-based solution in overcoming health challenges. In recent years, God has focused Ellie’s path toward writing. She is the author of four Christian novels, a novella, and a non-fiction book on healthy living entitled, Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese (Nutritional and Life Lessons God Teaches Us.) All can be found Here. Her current endeavor is to complete a children’s devotional this year. New Creations.
Join Ellie on
Achieving Optimum Health
The first Monday of each month
For engaging articles about men’s health.
Feature Image by Devon Breen from Pixabay
This is such great information. I have been on just about every fad diet every created and what you say makes the most sense. Rely on the food that God created for us and don’t eat as if every meal is an eating competition. Thank you so much for this reminder!
Amen Scott! God’s food is best!
Thank you, Andy. I appreciate your comment. God created mankind with common sense. I’ve discovered that most people know HOW to lose weight – it’s WHY we prefer to go our own path that makes counseling so interesting and true change begins (if we truly want to) – just like becoming a true Believer.
You are very welcoome, Ellie! I have recived many comments via email about this artilce and how much it helps!