Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength

I decided to get myself in gear and work out in the mornings. As fate would have it, on my first day of doing that (yesterday), James and I went to the i-Mazing Race on campus. It was super fun and we got to go around and find clues (and do challenges, just like the show), but boy am I sore today. I am terribly out of shape. It's time to make a change and do some real working out so this doesn't happen.

There is such a big connection between the body and spirit. From the scriptures, we know that we should strive to overcome the natural man, that is, we should let our spirits rule over our appetites and passions.

I've been reading a few books on nutrition, and it's astounding to see the role of advertising in what we eat. Because of evil people that want money, we are sold foods that look good on the outside (and claim to be healthy) but are actually laden with addicting ingredients and carcinogens. D&C 89 warns us of this in verse 4: "In consequence of^aevils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of^bconspiring men in the last days, I have ^cwarned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"


We have been told so many things about nutrition that it's hard to know what's real and what isn't. We know to avoid drugs. But what about trans fats, MSG, HFCS, and all those long, weird ingredients?


I guess we have received counsel on that. The prophets have urged us to save money, for moms to stay home, that we eat dinner as families, and that we grow gardens. To me, that means more home-cooked meals and less eating out of boxes or in restaurants, which really helps to avoid all those processed foods and huge restaurant portions. And when we grow our own stuff, we know exactly what went into it and that it's as fresh as possible.


We are so blessed to have this law of health amid all the confusing advice of nutritionists, scientists, and people that just want lots of money. The Lord's guidance is needed now more than ever.


Just a side note:


I think that nutrition can be taken on so many levels. I read a book about raw foodism, and it was really interesting. I can certainly envy the author and her excellent health. We aren't required to do such an "extreme", natural, uncooked, organic diet. I think that those who can and do should be commended, but for the rest of us, we just do the best we can. These are mortal bodies, imperfect in many ways. No matter how perfect (or imperfect) the food is that we put into them, they will die eventually. So...I might as well have some ice cream while I'm here.


I highly recommend this website: wordofwisdomliving.com. It has lots of really sensible advice without getting too scientific about stuff.
And this book: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan. He goes into the history of nutritionism and why America's diet doesn't work for us. He also gives simple recommendations that follow this motto: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. It was a fascinating book to read.