WE ARE HOW WE EAT

In the book Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss, food is defined as “a substitute which when absorbed by the bloodstream will nourish, repair and furnish life force and heat to the body.” However when taken improperly, the life giving elements are taken away, it cannot furnish life force, but will clog the functional activity of the body and mind and will result in many disorders.
What poor habits of eating cause mental debility and mental weakness?
1. Indulgence of appetite. Indulgence of appetite is gluttony. The man who indulges in perverted appetite is an idolater. He loves to eat a great variety of food often taken at one meal. The indulgent eater creates a disordered stomach and a disorder temper.

2. Irregular of time for eating. Irregular hours for eating or sleeping can sap the brain forces. Hard work and study do not wear out or breakdown the mind as often as eating improper food at improper time.
3. Overeating. Overeating, even of the most wholesome food, is to be avoided. Overeating causes forgetfulness and loss of memory. It blunts the emotion. Nature can use no more than it is required for building up the various organs of the body. Any excess clogs the system. Overcrowding of the stomach wearies the body and weakens the mind.
4. Poor choice and variety. We are to guard against eating a great variety of food at one time. Choose food that agrees only with your digestion rather than with your taste. Erroneous eating leads to erroneous thinking. If the stomach is not properly cared for, the formation of an upright, moral character will be hindered. This is because the brain and nerves are in sympathy with the stomach. Too much meat in our diet will diminish intellectual activity. Too much sugar is not good for the stomach. It causes fermentation and this cloud the brain and brings peevishness into the disposition. Flesh meat would create disease and insubordination. A dyspeptic stomach always leads to irritability, and a sour stomach leads to a sour temper.
5. Too much thought about food.

Giving too much thought about the food to be eaten by weighing its quantity and counting the calories carefully and worrying unnecessarily about it allows the mind to become self-centered. Thus we make a god of our stomach. The rule is, eat plain, nourishing food; eat slowly; masticate the food thoroughly. Do not put heavy weight as to the quantity or quality of food that are best adapted to nourish the system.

Finally, let us eat only according to our best judgment; and when we have asked the Lord to bless the food for the strengthening of our body, let us believe that He hears and be at best!

“The highest reward for man’s toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it” Ruskin