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As we strive to achieve healthy living, how do we know we are making good choices? What resources do we use to influence daily decisions? The quest for truth is clouded by aggressive marketing, misleading claims, scams, scientific jargon, a myriad of opinions, testimonials and much more.
We likely all have our sources we rely upon, but have we really given opposing points of view a chance to be understood, or do we just look for sources that will justify our own presumptions? Do we want to justify decisions we have already made? Once you've formulated an opinion or position are you still open to the possibility of new information?
This is a call to expand awareness, have clearer perceptions, and to be free from restrictions imposed by unhealthy patterns of thinking, simply by awakening the mind and asking important questions. Here are a couple of ideas that have been running amuck in my mind lately on the subject of food, exercise, and other health related subjects.
Our brains love repetitive patterns. Whenever we learn something, chemically it gets locked in, starting at a very young age. As adults we function in certain ways mainly because of scripted experiences and relationships of our past. Do you ever find yourself doing something just because your parents or grandparents did it that way? Here's an example. My own mother, a life-long acutely nutrition conscious over-the-top alternative health guru, claimed years ago that pepper was a stomach irritant and thus abolished its use in our home and did her best to save all those around her as well from painful stomach ulcers that were surely just on the horizon. Just recently she came across some information from a source that she trusted that dispelled that rumor, and even suggested that black pepper facilitated digestion! I admit to having used the contraband pepper in my own home since I was married, but with much guilt and fear. Now that I see the error of relying on unreliable information it makes me wonder what else I'm doing in my life that does'?t have a foundation in “truth.”
Magazines and books on every subject imaginable under the umbrella of health are plentiful. Do we believe everything we read and soothe ourselves by saying, “since it's published in this magazine (or book, or any other published media) that seems reputable, it must be true”? Kevin Trudeau, author of several books on health among other things, claims to have gotten inside information from a “secret society” that gave him “health secrets, access to the inner circles of the rich and powerful, and the ability to live a life of luxury.” He promotes several conspiracy theories such as: the drug industry does not want people to get healthy, the Food and Drug Administration is really working in tandem with the drug industry to protect their profits, and the ingredients being put in our food by the manufacturers specifically increase appetite, making a person fatter, and getting consumers addicted. He has a long criminal history, and yet he has sold literally millions of copies of his books.
Where else do we get our information? Websites, blogs, testimonials, Dr. Oz on Oprah? Are we following a diet or program that is in fashion? Remember the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Lemonade Diet, the F-plan, and the Zone? Some people still swear by them. We have all heard nutritionists convincingly tell us, “Eat no carbohydrates.” We have also heard we need to watch our fats. Just when you think the Atkins and South Beach diets are the sure way to lean, healthy, bikini ready bodies, the Sonoma Diet comes along. What's next? What works?
How much water should we be drinking daily? A couple of weeks ago several news programs reported findings that exposed the myth that it is necessary to drink eight glasses of water a day. Even more recently there have been numerous news reports on the dangers of the plastic that contains the water we drink.
Fluoride is always a hot topic, especially in Utah where I'm from. Years ago when the issue was being put before the public for a vote we visited Brian's parents house and noticed a yard sign that encouraged all to vote for fluoridation in the water. Later that same evening, we visited my parents, and there was a yard sign stating, you guessed it, vote against fluoridation. How have Brian and I reconciled our very different upbringings? Great subject for another post.
Do we look for guidelines from government agencies like the FDA? We would like to place our trust in our government, but are they worthy of that trust? How else would we know that recently there has been a recall of cantaloupe originating from Agropecuaria Montelibano and should be immediately discarded. The FDA is not without immense problems, however. David Graham, an associate director for science and medicine in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, revealed to the Senate Finance committee that there are profound regulatory failures and bureaucratic dueling replacing scientific debate creating a climate of fear which stifles healthy dissent. How can the FDA be a promoter and a regulator at the same time? Does their conflict of interest lessen their trustworthiness?
How does exercise fit in with nutrition? 30 minutes of cardio three times a week? Forget cardio and just focus on resistance training? I've heard both points of view from “experts.” One of my friends is a marathon runner and she complains that even though she is in shape for running 26 miles, she still feels overweight and has stomach flab (she has fabulous legs, though). Remember the mini-trampolines? The Health Rider? NordicTrack? Just drive around Saturday mornings and check out the local garage sales if you are leaning towards believing the marketing for those products.
What is the role of food supplements and vitamins? Do they just create really expensive urine, or do they really make a difference in our health? Manufacturers often rely on claims that tout a supplements benefit to sell their products, but these claims are often controversial, and consumers often wonder whether they can trust them. The FDA states that supplements do not “diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure a specific disease.” Then what is it that they are supposed to do?
Ever wonder if organic foods are truly “organic”? Organic food is increasingly becoming popular due to its perceived health benefits over conventional food. Be careful, if the board of a store or a shelf in it displays organic, it doesn't necessarily mean that the products sold there are organic, and it can make a big difference in price, a 10% to even 200% difference! The organic concept is not limited to food items. Due to excessive usage of harmful chemicals in cosmetics, people are turning towards organic cosmetics also. How harmful are the chemicals used in the production of the things we expose ourselves to? How much of it is just a huge marketing ploy? My parents served in China as English teachers and witnessed first hand how farms in that region received their chemical treatments and it scared them silly about any agricultural products shipped from China. A couple of commercial farmers that they had conversations with testified that the chemicals were so harmful and overused that they would never eat any produce they grew, but had their own personal small organic gardens that they used for their family and friends.
What are the benefits of philosophies on the fringe of traditional western medicine, like acupuncture, energy work, or homeopathic medicine ideas? I bet all of us have had experiences or at least encountered people who swear by the benefits of various alternative methods and products with amazing positive results in areas ranging from infertility to skin boils to depression.
Is medicine so specialized that experts may not realize what is going on with other systems of the body? For example, my father-in-law had some abdominal pain that he wanted diagnosed, so he made appointments with many different specialists, all of which prescribed various tests that have all turned out inconclusive. They have failed to answer any of his questions to satisfaction because they believe his problem is outside the bounds of their specialty. Are we so narrowly focused that we miss out on how the body works as a whole? It's easier to be scientific with specifics about individual systems and processes than to talk holistically.
The list of questions could go on indefinitely, but I hope we can all see the value in asking ourselves questions such as these. We can and should diligently seek out understanding, remain open to the abundance of goodness available, and accept the freedom and empowerment that comes from knowledge and flexibility. Enter in, but remember to check your perceptions at the door. And now I'm off to enjoy something flavored with much black pepper.
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
A lot of my decisions are based on faith. The world has so many different places for answers these days and often times you’ll get answers that are completely opposite. Doctors can’t seem to agree on certain “Hot Topics” either. I believe that there are so many “harmfuls” in this world that it’s hard to keep up with all the proper actions to take in prevention. Living like our mothers is what we know and what we are comfortable doing but I think that the world is a different place and certain situations call for different actions. Using the best logic and trusted resources is the best that I can do, the rest is in the hands of the Lord.
Welcome both to Rachel and to you, jmocurtis!
I’m so excited for this new column–and I need it. You expressed my lifelong confusion quite well.
Wow, Rachel!! You brought up many questions I’ve often asked myself! Usually, I just take in whatever information I hear and try to use common sense and the Word of Wisdom to filter through things.
I’m not one for believing the conspiracy theories about the FDA at all, but I do recognize the fallibilty of government agencies.
Anyway– I look forward to reading your posts! You seem to have a really good balance. So often, and actually, more often than not, those who I know to be really “health conscious” go to such extremes that it almost seems to become a religion to them and it automatically turns me off. Even though I KNOW that not everything they believe about health and nutrition is “wacko”, I get so turned off by what seems to be an irrational fanaticism, that I automatically begin to tune out when they start talking about anything related to food, health, tinctures, pro-biotics, you name it. The truth is, I could probably learn alot from them that ISN’T “wacko”, and use my own common sense to sift through it all, and come to my own conclusions. But like I said, their propensity toward conspiracy theories, the fanaticism, the preaching, the tendency to declare things as part of the gospel (and if the rest of the church would only wake up and realize that Joseph Smith didn’t know as much as THEY know now then we’d all be on THEIR nutrition plan) really turns me off and I just start tuning them out.
There’s alot I should probably be doing (and not doing) to help my family be more aware and eat more nutritiously. Glad to have you aboard!!
Three random (and yet somehow connected thoughts to this post and comments)
1. Yes, I perceive the quest for truth to be tricky. We truly live in a time when good is evil and evil is good. I feel that I am pretty good at discerning truth from error. I used to think this was a spiritual gift, but one time at the temple, I realized that it is a blessing available to all of us. As I live and keep my covenants, I am blessed to know what is truth.
2. My son’s asthma and my own experience with my thyroid after this last pregnancy have convinced me of how connected our body is. I am not a medicine person, particularly a chronic medicine person. However, my son needs Singulair, I need Synthroid, and my husband needs cholesterol lowering medication. In the short term, because of the effects each of our illnesses have on our bodies, we need the medicine. Too much can go wrong otherwise. In the long-term, I am looking for the causes and looking to more wholistic methods to overcome the illnesses.
3. I believe that everyone has a “religion”. Everyone needs something to cling to and a cause to fight for. It may be traditional religion, or it may be vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal cruelty, or something to take more to the extreme (or a combo of several). Someone close to me (who has left the church) seems to float from “religion” to “religion”. One year she was a vegan. One year she was into PETA.
Tinkerbell – I’m whispering this just to you. Would you mind emailing me directly (Or mind giving me your email address so I can email you??). I’m interested in what you mentioned about your thyroid, if you don’t mind chatting about it. I just found out that I have a multi-nodal goiter. I am searching for information (since the earliest appointment I could get with the endocrinologist is in June!) and so I was wondering what was wrong with your thyroid and how it has affected you! My email is jcort@kc.rr.com .
“O Be Wise, What can I say more?” Use your brain and realize there are no get thin quick schemes, or get healthy quick, or get rid of wrinkles quick. I guess to me it comes down to what your intentions are. Do you want to be healthy so you can feel your best and accomplish much good? Or do you just want a smokin’ hot bod? If we have righteous intentions I very strongly believe the Lord will help us find moderation in all things and help us help ourselves which may mean a doctor or two and the meds that go along.
(I can’t imagine going without pepper all those years will kill you, gotta love your mom for loving you enough to protect you from that perceived evil.)
Have you ever heard the story about the really overweight man who had a temple recommend interview and when the bishop asked if he obeyed the Word of Wisdom the man said, “Look at me, what do you think?”
What about John the Baptist who ate locusts and honey (I think…?) Did that help him gain spirituality? Or did it decrease his ability to be a servant? Why does the Bible bother to mention it if it isn’t important?
Recently I’ve had health problems that doctors are still trying to diagnose. The diagnosis is really inconsequential (the dr. hated it when I said that) It would just be nice because then they could stop the progression of my symptoms. Either way I can still acomplish what God has in mind. He knows what is happening in my body. I had a wonderful blessing that set my heart at ease, not that I won’t be sick but that this will be a trial but I will have strength for those things which are most important. There are all kinds of wild treatments I could try, in the end what I have decided upon is wisdom- to eat healthy, take vitamins and exercise. What I was doing already. Oh and plenty of pain meds thrown in.
Can you really believe that God, who loves us all, would keep the fountain of youth (or health) a complicated secret?
(forgive me the hodge podge of comments, it is late)
Um, a smokin’ hot bod would be nice, too. 🙂
Oh pooey, Tink stole my thunder. I read Jendoop’s comment and was going to say,
“I’ll take the smokin’ hot bod”, just to be silly of course. But Tink beat me to the punch!!
You know, those fairies think their SO cool flitting around at the speed of light. 🙂
If a couple truly are one, and if my wife has a smokin’ hot bod, does that mean I am smokin’ hot, as well? I think it does.
Ray, sorry to say that smokin’ hot doesn’t rub off, I’ve spent so much time at the gym with plenty of smokin’ hotness and it has yet to rub off. I still look like a Mormon stay at home mother of 4.
So, jendoop, you’re saying you have a smokin’ hot spirit. That’s what I meant. Yeah, that’s it.
:rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:
ohhhh burn!!!! i also fall into the mormon stay at home mom of 4 category! you better watch it Ray! lol
Well, personally, I think Ray has a smokin’ hot bod. And he says that there’s more of it now than when we got married. :twosome:
It was wonderful to read your thoughts. I have finally concluded that the best way to take care of myself is by living the word of wisdom. I think it is the best diet on the planet. If we really pay heed to the Word of Wisdom we would all have smokin hot bod’s!!!! However, we humans are imperfect!! If you don’t believe just read what is your favorite dessert again!!!!! However, we mormons really do need one vice and that is desserts!!!
Amen to that.
Um the dessert part, not the Ray has a smokin’ hot bod part. Not that he might, but um, you know what I mean.
i would only have a smokin hot bod, if I was engulfed in flames!
LOL (I have been using that a lot lately :smile:)
kiar you gave me a good laugh, thanks!