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Physical Health Through Scripture 1
by Paul Taylor Physical Health Through Scripture In todays modern world, and especially in the USA, there is a health epidemic sweeping the Nation, with approximately 60 % of all Americans on some form of regular medication for health conditions which didnt, or rarely existed 100 years ago. I personally believe the 60% figure is much higher, as there are at least two and sometimes three different pharmacies at major intersections and a few miles down the road there is two or three more, each staffed with dozen or more employees constantly filling bottles of pills and placing the filled bags on an array of shelves already overflowing with filled prescriptions while a waiting area is congested with those awaiting their chemical cocktails to be filled. In spite of the advances in medical technologies and medical care, new conditions are constantly being diagnosed. With a constantly increasing number of prescriptions being written by the Medical Field, it lends to reason; we Americans are the most drugged society in history. Has the brains of the people been so retuned by the constant bombardment of these chemical concoctions that they are unable, or unwilling to seek the truth and find a remedy which works? Thats a million dollar question, but I pray this chapter will shed some light and give people the initiative to at least ask questions, research, and seek out the truth. This is not an article to denigrate the Medical Professionals who really care for their patients, and have spent years studying and attempting to understand the human body with its intricate and fascinating system of survival and regenerations which baffle the brightest medical minds; with its ability to heal itself, and recover from diseases and trauma, which can only be deemed miraculous. According to the CDC nearly 60% of Americans are ingesting 1 or more types of drugs and more than 1 in 10 are consuming 5 or more drugs. Whats shocking is to discover that one in five children are regularly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs, and nine out of ten seniors are prescribed these chemical concoctions. There was a 13% increase between 1988-2000 in the proportion of those taking at least one drug and a 40 % increase in those taking 3 or more drugs according to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In a 2003 medical report, Death by Medicine, by Drs. Gary Null, Carolyn Dean, Martin Feldman, Debora Rasio and Dorothy Smith, 783,936 people in the United States die every year from conventional medicine mistakes, which includes these pharmaceutical cocktails. Thats about 6 jumbo jets crashing each day of the year, and yet there is no outcry from the media or the medical field. Life continues as though nothing is wrong. Have you given any thought as to why its called a Medical Practice? Think About it. With the advances in medical, surgical, and health care over the past 60 years alone, one would surmise, the Nation would be free of nearly all health issues, and should in fact be consuming even less medicines, but in essence, the health of the average American is deteriorating, and the number of prescriptions are steadily increasing with the only answers coming from the medical field is more pharmaceuticals to treat the symptoms rather than the disease. So we ponder, with all these modern medical advances why is the population becoming sicker? Oh! You say ,but, People are living longer! In fact they are, but are they living, or do they only exist? There is a difference. When a person arrives at a point in their life when the only sense of existence is confinement to a recliner, or bed, being dependent upon some type of care from someone else, and consuming an immense amount of medication on a daily basis, merely to stay alive; then I fail to relegate that to living, but existing in a diseased shell. Medications are lifesaving, and life sustaining in some instances and should be used for these reasons, but it has become a crutch to assist one to hobble along in the same lifestyle which put them in the condition in which they find themselves. Does one continue to walk on a broken leg, or does he have a Medical Doctor set the bone, and give him a crutch to assist his mobility until it is healed, at which time he can discard the crutch, or does he remove the cast, walk on the damaged leg and hold on to the crutch? This is the basic problem, when few are listening and the majority is screaming for more medications as a continued crutch while they continue on their suicidal lifestyle. Lets look at a few statistics. OBESITY: 1963-2004 12 -19 YEAR OLDS INCREASE FROM 4.6% OF THE POPULATION TO A WHOPPING 17.4 %, A NEARLY 75% INCREASE. AMONG CHILDREN 2-19 years old, 32% ARE OVERWEIGHT DIABETES: 35% OF US ADULTS AGE 20 AND OLDER ARE DIAGNOSED AS HAVING PRE- DIABETES. APPROXIMATELY 1.9 MILLION NEW CASES WERE DIAGNOSED IN 2010 THE TOTAL COST FOR TREATING DIABATICS WERE APPROXIMATELY 174 BILLION DOLLARS IN 2007. DIABETES IS THE SEVENTH (7TH) LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE USA. HEART DISEASE & STROKE: HEART DISEASE IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE USA. I IN 4 DEATHS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO HEART DISEASE. HEART DISEASE COST APPROXIMATELY 109 BILLION DOLLARS/YR 35% OF US ADULTS AGE 20 AND UP HAVE HYPERTENSION ( HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE) WHICH IS A MAJOR CAUSE IN THE DEVOLPMENT OF HEART DISEASE/STROKE 2000 AMERICANS ARE STRICKEN BY A STROKE EACH DAY These are just a few shocking statistics showing the broad picture of a health epidemic which is out of control, getting worse, and very few seem to be addressing the root problem as it continues to widen and worsen in its sweep throughout the Nation. There are some who are attempting to educate the masses, but, they are few, and are being drowned out by the media and Medical field, which include the Pharmaceutical industry, pushing medicines and unnecessary medical procedures, which in some cases cause more harm than good. As we look at the statistics and ponder the reasons why, we ask ourselves, Is there an answer? Amazingly! Yes, there is an answer to this plague of sorts, which has not only infected the USA, but is now infecting the entire world. We have to take a break from the entire hullabaloo, and propaganda being spewed forth about health issues, put them in the back of our minds and open the Holy Bible where you will find the answers to these problems. Please! dont roll your eyes and sigh yea, yea, yea here we go again on this religious kick, its another waste of my time; but as you sigh that exclamation, let me encourage you to reflect on the amount of wasted time, money, effort and pain in the quest for health, that either you, a friend or loved one has experienced in the past, or are now experiencing and ask yourself was it, or is it worth it, before you put this article aside. Let me be clear on one thing, I am not a Medical Doctor, nor have I been trained in any field of Medicine, and I am not prescribing any medical advice in this article but rather information gleamed from government and other medical industry reports and statistics which I include for information only, along with my personal experience. Your health issues need to be addressed to your Physician. We look around and ask, What can I do to improve my health and well-being, Ive applied all the regimens and instructions given me by my Doctor, taken the medicines, and yet I dont seem to improve, rather I seem to be regressing. Im prescribed one medicine for my symptoms, and then another one to counteract the effects of the original and then another to offset these side effects. Either I am doing something wrong or its my genes and fate to suffer the same diseases as my parents and siblings. When you are told there is a possibility you will suffer the same diseases as your parents and /or siblings, does it not make you want to question why? Think about this for a minute; most families pass down through the generations their particular traits and habits which includes food, exercise, tobacco/alcohol use, and other lifestyle traits which various studies over the years have indicated, may have a bearing on diseases and other health issues. Could this be why families in generation after generation suffer the same diseases? Think about it. When we begin asking those questions, we have reached a point where something has got to change and were ready to listen and pay attention to any reasonable answers. We cant walk away from our Doctors or Health Care Providers until we can find an alternative to the chemical concoctions of pharmaceuticals which never seem to quench the insatiable appetite for more. We start our quest for truth and facts in the first book of the Holy Bible, the book of Genesis and we read in Genesis 1:1; In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. When we go further to Genesis 1:29-31 we find the creation of fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, etc. for our sustenance as well as for the animals. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. If we examine these verses we see that God has provided the needed food for our existence and survival. The English word meat in the text is not referring to flesh but the fruit of the trees, vines, etc. and is called meats, which means food. Lets jump forward to Daniel 1:8 and examine a very interesting story of a young man in his teens who had been taken captive by the Babylonians when Jerusalem was destroyed and all the most educated young men were sent to the royal court for retraining in the Babylonian culture, but one group refused to submit to the food offered to them and we see in the story the results of following a healthy diet. 8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. We see in this verse that Daniel will not partake of the food which the King is demanding they eat. The King believed the rich foods of meats, strong wines and other types of food were a healthy diet, and demanded they consume the food. Daniel, being an educated and princely Jew , was aware of the health laws which Moses had passed to the Hebrews from God at Mt. Sinai, and he was not about to put anything in his body which God had commanded them not to. (the next chapter will explain why God demanded we not eat these foods) As we read the rest of the story we see the Eunuch had taken a likening to Daniel and his other 3 Jewish friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) and agreed to Daniels request in Daniel 1:12. Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Daniel wanted only vegetables and fruits to eat and plain water to drink for ten days to prove that Gods diet was better than the Kings. After 10 days on the food which Daniel had requested we see the results in Daniel 1:15-16 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. 16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. Jumping ahead to Daniel 1:18-20 we see the results a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains can have on the human body. 18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. There are those who will read this and relegate it to fiction or myth, but I encourage you to do your research, which will prove a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and fresh clean water can, has, and will alleviate many medical conditions which are a result of our lifestyle of fast food, sugary drinks, sweets, processed foods and foods with animal products in them. A friend at church (a diabetic on insulin), whom I had been talking to about changing his diet and lifestyle kept saying, I need to, but never did. I moved to another Church and lost contact for about a year when he came for a visit to the Church I was attending. I almost didnt recognize him. He had shed a great deal of weight, trimmed down and said he felt better than he had felt in years and the best part was he had not had to take any insulin for the previous two months. He had finally reached that point, and made a decision to change, improving his health dramatically. Our Heavenly Father created these bodies, and he knows what makes them work, what will cause them to break down, and what it will take to repair them. The human body is an amazing collection of cells which when given the proper nutrition will repair itself. Just as an engineer creates an automobile to run on gasoline and oil; if you put water and kerosene in the engine, it will not run and if it does, not for long. Our bodies were designed to process fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and pure water; not imitation processed foods which our bodies cannot identify, though with its built in mechanisms to keep the body functioning, it will make an effort to accommodate these intruders until it begins to break down from the strain, much like the automobile when you put the wrong propellant in, the engine wont run long, and neither will your body. At one point in my past life, I was a stroke and heart attack waiting to happen, and I knew why, but I like others did not want to change until I reached that point . As a contractor, I was constantly going from job to job grabbing fast food, snacks and whatever was quick to eat, not realizing the damage it was doing to my system; I also smoked up to two packs a day. There were times I could barely climb a six foot ladder without huffing and puffing for breath, and when I had to crawl under a house I had to continually stop and catch my breath. I had been getting Physicals from my Doctor, but he never made any suggestions as to changing my lifestyle since I wasnt on any medication, but he had informed me that he would have me on blood pressure medications before long. I went for my DOT medical renewal and when I stepped on the scales and was shown my weight I was floored, I had allowed myself, a small, barely 54 to increase my weight to 200 lbs. I made a conscience decision at that moment to change my lifestyle; I had quit the cigarettes several years earlier. I avoided all sweets, all meats with the exception of a piece of baked or broiled organic chicken once every month or so, and began eating breakfast, something I hadnt done in years, drank only water except for black coffee, did not eat any snacks between meals and nothing after 6pm. The results confounded my doctor to the point he would not accept the Laboratory findings, exclaiming there had to be an error in the Lab work. My Doctor paid for another set of blood and lab tests in an effort prove the test wrong. The results were as follows after six months of my eating habit changes; Keep in mind that as a contractor I do an immense amount of physical labor so my results are probably quicker than the average. I am not including anything but the most vital signs since the other blood work results are not applicable even though all the results showed an incredible positive change in all areas. BEFORE: AFTER: Weight 199/ 148 Blood Pressure 150/95- 118/70 Glucose 109/ 77 Cholesterol 190/ 150 Heart Rate (rest) 70-75/ 45-48 The above is my personal statistics as a result of changing my lifestyle to what God has recommended as nutrients for our bodies. I fall off the wagon every now and again, and have to remind myself of the consequences of a junk food diet. I am 67 years old, have never taking any type of medication, with the exception of antibiotics to rid myself of a bacterial infection. I have not had as much as stopped up nose in the past ten to twelve years, and have forgotten what it was like to be sick from a cold or flu. I have been exposed to people who were extremely sick, but I failed to contract their symptoms. I know people of my age who hasnt been sick for years and never seen a Doctor. There secret; Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts grains and plenty of fresh water and moderate exercise, preferably outside. Breakfast being the most important, and I emphasize IMPORTANT, meal of the day, should be eaten soon after you arise and should consist of mostly fresh fruits /or grains. Fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach as they digest faster and if eaten with a meal tends to sit behind and not give the optimum nutritional effect. A high fiber breakfast will kick your metabolism into high gear and release energy slowly rather than all at once like a sugary cereal or pancake meal will do. You will eliminate those midmorning cravings for food. My breakfast is as follows: One 8oz glass of water with 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, which I drink before I prepare the meal, Steel cut organic oats (this is not processed oatmeal but the real grain and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook) I use pure Stevia Powder extract (Stevia is about 40 times sweeter than sugar and is a natural leaf not an artificial chemical sweetner) to sweeten. I also add a small scoop of raisins and tsp cinnamon cooked together. (I will explain the vinegar and cinnamon later) Once it is cooked I sprinkle a tbsp. fresh ground organic flax seeds and about 6-10 fresh or frozen blueberries and about 2 tbsp. Rice Milk on top. (Cooked or heated blueberries are void of nutrients whereas fresh or unprocessed frozen is full of anti-cancer fighting nutrients) I eat this with a 6-8 oz. glass of fresh (I squeeze them myself every morning) orange juice. You cant pay me to drink processed orange juice. I also rotate with shredded wheat and oatmeal (quick uncooked). With this breakfast I use two (2) of the shredded wheat biscuits (unsugared) with raisins and a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries and rice milk. Either of these meals gives me an immense amount of energy which carries me through the mornings without the desire for snacks. I still eat my apple at lunch for an added boost to my energy level, which carries me through to supper, or dinner. I usually eat between 5 and 6 AM each morning. For lunch around 11 or 12 pm I will eat a fresh apple including the peeling, which contains most of the nutrients and fiber. For supper or dinner, whatever you wish to call it, usually consists of at least a fresh salad made with spinach and other lettuces, and either a whole grain pasta, stir fried (in water) various vegetables, broiled vegetables, but you get the picture. There are so many variations with vegetables and ways to fix them, you could probably have them a different way for a year without eating the same dish. I stress pure whole wheat or grain, not white pasta or rice. There is a reason, as the white products have had all the nutrients stripped and the white has a tendency to cause the carbohydrates to spike your glucose levels. This is also true of white flours and breads. I urge you to use only 100% whole grain/wheat without the added ingredients of MSG, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUPS, ARTIFICIAL THIS AND THAT, ETC. These bread products are out there, but you have to be diligent and read every label and know what each ingredient is before you consume it. Also be wary of fresh vegetables from foreign countries as there is very little oversight on the growing and use of pesticides and insecticides on their products. Drink plenty of fresh pure water, it is recommended we consume at least 6 to 8 8 oz. glasses of water per day for normal activity and more for strenuous activity. Our bodies are about 75% water and we need to keep them hydrated for the various organs and other chemical reactions to function properly. Below is a Diet guide line called the DANIEL DIET, and I encourage you to try it for ten days. I didnt write this and I have no Idea who came up with it, but I received it from a Pastor years ago who follows it and preaches on it. About the vinegar and cinnamon. They both help to regulate the metabolism of sugar in your system after eating a meal. The vinegar also is considered an anti- inflammatory agent. I had trouble with my fingers and hands drawing and cramping from arthritic symptoms which made it very difficult as an electrician to wire things together. I began drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 8oz of water each morning, and have been so for the past 10 or more years. Since I began using the vinegar I have had no problems with my hands cramping, hurting or drawing. If I miss taking for a day or two my hands will begin to exhibit the same symptoms, but once I resume the regimen my symptoms disappear. This article was supposed to be only a single chapter, but God has opened more to me and given me so much guidance, I will extend it to a second, and possibly a third since there is a lot more information that will open your eyes as to what you are putting in your body. People need to be informed of a healthy God given diet to sustain and maintain a healthy lifestyle, so be looking for it. Daniel Chapter- 1 Diet 10 Day Diet THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY PRAYER: FOOD----Eat only fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables Eat the foods in as natural state as possible Check ingredients of foods---if you dont know what the ingredients are, dont eat it NO Sweets (cake, candy, pies, ice cream, etc.) No Sodas of any kind- only pure clean water or pure grape juice (NO CAFFEINE) EXERCISE: 15 -- 30 Minutes Each Day (Brisk walk, bicycling, etc.) MENTAL: NO movies with cursing or violence!! No Rock & Roll, exception Rock of Ages When the Roll is called up yonder MEDITATION: At least 30 minutes each day of Bible Study Read Daniel 1 = 1ST for 2days Read Psalm 91 = 2nd 2 days Read John 3 = 3rd 2 days Read Proverbs 3 = 4th 2 days Read Revelation 3 = 5th 2 days SHARE HIM: Each day witness to at least one person by giving them some type of religious literature or personal study Then shall thy light break forth as the morning; and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy rightousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Isaiah 58:8 Try this and you may start a new trend by reducing the work load on the Medical Field so they can concentrate on the more serious problems. Paul Taylor a Christian writer attempting to get the truth out to the masses before it is too late Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |