Hamburger is the new black

I wrote this post while in medical school as I thought about health, fitness, and what I put inside my body. I first started this journey of trying to live cleaner and healthier because I use to have VERY bad acne. And I had always heard the saying "you are what you eat." I figured if I changed how I ate maybe it would change the health of my skin. So I started researching natural ways to cure acne and started digging into The Word about body and health. My mind started to be renewed on what exactly clean/healthy living looked like, and I began to value my body from a health stand point. I still had a ways to go at that time of valuing myself and having self worth and God-findence (ha! love that word, God+confidence). But praise God for that beginning! I am now a complete vegetarian and I'm considering doing the vegan life.

This is my story on why I changed my eating habits and why I am a vegetarian. 🥗🥕🍎

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As I’ve progressed through my clinical rotations I’ve been so amazed by the health woes so many patients face. And you would think man, what horrible infections attacked this patient? What genetics factors are causing patients to be so ill? But that is so not the case, patients aren’t innocent victims, being attacked by some foreign, alien germ bug. Many patients are actually the villains in their own lives causing themselves to be so sick. People are literally eating themselves to death, putting all sorts of poisons in their body. And I thought the soul purpose of food was help sustain life not take away life.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the foods we eat and how it affects our body. Processed/genetically modified/ laboratory manufactured meats and vegetables people eat are causing colon cancer. Eating too much sugary foods causes diabetes which can lead to a whole assortment of fun things: blindness, kidney failure, leg amputations, disfiguring foot ulcers, and loss of sensation in feet and hands. Eating large amounts of meat without balancing it with equal amount of fruits and vegetables can cause gout which give you painful stones in the kidney and painful lumps in the joints, especially the toes. Being too over weight can put females at increased risk of endometrial cancer. And there are so many more issues caused by not eating healthy.

Our health problems don’t end with just food. Lets talk about the drugs we put in our body. I’ve seen so many patients who have cancer of the bladder by smoking cigarettes. Infertility from smoking weed. Cancer of the esophagus and liver by drinking too much alcohol. And so much more.

Now lets go a step further. Lets compound the foods and booze with very little physical activity. Now we see heart attacks and strokes. And people continue to die left and right because they committed a long and laborious suicide by eating drinking, smoking and sitting their way to death.

It just makes me so sad. Seeing such awful consequences from our own actions has made me re-evaluate and go even harder for the healthy, active lifestyle I try to live. Seeing this health tragedy has made me want to truly cherish and appreciate this body I am given. I want to treat my body as the temple for which it is. This life, this body are not my own. They do not belong to me to just mistreat and use anyway I please. This body was created to serve and honor God with.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. -1 Corinthians 6:19-20

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him – Romans 12:1

When Paul talks about the body being honored and treated as a temple for the worship of God, I know most people quickly associate this with avoiding sexual immortality and fornication, but I believe it also relates to dietary and physical activity life choices. Like Paul says sexual immorality is sinning against your own body, well I believe being unhealthy is the same way. Both can lead to an early demise. In the same way premarital sex can lead to STD, abortions and pregnancy complications which can cause death, unhealthy lifestyles can also, as we saw from the examples I’ve seen in the hospitals and clinics.

Check out these verses:

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth -Philippians 3:18-19

Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty… -Proverbs 23:21

I believe this is literal too. Food and booze can get pricey. And so do the medical bills from the eventual effects of unhealthy living. Sadly.

And think about the story of Esau and Jacob. Genesis 25:27-34 Esau was so consumed by hunger that he sold his whole birthright for a bowl of beans. Bruh. Come on now! :/. Not such a wise decision because whenever we talk about the big dogs who first knew and had a relationship with God we think of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. It could have been Abraham, Isaac and Esau. But hunger got the best of Esau. :(.

And you might say so what, so what if people die early, is it not their own choice to eat poorly? If they decide not to see their body as a temple of God what does that have to do with me? Yes all of this is true, but I want to share the revelation knowledge I got a couple months back. And how your neighbors healthy lifestyle can impact your life and the life of your children’s children. Think about it like this, if your neighbor decides he wants to be his own god by claiming to have ownership over his bodies and eating garbage, then he surely will die early. And what will happen to the plans and the purpose God placed within him to fulfill during his time on earth? Well, that awesome plan is now squashed. And what if that plan involved getting you to that level in life you needed to get to? What if that plan involved getting your child’s child into the position or place they needed to do God’s work? We must remember that we are all one body; we all need one another.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ… Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you. (1 Corinthians 12:12, 21).

We are wrongly tempted to eat poorly so that God’s plans which are intended to be delivered through His vessels (you and I) will be destroyed. God’s name cannot be proclaimed through a dead (wo)man. And God’s name can’t be effectively shared in a (wo)man who is 500 lbs and cannot leave the confines of his (her) home because he (she) can’t fit through the door– and yes this is a true story for many patients. So the enemy is able to keep our mouths shut to proclaiming God’s name by keeping our mouths open to foods and booze.

Let’s realize that this is a real attack from the enemy–that these tantalizing foods and booze kill our body prematurely and prevents us from living fully to the potential God has given us to choose. Let us realize that are bodies are a precious gift and creation of God that are meant not for our pleasure and misuse, but to be used as a vessel for God to pass THROUGH. When we are clogged up with junk and fat God won’t be passing through anything. Let’s respect these temples of worship God has blessed us with.

I recently became more intentional with my diet and am trying to cut out red meats because of the excessive antibiotics, hormones and excess fats in them. I’m hoping and asking for strength to become a pescatarian (wild caught fish only) because the same antibiotics and hormones are sadly infused into our chickens and turkeys.

[That was 4 years ago! Now, I am strictly vegetarian, I do not eat red meat, poultry, or any seafoods. I believe because of my diet modifications, I have more energy. As an OBGYN resident I work between 60-80 hours a week and I don't have to depend on coffee for energy, my skin is clearer, my hair is shinier, and I'm just out here looking flawless! Lol jk. But overall, I feel better. Check out the story of Daniel who helps support that being vegetarian is the way to go. He did a randomized control trial of sorts (sorry I'm super nerdy, lol). He and a couple men ate vegetables only for 10 days and another set of men at wine, meats, and literally whatever they wanted to eat off the royal courts banquet table. And at the end of the 10 days guess who looked healthier and felt stronger? The vegetarians:)!! Daniel 1:8-15. I would like you all to give it a try, stop eating meats, cut down on the sweets, and stop drinking alcohol for 10 days and watch how different you will feel.

Through this commitment I've made of honoring my body (my temple in which the Holy Spirit resides) I am seeing more benefits. Although this may be a far stretch for some people, disciplining my body by what I am put in it, also helps me realized I can be disciplined in other areas of my life. I can say no to toxic relationships ( a cycle I found myself in for a large portion of my life), I can say no to alcohol, I can say no to getting an attitude when someone rubs me the wrong way, I can say no to self-defeating statements/thoughts, I can say no to having sex outside of marriage. And this is something new I am working on, I can say NO to being late to my engagements/appointments (Hallelujah! Lol). And how do I know I can say no? (1) Well, I follow Nike's motto, I "JUST DO IT!" (2) I have friends to help keep me accountable and encourage me with the responsibilities and goals I'm called to complete. (3) I think about the long term benefit of saying yes to things that will add value to my life and no to the things that will not and that helps me stay on track. (4)I know that God has given me the strength to do all things that bring honor to him name or help me to accomplish the tasks that are set before me and I rest in that truth (Philippians 4:13, AMPC) ]. And I know with changing your mindset from I can't to I can, with believing in a power greater than yourself to help motivate and strengthen you (Jesus), with accountability, you also can do all tasks and goals set before you! :)

Join me as we fight against the enemy and make wiser health decisions so we can live longer and have more years to win more souls for the glory of God.

Be blessed y’all.

XOXO,

Jenn

Awesome food documentaries for more understanding and wisdom on changing our food habits and living healthier/cleaner lifestyles

These documentaries can all be found on netflix. Click below for more details.

Hungry for Change

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead

Forks over Knives

Food, Inc

What the Health

Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue

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