Your Health Matters: 10 Simple Things We Can Do
February 20, 2009 by Standing on Truth
Filed under Nutritional Living
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I have been convicted lately that I am not doing much lately to take care of my temple of the Holy Spirit. It’s easy to get swept up in the daily grind of life and lose the discipline it takes to really care for ourselves. We stop doing what we should be doing and start eating what we should not be eating. I’m ready to return to some of the basics. Here are 10 simple things that we can do, starting today, to make a difference in our health and to honor God with our bodies.
1. Cut back on refined sugar. Sugar has been shown to cause depression, feed certain types of cancer, and adversely affect digestion. http://rheumatic.org/sugar.htm
2. Add garlic to your diet. Garlic is antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal.
3. Invest in organic fruits and vegetables. They taste better, are free of dangerous pesticides, and although they cost more, we can invest in our health now, or pay for it later. A great way to clean your conventional fruits and vegetables (if you don’t want to pay the price for organic): Soak them in a solution of apple cider vinegar and water (1/4 cup to one gallon) for 15 minutes, drain, then soak in clean, purified water for 10 minutes, then enjoy.
4. If nothing else, drink 64 ounces of purified drinking water a day. It goes a long way to clean your body of toxins, revive you when you are fatigued, and helps us cut back on drinking other things that are not healthy (coffee, cola).
5. Set aside time each week to serve someone else. Getting the focus off of ourselves not only helps our mental health, it helps our spiritual health as well. Some great organizations to get involved with locally:
Habitat for Humanity—help build homes for others (www.habitat.org)
Salvation Army—organize a clothing drive (www.salvationarmyusa.org)
Meals on Wheels—deliver hot meals to seniors (www.mowaa.org)
6. Forgive daily. Unforgiveness is a poison and will cause division in your relationship with God as well as others. It will also wreak havoc on your health. (Matthew 6:14-15)
7. Get 15 minutes of sunshine every day. Vitamin D from the sun is essential to our health.
8. Set aside time every day, no matter what it takes, to take in God’s Word, pray, and listen to God’s leading. This will do wonders for the direction your thoughts take, as well as your actions. God’s Word is a “lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).
9. Add as many antioxidants to your diet as possible (blueberries, raspberries, broccoli, red grapes, spinach, tomatoes). Oxidation is a chemical reaction that happens in cells that produces what’s called free radicals which damage cells (and cause diseases), and antioxidants naturally fight that reaction.
10. Take a digestive enzyme with each meal. Many of us do not have the adequate enzymes to break down our food enough to get all the necessary nutrients from what we eat.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8).
