Eating to die young: here’s how
For decades, Bible-believing Christians have been told and retold that one of God’s promises is they can live to a ripe old age, 80 years to be exact. This “promise” is based on Psalm 90:10 NIV: ” “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures…:” It was a mantra.
There’s a problem with this thesis though. First off, this psalm was written by Moses, who lived to 120. Secondly, there’s another verse equally valid that seems to have been overlooked. It is Genesis 6:3 (NIV): humans’ “days will be be a hundred and twenty years.”
Why was the promise for Psalm preferred over Genesis? There is no exegetical reason.
So I adhered to 120 years. I started proclaiming in faith, as we Christians are wont to do, that I would live 120 years. “If you want to live only 80 years, that’s fine,” I would tell my friends. “But I’m believing the promise in Gen. 6:3 for 120 years.”
I was onto something. I mean, who wants to die?
But I also understood that I played a part in the fulfillment of that promise. I knew enough to understand that my body is “temple to the Holy Spirit,” as 1 Corinthians 3:16. I wouldn’t “trash” the temple. In Christian terms, I would “steward” by body as a precious gift from God, not to be abused.
Here’s what you need to do if you want to push the upper limits of the Bible’s longevity promises:
Exercise — So much good comes from a vigorous walk through the neighborhood or a trip to the gym! God didn’t design the body for today’s sedentary jobs; they were supposed to labor in the fields. The switch to desk jobs has been a death knell for health: obesity, heart disease, even cancer. Make time for exercise and it will make time lengthen in your life.
Cut down on fat — Nor did God intend for us to eat so much meat. In New Testament times, some sort of porridge was the everyday fare. Only on special occasions did the common man enjoy meat. Modern man has multiplied exponentially its consumption, and the the overload has clogged up our blood vessels and burdened the heart. Saturated fats are loaded into processed foods to improve taste. Is it any wonder that heart disease is the leading cause of death in America?
Avoid sugar — Sugar was progressively added to foods to entice consumers to prefer and repurchase products. Whether cereals or spaghetti sauce, food engineers found what they called “bliss point,” the peak of tolerable sugar that evokes cravings without doing on the sweet scale the equivalent of what pure lemon juice does on the sour scale if chugged alone. Hence, the normal American surpasses the 2,500 calorie-a-day maximum recommended by doctors (for adult women it is 2,000).
Watch your salt — Because of salt’s role in hypertension, the American Heart Association urges consumers to limit themselves to 2,000 milligrams a day. Most Americans blast past this limit like an SR-72. Salt gets loaded in every kind of food. It covers up a metallic taste on corn flakes. When food processors cut down on sugar, they usually offset the tastiness drop by adding salt. Just go to the store and read the milligrams of salt on food labels to realize how omnipresence.
Convenience kills — Whether it be fast food or quick-preparation food from the pantry or the freezer, convenience kills. Fast food chains are chained to sugar, salt and fat. Frozen foods and other foods that require little prep time are loaded with preservatives, calories and fat. You may be too busy to prepare a proper meal or too poor to buy a healthy one, but what you save in time and money takes a toll on your lifespan.
Eating right and good diet is also spirituality.
Michael Ashcraft is the CEO of Cuisine Natural healthy home and kitchen products.