What You Don't Know May Kill You

Those allergic to specific foods, such as peanuts or strawberries, avoid them. But sometimes the body’s reaction is not as obvious as red blotches or difficult breathing. For example, I know my joints swell and my sinuses clog during allergy season. I also know if I eat an excessive amount of sugary foods or dairy during allergy season, I am inclined to get a sinus infection. I obtained this knowledge by trial and error over a lengthy period of time. Do you know how foods affect your body?

Do you want to know how foods affect your body?

Sometimes I choose to stay ignorant so I can eat without guilt. I don’t want to know how a particular food affects my body because then I can’t use the excuse, “I didn’t know.” Have you ever said, “Don’t tell me how many calories are in this,” as you bit into a food item?

Newsflash: Whether you know the number of calories or not does not change how many calories you are eating. Whether you know a food clogs your arteries or not does not change whether the food will clog your arteries. “I didn’t know,” does not prevent a headache, heart burn, diabetes, or cancer.

Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance may kill you.

But, the truth will set you free.


Do you eat improperly simply because you are uninformed? Choose to know what you are eating as well as why you are eating it. Read the ingredients listed on packaged foods. Research. Know the benefits and detriments. Know how your body responds and reacts to different food groups.

Maybe you wonder where to start. Do a search for an item you eat frequently. Or research an ingredient found in an item in your cupboard. Look at what health food experts say about it—not just what is listed on government or weight loss sites. Read books. Ask others. Go to your local Farmer’s Market and ask the vendors about their produce.

What do you do to stay informed?

Book Recommendation: What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: 3 Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health by Rex Russell, M.D.

Rex explores Old Testament laws and why God wrote them. He spends most of the book examining and expanding on the following three principles of healthy living:

• Principle 1: Eat only substances God created for food. Avoid what is not designed for food.
• Principle 2: As much as possible, eat foods as they were created—before they are changed or converted into something humans think might be better.
• Principle 3: Avoid food addictions. Don’t let any food or drink become your god.

The God of Food by Mary DeMuth

I am honored to feature a blog post written by Mary DeMuth, well-known author and speaker. I admire Mary’s spirit, love for Jesus and gift of using words to tell stories. She summarizes a perfect viewpoint of food in her “closing thoughts.” Please, please take the time to read her entire post (you will need to follow the link), explore her website and consider reading one of her books.

I struggle with food, but not in a huge way. I’m not the type to raid the kitchen at night or run around like a crazy person to lose weight. But I’ve read a lot about nutrition, and I’m here to tell you, it’s tyranny.

Of course we should eat right. Absolutely. I garden for this purpose. And I typically don’t eat packaged, plastic food because I believe the state that God created food is probably the best state to eat it.

So I read another book about nutrition that tells me a certain food is a no-no (Does it even matter what it is?), and I practically threw my hands heavenward. “I give up,” I told the empty room.

Because one day a food is deemed a miracle, and the next day it’s diabolical.

In that moment, I heard a still voice, “I am the God of food,” He said. “Trust Me.”

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