Hyper-focusing on alcohol, modesty, sex, + cigarette use, while in the same breath ignoring the temptation, addiction, and influence of food, is failing our young people.
Hyperfocusing on alcohol, modesty, sex, + cigarette use, while in the same breath ignoring the temptation, addiction, and influence of food, is failing our young people.
While we sit silent and do not address the obesity epidemic in our pews, our children are suffering with depression, anxiety, and hormone imbalances that play a role in gender dysphoria.
While we sit silent, the world offers their input:
Just as a side note, I do not think your worth is based on your percentage of body fat. Body fat when balanced, is nourishing, we need it for sex hormone balance, warmth, and so many other things.
So being too thin is also a problem. However, in love, I hope we can acknowledge too much body fat in the form of visceral fat is incredibly dangerous.
Adipose tissue is also an endocrine tissue, which means it creates and influences hormones. Hormones impact our mood + mental health. Excessive adipose tissue disrupts hormone balance, which can create a mood imbalance. Ignoring this truth in the name of “body positivity” + normalizing mental health disorders is becoming a dangerous ideology.
Rarely do I hear sermons preached on the power of consuming God designed, nutrient rich food, or the temptation to over consume or self soothe with junk food.
Food is powerful. It impacts our mind, body, and spirit.
It contains fuel our bodies need like proteins, carbs, fats, fiber, glucose, and trace minerals.It has the capacity to bring us into fellowship with each other, as we eat and bond and co regulate over food.
It can uplift our spirits and be used to celebrate or soothe pain.
These are all very good and godly things...
But just because food can be good, does not mean we do not have the capacity to abuse it or that is never a source of temptation.
Abusing it or over-consuming foods can make us overweight + sick. That goes for nourishing foods like honey too.
Proverbs 25:15:
If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.
On the flip side, obsession with body image, ingredients and restriction can cause our stress hormones to increase, negatively impact our relationships, and also make us sick (mentally + physically).
While food is a blessing, it can also be a source of secrecy, self soothing, obsession, numbing, addiction, (or over restriction) and harm to our mind, bodies, and spirit.
And an unfortunate truth in today’s society is that our food choices, our hunger cues, our taste buds and neurotransmitters are being hijacked by the food industry, addictive ingredients, marketing, chronic stress, + diet culture.
This is a spiritual battle. Our mind, bodies, and spirit are interconnected...
And this is a topic I believe needs to be brought back into the pulpit. Not from a place of condemnation, but from a place of building awareness.
Awareness may look like shining light on the fact that our mood, food, and stress are all interconnected. For example, we over eat and reach for certain foods when we are stressed or are in a bad mood.
Studies have found a negative mood can cause individuals to eat more food to soothe their mood.
Feelings of chronic shame, struggling with chronic self criticism also impacts our food choices + consumption.
In short, we soothe with food. And that is not always a bad thing, but it needs to be brought into our awareness because if we continue certain food based soothing patterns, it impacts our health + spiritual lives.
The question is, will we be offended by this truth? Or will we lean into and start taking action, having hard conversations, and equipping ourselves and our members with knowledge surrounding the power of food + nutrition?
Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763415002298
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30254980/#:~:text=Results%3A%20Twelve%20Antidepressant%20Nutrients%20relate,%2C%20vitamin%20C%2C%20and%20zinc.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15181022/
