Submitted by Deacon Carolyn Houser

                  Healthy Eating

     Healthy eating is about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and stabilizing your mood.  How can healthy eating improve our mood?  We all know that eating right can help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid certain health problems. Eating  carbohydrates also has an effect on your mood and sense of wellbeing. Studies have linked eating a typical Western diet filled with processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food, and sugary snacks come with a higher rate of depression, stress, bipolar, and anxiety eating and unhealthy food may play a role in development of mental health disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease and Schizophrenia.

     Eating healthy food doesn’t have to be complicated. The cornerstone of a healthy eating pattern should be to replace processed food with real food whenever possible. When you build your healthy eating pattern, you need a balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and mineral to sustain a healthy body.

Protein

    Protein is a vital nutrient required for building, maintaining, and repairing tissues, cell, and organs throughout the body.  When we eat protein, it is broken down into the 20 amino acids that are the body’s basic building blocks for growth and energy.  Protein gives us the energy to get up, go, and keep going. It also supports mood and cognitive function. Too much protein can be harmful to people with kidney disease. Some people need more protein as they age.

Fat

    Fat is a type of nutrient, and just like protein and carbohydrates, your body needs some fat for energy, to absorb vitamins, and to protect your heart and brain health.  Not all fat is the same.  Bad fats can increase your risk of certain diseases; good fats protect your brain and heart.

Carbohydrates

    Carbohydrates are one of your body’s main sources of energy. Most carbohydrates should come from complex, unrefined carbs (vegetable, whole grains, and fruit) rather than sugars and refined carbs that has been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients.  Cutting back on white bread, pastries, starches, and sugar can prevent rapid spikes in blood sugar.

 Fiber

    Fiber, also known as roughage, is the part of plant-based foods (grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans) that the body can’t break down.  It passes through the body undigested, keeping your digestive system clean and healthy, easing bowel movements, and flushing cholesterol and harmful carcinogens out the body.  Fiber comes in two varieties: insoluble and soluble.  Eating foods high in dietary fiber (grain, fruit, vegetables, nut, and beans) can help you stay regular and lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.  It can also improve your skin and help you lose weight.

Calcium

   Calcium is a key nutrient that many of us overlook in our eating.  Almost every cell in the body uses calcium in some way, including the nervous system, muscles, and heart.  It is an essential building block for lifelong bone health in both men and women, while not getting enough calcium in your diet can contribute to anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties.  Your body uses calcium to build  healthy bones and teeth, keeping them strong as you age.  Calcium sends message through the nervous system and regulates the heart’s rhythm. Not getting enough calcium in your eating can also contribute to anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties regardless of your age or gender.

    In order to do what God has called us to do in this world we must take care of our bodies.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20) 19- What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.  20- For ye are brought with a price therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God’s.   

Amen