Health from a child's perspective

It isn’t a secret … I think children are some of the most fantastic individuals God has ever blessed the human race with. This feeling was true when I had mine and now that I have two grandchildren, the feeling is even stronger. They are really special little people. Take time to listen to them because they just might have something to say as in “out-of-the-mouths-of-babies” concept. I’ve never subscribed to the thinking that children should be seen and not heard … because they just might have something important to share. Such was my reaction when I read a short article by a 10-year old. Jacob Schultz might have been young in years, but deeply wise in wisdom. Here is what he had to say:

I would like to talk about hydrogenated fats. They are bad fats. They are found in most sugary and baked foods, including white crackers, Pringles, Doritos, Cheetos, cookies, doughnuts, chocolate candy, cupcakes, cake, and stuff like that. Hydrogenated fats were once “OK” fats. Now they are injected with hydrogen so they can last longer.

Then they become bad fats. That’s how Ding Dongs, Krisby Kreme doughnuts and McDonald’s French fries can sit on the shelf and then in a few years you can say, “Look it’s the Krispy Kreme doughnuts we got three years ago! They look as good as new.” Hydrogenated fats clog up your arteries.

When you eat a Twinkie, you are pretty much dumping garbage into your arteries. Your arteries are pretty much like little rivers that carry blood throughout your body. Eating Twinkies is kind of like dumping trash into a river. When the rivers get clogged up with trash, they can’t deliver water to the factory that bottles water for us and we have a problem.

Same thing with you body. That beloved Twinkie is actually clogging up your arteries so your blood can’t flow to your brain and heart and over a course of 40 or 60 years you could die.

My grandpa had this sort of problem. He died at 55 years old, just before I was born. His arteries were clogged and his heart got sick. They spotted it too late.

Don’t let that happen to you! After all, how long your body lasts is a lot more important than how long your food lasts. I wished I had my grandpa.

Such a wise and insightful young man this Jacob Schultz is! It is that last line, “I wished I had my grandpa” that gets to me. I never really understood it from his perspective before, but it dawned on me this time … our (my) eating habits can be rather selfish in nature. The “stuff” I consume satisfies my taste buds, but robs my body and in robbing my body I am robbing my children and grandchildren of a longer relationship with a significant individual (or at least I hope that I am significant) or in other words in your case, a significant individual such as a mom or dad or grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle. Oh, how selfish we really are … especially when it comes to a Five Guys hamburger or Wendy’s French fries or a banana split or a Pizza Hut Super Supreme Pizza or Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast or any number of other unhealthy choices that are very popular … There is no plea deal here … we are either guilty or not guilty and boy, am I guilty. How about you? Are you like me in that we are robbing our children or grandchildren (present or future) of a deeper relationship with us by eating ourselves to an earlier grave than is necessary?

The Bible states that our bodies are the “Temple of God” and that we should treat them accordingly. Plus, each of us is important to someone else … we really shouldn’t rob them of our presence but ruining God’s Temple with what we eat or put into your lungs. It is never too late to make a life saving change!

The health experts are correct – we should eat correctly and exercise regularly not for others, but for ourselves. In that understanding, another observation or thought … as I have walked the halls of nursing homes I have often wondered how many of the patients would be in the nursing home if they had eaten correctly or exercised regularly … if nothing more than just an extra fruit a day or an hour less of TV watching or a gentle walk around the block? If we don’t do it for anyone else we should change our lifestyle for ourselves … unless our goal is to become a resident of a nursing home much, much sooner than our bodies would require!

Two quotes for today: The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you'd rather not. Mark Twain … Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. Erma Bombeck