by Gayle Donahue, MSN, RN
Greetings! Have you cleaned out the holiday fruitcakes, cookies, dips, sausage?
Gayle Donahue, MSN, RN
Are you considering the calorie splurges of Valentine’s Day? Are healthy choices for your Super Bowl party on your grocery list?
Lent is approaching and it is time to get back on the healthy track. Biblegateway.com tells us food is mentioned 338 times in the Bible. God did intend for food to meet our whole health needs - physical, social, mental, and spiritual (Proverbs 22:9; Numbers 11:5; 1Timothy 4:13, 6:17 ; Genesis 43:11; Luke 15:1-2).
As you read the Bible and list the foods God instructs for daily use and gifts, you will see a diet that is high in fiber and reduces inflammation. Just a few to start your list: apples, almonds, olives, cucumbers, onions, barley, corn…
Today’s medical community is recognizing the grocery store as part of your pharmacy and your refrigerator as an extension of your medicine cabinet. Why is this antiinflammatory diet important for us? Persistent inflammation throughout the body can lead to chronic disease. Research has shown the links between chronic inflammation and cancer, cardiac disease, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Educating yourself on food choices can reduce your risk of disease, may improve your quality of living, and enable you to see God’s hand in your life.
Interested in learning more about an anti-inflammatory diet? Join Cheryl Reitz RD, LD, CDE for Conversations of Health on February 24 in the parlor at 11:10am. This is your opportunity to get back to the basics and hear the benefits, identify foods that reduce inflammation, and get some meal ideas and recipes.
This conversation with Cheryl is also a great entryway to one of the Wellness Journey Continues (WJC) groups. These groups will incorporate content from the Cleveland Clinic Daniel Plan coordinator and needs identified by each group discussion. Sampling of recipes and menus will be highlighted.
One WJC group begins on Monday, March 18, at 10:00am in the library. A second will be on Wednesday evenings (please check the Sunday bulletins or next month’s Circuit Rider for time). Questions? Please send me a message at gdonahue@rrumc.org or call the Church Office and ask to talk to Gayle at extension 235.