My Testimony (how God’s principles have improved my health)

Under Parental Influence

My parents began instituting healthful practices into our home when I was in grade school. I can still remember the Uncle Sam cereal which was overflowing with little bug-like (flax) seeds. I would not eat it. Candy became the forbidden fruit. Carob replaced chocolate. Soda was considered a four-letter word. Our white sugar must have rotted because now it was discolored – and called raw. Those were not happy days.

I did not have the ability to see how fortunate I was to be without cavities in my teeth (to this day I have no fillings). Nor was the fact that I was rarely sick of much consequence to my young self. All I thought about was how everyone else was eating candy and drinking soda. From time to time, my brother and I were able to earn the sympathy of our baby sitters, and they would take us to the store and treat us to all the candy they could afford (unbeknownst to our parents).

The Real Destruction Begins

When I was no longer under the confines of my parents’ control, and I was living on my own, I started to eat whatever my heart desired. Candy, chips, sugar gum, ice-cream, chocolate, and whatever else looked good. I could polish off a bag of nacho corn chips in one feeding. I am not talking about the single serving bags, but the big bags. I was loving it. In addition, I had unhealthful ways to maintain my weight—which compounded the problem, but that is another story.

As a result of my new diet, I was often tired, had no energy, and felt generally lousy. I was having regular break outs of cold sores on my mouth and face. I broke out with shingles at least three times. I had all the symptoms of hypoglycemia. I was diagnosed with a heart condition. I just thought these were normal symptoms of modern health. My stomach was often bloated and uncomfortable. Again, I thought this was just how people live. In my early 20’s I began suffering severe pain in my back and was diagnosed with arthritis in my spine. I began eating ibuprofen as though it was necessary for life. Along with the ibuprofen came severe stomach problems. I was a mess. But I joyfully conferred with the doctors that there was nothing that can cure arthritis, so I kept taking my ibuprofen, and eating my bag of chips for lunch (and Pepto-Bismol for dessert).

A Step in the Right Direction

Later, my aunt introduced me to a product by Trace Minerals Research called Arth-X (it was later  ActivJoint Plus). My Aunt claimed it had cured her arthritis. I was willing to try it and able, so I purchased several month’s supply directly from the company. Within three months, I was free of pain without medication and without changing my diet. I was joyous. So after several months, I was feeling so wonderful, that I stopped taking the vitamin/herb/mineral combination. A month later I was back in pain. I realized, or thought I had found my miracle cure and began selling Trace Minerals Research products from the business that I owned with my mother.

The products were excellent and they worked well for my arthritis, but I was still suffering from painful mouth sores, shingle break outs, constipation, and heart arrhythmias. As time went by, I began to recognize my need to change my diet. This largely came through the encouragement of my husband, and in a dramatic way: switching to only organic whole foods, grass-fed organic beef, organic, grass-fed, raw un-homegenized milk, raw organic salads with almost every meal, to name a few of the changes. As a result of my changed diet, I no longer needed to take the supplements in order to manage my arthritis – the pain was gone and did not come back, even after quitting the supplements.

While the majority of our nutrition should come from the food we eat, I am not opposed to taking supplements. In fact, I find that my body does need an occasional supplement, while my husband on the other hand never supplements his diet. Supplements, however, like food, should only be made from whole organic food products. This is the only way they can have the proper balance of nutrition that God created. Every vitamin man isolates has an uncomplimentary reaction to another vitamin or mineral in the human body. Yes, vitamin C can help with a cold, but if isolated from its natural counterparts, can actually have a negative affect on other parts of the body. Consider these words from Dr. Joseph Mercola:

• It’s important to remember that every nutrient you ingest raises or lowers up to nine other nutrients in your body.
• Every nutrient needs certain synergistic nutrients, and if you are already low in those synergistic nutrients, taking more of one thing will only further deplete the existing deficient levels, worsening any problems relating to that nutrient’s metabolism.
• For example, taking large doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on a regular basis lowers your level of copper, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high doses of vitamin C, you can compromise your immune system.
• So, whereas temporarily taking megadoses of vitamin C supplements to combat a case of the cold or flu is likely not going to cause a problem, for long-term, daily use, your best bet is to eat a diet high in organic vegetables and fruits that are minimally processed. Not only will you get vitamin C, but you will get all the other accessory nutrients and micronutrients that are needed to optimize it. [1]

God has given humans (and animals) herbs and food as the means of nutrition and healing. Putting a vitamin in a pill form, can never meet the quality of perfect nutrition that God has put into plants and food. My reliance upon man-made vitamins to replace what was lacking in the food I was eating, was in essence saying that man can do better than God. This must be false if God is the all-wise creator.

Now the argument will be made that because of soil depletion, our food no longer has the nutrients needed to sustain optimum health. This argument has a bit of truth and merit, but it does not negate the fact that our human bodies have been designed to assimilate nutrition from food, not vitamin pills. I believe a compromise can be made without violating God’s principles for health by adhering strictly to whole-food supplements.

I am now vitamin pill free (taking occasional whole-food supplements – click to see my favorites). I no longer suffer from spinal arthritis, I have more energy, I no longer break out with cold sores (I have had none since I have changed my diet to whole organic foods), or other skin eruptions including painful shingles, I sleep better, and I am in overall far better health than I was in my twenties. I certainly feel better.  I am now sensitive to the little warnings that my body gives that precede the larger problems. However, I still have improvements to make. The years of damage I have done to my body can not be fixed overnight. It will be a life long process. And I still have weaknesses towards eating certain foods that I should not eat. And my body certainly lets me know all about it.

Listen to your body, it can tell you much more than a doctor.

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[1] http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/29/high-dose-iv-vitamin-c-found-useful-for-near-terminal-swine-flu.aspx

Disclaimer:

Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Copyright:

© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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