True Story.

This is a true story about a young man in his 30’s whom I knew personally. He was a minister of God’s Word and a minister to God’s people. He had a young family, which included a beautiful wife and two healthy children. I had the privilege to teach Sunday School to the older boy, then about eight.

The prayer requests began coming in: “Please pray for Tank (name changed for privacy). Something’s wrong and we don’t know what.” It wasn’t much later that Tank could not walk properly — he had a limp and dragged a leg slightly. Finally the family got a diagnosis: it was Multiple Sclerosis.

Prayer without Works.

More prayers were obviously requested. But as the saying goes: faith without works is dead. The same applies to prayer. We can’t just pray for our brother to be fed and not offer him food. Thankfully, someone did just that for Tank. They offered him some food (advice). That man was my father. He had offered health advice to others in the past, and they had outright objected, even gotten angry. But this time, the advice was received with gratitude.

A Little Advice from Dad.

My dad simply offered Tank a small booklet that discussed vitamins and minerals. I asked my father for the title of the booklet, but he couldn’t remember. But he did remember that it had a section on Multiple Sclerosis — which is why he had given it to Tank.

Bulking up.

A little background on Tank might be helpful. Tank had been trying to “bulk up” a bit. To do so, he had been eating lots of protein and found that tuna was an inexpensive way to accomplish this purpose.  In fact, he had been “bulking up” with several cans of tuna a day.

The Truth about Tuna.

As research has discovered, white tuna can be VERY high in mercury content — 3 times higher than light tuna according to the Environmental Defense Fund. [1] There are at least three possible reasons for the high mercury content in tuna (which is considered a “kosher” fish).

1. The first reason given for the high concentration of mercury is the size of the fish according to the National Resource Defense Council. The larger it grows, the more mercury that is absorbed over time into the flesh. [2]
2. The second reason given for high levels of mercury in tuna is the industrial wastes pouring into the sea according to Dr. Mercola. [3]
3. The third reason “white tuna” could be high in mercury is related to the fact that it is not really tuna. Testing has shown that 59% of all tuna labelled “white tuna” is not tuna at all, but rather a fish called “escolar.” [4] While escolar proper is considered “kosher” it is often confused with other “unclean” or other “non-kosher” fish. [5] Thus, almost one-half of the “tuna” sold in the markets, may not be safe to eat.

Affects of Mercury.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

Long-term exposure [to mercury] will likely cause neurological symptoms, including:

1. • Numbness or pain in certain parts of your skin
   • Uncontrollable shaking or tremors
   • Inability to walk well
   • Blindness and double vision
   • Memory problems
   • Seizures and death (with large exposures)

Notice the bold words in the above list: inability to walk well. This was one of the symptoms Tank was experiencing with his diagnosis Of M.S. Thankfully my dad had given him a warning.

After reading the booklet, which identified the consumption of too much mercury with the symptoms of M.S., Tank traded in his tuna intake for chicken (learn about safe chicken here). Before long — ALL HIS SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED and his diagnosis of M.S. was abandoned.

One simple booklet that my father shared with a hurting man changed his life and the life of his family immeasurably.

So, what is the point of all this? You don’t know how ONE small change in your diet could affect the rest of your life — but God does. Seek Him for answers. He has designed us to thrive — HIS WAY. Learn more by reading through our FREE (for now) Biblical Health Study.

If you are looking for a safe tuna, try Wild Planet’s Wild Albacore Tuna. It is available at Cotsco. It is line caught and hand-cut and packed. No liquid is added and all the Omega 3 oils are retained. In addition, the company harvests smaller albacore tuna which accumulate less mercury. There are other benefits to the product, which I will share in a separate post.

Share this post on Facebook or Twitter. Who knows who you might help today — just like my father helped Tank.

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[1] https://www.edf.org/oceans/mercury-alert-canned-tuna-safe-eat

[2] https://www.nrdc.org/stories/mercury-guide

[3] http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/05/21/Your-Tuna-is-Getting-More-Toxic.aspx

[4] http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/31/tuna-fish-labeling.aspx

[5] http://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/kosher_fish.php

[6] https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002476.htm

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
All Rights Reserved