ARTICLE - DO WE LIVE TO EAT OR EAT TO LIVE?

Woman the health of my nation is in your hands. Be careful what you put on the dinner table.
The first line of healing of a people begins with their nutrition. Do we live to eat or eat to live; this is the question that I have to pose. The body is a host to countless of chemical reactions, each one having a degree of poisonous or a medicinal effect upon the body.

Are we dictated by taste or by nutritional value?
Woman why do you try to spoil my child with the fried chicken and burger? Then you wonder why she’s not performing well at school. Making threats to the young one if she doesn’t perform to your standard. Well mama, you have to set the standard.

One thing I could remember as a child growing up is the amount of medicine tablets my mother and father had on their bed head. Taking all of them would have almost been the equivalent of a meal. The thing is, that between the ages of 18 to 34, the body and its mechanisms of offence and communication, the immune system, the hormonal system and the neuro-transmitters are at their peak. After this age is when we are really climbing uphill to stay youthful. But how many of us prepare for this from a young age. Its like an investment, we make a monetary investment so that we could see the returns later down so that it could benefit our children. It’s no different with your health. Look at the animal kingdom; they don’t have to go to the doctor for arthritis, osteo this and that. When animals die, often up to that point they can still run for prey, or shield themselves from the lion as if they were in the prime of their youth. We must question well what happens to man? How come man becomes a victim to so much dis-eases? For one thing is, that animals eat and function in their natural environment. The lion was designed to run down and eat the zebra.

Let’s get into a little scripture thing here. When you talk to some Bible devotees they’d tell you that in Isaiah it says that the lion and lamb shall come together. And people interpret that literally. To that I say astoundingly, yeah right! They tell you that the lion would turn to eat grass. I say the lion would die if it had to do so. You see the lion’s body wasn’t designed to eat vegetal foods. The digestive acids and the colon length, etc suggests that lions were essentially designed to be predators; to delve into meat. They quote the scripture to tell us about the new kingdom and that these events will come to pass. Well if it is so, why don’t they practice this now in this kingdom? But yet they’re waiting for someone to come out a sky, shift the entire paradigm and tell them the half that has never been told. Dictate how to live in oneness with others and creatures and not succumb to sickness, etc. Come out of the fairy tales folks. You never even question it, just accept by faith. Rise up from your sleep and slumber. These things can be done NOW. The Lord has already put the things in place for us to express our dominion in full health and strength.

What is our design? Do we crave at the sight of a live chicken as a fox would? Do we salivate as a cheetah would at the sight of the pig? Is it the same as when you see a ripe mango or that pineapple that you can just sink your teeth into? You’re not actually meat eaters. You have to put onion, thyme, garlic powder, and lots of seasonings on your meat to make it taste like a vegetable. Never seen the lion doing that eh? Now this argument doesn’t stand up in Europe. Man when I reached in the U.K. and saw that those people don’t season their meat. Well, that’s what the European man has been accustomed to for hundreds of years of cave inhabitation. Black people are different, they like to season. In Europe, it is ‘outsiders’ who are bringing savoury to the dishes. The curry, thai, pelau, jerk, etc.

Let’s look at our present day situation. Ever questioned how come we see such a large upsurge of fibroids in the black community? You all know that Afrikan/Caribbean people are more proned to some diseases than other races right? Ok, well let’s ask “Is this related to the concept that they’re pushing down our throats called globalisation and seeing the upsurge of multinational companies like Pizza Hut, ‘Mac Done Yuh’, and Ken-Stocky feeding our people?” Right in front our noses people. We letting another man feed us and we are allowing it! Think about it.

Parents, especially women, I say again that you are in charge of your children’s health and well-being. I say especially women given that there seems to almost be a format of the woman making the groceries and being the captain of the kitchen, or single-parent households in the Black community. Your children may be young now and are able to combat some diseases very easily. All that energy within them, nothing can stop them. Their hormonal level is peaking, neuro-transmitters as well. But nutrition is about preserving of life and longevity. Were we intended to get sick? We’ve been led to believe that getting sick is normal. Oh it happens to everyone. Well that’s not true. You can have control over your body, by first taking control of what enters in your temple. You see some brothers out here they spend the money to give their cars the best oil. Castrol Super XXX, Havoline, Esso this and that, etc. They know when to change oil, keep it dated in their diary. It is no different with your body. How can you get your body to take you places in the most efficient way possible? Do you keep dates for when you should take a cleanse out?

All in all people, this is just to take heed. There is a lot of research and expansion in terms of health that’s taking place out there. But again, we as a Black community, are the slowest to react or become aware of the developments and findings and many times are the ones that fall victim. Who could deny that there are certain conditionings that we have undergone. Having felt that fried chicken and hamburgers are luxury foods and give it to the children as a reward or to please them. How many could remember feeling ashamed of what was carried in the lunch kits to school because of these conditionings? Especially if yuh background on d poor side and accustomed to humble pie compared to your school mates who came with hamburgers, pizza, etc. Ashamed of mammy’s home-made bread and bake and so opted to purchase from the cafeteria or dash way your lunch or eat it at home. I can see some of you reminiscing at this moment. This commentary is not to criticize you, but for you to pay more attention to this wonderful gift of health. The internet is a great resource and there’s lot’s of information about health. Make attempts to study, pick up pamphlets at health and drug stores, attend seminars and educate yourself about your Self.

Peace