Memorial Day: A Day of Remembrance. Does Grilled Meat Cause Cancer? Avoiding Cooked Meat Carcinogens.

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Memorial Day: A Day of Remembrance

“Memorial Day helps us remember those who have died in war. It can also help us long for the day when true peace will come to this war-torn world.

On Memorial Day Americans will honor those who died fighting in the many wars that have marked this nation’s nearly 248-year history. Flowers will be placed on the graves of the dead, and ceremonies will take place around the country to honor those who gave their lives in defense of this country.

Prayers will also be offered up for the safety of those actively serving in harm’s way.

As we honor those who sacrificed their lives in war, we might ask ourselves, will war or the threat of war always be with us?

A brief history of Memorial Day

Memorial Day was proclaimed in 1868 (three years after the Civil War) by General John Logan and was first observed on May 30 of that year when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. More Americans were killed fighting the Civil War than both world wars combined.

After World War I the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in any war. It is now celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Most have deep respect for the young men and women who willingly laid their lives on the line for the security of their families and country.

Sometimes in today’s ungodly world, it seems that there is no alternative to war.

The terrible toll of war

Though war is glorified in movies and video games, in reality it exacts a terrible toll on nations as well as individuals.

An age is coming when mankind will learn to live at peace with one another  Marriage and family life are disrupted when a soldier has to leave for months at a time. Fathers and mothers are often deprived of the joy of being with their children in the most formative years of their lives.

Bodies and minds are often scarred beyond repair by the carnage of war. Parents’ and grandparents’ hearts are torn apart by news of the sudden and tragic ending of the lives of their children and grandchildren in some far-off place.

To learn why wars occur, read “Why Does God Allow War?”

Neither shall they learn war anymore

Thankfully, an age is coming when mankind will learn to live at peace with one another; when the disputes between nations will not be resolved on the battlefield, but by a just and righteous world government led by Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.

The Bible speaks of a future time following the return of Jesus Christ when there will no longer be a need for war colleges or warfare.

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

“He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken” (Micah 4:1-4).

The Bible also shows that the millions of young men and women who have died in wars down through the centuries will rise and live again. Their story is not over! (To learn more, read “What Are the Resurrections?”).

There are no greater truths to focus on during Memorial Day than the coming peace of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection of all those who have died through the ages!”

Watch this video presentation to learn more about the biblical hope of a better world to come at:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/memorial-day-a-day-of-remembrance/

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Memorial Day: Reflections on War

“In the United States, every year in late May is the national holiday of Memorial Day. 

For many people, I suppose it is just another three-day weekend with time for outdoor activities, family gatherings and backyard barbecues.  

But the origins of this holiday are more sobering and are worth pausing to consider. 

The origins go back to the time immediately following the American Civil War (1861 to 1865) and the desire to commemorate those who died in the war.  

With American fighting American, the toll on the young nation was tremendous—over 600,000 dead before it was all over.

There were several key battles of the Civil War that were fought near where I live in Arkansas, including the Battle of Dripping Springs, the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Battle of Prairie Grove. And up around Springfield, Missouri, was the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.  

There is a small, rather old cemetery in the middle of a pasture across the road from our house.  

Some of the headstones that can still be read date back to the late 1700s, and there are a number marking the graves of young men who died in the mid 1860s—very likely killed in what is sometimes called the War Between the States.  

The observance of Memorial Day began in the mid 1860s in honor of the soldiers who died on both sides of the war. And over the years the holiday was expanded to include those who died in every war the U.S. has become involved with since.  

When I was a boy, most of my relatives called it Decoration Day, and I remember quite a few years when we spent much of the day driving from cemetery to cemetery, placing flowers on the graves of family members—not just soldiers, but all family members.

It is sobering to consider the history all around where I am privileged to live. 

From the cemetery across the road, to the sites of the battles that raged, I am reminded of the lives that were ended here. Each of those young men probably believed he was fighting for a just cause.  

And the military history of the United States is not unique. War, destruction, hatred and death have been ever-present and dominant themes throughout all human history. 

So much history, so much suffering, misery, waste and death. So many hopes and dreams destroyed; so many lives shattered. 

There is no way to know or even begin to count how many tears were shed so long ago over every one of those graves.  

It reminds me of a passage of scripture I’ve read at every funeral I’ve ever conducted.  

In speaking of the hope of the wonderful future that will come to pass, the apostle John recorded: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).  

Bible prophecy is very clear that wars will continue up until the return of Jesus Christ to earth. In fact, Christ Himself warned that wars will become so intense that if the Father would not send Him back to earth when He will, all human life would be destroyed (Matthew 24:22). (Read more about how peace will come in our online article “How World Peace Will Come.”) 

Considering our human history of war and suffering should motivate us to pray more earnestly for the circumstances where we can live our faith in peace (1 Timothy 2:1-2). 

But we also have the hope of a future where our Creator will once and for all “wipe away every tear.” 

Kind regards, and have a great rest of your week,

Tom Clark, for Life, Hope & Truth

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Does Grilled Meat Cause Cancer?

“Studies have found that eating grilled meat or chicken may increase your risk of developing cancer.23

The problem comes down to carcinogens, cancer-causing substances which may be formed as part of the grilling process. The amino acids, sugars, and creatine in meats react at high temperatures forming heterocyclic amines.

Heterocyclic amines (HAs) are human carcinogens found on any meat cooked at high temperatures, whether on a grill or in a pan or under the broiler. The grilling is part of the problem, but the other is simply the heat. Pan-frying meats at high temperatures (over 300 F) also increases cancer risk.4

A group of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are also linked to cancer.5 PAHs form when the meat juices drip onto the coals or other heating surfaces and flare up in flames and smoke. They stick to meat and are only found on grilled or smoked meat.6

HAs and PAHs are mutagenic—they cause changes in the DNA of cells in the laboratory that could lead to cells becoming cancerous. The most important factor in PAH production appears to be the incomplete combustion of fats that drip on the grill.7

We don't have any direct studies on humans which show that HAs and PAHs cause cancer, but animal studies have found an increased risk of cancer in exposed animals.5 Population studies on people, in turn, have found an increased risk of some cancers in people who eat larger quantities of grilled and well-done meats.3

While most studies have focused on grilled meat and the incidence of cancer, a 2017 study found that women with breast cancer had lower survival rates if they consumed greater amounts of grilled, barbecued, or smoked meats.8

Limit Processed Meats

As for the hot dogs, you may want to take a pass. We know that, of all meats, processed meats likely confer the most cancer risk.13

Since you will already be limiting both the frequency and portion size of the meats you eat, it might be best to save those portions for cuts of non-processed meats you can genuinely savor, such as a good (but marinated) steak.

Summary

We know that high cooking temperatures and smoke put mutagenic chemicals into and onto the meat. Yet, there are several measures you can take to reduce the number of heterocyclic amines and other carcinogens in the meat you eat. These measures include marinating meat, cooking at lower temperatures, raising the grill rack, and more.

A Word From Verywell

Keep in mind that just like everything in life, moderation is key. You still can enjoy grilled meats, but just do so in moderation and when cooked at low temperatures. That said, women who have had breast cancer may want to limit the amount of grilled, barbecued, and smoked meats they consume, even if they take the measures above to reduce carcinogens.

Can eating too much grilled food cause cancer?

Yes, there is an increased risk of cancer from eating an excessive amount of grilled meat. This is due to heterocyclic amines (HAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These substances are carcinogens (cause cancer) formed as part of the grilling process.”  From: https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-grilled-meat-a-cancer-risk-514039

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Avoiding Cooked Meat Carcinogens

Image Credit: rhodes / Flickr. This image has been modified.

“When the muscles of mammals, fish, or birds are cooked at high temperatures carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines are created that may increase the risk of breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, and prostate cancer (see my last post Estrogens in Cooked Meat). Risky cooking methods don’t just include barbequing, frying, and grilling. Even just baking chicken at around 350o F for 15 minutes leads to significant production of these cancer-causing compounds.

In my video Estrogenic Cooked Meat Carcinogens I showed that these cooked meat carcinogens may stimulate breast cancer cell growth nearly as much as pure estrogen. In PhIP: The Three Strikes Breast Carcinogen I showed that these chemicals may promote breast cancer invasiveness even more than estrogen.

How do you decrease your exposure to these chemicals? As you can see in my 3-min. video Reducing Cancer Risk in Meateaters, fried bacon and fish are the worst, though skinless chicken breast might lead to the greatest exposure given its popularity.  If there are carcinogens in roasted chicken, what about roasted coffee? See Coffee and Cancer.

Women who consume meat very well done, appear to be at nearly 5 times higher risk for breast cancer compared to women who consumed their meats rare or medium done. This, however, raises the so-called “paradox” of preparing meat noted by the Harvard Health Letter. Well-cooked and you risk cancer; undercooked and you risk E. coli food poisoning.

Eating boiled meat—not broiled, but boiled in water—is probably the safest. Studies show if you eat meat that never goes above 212 degrees Fahrenheit, both your urine and feces damage DNA significantly less than if you eat meat dry cooked at higher temperatures.  A similar study where they compared the excretion of carcinogens formed in processed meats can be found in Prevention Is Better Than Cured Meat.

PhIP is also found in cigarette smoke, diesel fumes, and incinerator ash, but because the highest levels in food are found in common meats, toxicologists lament “Exposure to PhIP is difficult to avoid because of its presence in many commonly consumed cooked meats, particularly chicken, beef and fish.”  But if you’re able to somehow dodge those meats (and don’t suck on a cigarette, tailpipe, or incinerator smokestack) maybe it’s not so difficult to avoid after all.

The levels of heterocyclic amines flowing through one’s body may drop to zero after refraining from eating meat for just 24 hours. If you practice Meatless Mondays, by Tuesday, morning urine levels of PhIP and MeIQx—one the most potent mutagens ever tested—become undetectable. There are, however, ways even vegetarians may be exposed: cigarette smoke, eggs, cheese, and the popular sports supplement creatine. See my 4-min video Heterocyclic Amines in Eggs, Cheese, and Creatine? for details.

Caution may also be necessary with athletic protein supplementation. See Heavy Metals in Protein Powder Supplements. In general, Some Dietary Supplements May Be More Than a Waste of Money.

Heterocyclic amines are not the only class of meat carcinogens also found in cigarette smoke. See my video When Nitrites Go Bad. While the body can detox itself of both nitrosamines and these cooked meat chemicals within hours or days, some pollutants found in meat can persist in the body. See How Fast Can Children Detoxify from PCBs?”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/avoiding-cooked-meat-carcinogens/

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10 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married. Living Together Before Marriage. Are Energy Drinks Beneficial?

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10 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married

“Whether you have someone special in your life right now or not, here are 10 questions to consider when it comes to choosing your future spouse.

Marriage is a big deal.

In fact, with the exception of your relationship with God, it might be the most important, most life-altering, most far-reaching commitment you’ll ever make in your entire life.

But the decision to commit to God through baptism is a little more clear-cut than the decision to get married. The overall question on the table with baptism is, “Are you going to commit to God’s way of life or not?”  With marriage, there’s the added wrinkle of sorting out who you should make that commitment with, and how you can be sure he or she is the right person, and what you should be looking for to be sure.

What helps with that process is knowing the right questions to ask—which is why we’ve put together this list of 10 important questions to ask about the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

Is this a comprehensive list of every question you’ll ever have to consider before marriage? Not by a long shot. But it is a place to start—and if you’re willing to answer these 10 questions honestly, they should leave you with a clearer picture of whether or not you’re on the right track.

1. Does he or she show you love and respect?

That might feel like an obvious question, but it’s easy to mistake mutual attraction for mutual love and respect. Just because you like each other doesn’t mean your relationship is anchored by these two essential qualities, so take some time to really think about it.

Paul told the congregation at Ephesus, “Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).

We don’t show love and respect by accident. They aren’t things that just happen. To be consistent in these things, we have to be making a daily effort to express them—and to better understand what God says they mean. If the person you want to marry isn’t actively showing you love and respect, then the foundation of your marriage will be crippled from day one.

2. Are you moving toward the same goals?

Amos asked, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). By entering into the marriage covenant with someone, you’re agreeing to walk alongside him or her for the rest of your shared lives.

If you’re each looking toward different destinations in life, your marriage will feel the strain. But if you’re both headed the same direction, working with the same goals in mind and operating by the same values, your relationship will blossom and grow in the process. What do you want out of marriage? What do you want your home life to look like? What are your career goals? If you’re each looking toward different destinations in life, your marriage will feel the strain. But if you’re both headed the same direction, working with the same goals in mind and operating by the same values, your relationship will blossom and grow in the process.

3. How does he or she handle stressful situations?

It’s easy to be the best version of ourselves when life is going well—and in the beginning of a relationship, there will be a lot of easygoing, stress-free moments. It might even seem like things will always be that way—but that’s not how it works. Life will inject stress into your relationship, and it’s important to know how your potential spouse handles it.

Early in our relationship, my (then future) wife and I took a wrong turn during a road trip, which led us to a grid of under-construction city streets. After sunset. In an urban area neither of us had been in before.

It was an eye-opening experience because we both saw how the other handled unexpected stress. We made it out of there alive and (relatively) unscathed, and our budding relationship was stronger because of it.

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,” says the book of Proverbs, “and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). Marriage works better when the people in it know how to rule their spirits when times get tough—because they will get tough.

4. How does he or she treat others?

One of the most important observations you can make about the person you’d like to marry is how he or she treats others—especially the ones who can’t really do anything about it. Cashiers. Waiters and waitresses. Employees. Total strangers. Anonymous users on the Internet. When there’s no repercussion for being rude or unkind, what kind of personality do you see on display?

Proverbs describes the ideal woman as someone who “extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20), and Jesus gave us the Golden Rule: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). Make sure your potential spouse is someone who extends kindness and compassion to others, even when there’s nothing to gain from it.

5. What if nothing ever changes?

What’s the most annoying trait of your potential spouse-to-be?

Got it? Okay. Now, if that trait never changed—if you knew it was going to stay just as annoying and just as consistent for the rest of your human life—would you still want to marry this person?

It’s a dangerous game to go into marriage expecting your partner to change in a specific way. Sure, life is full of change, but for all you know, that specific trait might stay the same forever or even get worse. And if it does, are you going to be okay with that? Or is that a deal breaker? The marriage covenant is a very permanent thing (Matthew 19:9), so it’s important that we don’t bank on change that might never happen.

6. How focused is he or she on self-improvement?

In contrast to the last question, being a Christian means being committed to change. Following God means seeking out where we’re falling short of His expectations and learning how to do better.

One of the qualities any potential spouse should have is the desire to improve as God reveals areas that need work. Make sure you’re looking to enter into marriage with someone who makes the effort to grow as a Christian.

7.a. Women: Is this a man you can follow and support, even when you disagree with him?

Paul wrote an instruction that can be hard to swallow: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

But there it is. In the marriage relationship, part of the wife’s role is to submit to her husband. Women, that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to voice your concerns or express your hopes as your husband leads. It doesn’t mean you’re expected to become some kind of mindless slave or you’re expected to submit to things contrary to God’s instruction. But marriage does mean committing to following where your husband leads, even when you think another direction might work better.

Make sure you marry a man you’re not concerned about having to follow.

7.b. Men: Is this a woman whose input you will value and consider, even when you disagree with her?

Paul had something to say to the husbands too: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25). It’s that last part that often gets overlooked. Men, our job is to love our wives as Christ loves the Church. That’s a deep kind of love—a love filled with self-sacrifice and unflinching dedication. A husband should make decisions that place higher value on his wife and family than himself.

Even though it’s our responsibility to take the reins of the relationship, we’re not the boss or the dictator. We’re the husband, and we are to give “honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Peter 3:7, emphasis added throughout).

Make sure you marry a woman whose thoughts and opinions will help you make better decisions as a leader.

8. What’s his or her relationship with God like?

More tough words from Paul: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

That’s not optional. That’s not a matter of preference. That’s not a suggestion, a hope or a best-case scenario. This goes back to having the same goals. If the person you’re interested in doesn’t believe in God or in living His way of life, how can you expect to walk together?

Or if that belief or that way of life is just something on the back burner, something that gets pushed aside in favor of other things, do you think the command to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) is going to be easier or harder for you?

Marry someone whose dedication to living God’s way of life inspires you to do a better job in your own life.

9. Is he or she willing to put God before you?

Ah. Now we’re into really difficult territory. This isn’t the picture Hollywood paints when it talks about romance—or all those inspirational quotes on social media, for that matter. The world around us says that true love is finding someone who makes you the focal point of his or her entire universe, who puts you before anything else.

When we lose sight of who should come first in our life, the other areas of our life are bound to come undone in the process. Marriage is a lot of things, but it shouldn’t be that. Not in a million years.

God was serious when He said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). It wasn’t a joke. Nothing—nothing, not even your cherished wife or husband—is to come between you and your relationship with God (Deuteronomy 13:6-8).

Jesus also emphasized that God is to come first when He spoke His famous words, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

When we lose sight of who should come first in our life, the other areas of our life are bound to come undone in the process. “All these things”—all the blessings and benefits of life, which include marriage—come second to God.

If you want a successful marriage, make sure you’re looking for someone who will put God first—and you second.

10. What’s your relationship with God like?

But then, all this assumes one very important point—that God matters to you too. That you’re making the effort to put Him first in your life. That you treat others with compassion. That you’re making the effort to improve and grow as a child of God. Because, well, it’s a two-way street—if you’re asking these questions about the person you want to marry, then hopefully the person you want to marry will be asking these same questions about you.

Whether you’ve had someone in mind as you’ve made your way through this list or you’re still searching for that special someone, one of the best things you can do is to start making sure you can measure up to the questions on this list too. It’s a lifelong project, and there’s always room for each of us to continue improving ourselves—both for our own sake and for our spouse’s.

The book of Proverbs tells us that “he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD” (Proverbs 18:22), and again, “Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD” (Proverbs 19:14).

Marriage, entered into by the right people and for the right reasons, is an incredible blessing from God, and it’s never too early (or too late) to start preparing for it.

Want more? Check out our articles “5 Traits Men Should Look for in a Godly Woman” and “5 Traits Women Should Look for in a Godly Man.”

Sidebar: How You Might Be Ruining Your Marriage Before It Even Starts

In many countries, around 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce.

That’s not a great success rate—especially when you consider that no one enters into marriage with the hope that the relationship will end in shambles.

Unfortunately, there are social norms and decisions people make every day that can make nurturing a healthy marriage increasingly difficult. What’s more, some of these can impact your future marriage long before you have a wedding date (or even a spouse) in mind.

If you want a strong marriage, here are two pitfalls to avoid—and why:

Cohabitation

Moving in together is so common these days that it almost raises an eyebrow when two people decide not to live together before they get married. Most people look at cohabitation as a way to test-drive a marriage—to see if everything is satisfactory before making a big commitment.

Here’s why that’s a problem:

Marriage isn’t about everything working perfectly. In fact, if there’s one thing you can count on in marriage, it’s things not working perfectly. If you’re cohabiting—if you’re just two people living together, bound by nothing more than a feeling of affection—it’s a lot easier to walk away when things get tough.

Marriage—at least the kind of marriage God intended for us to have—is a binding commitment between two people. It’s an agreement that when things get difficult, the husband and the wife will put in the effort to make things work.

You can’t test-drive that kind of commitment.

More than that, God designed the sexual union to exist between a husband and wife exclusively. The Bible says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4). Sex serves as a powerful bond between husband and wife—but the more potential marriages you try and test-drive, the more diluted that bond will be when you finally say, “I do.”

Sexualized content

This one umbrella covers a lot of territory. Yes, we’re talking about outright pornography here, but also anything that uses the idea of sex as a selling point or in a provocative way. That includes everything from sex scenes in popular movies to advertisements that want you to focus less on the product and more on the attractive model displaying it.

Understand that the world is selling you a false (and largely impossible) concept of what sex is and how it works. The more you let that imagery in—the more you believe what the world tells you about how sex should look—the more disappointed and frustrated you’ll be when your own marriage fails to live up to those impossible expectations.

Sex is a fantastic, awesome gift designed by God to bolster and enhance a marriage, which is why Satan is eager to cheapen and trivialize it. You don’t have to be married to negatively impact your future marriage—but the good news is, the opposite is also true. You don’t have to be married to set your future marriage up for success. Making good decisions now—and avoiding the bad ones—can make all the difference later.” From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/dating/questions-before-you-get-married/

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Living Together Before Marriage.

“More couples are living together before marriage. But statistics show the “cohabitation effect” is not what they expected. What does our Creator say?

Despite the fact that individuals who live together before marriage have a greater rate of divorce than those who do not, many who read the statistics simply don’t believe it. They do not believe their chances of divorce increase if they live together before marriage.

Living-together facts

Surveys show that there is a negative “cohabitation effect”—couples who live together before marriage “tend to be less satisfied with their marriages—and more likely to divorce—than couples who do not” (Meg Jay, New York Times, “The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage,” April 14, 2012).

In spite of this, the majority of people who responded to this article declared they would still choose to live together before marriage. Many expressed the belief that living together before marriage could help them better determine whether they would be happily married. They believe their experiences will be different—they will be the exceptions to the rule.

Some felt there must be something wrong with the statistics because it would only stand to reason that living together before marriage makes sense. After all, you want to be sure your love is strong enough to eventually marry, and the only way to find out is to live together, or so many believe.

Whatever the justification, it seems that living-together relationships don’t often work out. Various surveys tell us that at least 50 percent and up to 70 percent of those who eventually marry have lived with someone else before marriage. The overwhelming reason given for cohabiting before marriage is to test the relationship before making the commitment of marriage.

From a human perspective, the rationale for living together before marriage may make sense. But what if living together really isn’t better for strengthening your future marriage? Let’s ask a few questions to help find the answer.

What are the health risks?

Is having a sexual relationship before marriage healthy?

There are at least 19 million new cases of sexually transmissible diseases in the United States every year. Women are infected two times more often than men.

Other studies show that 80 percent of young people are sexually active before marriage. It is no secret that sexual activity before or outside of marriage brings a high risk of contracting a sexually transmissible disease. By their late teenage years, at least three-fourths of all U.S. teens have had intercourse, and more than two-thirds of all sexually experienced teens have had two or more partners (“Sexual and Reproductive Health: Women and Men,” October 2002, guttmacher.org).

Each year, about 12,000 women get cervical cancer in the United States. Almost all of these cancers are related to the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). This cancer often takes years to develop after a woman becomes infected.

Once infected by an STD, your chances of passing it along to a new partner are extremely high! And with so many people having multiple sexual partners, the spread of STDs has become almost epidemic.

And these factors don’t even take into consideration the emotional and psychological issues associated with disease or the impact of unwanted pregnancy. Are these chances you’re willing to take?

Involvement versus commitment

Are you sure you want to live with someone who is not committed?

Are you sure you want to live with someone who is not committed?Living together is involvement. Marriage is commitment. “Studies done by Pamela Smock, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, reveal that there might be a fundamental difference in the way men and women perceive cohabitation: Women tend to view it as a step before marriage to that partner, whereas men tend to see living together as something they do before making any commitment” (“Living Together: Do Men and Women Perceive It Differently?” ivillage.com).

To illustrate, consider the advice one young man was given by another man: “Why buy the cow if you get the milk free?” Are women compromising their values in search of possible future security, while actually reducing the chances of a committed marriage?

In response to The New York Times article, a male who was only interested in sexual relations stated, “Of course this would be simpler if my girlfriend and me [sic] could just continue as is but, as is always the case (in my relationships) she wants to build a nest for us.” Perhaps this woman should reconsider their relationship altogether!

Couples who moved in together because it was convenient or because they felt they needed a trial period are the ones who tend to get divorced most often if they marry.

Additional consequences of living together before marriage

Have you considered the consequences of having a child out of wedlock?

The Witherspoon Institute, a conservative think tank out of Princeton, New Jersey, issued a report called “Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles.” They identify four threats to marriage, including cohabitation arrangements. The report states that these arrangements “are not a good alternative to marriage but are a threat, and they surely do not provide a good environment for the rearing of children.”

Nearly 40 percent of babies born in the United States in 2007 were delivered by unwed mothers, according to data released by the National Center for Health Statistics. The highest percentage was among women 25 to 29 years old. Can you be sure your “significant other” will continue to live with and provide support for the family after a child is born if he isn’t committed enough to marry you?

To learn more about the problems with living together before marriage, read “Is Cohabitation Before Marriage a Good Idea?”

Is marriage sacred?

According to some, marriage isn’t a sacred ritual anymore. To them, it is just a man-made step in a relationship, so it shouldn’t matter if people live together before marriage. If evolution did blindly develop these wonderful bodies we call male and female, that might be so.

However, if God—who also designed marriage and family—is our Creator, then we must consider His instructions. His commands forbidding sexual relationships outside of the bonds of marriage are not hard to find or understand (Exodus 20:14; Galatians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:18).

Furthermore, if you believe, as the apostle Paul did, that the loving bonds of marriage offer a beautiful analogy of Jesus Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:31-32), give careful thought. Before living together, seriously think of the consequences—to your emotions, to your health, to your chances of marital success and to your relationship with God.

Most of those who read the foreboding statistics about the cohabitation effect pay no attention. It seems each person feels his or her situation is different—he or she will be one of those who will find true lasting happiness. But our loving Creator knows that is not true. He wants to save us from the negative consequences. How would you explain your choice to Him?

Avoid the cohabitation effect and instead choose the path supported by research. Choose the path ordained and supported by the Creator of all mankind! As one happy husband wrote: “My wife was a great treasure which I had to patiently wait for. She was burned into my heart and mind as this priceless jewel from the start.”

For more on the appropriate relationship before marriage, see the article “Seventh Commandment: You Shall Not Commit Adultery.”   From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/marriage/living-together-before-marriage/

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Are Energy Drinks Beneficial?

“What effects do Red Bull and Monster brand energy drinks have on artery function and athletic performance?

Key Takeaways

• One can of Red Bull has been shown to increase blood pressure by 3 or 4 points within 90 minutes of consumption. If you have elevated blood pressure day in and day out, that bump means a 20 percent higher risk of dying from a stroke and a 12 percent higher risk of dying from a heart attack.
• Energy drink manufacturers skirt the FDA’s imposed limit on caffeine in sodas by claiming their beverages are “natural dietary supplements,” not sodas.
• Despite having the same amount of caffeine as coffee, Red Bull results in significantly higher average blood pressure—about five points higher.
• Energy drinks may impair artery function and increase risk of our hearts flipping into a fatal rhythm.
• At greatest risk are families with a history of sudden cardiac death or fainting. Energy drinks may unmask Long QT syndrome, a potentially life-threatening genetic condition.
• Energy drinks were originally marketed to athletes—very successfully—but researchers found no improvement in endurance or resistance training compared with just sugar water and caffeine or straight caffeine, respectively. Energy drink consumption does seem to increase inflammation, though.
• Unlike nitrate-rich vegetables, energy drinks raise resting blood pressure, which is the opposite effect of beets and greens, which improve athletic performance and reduce blood pressure at the same time.”        See YouTube video and article at: https://nutritionfacts.org/2022/12/29/are-energy-drinks-beneficial/?

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The Origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern. Our Dark Side. How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels.

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The Origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern

“The jack-o’-lantern is now associated with the holiday of Halloween. Where did this mysterious symbol come from? What should we do with that knowledge?

Where did the jack-o’-lantern come from?

The childhood of many a person has been haunted by a dark, headless figure on a horse holding a flaming jack-o’-lantern. Washington Irving’s classic horror story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has intrigued and terrified millions for over 200 years.

Interestingly, Washington Irving never mentioned his dark rider bearing a jack-o’-lantern. The author only referred to a shattered pumpkin found the morning after the main character’s disappearance. Adaptations of Irving’s story since then have made the famous pumpkin into the glowing jack-o’-lantern that we all imagine today. Since that fateful connection, the pumpkin with a sinister grin has become an integral part of Halloween.

But where exactly did the jack-o’-lantern come from, and what made it fit in so well with this haunting story and the holiday of Halloween?

Why carve up pumpkins?

The origin of the jack-o’-lantern goes back several centuries, starting with pagan customs that predated even the term jack-o’-lantern. In the dark woods of Ireland, England and Scotland, the Celts ruled. In their religion, the shortening days of autumn indicated the merging of the spirit world with our physical world. This merging was believed to fully happen on their holiday of Samhain (pronounced sah-win) on the night of Oct. 31.

Because of this terrifying belief, the Celts prepared for this time when they believed the spirits of the dead wandered the earth. They imagined that some of the spirits just wandered around, while others were vengeful spirits.

People were mostly defenseless against these dreaded spirits, except for the use of costumes and root vegetables such as turnips with carved faces. To add to the effect, they were “then illuminated by coal, wooden embers, or candles as a way to ward off evil spirits” (Merriam-Webster.com, “The History of ‘Jack-O’-Lantern’”). Displaying these ghastly vegetables was said to keep the spirits from visiting a person’s property.

English historian Ronald Hutton states that root vegetables were “hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces,” in association with Samhain, later known as Halloween, in the Celtic part of the world (The Stations of the Sun, 1996).

Eventually, the Roman Empire took over and “christianized” this pagan festival of Samhain, creating All Saints’ Day Nov. 1, with All Hallows Eve (Halloween) the night before. As Irish celebrants eventually moved to the United States, some of the ancient practices came with them. In the United States, the pumpkin was abundant and quickly became the vegetable of choice for carving.

But why call it a “jack-o’-lantern”?

There are various ideas about where the name “jack-o’-lantern” comes from. Britannica in its article “Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?” states that it started with the Irish tale of Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil. When he died, the story goes, the deceitful Jack was not allowed to go to heaven due to the life that he had lived. The devil, however, wouldn’t allow him to enter his domain either.

Jack-o’-lanterns may appear fun now, but they have a very dark past that involved pagan worship and an attempt to keep roaming spirits away. To God, anything associated with any of those pagan customs cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form. Destined to restlessly roam the earth forever, the spirit of Jack was given a burning ember by Satan. Placing that ember in a carved-out turnip, Jack wandered the countryside with his ghastly lantern. The superstitious Celts believed that mysterious swamp fires, called ignis fatuus, that actually occurred when decaying matter combusted, were evidence Jack’s spirit was roaming nearby. Over time, “Jack of the Lantern” became shortened to “jack-o’-lantern.”

Carved turnips and other vegetables were placed in the window at night to ward off Jack and other unwanted spirits. Naturally, the ghostly tale of Jack of the Lantern came to be associated with Halloween and added to the allure of the dark holiday.

According to History.com, when the Scots and Irish migrated to the United States, they used the abundant pumpkins to ward off evil spirits and celebrate Halloween (“How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth”).

What does God think of jack-o’-lanterns?

Many today think that jack-o’-lanterns are cute or fun symbols of a holiday celebrated by many Christians, Halloween. (For more about the origin of Halloween, read “Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?”) The symbolism in the minds of some has even changed from one of horror and wandering spirits to one of community, according to National Geographic.

Admittedly, very few will set out jack-o’-lanterns this year hoping to scare off evil spirits. Probably no one will do it in honor of Stingy Jack. Does that mean the symbol has been cleaned up and is okay to use?

Some pagan religions, including Wicca, do still use jack-o’-lanterns for their originally intended purpose.

However, the ultimate question is, What does God think of people using jack-o’-lanterns?

God warns us to avoid spirits or anything associated with them (Leviticus 19:31, and Jeremiah 10). He abhors witchcraft and pagan religions, as well as any of the dark arts that delve into an evil spirit world. 

God also has strong words to say about mixing His true religion with false and pagan practices: “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31).

Jack-o’-lanterns may appear fun now, but they have a very dark past that involved pagan worship and an attempt to keep roaming spirits away. To God, anything associated with any of those pagan customs cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

God knows the origin of the jack-o’-lantern and will not have anything to do with it. What will you do now that you know the origin of the jack-o’-lantern?”       From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/halloween/origin-jack-o-lantern/

Jeremiah 10

Idols and the True God

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

² Thus says the Lord:

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[a]futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers, So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.”

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Our Dark Side

 

“Marketing experts know there's something strangely appealing about the dark side of human nature—and they are capitalizing on it.

"Get in touch with your dark side," urges Toyota in an ad for the Matrix VCAM.

"Go ahead, indulge your dark side," Nestle says of its dark chocolate caramel Treasures.

Marketing experts know there's something strangely appealing about the dark side of human nature—and they are capitalizing on it.

Goth and Halloween

One example of this strategy is the successful promotion of Goth characters such as Emily the Strange that are rapidly gaining popularity with preteens. As Karyn M. Peterson of Playthings magazine reports, "Fuzzy zombie teddy bears wielding weapons, cuddly-yet-creepy skeletal pets, designer dolls with ghostly death-mask faces—toys and collectibles like these that embrace dark (and even macabre) themes...are increasingly finding younger and younger fans."

Another example is the annual marketing blitz surrounding Halloween. According to Businessweek, "Halloween is the second-biggest holiday behind Christmas in home-decorating sales, and the sixth-biggest retail holiday for overall sales." Between all the parties, TV shows and special events that accompany this holiday, themes of fear and death have now become normalized as entertaining traditions.

Desensitizing games

Does popularizing evil desensitize us to the true nature of the human heart?

A 2007 Iowa State University study of video game players found that even brief exposure to violent media has a measurably desensitizing effect. The authors of this study expressed the following concerns regarding the way popular media is presented to the public over our lifespan:

"Children receive high doses of media violence. It initially is packaged in ways that are not too threatening, with cute cartoon-like characters, a total absence of blood and gore, and other features that make the overall experience a pleasant one, arousing positive emotional reactions that are incongruent with normal negative reactions to violence. Older children consume increasingly threatening and realistic violence, but the increases are gradual and always in a way that is fun. In short, the modern entertainment media landscape could accurately be described as an effective systematic violence desensitization tool."

Desensitization often starts when we are very young, whether through the surrounding culture and related media or via family experiences. This may lead to a decreased appreciation—or even subtle acceptance—of the evil and all too typical violence that permeates the world such as:

• The attack that occurred in Beijing just after the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
• The practice of slavery—still a problem all over the globe.
• Terrorist plots to overthrow entire national or religious cultures.

Cure for a sick heart

How dangerous is our world to us? The common thread among these and other evils we see today is a sick heart—and we're all vulnerable to infection.

"Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed" (Jeremiah 17:9, Good News Bible).

God says we all have the capacity to deceive ourselves into thinking good is evil, and evil is good. That's a frightening revelation. Given the right circumstances, we have the ability to commit evil and justify doing so. If we desensitize to the point that we can no longer recognize evil, is it possible that we, too, could become agents of evil instead of just spectators?

Our Creator warns us to carefully guard the thoughts and motives of our heart to avoid falling prey to self-deception. With His help and careful vigilance as to what we allow into our minds, we can prevent the dark side of the human heart from controlling our destiny.

To find out more about how to overcome your dark side, read "The Battle for Your Mind."  From: https://www.ucg.org/vertical-thought/our-dark-side

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How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels

Boiling rice like pasta reduces arsenic levels, but how much nutrition is lost?

See video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-cook-rice-to-lower-arsenic-levels/

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Cooking rice in a high water to rice ratio reduces [toxic] arsenic content”—meaning if you boil rice like pasta, and then drain off the water at the end, you can drop arsenic levels in half. 50 to 60 percent of the arsenic gets poured down the drain, whereas the typical way we make rice, boiling the water off like in a rice cooker or pot, doesn’t help. Or, may even make things worse, if the water you’re using to cook the rice has arsenic in it too—a problem that exists for about three million Americans, as about 8% of public water supplies exceed the current legal arsenic limits.

But “cooking rice in excess water [and then discarding] efficiently reduces the amount of [toxic arsenic] in the cooked rice.” Yeah, but how much nutrition are you pouring down the drain when you do that? We didn’t know, until now.

“Unpolished brown rice naturally contains [nutrients] that are lost when the bran layer and germ are removed to make white rice. To compensate, since the 1940s,” white rice has had vitamins and minerals sprayed on it to quote-unquote “enrich it.” That’s why cooking instructions for white rice specifically say don’t rinse it, and cook it “in a minimal amount of water.” In other words, “the opposite” of what you’d do to get rid of some of the arsenic. But brown rice has the nutrients inside, not just sprayed on.

For example, “rinsing [white] rice [—like putting it in a colander under running water—] removes much of the enriched vitamins sprayed onto the [white] rice…surface during manufacture,” removing most of the B vitamins, but has “almost no effect on vitamins in whole-grain brown rice,” because it’s got the nutrition inside. Same thing with iron: rinsing white rice reduces iron levels by like three-fourths, but the iron in brown rice is actually in it; and so, rinsing only reduces the iron concentration in brown rice by like 10%. But rinsing didn’t seem to affect the arsenic levels; so, why bother?

Now, if you really wash the rice, like agitate the uncooked rice in water for three minutes, and then rinse and repeat, you may be able to remove about 10% of the arsenic. And so, this research team recommends washing, as well as boiling in excess water. But I don’t know if the 10% is worth the extra wash time. But, boiling like pasta and then draining the excess water does really cut way down on the arsenic, and while that also takes a whack on the nutrition in white rice, the nutrient loss in brown rice is “significantly less,” as it is not so much enriched as it is rich in nutrition in the first place.

“Cooking brown rice in large amounts of excess water reduces the [toxic arsenic] by almost 60% and only reduces the [iron] content by 5%,” but does reduce “the vitamin content of brown rice by about half.” Here it is graphically. A quick rinse of brown rice before you cook it doesn’t lower arsenic levels, but boiling it instead of cooking to dry, and draining off the excess water drops arsenic levels 40%. That was using like six parts water to one part rice. What if you use even more water, boiling at 10:1 water to rice? A 60% drop in arsenic levels.

With white rice, you can rinse off a little arsenic, but after cooking, you end up with similar final drops in arsenic content. But the iron gets wiped out in white rice by rinsing and cooking, whereas the iron in brown rice stays strong. Similar decrements in the B vitamins with cooking for brown and unrinsed white, but once you rinse white rice, they’re mostly gone before they make it into the pot.

What about percolating rice? We know regular rice cooking doesn’t help, but boiling like pasta and draining does. Steaming doesn’t do much. What about percolating rice as a radical rethink to “optimize [arsenic] removal”? So, they tried like some mad scientist lab set-up, but also just a regular “off-the-shelf coffee percolator.” But instead of putting coffee, they put rice, percolating 20 minutes for white, 30 for brown, and got about a 60% drop in arsenic levels using a 12-to-1 water-to-rice ratio. Here’s where the arsenic levels started and ended up. The squares are the brown rice; circles are the white.

So, raw brown may start out double that of raw white, but after cooking with enough excess water and draining, they end up much closer. Though, 60%, percolating at a 12-to-1 ratio, was about what we got boiling at just 10-to-1; So, I see no reason to buy a percolator.

But, even with that 60%, what does that mean? By boiling and draining a daily serving of rice, we could cut excess cancer risk more than half, from like 165 times the acceptable cancer risk, to only like 66 times the acceptable risk.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-cook-rice-to-lower-arsenic-levels/

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The High Tide of God’s Purpose. The Forerunner Has Entered For Us. Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet.

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The High Tide of God’s Purpose

“There are moments in history when lives converge upon the high tide of God’s purpose for mankind. Such a moment is described in Acts chapter 10, where the lives of the apostle Peter and the Roman centurion named Cornelius meet in the seaside town of Caesarea. There God revealed how Gentiles were to be granted repentance to life and through baptism receive the Holy Spirit, becoming full members of the Body of Christ. God planned this meeting and brought the men together.

I was struck by this story while preparing to teach my weekly Bible class on Acts. Acts is the story of God’s work through His disciples in the early Church. By the power of the Spirit, Christ moved people and events together to accomplish His work. When you trace the events in the text you see ordinary people living righteously, not knowing God was working His purpose. There is a lesson in this for us.

Peter had been visiting disciples along the coastal areas south of Caesarea, where he healed and raised to life saints like Aeneas and Tabitha (Acts 9:32-43). He came to the city of Joppa where he stayed for several days with a man named Simon who operated a tannery business. Peter was making an extensive trip with nothing more in mind but to visit and work with the disciples. God was guiding his steps.

Up the coast a few miles away was the centurion, Cornelius. He was drawn to worship the God of Abraham through contact with the Jews. He gave generously to the Jews and lived a devout life based on the Law. This earned him a good reputation among the Jews. He was moving along the path of conversion. An angel appeared to him instructing him to send his servants to Joppa, a day's journey south, to find Peter.

Peter was on the rooftop of Simon’s home where he had gone to pray, waiting for lunch to be served. He fell into a trance and saw a vision of a sheet coming down from heaven filled with all sorts of animals. A voice commanded him to “kill and eat,” which he refused to do. When this vision concluded, the three servants of Cornelius appeared at the gate of Simon’s home summoning Peter to go with them to Caesarea.

The next day, these two men met—a Roman soldier and a former Jewish fisherman turned apostle of Christ. Both having traveled different paths, they came together to mark an event God had long planned. God poured out His Spirit on Cornelius and on his friends and family, signifying the Gentiles were now also granted repentance leading to eternal life (Acts 11:18). Spiritual salvation through a new covenant with God was now open to all peoples regardless of race and ethnicity.

Two lives met as they rode the tide of God’s plan. Each person having been prepared and moved by God into a place and a moment where lightning struck. God showed His will and history was changed.

What is God doing with your life? How are you responding to His lead as you study truth and learn more of the Bible?”     From: https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?e=72c729d811&u=1d04480cefc2e7c4492fe4a04&id=24ccaf6794

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Hebrews 6:19-20.   The Forerunner Has Entered For Us.

(19) This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, (20) where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
New King James Version     Change your email Bible version

“This word "forerunner" is the Greek prodromos, used in Scripture only this one time. It means "scout," "guide," or "one sent before a king to prepare the way." The Greeks also used prodromos to mean "firstfruits."

In the story of Daniel Boone, he went first to scout out Kentucky, then later took a party of thirty woodsmen to improve the trail, and after that, even more people followed. Boone was the forerunner, but so were those who went with him to develop the route. That first small group was the firstfruits. Spiritually, Christ has gone ahead, showing us the way, and we, as the firstfruits, improve the trail so that others will someday walk it more easily.

The concept of a forerunner runs throughout the Bible. We could say that Adam was a forerunner, as well as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and of course, Christ. Notice that each of these forerunners had followers—their firstfruits. Adam had Eve and their sons and daughters that followed them. Noah had his wife and family. Abraham had Sarah and Lot, and later were added Ishmael and Isaac, and then Jacob and his children. Moses had Aaron and Miriam and then all the children of Israel. Elijah led to Elisha. John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of Christ, who called His disciples—us.

In other words, we have a part to play as well. It is not the leading role but a supporting one. Nonetheless, it is a necessary part. There is no call for a "big head" here: God could have called someone else or raised up stones, as John the Baptist says in Matthew 3:9. However, He did not; He called us specifically (John 6:44). Therefore, we should not waste our opportunity."  From: https://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/main/default/id/8587/ver/NKJV/hebrews-6-19-20.htm

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Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet

Transcript of YouTube:  https://youtu.be/fBwU4ElBJxU

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Caffeine consumption, both in Asian and Western populations, appears to protect against the development of Parkinson’s disease. But, what if you already have it? 

A new study found that giving folks the equivalent of about two cups of coffee a day worth of caffeine significantly improved symptoms of the disease. Of course, there’s only so much you can charge for coffee, so drug companies took caffeine, and added a side group so they could patent it into new drugs, which appear to work no better than plain caffeine—which is dramatically cheaper, and probably safer.

Similarly, other plant foods, such as berries, may be protective. And, plant-based diets, in general, may help prevent Parkinson’s. Animal fat and dairy may increase risk, whereas “a plant-based diet dietary pattern may protect against [Parkinson’s disease].” We don’t know if it’s the animal fat per se, though; it could be the animal protein that’s increasing risk, or maybe it’s the dairy, the mercury in fish, the blood-based heme iron, or less of the protective antioxidants in plant foods and plant-based diets. We didn’t know, until recently.

There have been successful case reports, like this one, in which a dietician was struck down with Parkinson’s, and she was able to clear most of her symptoms with a plant-based diet rich in strawberries, whole wheat, and brown rice—rich sources of these two phytonutrients. But, there hasn’t been a formal interventional trial published—until now.

At its root, Parkinson’s is a dopamine-deficiency disease, because of a die-off of dopamine-generating cells in the brain. These cells make dopamine from L-dopa, derived from certain amino acids in our diet. But, just like we saw with the serotonin story, the consumption of animal protein may block the transport of L-dopa into the brain, crowding it out.

So, at first, researchers tried what’s called a “protein redistribution diet.” Let’s basically only let people eat meat for supper, so that patients are hopefully sleeping by the time the negative effects kick in. But researchers didn’t consider cutting out all animal products altogether, until it was discovered that fiber consumption naturally boosts L-dopa levels. So, hey, “a plant-based diet, particularly in its vegan variant, is expected to raise levodopa bioavailability and bring some advantages in the management of [Parkinson’s] disease through two mechanisms: a reduced protein intake and an increased fiber intake…”

That’s why plant protein works best, because that’s where fiber is found. So, they put people on a strictly vegan diet, keeping beans towards the end of the day, and indeed found a significant improvement in symptoms.”

DOCTOR'S NOTE: What about preventing the disease in the first place? See my previous video Preventing Parkinson’s Disease With Diet.”

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Three Beliefs That Will Kill Your Marriage. What Makes a Good Home? Update.

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Three Beliefs That Will Kill Your Marriage

“Do you know that there are “deadly” beliefs about marriage that may be affecting you? Discover these “killer” beliefs before they destroy your marriage.

Most newlyweds anticipate the “happily-ever-after” when they say “I do.” They don’t expect their marriage to end up in divorce, but statistically about half of marriages in the United States do.

Though there are a wide variety of reasons that marriages fail, over my years as a counselor I have seen common problems that I call marriage killers. Knowing what these are can actually help you be proactive in fighting them! Whether you are single, currently married, or divorced but hoping to remarry someday, you need to know what these marriage killers are!

Marriage killer #1: Love is only a feeling

Falling in love is an intoxicating experience. As a culture, we love the idea of being in love. We promote it in every aspect of our entertainment industry. Being in love, however, has very little to do with what is required to sustain a relationship.

Most of us have witnessed a rocket launch at one time or another. According to an aerospace engineer I interviewed, NASA’s space shuttle used solid rocket boosters (SRBs) to get into space. Their solid fuel, once ignited, was extremely powerful, which is necessary to get the rocket booster off the ground. But solid fuel burns up quickly.

In the takeoff phase of a relationship the emotion of love is like that solid fuel. It burns hot and strong, and contains a lot of power to get you off the launch pad. But once that initial emotion burns up, it’s gone.

Unfortunately, people make life-changing decisions while under the influence of this solid fuel: they have sex, move in together, get married, get pregnant and become financially entangled. When there’s no more solid fuel to keep their relationship in orbit, they come crashing back to reality. That’s because it takes more than just solid fuel to sustain a lifelong relationship.

That’s where liquid fuel comes in to play. Liquid fuel can be regulated and controlled. Though the solid rocket boosters quickly fall away, the shuttle carried a certain amount of liquid fuel to keep it on course. So, too, must a relationship.

Passion and love play an important role in a successful marriage, but rather than the intensity of solid fuel, this liquid fuel is a slow, steady burn. Couples actively engage in keeping their love tanks filled with liquid fuel by taking time to be with each other apart from the daily routine and stresses of life. They date. They have romantic, intimate time together. They make their relationship a priority, so that they never run out of liquid fuel.

In other words, a marriage doesn’t last based on the emotional feeling of love—it lasts through the consistent work the couple is willing to put into the relationship. A marriage doesn't last based on the emotional feeling of love—it lasts through the consistent work the couple is willing to put into the relationship.

Marriage killer #2: “My needs come first”

Once the shuttle was outside of the earth’s atmosphere, it experienced no friction. That means there was nothing to slow things down.

In most relationships, selfishness causes friction. People rarely love unconditionally. Instead they love as long as the relationship is satisfying their needs. In other words, people enter into a marital union but don’t act unified. They put themselves before the priorities of the relationship. Selfishness on the part of one (or both) mates is one of the major causes of divorce.

Successful marriages require both husband and wife to practice self-sacrifice and selflessness.

These characteristics do not come naturally to human beings. We generally think of ourselves first (Genesis 4:9; 2 Timothy 3:2). To be happily married and stay that way, we must change our thinking from “how will this impact me?” to “how will this impact us?” Remember, you are one capsule traveling the same path, not two (Genesis 2:24). It takes selflessness to unite with another person to form a successful, unified marriage.

Marriage killer #3: Love makes everything easy

After the space shuttle was away from the gravitational pull of the earth, it had to guard against other gravitational forces. Gravity can interfere with the shuttle’s trajectory, causing it to be pulled off course or even to fall out of orbit.

Couples, too, face gravitational pulls. But problems in the relationship are not a sign that it’s doomed or that they no longer love each other. Rather, problems are inevitable. Successful couples understand that there will be highs and lows throughout their marriage.

They must share common values to keep them on the right trajectory—values like commitment, trust, fidelity, integrity, loyalty, patience and perseverance. Those values are what keep couples hanging on when their emotions may be saying “we have nothing in common anymore” or “we’re no longer in love.” In fact, facing those pulls together and overcoming them, often strengthens the attachment couples have.

Are any of these beliefs killing your marriage? It’s never too late to rededicate yourself to building or rebuilding your marriage. The Bible teaches that the marriage covenant between a man and a woman has a great purpose in God’s plan (Ephesians 5:31-32).

The Bible contains many instructions on the purpose of marriage and how to develop the committed, unselfish love that will keep your marriage in orbit forever.

For more insight into building a successful marriage, read “How Great Marriages Work,” which was featured in the July/August 2014 edition of Discern magazine.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/blog/three-beliefs-that-will-kill-your-marriage/

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What Makes a Good Home?

“For 6,000 years of human history, homes have been an important part of who we are. But what makes a home … a home? This Bible Study Starter will explore the elements God says belong in a good home.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates

Proverbs 15:6, 16-17

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble. … Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.

STARTER QUESTIONS

1. There are a lot of ways to measure a home—square footage, construction quality, furnishings, resale value, number of occupants, layout, etc. According to the verses above, what qualities does God look for in the homes of His people?
2. When those qualities are present, how do they impact (directly and indirectly) those living in the home? How do they change the way those living in that home interact with each other or spend their time?
3. Name three things you can start doing to better cultivate those qualities in your own home. Are there changes you can make to your schedule or routine that would make it easier to do those things?
4. One of the most important parts of the home isn’t the structure itself, but the people who live in it. If you share your home with others, what can you personally do to make sure it’s a place “where love is” instead of a place “with hatred”?
5. Romans 13:9-13 reminds us that hospitality is an important function of the home (and of Christianity itself). How do you use your home to show hospitality to others? Are there ways you’d like to improve when it comes to hospitality?
6. Proverbs 24:3-4 lists wisdom, understanding and knowledge as three essential contributors to an established, well-stocked house. What are the key differences between wisdom, understanding and knowledge—and how do they factor into decisions about what your home should become?
7. Proverbs 14:11 contrasts “the house of the wicked” with “the tent of the upright.” Even when we know that the kind of life we live is more important than the quantity of things we own, why is it so much easier to focus on gaining physical possessions? When that happens, what can we do to refocus ourselves on the things that truly matter? (See Matthew 6:24-34 for ideas.)
8. Having a big house and expensive things isn’t a problem. The problem is when we make those things—and the money they require—our primary focus (see 1 Timothy 6:6-10, which reminds us that “godliness with contentment is great gain”). One technique for staying content is counting our blessings. Pick 10 things about your home—tangible or intangible—that you’re thankful for. When did you last thank God for everything on that list?”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/bible-study-starters/what-makes-a-good-home/?

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Update.

My week was mostly allotted to that dratted colonoscopy on Thursday, and going  backwards and forwards to the next big city, College Station. The pre-op on Monday was to test me for Co19, that’s all.  All that way, why could they do that here in Navasota? So I had lunch with my daughter at IHOP while I was there. 

Being already terrified because what had happened to me in 1961, I tried to get them to hospitalize me for the prep, but they wouldn’t do it. The nurse advised me to eat breakfast on Tuesday and just drink liquids for the rest of the day, then start drinking the prep stuff in two sessions on Wednesday morning, not afternoon.  I had already bought the required Dulcolax tablets, Miralax and two 32oz bottles of Gatorade.  So, on Wednesday, I took the tablets at 8.00 am, and started drinking half of that Miralax mixed with one bottle of Gatorade around 10.00 am.  It tasted so disgusting that I nearly saw it again, but I held it down.  I called the doctor’s office and she said that the only other thing that I could mix with the Miralax was water, so I did that.  Gatorade has aspartame in it, that is what I could taste because I am very sensitive to chemicals.  Why they put aspartame in something that is supposed to be healthy, I don’t know, that stuff is so bad for you. It would have been more healthy and tasty if they put unbleached sugar in it, not that I eat sugar either.  I mixed the other half with water and it was fine. What I liked the best was drinking clear beef and chicken broth for the rest of the day.

On Thursday, my medical insurance had arranged for the little Brazos Transit bus to come and take me to the hospital.  We picked up another passenger in Navasota, too, a gent going for his dialysis. They took my temperature as soon as I entered the building, and more forms to fill out, of course, and a plastic ID bracelet.  They took me to the back and made me dress in a paper gown which had punch out places for other equipment.  One place was to insert a nice comfy warm air heater, that felt great.

Then a lady, one of those vampire ladies, came looking for veins in my arms.  I couldn’t even drink water on Thursday, so I was slightly dehydrated so she had trouble finding a vein, but she finally got a needle in me and I didn’t feel it a bit.  I was surprised that I didn’t feel it because she was a student.  After a while the anesthesiologist came in with more questions and forms to sign, but after they had put something in the needle in my arm, I don’t remember anything until I was was back in that room !  A nurse brought me a decent cup of coffee, unusual for a hospital to have decent coffee, and I had brought some stuff like Ensure to drink, to regain my strength after fasting for so long.  My daughter was there to pick me up and brought me home. 

Friday, I didn’t do much except cook some food and freeze some of it. I made two trayfulls of Kale chips in the oven and pigged out on them. Then today, we went to church, real church for the first time for months.  For Bible study they still did the Zoom thing for those who couldn’t come, and the sermon was also broadcast live on FaceBook.  Quite a few showed up, but not like before.   It had been such a long time since we had had a church service that they did communion today.

People Cause Suffering, CAUSE AND EFFECT, The problem with evil. The Honey Crisis. Update.

For Scripture Sunday”:

CAUSE AND EFFECT. The problem with evil.

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

That’s a fundamental law of the world we live in. As a fish makes its way through the ocean, it pushes against the water with its fins—and the water pushes right back, allowing the fish to swim. The only reason a basketball player can dribble is because after he pushes the ball toward the ground, the ground pushes the ball back up to him. And if we make the mistake of running into a wall, the pain we feel comes from the fact that the wall pushes back.

It’s cause and effect in action. If x happens, you can count on y happening in response. If you put a plate of food in front of a hungry teenager (cause), you can count on the food disappearing (effect). If you spend two months drinking five cups of coffee every day and then suddenly stop (cause), you can count on experiencing one incredible headache (effect). And if your friends find out you know how to work on cars (cause), you can count on a lot of people asking you for favors (effect).

None of that is particularly surprising. It’s how the world works. We know, instinctively, that things typically don’t just “happen.” They’re caused. Now, there might be multiple causes, or the cause might be a subtle one, but it’s still a matter of cause and effect. Y happens because of x.

When tragedy strikes—when we’re left reeling from the news of another kidnapping, another shooting, another terrorist attack, another casualty of war, the obvious, easy question to ask is, “Why is God allowing this to happen?”

The less obvious, more difficult question is, “What caused this?”

Suffering doesn’t exist on its own. Suffering is caused. And if we want to understand why God allows it to happen, we need to start by understanding the cause behind the effect.

Thousands of years ago, nestled away in an idyllic garden, a husband and wife lived a perfect, peaceful life. They had food, they had safety, and they had a close relationship with God. Theirs was a world without suffering.

Until …

Until they ruined it.

It’s a story you’ve probably heard already—the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, as told in the first three chapters of the Bible. But it’s more than just a story. It’s a powerful piece of history, preserved for us through the ages to help us find the answers to many of the questions we’ve been asking on this Journey.

Created to inhabit a garden planted by God Himself, Adam and Eve lived in a literal paradise. The garden was filled with “every tree … that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). Within the bounds of the garden, there was no lack of any good thing—but there was a rule.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

One tree. Out of the whole garden, God placed one single tree off limits, giving the newly created human race unfettered access to everything else. But the tree proved to be too great a temptation. A cunning serpent, later revealed to be Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9), convinced Eve to eat of the tree, promising, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4). Falling for Satan’s sales pitch, Eve ate from the tree, and Adam followed her lead, forever impacting the course of human history.

Eating from that tree represented a choice. By disobeying God, Adam and Eve decided that it was within their power to define good and evil—and if you know the story, then you know that things went from bad to worse in record time.

Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden—from paradise—to a world that would prove far less gentle. Without God’s blessings, the ground would be less willing to yield its crop (Genesis 3:17). There would be thorns and thistles to contend with (verse 18). Childbirth would be a painful ordeal, and without following God’s standards, marriage would become a battle of wills (verse 16). Then, at the very end of it all, Adam and Eve would die, returning to the dust from which they had been formed (verse 19).

And they did die—but not before their firstborn son murdered his younger brother out of jealousy and rage (Genesis 4:8). As generations came and went, things continued to decline until at last “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and … every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Suffering came with that wickedness. Humanity was so corrupt that God looked down and saw that “the earth was filled with violence. … Indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12).

Within generations, the earth transitioned from a peace-filled paradise to a place filled with violence and suffering. And what caused it?

People.    People cause suffering.”      Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/journeys/journey-2-the-problem-of-evil/2/

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The Honey Crisis

An Amazing Fact: To produce about 1 pound of honey, bees must make 25,000 trips between their hive and the flowers from which they gather precious nectar. Furthermore, that same pound of honey contains the essence of about two million flowers! In the process of making this honey, bees provide a crucial service to nature—pollination. Albert Einstein once remarked that “If bees were to disappear, man would only have a few years to live.” This statement is especially sobering when you consider the recent decimating plague among U.S. bee colonies called colony collapse disorder (CCD).

Just before the beginning of 2007, beekeepers from all over North America began reporting colonies of their bees dying off in unprecedented numbers. Twenty-four U.S. states reported honeybees vanishing at an alarming rate, leaving beekeepers struggling for survival and farmers worried about pollination of their crops. The mysterious disappearance of bees ranges from 30 to 70 percent in some states. Blooming orchards that used to roar with buzzing bees are now strangely silent. One California beekeeper said, “I have never seen anything like it. Box after box after box is just empty. There’s nobody home.”

Experts are exploring several theories to explain the losses from CCD. These include viruses, mites, pesticide contamination and, strangely enough, poor bee nutrition. The mysterious colony collapse disorder highlights the fundamental role that honeybees play in the natural chain of God’s economy, providing fruit and vegetables. Honeybee pollination contributes more than $14 billion worth of North American harvests each year. A broad assortment of crops like apples, peaches, avocados, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, kiwis, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and many more, depend on honey bee pollination.

Some have suggested that if all honeybees suddenly died off, it would bring their vital work of pollination to an end. This environmental breakdown could easily cause an agricultural and economic chain reaction leading to a financial collapse and possibly a national famine.

Who would have guessed the work of these little creatures was so important! Maybe that’s why the Bible has so much to say about honey! David writes about God’s law: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). And Solomon says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24).    

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? and he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. Judges 14:18”

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Update.

Zack painted the shelves which will be ‘catifying’ the mini-house. Then we spread them out all over the place to dry.  If, or when, I move in there, even if I don’t still have this foster cat, Gracie, the one who was in a fire, then I will take care of another one for the SPCA.  It is nice to have another living, breathing thing around the house, so why not help out.  I am too old to adopt a pet, so fostering works well for me.  One year I didn’t have a pet, so I bought a goldfish!

As my back is still bothering me, I saw the doctor about getting a referral to see the chiropractor again.  Also went to the Tuesday seniors “do”, dominos or cards, lunch and Bingo again.  This is really for people who have nothing else to do, and they meet two more times a week for dominos or cards, and then lunch.  I did run over there on Thursday, because I said I would help, but I can’t keep that up, I have to earn a living selling my stuff online.

But when I left there my ‘battery’ light came on, so I stopped at Interstate Batteries.  They put another battery in, (more $$$) then on Sunday that light came back on, but O’Reillys Auto Parts tested it and found nothing wrong.  So I will have go to Interstate next time I go into Conroe.

On Wednesday, a carpenter was supposed to come and investigate a soft spot in the mini-house living room floor.  But he decided to high-jack his price before he had even seen it, so Zack and I did it.  The week before I had taught Zack how to ‘plunge-cut’ with a circular saw, so knew we could do it.  (My bad wrist won’t let me use a big saw anymore).  I just wanted to know why it was soft before installing any floor covering.  It was a defect in the orginal plywood which is 29 years old, as that part of the mini-house was moved up here on this hill after it had 4½ feet of water in it in the flood of October 1994.  We had just finished building that house after the previous house had burned down in 1989.

Friday, I just stayed home, worked, and made a potluck dish for the Sabbath.  I had come across a good deal on avocados, so I made a big Avocado Salad with lemon juice, black beans, non-gmo corn, onion, tomato, seasonings, and a little avocado oil. It was a smash hit, and folks took some home for later. 

Before church on Saturday I stopped down the road and helped a friend get their stuff out for the bi-monthly “Yard Sale” at the storage place.  I bought 2 flat TVs very cheap, as they couldn’t try them out there. Several of the storage unit tenants have these sales and the gates are left open then.  The rest of the time you have to have a code to get in.

At the morning church, and the Bible readings were Deut. 29:10-30:20, Isa. 61:10-63:9, and Rom. 10:1-13.  The Message was “Seven Earnest Men”, and their different cries.  Jacob cried for help. Moses for intersession, Solomon for wisdom, David for cleansing, etc.   By the time I had helped the pastor’s wife clean up the kitchen and dining hall, I didn’t go to the afternoon church, especially as I had food for Zack in the van.  Now, we are getting ready for the Holy Days.