eat food. not too much. mostly plants.

last week at our all staff meeting, dr. Adrian denBoer came and shared 5 ways to live a healthier life. denboer, who runs a natural holistic health center in grand rapids is a unique guy. he is in his mid 40's and has more energy that the majority of our junior high students. the first time i went to see denBoer at his office, they called my name and walked me to a nice room with a window overlooking the parking lot. a few minutes later, denboer entered the room, introduced himself and then his alarm went off. he said, "excuse me" as he quickly left the room. i stared out the window wondering what just happened when i saw him running outside. the guy was doing laps around the building. 7 of them! then he quickly came back into my room and said, "now where were we..." like i said, denBoer is a unique guy.

but he's brilliant. he's one of those guys that makes you want to be healthy. he's a man on a mission. ever since he was 12 and his dad (who was a pastor of a large church in the netherlands) was given only a few months to live he knew what he wanted to do. his dad, on the advice of an elder went and saw a holistic doctor who saw quite quickly that this man was going to die unless he changed a few things regarding his diet. denBoer's father did and ended up living another 30+ years. ever since then, he has been working to understand the body. he sees the body as a temple and has taught me that you are what you eat.

as he was sharing in our all staff, he made one statement that i haven't been able to shake. it was this, "a little less than 40% of junior high school students today will acquire type 1 diabetes if they continue eating as much sugar as they do by age 40." are you kidding me? as i left that meeting and passed two pop machines in our student room i knew something needed to change. i then reflected on a number of youth retreats i've been on lately that filled their students and leaders stomachs with soda, pizza and candy. what is our responsibility to helping our students understand a much more healthy view of their temple? why do we seem to only look at our bodies as temples through the purity lens? is it our role to begin conversations with our students about the realities of what they choose to put in their bodies? could we possibly be able to help them gain the confidence and ability to actually eat healthy? do we believe that to be a way to honor God?

i'm pondering a number of things: from replacing the soda machines with possibly vita-water, to changing how i personally eat, to possibly serving pita chips and humus, fruit trays, or chips and guacamole instead of candy on ministry nights, and just beginning to look at ways we can teach our students, parents, and volunteers about a more holistic view of the temple. does this resonate with anyone and is there anything you'd add to the conversation?

Comments

[Jeremy]

Steve, I'm not sure if you have any idea who I am but I went to HOPE just after you. I'm familiar with you at least (sorry if that sounds a bit stalker-ish). Anyways, this is a great conversation to begin. I was skeptical at first of the whole holistic movement but I started trying a few basic things to see how it affected me. My wife and I gave up soda and have become like different people because of it. I'm also a believer in ginger root for stomach-aches. So there is definitely more to this that we should investigate. It seems God has given us everything we need. Go figure.

[steve carter]

Jeremy, i totally remember you bro. are you still at central? if so, what is your current role there? thanks for posting, i have checked out your blog from time to time...i usually go to chandler's first, then hit up each of his friends. have you read, "in defense of food" by Michael Pollan or any of his other 4 books? i appreciate a lot of things he says. hope all is well.

[Jeremy]

Steve, I'm still at Central and I currently teach at and lead one of our 3 styles of worship services on the weekend. It is called Third Format (www.thirdformat.com) and happens on Saturday and Sunday nights. It's crazy how the blog world allows us to keep in touch with others.

Anyways, I haven't read Pollan's book but I'll check it out. I'm going to read "Made to Stick" based off of your recommendation. Glad to have you blogging man.

[Jessica Kast-Keat]

Steve, so I have added you and Shauna to my blog links. After you both said you have gone to my blog...I have now committed to wrting for real...here goes the attempt!

[Joe Martino]

Hey Man,
Love the BLOG. Really like the lay out.
Peace

[jonwren]

really interesting. I wonder though if part of the issue isn't also portions. part of JH culture is getting LOTS of nachos, Dr. Pepper, etc...

A year ago I decided I wanted to be smaller but had no idea what type of diet I should try. So I ignorantly just decided to keep eating what I was eating, but just eat less of it. It worked.

[steve carter]

portion are important. "eat food. not too much." this is a critical part of the conversation. yet, i'm still trying to figure out how we bring some more plants into the meal plan by creating an alternative way to the JH culture that is getting LOTS.

[Gayle]

Steve, i came upon your comments searching for Dr. denBoer's website to send him an email. Our entire family sees him regularly and has for over a year. Your questioning of how we feed our kids is right on. The further food gets away from it's original form, for the most part the less healthy it is. Changing our habits as a family has changed our lives. But brace yourself if you try this. This journey to caring for your temple is extremely counter cultural. Sort of like being a Christian. People will sabotage your efforts and make jokes. Unless people are open to the facts and changing their behavior--don't expect a groundswell of cooperation. That said, try it for yourself and then hopefully you'll be a walking testimony for health and can motivate others.

[suprayouth]

It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.