Sunday, February 9, 2014

Nourishing Our Bodies and Our Spirits - Ensign Feb. 2014 - ensign

Nourishing Our Bodies and Our Spirits - Ensign Feb. 2014 - ensign: Our attitudes and actions related to food affect both our physical and our spiritual well-being.

Many years ago I served a welfare services mission in rural Colombia, where we taught about health and nutrition. When we saw mothers feed their children just rice and plantains (similar to bananas), we encouraged them to include more protein foods in their diet. One mother told me kindly, “But we don’t eat those foods; it is not our custom.” Over the years, I’ve encountered similar comments while working as a dietitian, managing public health programs, and teaching in several universities. Observing widely varied eating habits has led me to focus on universal principles of nutrition and health that transcend cultural differences—principles reflected in the Word of Wisdom as found in Doctrine and Covenants 89. Using these basic principles to guide our food choices will surely bring the blessing of physical well-being.

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