Good Nutrition

Guiding at least some people in food preparation is the Food Pyramid, that colorful triangle designed as an amount guide (the pyramid’s peak represents what we need very little of each day, rather than what is most important).

The pyramid is filled with blocks explaining how many servings of each food group are recommended by food scientists to provide good nutrition for a healthy body. Of course, what our bodies need are things called protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates, but we don’t open packages from the grocery labeled “2 lbs. (32 oz.) protein.” No, we buy some fruit, salad items, a bag of rice, a package of chicken, and a carton of milk.

If you know the food pyramid, you know those purchases are “good” choices, covering needed vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as the milk lobby!

Recommendations vs Actual Food Shopping

Seriously, taking the chart to the grocery store could guide you around the fresh produce, dairy, meat, and bread/noodle/rice aisles. But many people don’t fill their cart with items from those aisles. They are picking up boxes of cereal, some frozen pizzas, soda, chips, a box or two of cookies and a couple cans of soup.

When it’s all said and done, food consumption requires some sophisticated knowledge: best sources, variety of sources, strengths of particular items, reasonable substitutions, best preparation methods, quantities required to provide adequate nutrition, food source quantities, and so on.

When does a person learn all this? Isn’t this information both men and women need at their fingertips?  Of course, someone might do most of the shopping or cooking in the home, but, ultimately, each person is eating food for themselves and their body.

Recommendations Amounts for Spiritual Nutrition

Spiritual feeding has some strong parallels to food feeding. Every person must ultimately feed him or herself. A variety of items work together to provide “good spiritual nutrition,” just like physical food. Fresh-grown and highly-processed products are available for both physical food and spiritual food. The recommended daily amounts are VERY different, however.

The Bible explains we are to pray without ceasing, but we “only” need 5 to 7  fruits and vegetable servings a day. We are to be ready at any time to talk about our spiritual confidence in a redeemed eternity, but 4-6 oz. of protein holds us in good stead. We are to meditate constantly on Scripture’s truth, but 9-11 grain servings (should) limit how much noodles, rice, and bread we put on our plates.  Those spiritual “recommended amounts” sound more like intravenous feeding: a continuous portioned nutritional supply instead of specified amounts at set eating times, don’t they?

How unprocessed are your food sources: both physically and spiritually? How well-versed are you in physical and spiritual requirements for good nutrition? How often do you eat, physically and spiritually? How substantial are those meals? What convenience foods, both physically and spiritually, offer good value? How capable are you at “eating” what is good for you, even if you don’t care much for the taste? What bad habits do you have providing yourself both physical and spiritual nutrition?  Are you responsible for the nutritional input of other people? How well is that going? Are you providing what is  needed? Are you training them to feed themselves—and to make good choices while doing so?  How varied is your menu planning: for dinner time and devotion time?