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“I decided to put the Lord’s promises to the test”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)
Saturday, December 1st, 2018

By: Amy Adamson

I’ve always been interested in nutrition, so much so that I studied it in college. But sadly, I’ve always been a “do as I say and not as I do” kind of nutritionist. I was raised in a family of junk food junkies! My dad would give my brother and me $20 and tell us to go buy as many candy bars as we could. Back then we would literally come home with about 50 candy bars! Our family could easily polish them off in a couple of days. My mom was an excellent baker. We had delicious cakes, pies and cookies for dessert daily. Every meal revolved around meat and milk. Our family did have one healthy habit going though! We all loved physical activity. Tennis, skiing, running, hiking and sports filled up a lot of our family time.

By using many physical activities to “make up” for my poor dietary choices, I was able to remain slim and trim. To me that meant “healthy.” Then in the fall of 2017, I began having some bowel issues. I felt sheepish about the problem so I put off seeking treatment. Finally, in the May of 2018 a colonoscopy revealed a tubulovillous adenoma. I ended up having surgery a few weeks later to remove the tumor. The surgeon told me that the pathology revealed it was in the process of changing to cancer. At only 48 years old, I had dodged the cancer bullet.

This set me on the path of change. I knew I needed to change my dietary habits. But nutrition today had become so confusing! The more I learned, the more confused I became. Everyone believed and touted something different. One day, while searching online, I came across a sample of a book that I quickly began reading. It was called Discovering the Word of Wisdom. I read and read, until the sample ended. I immediately ordered a hard copy on Amazon and could not wait for the book to arrive so I could finish it. As I read, the spirit testified to me of the truth of what I was reading. While at the same time, the ideas seemed very radical to me. It was very different from my current lifestyle. But, based on my brush with cancer, I knew I did not need more of the same.

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Categories : Married-1 WFPB, Stories
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“I decided I would put it to the test to see if it could work for me”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)
Saturday, November 17th, 2018

By: Dan Thieme

I remember as a youth growing up in the Church hearing many lessons about the Word of Wisdom. Inevitably, these lessons would emphasize that Joseph Smith surely was prophet, for how could he know at the time he lived in to write a document about health, teaching us to avoid alcohol and tobacco, which would save us from the ills of these substances which were so harmful to our physical bodies. I was amazed. I also hardly even noticed, or cared to notice, the other counsel that appears in that section of scripture: That is, what we should eat and not eat. I was never really taught that eating meat sparingly was part of the Word of Wisdom, and if we wanted to please Him, meaning the Lord (who wouldn’t!) that we should eat meat not at all. Has that phrase really been in there all these years? How many lessons and discussions over the years have I heard about the Word of Wisdom, and yet not one of those spoke of that second phrase?

And besides, who would be conspiring to make me eat meat? After all, protein is good for me right? Mom always told me to eat my vegetables, but she never had to tell me to eat my meat. Somehow I seemed to have an innate desire to eat that stuff—it came naturally to a growing boy, and eating lots of meat even seemed to be part of becoming a man. As men, we barbecue, we shoot or catch our own food with our own hands, bring it home and prepare it. Very manly. It seemed a natural part of the old ways that society was forgetting. What could be more healthy? What could be more social? At every family gathering we surrounded a table of the best meat, both from the land and the sea: prime roast, juicy steaks, good old hamburgers, or crab, shrimp, and fish. But even pork, and chicken and other meats are so wonderful!

As I grew, I became more manly and more carnivorous. I ground my own meat, smoked and barbecued that meat, refined my barbecue sauce recipe to perfection and had the best pork ribs you could find anywhere. I knew bacon was not good for me, so I only ate it occasionally. I worked out five times a week, ate lots of yogurt for the probiotics, and ate what I considered a healthy diet—whole wheat bread and lots of fruits and vegetables to go with my manly animal protein. With my health profession education and background as an optometrist, I thought I had a decent handle on what I should be eating, and what I should be avoiding.

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“Knowledge is more powerful than pride”

By Jane Birch · Comments (14)
Saturday, September 8th, 2018

By: Analilí Burrows (Version en español)

My search for wellness and health began long ago without much success. Conflicting information and the “false traditions” of my people darkened my understanding.

I became a mother at 28, seventeen years ago today. Birthing my first son was a grueling experience I don’t wish upon anyone. At our 20-week ultrasound, we were warned this baby’s condition was incompatible with life due to anencephaly, which means the scull is missing and the baby’s brain is floating around the amniotic fluid in a thin skin sack. He died in utero five days before my labor began.

A few months later I missed my period again. A home pregnancy test found out we were expecting, but I miscarried the very next day at 7 weeks. In 2006 with a two-year old miracle daughter, I was getting ready to pack my hospital bag at 8 months pregnant when my placenta abrupted inadvertently, and we lost our precious daughter. I almost died in the process too.

This close call with my own life and having to bury a second baby of mine gave me a new determination to find out what was wrong with me. I enrolled in medical school and was accepted, but with a 2-year old baby and a husband traveling most of the time, I had to pass this goal for a later day.

Little did I know I was learning line upon line, precept upon precept what I have come to know now.

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“I knew I wanted to live and that He wanted me to live, and from that moment, everything changed”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, August 11th, 2018

By: Carrie Hopkins

I still remember the eyes of the surgeon who told me, “If you want to live, you must change what you eat. You’re going to die soon, Carrie. You will not live to finish raising your children or to see your grandchildren grow up.” My medical woes were firm evidence that for too long I had failed to heed the wise counsel, warnings of a loving God, found in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

You would think that a discussion of this magnitude would propel a person to quickly make the recommended changes, and yet I kept this to myself for a time, pondering on whether I wanted to live or die. I was so very tired of being sick, of fighting to live. It had been a while since I’d prayed, but one afternoon I felt prompted to get on my knees. As I talked to my Heavenly Father, I knew I wanted to live and that He wanted me to live, and from that moment, everything changed. When I told Him that I’d do what He wanted me to do, I was not bargaining for my life. All I asked and hoped for that day was to be comforted, whether I was to live or to die, and I did mean what I said. That comfort came immediately, although answers with regard to my health came only after much study and patience.

I decided that afternoon that I would give equal time to my spiritual health as I worked to improve my physical health. If I was going to live, I did not intend to do it halfway. I knew what was ahead would be difficult, to say the least, and I felt strongly that my only hope for success was to strengthen both body and spirit. I haven’t been perfect, but I can say with honesty that from that day to this, I have clung to the promises I’ve made to God, as if my life depends on it. I knew I could not do this alone, nor would I want to try. In ways that have strengthened my testimony in a loving God who sends personal revelation, I have been lifted many times by Him to do what I am certain I could never do on my own. Now, many years later, the joy I feel is beyond my ability to express.

When I decided I wanted to live, I sat down with the surgeon’s notes, the Word of Wisdom, Isaiah Chapter 58, Discovering the Word of Wisdom and several other books, and I made a plan. I basically went cold turkey. One minute I was one of a large crowd who ate the standard American diet and the next minute, that was the end of that. I knew myself well enough to know that I couldn’t do this with a foot in both worlds. I had to allow myself time for my tastes to change, and they did. The first month or month and a half was pretty hilarious actually, but I persisted.

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“I didn’t want to give people expensive and side-effect-prone pills”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)
Saturday, July 28th, 2018

By: Brian Duke

In 2013, during a break from studying for the PCAT (entrance exam for Pharmacy school) I watched the Forks Over Knives documentary which I found randomly while searching on the internet. Forks Over Knives dramatically changed my opinion about what we should eat and my career choice. The idea that you could avoid heart disease completely was thrilling and motivating. I had been eating mostly home cooked meals containing meat and dairy with occasional microwavable dinners when I needed to save time. I changed my diet immediately.

I struggled a bit at first to find things to cook and eat and to eat enough calories. I have always been at a healthy weight due in part to running long distances for exercise. When I started the Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet, I lost 8 pounds in a few months that I did not need to lose. When I saw the weight loss, I realized that I just needed to eat more volume of food than I was used to, which quickly solved the problem.

I abandoned my pharmacist career path for becoming a dietitian. I didn’t want to give people expensive and side-effect-prone pills for the rest of their lives for conditions that could be prevented and treated with diet. I took some extra classes to qualify for a Masters program in Dietetics, applied, and was accepted.

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“I was at my wits end and stressed out beyond anything I have ever been before”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, July 14th, 2018

By: Brian Beck

It all started nearly 14 years ago. I had been working at this great job that kept me in good shape physically. You see, my job was to maintain the buildings and fix the equipment for two locations of a local gym, and some days I’d help out with projects on the other 15 locations. I’d joke with everyone that I walked at least 3-5 miles per day (from the front of the building to the back, up ladders and scissor lifts) to get a tool or a part to fix a stair stepper, and then to the roof to find out why the AC wasn’t working. I hauled everything from light bulbs to treadmills . . . even hauled those up flights of stairs. It would take 4 of us to do it, but we did it. The ‘gym rats’ (body builders mostly) would give it an honest try, but 4 or 5 steps up the stairway was all they were good for. We would laugh because they had bigger muscles than we had, and we would move the rest of the treadmills ourselves. We even moved the giant weight machines. We did everything from painting to plumbing as well.

During my employment at these gyms, I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia. You see, it turns out that when I ate something with any sugar in it, my blood sugar would spike up with little control from my pancreas (which produces insulin). My body would put out too much insulin, too late from a slow reaction to the rapid rise of sugar in my bloodstream, and I would ‘crash’ (extreme drop in blood sugar). The worst part of this was that I would get really angry right before I would crash. I only saw it as though I had a really good reason to be annoyed. Sadly, it didn’t look that way from the outside looking in, and my family suffered.

I’d heard about Atkins, and I thought, “Hey let’s look into that. These guys here at the gym seem really healthy.” So our whole family started eating all the meat, dairy, and cheese we wanted, just no carbohydrates and no fruit because I was told that “eating sugar makes your body store fat.” Carbs became evil really fast.

But I had missed a little thing . . .

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“I became a convert for life”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, February 17th, 2018

By: Patricia Haney

For the first 42 years of my life, I ate your typical American diet: meat, dairy, and loads of sugar! I cooked everything in oil, and covered everything with cheese, cream cheese, and/or sugar. I ate candy or sweets when I drove, read, watched TV. . . I even had candy in my pockets at work so I could pop some in my mouth here and there. I was an addict! I was overweight (bordering obese) and starting to have medical problems.

I am one of those people who don’t trust doctors. I had some bad experiences in the past, so I have avoided them at all costs most my life. But eventually I could no longer ignore the things that were happening in my body, and I went to the doctor. It was 2012, and we were living in Georgia, when I went to the OBGYN who diagnosed severe endometriosis. Two surgeries later, I had no more female reproductive organs left. If only I knew then what I know now!

Fast forward through years of vertigo and strange happenings to 2015. I was sitting down with my family watching a movie when I got a strange sensation. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t . . . I fell back down to the couch. I tried to speak, but it came out slurred. Everyone, including me, thought I was stroking like my mom who had had 5 strokes. I was rushed to the ER where they quickly came to the same conclusion. The results of the MRI came back . . . no stroke. Well that was good news right? “Then what happened to me?” I asked. There was zero explanation.

I am not a hypochondriac, and I know I did not imagine what happened. I knew something was wrong even though the doctor couldn’t explain it. As I was leaving with my “clean bill of health,” he said, “You might want to follow up with a neurologist. You had some lesions on your brain, but a few lesions are normal at your age.” I left the hospital and thought, “Whatever.” And my trust in doctors plummeted even more.

In 2016 when we were living in Alabama, I finally went to another doctor where I was told I had high blood pressure and should go on medication. I ignored him and finally went to a neurologist. After tests, tests, and more tests, my doctor showed me my MRI, put her hand on my knee and said, “It looks like we are dealing with multiple sclerosis. Even though there is no cure, don’t be afraid, we have lots of new drugs to slow down the advancement of the disease.”

I did NOT want to be dependent of medications the rest of my life for MS and high blood pressure. So I went home and prayed and prayed that if there were another way, could I please be led to it. I also prayed for an open mind to what I found. Then I went to the temple and prayed some more. I decided medications would ONLY be my very last desperate option.

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“I have discovered the Fountain of Youth”

By Jane Birch · Comments (11)
Saturday, February 3rd, 2018

By: Jamie Douglass

My whole life, since I was 16, I have yo-yo dieted. I had a boyfriend tell me that I could lose a hundred pounds and I would still be fat. Even though I knew he was exaggerating on the amount, his message was very clear to me, you will never be skinny enough. So, I turned to the world in telling me how I should eat to look good and feel good. I have tried every diet out there, and I could never stick with any of them.

This last summer, I ordered a new diet supplement. I felt so crummy and was desperate to try anything. I had been dealing with years of chronic fatigue, chronic sinus infections, and chronic headaches. My new supplement came in the mail on a Thursday but on Friday I was starting a fast over a personal struggle and decided to wait to start the new supplement.

During my fast, I became surprised when I got an overwhelming feeling that I should not start the new diet supplement. Confused as to why I was getting these feelings when I wasn’t even thinking about that, the words entered my mind, “Jamie, the Lord has provided a Law of Health.” It was if a light bulb when on in my head, and I remember thinking, “Duh, the Word of Wisdom.” I went to D&C 89 and immediately gained greater insight into the diet portion of the Word of Wisdom and specifically the instruction on the use of meat. I was blown away that this portion of the Word of Wisdom has never really been discussed or talked about.

I grew up on a dairy farm and meat was a staple in our home. I love my parents, they are wonderful examples to me and I wouldn’t trade anything for my upbringing. There are so many benefits to growing up on a farm. Learning hard work was one of them. Anyway, two days later I was at a good friend’s home and as I was walking out the door she said, “I feel you need to read this book” and gave me the book Discovering the Word of Wisdom. I got halfway through the book and didn’t even finish it. I knew it was true and immediately transitioned over to a plant based diet. I have since been on a journey of diving deep into the doctrines and teachings of this part of the Word of Wisdom. I am a nurse and so I have also been studying the science side of a whole food, plant-based diet, as well as the benefits.

Six months later here are the results Read More→

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“I have had easy weight loss without being hungry or having to track any calories”

By Jane Birch · Comments (8)
Saturday, January 20th, 2018

By: Sarah Gale

I’ve struggled with health and weight for all of my married life. I joined Weight Watchers in 2002 and lost the 35 pounds of extra weight I had put on, but it was very slow going, difficult to do, and I was hungry and unhappy all the time. It also made me feel obsessed with food. I began having periods of binge eating and then starving myself to try and compensate. Five years into marriage, I got pregnant, something I wanted more than anything I had ever wanted. However, I ended up miscarrying that baby, which was horribly devastating to me. I turned to food for comfort, and promptly gained back all the 35 pounds I had lost. A year later, I was able to get pregnant again, and this time, the pregnancy worked out. However, I gained 40 pounds! I went back to Weight Watchers, and lost a lot of the weight, but the old feelings of deprivation came back, and I ended up on a binge and starve cycle again.

With our second child, I gained 30 pounds. I tried exercise, got into P90X and did it faithfully every day for 3 rounds of 90 days. I got strong and felt great, but I only lost 5 pounds!

After another miscarriage, I got pregnant again fairly soon. However, somewhere around the 18th week, I started noticing that I was very short of breath. The doctors and specialists couldn’t figure it out. Finally, I got a blessing from my husband, and he said the doctors would be able to find what was wrong. I soon learned I had a very rare tracheal stenosis, which required have multiple surgeries, ending in an extremely intense resection surgery and a high dose of steroids, which led to a dramatic weight gain.

To get my weight under control, I decided to try to the latest and greatest thing, the low carb diet. This time, I actually got a little nagging feeling in the back of my brain that this was not a good diet, and not what the Word of Wisdom taught, but I brushed it off. After recovering from the surgery, I started low carb, and the pounds just melted off. I lost 65 pounds in about 8 months, and was back to a healthy weight. Then with a fourth pregnancy, I was 100 pounds overweight!

About a year ago, I started getting back to the point where I could think about getting my weight under control and my health back. I didn’t want to do low carb again. I told my husband I just didn’t think it was in harmony with the Word of Wisdom. He rolled his eyes and said that part was outdated, and I shouldn’t worry about it! I decided to count calories with the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. I told myself I would eat three meals per day and no snacks, because snacking seems to be my downfall for binge eating . . . like the potato chips advertise, you can’t have just one! It worked very well, and I lost 65 pounds! But, again, it got difficult to keep it up!

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“I didn’t want the foods that harm my body and defeat my spirit”

By Jane Birch · Comments (17)
Saturday, January 6th, 2018

By: Julianne Kravetz

Determination, willpower and resolve are all characteristics that help define moral fiber. These qualities often serve us well in life, driving success as we pursue dreams and aspirations – except when they don’t. Despite our greatest desire, determination, our best efforts, and even all the willpower we can muster, we sometimes fail. And some of us fail again and again, leaving us feeling hopeless and alone in a barren desert of despair. This was the place where I eventually found myself.

When I was a young mother, a book was recommended to me written by Dr. John McDougall. He proposed a plant-based diet for ultimate health and weight loss. He claimed that disease, illness and suffering was not an inevitable result of aging. If that were true, we could live with health and vitality – our food choices could help us avoid needless pain. To me, this “diet” was the Word of Wisdom exemplified.

I recognized the evidence of poor food choices which resulted in obesity, complications of which is the leading cause of death in this country. And yet, this was my struggle. My recurring efforts to become a “McDougaller” were taken up, then abandoned again and again. I thought then that it was just too hard, too time consuming, too inconvenient. My never-ending trudging up and down over the dunes of struggle revealed a trail of short-lived success – then failure with pockets full of sand. What would cause people to succumb to a lifestyle that would eventually lead to preventable diseases? I knew I wouldn’t consciously choose that path, and yet there I was.

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