HEALING GOD’S WAY

Addressing the mind-body-spirit connection.
Kiri Christina Hyatt, editor

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1. MINISTRY ARTICLE: TEMPTATION
   By Kiri Christina Hyatt (c)

Temptation is a problem for everyone. I find the bakery department at the grocery store filled with temptation. It amazes me how many times I can walk into a grocery store not hungry at all and with no cravings for sweets. Then as soon as I see the bakery department I have an overwhelming desire to eat donuts. There have been times I have been determined to only eat healthy foods and then out of the blue I have what seems to be an uncontrollable craving for cookies. Has anything like this happened to you?

Maybe the bakery department does not tempt you. But I am sure there is an area of your life where you do struggle with temptations. Maybe your struggles are with a different type of food item, or watching too much television, or lust, procrastination, or some other issue in your life. Whatever it is do you ever feel like you should be able to conquer this problem but find yourself failing to do so? Do you ever feel like some outside force is behind the temptation? The truth is demons are behind our temptations. I can be minding my own business and all of the sudden I am thinking about cookies or donuts. I use to be baffled where these thoughts came from. I no longer am baffled and you should not be baffled either. Demons want us to fail.

When Jesus was in the desert fasting for forty days and forty nights, the Bible says the tempter came and tested Jesus. The tempter is Satan.

"Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’" (Matthew 4:3) "Then the devil took Him… "(Matthew 4:5)

The Apostle Paul was concerned about the Thessalonians. In his letter to them he wrote:

"For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain." (1 Thessalonians 3:5)

Paul was concerned the devil had tempted the Thessalonians away from the truth. Satan is the tempter. He tempted Jesus and he can tempt us too. Demons just copy the devil’s example.

If temptation is plaguing you then there is an excellent chance the culprit is demons.

When temptation hits you, do not just follow the temptation. Instead stop and analyze what is causing that temptation. The devil tried to tempt Jesus but Jesus choose not listen to him. We should do the same. I use to see the bakery department and then pick up a bag and select a donut to take home with me. I was like a walking zombie. I never stopped to think where was this temptation coming from? What was causing it? I simply reacted to the temptation. I bought bakery items.

When temptation strikes, stop and think. Is something going on in your life at that very moment that is opening you up to the temptation. In my case, am I really hungry? If I am not even hungry then I should tell the demons to take a hike and not let them control me. If I am hungry, I have a choice to make. I can buy a donut, or a banana, or something else. But what ever I purchase to eat, it should be a conscience decision and not based on temptation.

Next time temptation strikes you, make a conscience effort to stop and analyze the situation. Remember that temptation is a demon attacking you. If the temptation is a simple issue like mine, then ponder your choices and act on the most appropriate. If the issue is more serious or difficult, then prayer is required. In the name of Jesus order the demon to leave you alone. Ask Jesus to help you be strong. Ask Jesus to put a hedge of protection around you. You might also ask Jesus if there is something in your life opening the door to this temptation. Sometimes past sin may be allowing the demons to keep attacking you in this area. Temptation that is a problem for you needs to be dealt with spiritually.

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2. MESSAGE FROM A FRIEND

Difficulties increase the nearer we approach the goal. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Source: The Funnies,

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Ninety percent of those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit. - Paul J. Meyer, Entrepreneur and writer

Source: Guideposts, http://www.guideposts.org

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A boy was told by his father not to go swimming. The father

caught him swimming.

"I didn't mean to go swimming," pleaded the boy.

"Why did you bring your bathing suit?"

"Oh," replied the boy, "I brought it along just in case I

was tempted."

From: Serve Him With Mirth by Leslie B Flynn

This is a free e-book download.

http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/resources/mirth.php

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3. SITE OF THE WEEK

DISCLAIMER: The following news stories are provided as a source of scientific information on mind/body medical research, environmental issues, and other topics.   AOCCCI does not necessarily agree with all the viewpoints or suggestions expressed in these articles. Not all viewpoints and/or therapy modalities recommended in these secular news stories are compatible with Christianity. If you have any questions or doubts about a therapy mentioned in a news story below,feel free to contact AOCCCI for advice.   These news stories are provided as a public service only.  

4.1 Health Tip: A Slow Burn
    Nov 11, 2004

(HealthDayNews) -- Before you pop that cookie in your mouth, take a moment to consider how long it will take to burn off those extra calories.

If you eat two cookies -- about 150 calories -- and you weigh about 140 pounds, you'll have to walk more than an hour at a pace of 2 miles an hour to burn off those cookies, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Speed up the pace to 3.5 mph, and you'll still have to walk for 45 minutes.

By comparison, eating a 40-calorie peach will take just 10 minutes of brisk walking to work off.

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4.2 A Kernel of Truth About Portion Sizes
    Nov 24, 2005

(HealthDay News) -- Large meal portions can push people to overeat foods they don't even like, according to a Cornell University study that found that people will eat more stale popcorn if it's served in a big bucket.

Researchers gave large- and medium-sized containers of 14-day old popcorn to moviegoers. Those who received the large containers ate 34 percent more stale popcorn than those who received the medium containers.

That difference was even greater when people were given fresh popcorn. Those who received a large bucket of fresh popcorn ate 45 percent more than people who were given the medium container.

The findings were published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

"We're finding that portion size can influence intake as much as taste. Large packages and containers can lead to overeating foods we do not even find appealing," researcher Brian Wansink, professor of marketing and applied economics at Cornell, said in a prepared statement.

He added that this behavior may actually have a potential benefit. Large portion sizes could be used to increase consumption of healthy food such as raw vegetables.

"While a small bowl of raw carrots might make for a good afternoon snack, a large bowl might be even better," Wansink said.

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4.3 Health Tip: Don't Skip Meals
September 15, 2005

(HealthDay News) -- If you're trying to cut your calorie intake by skipping meals, you could end up gaining weight instead.

According to George Washington University, people who skip meals, especially breakfast, are more likely to overeat later in the day. That's because when you skip meals, you upset your body's natural cycle of sleep, wakefulness and hunger.

So in trying to right itself, your system overcompensates and you may end up eating from mid-afternoon until bedtime.

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4.4 Food may be like a drug for some, study shows
    By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
    Oct 2, 2006

The same brain circuits are involved when obese people fill their stomachs as when drug addicts think about drugs, a finding that suggests overeating and addiction may be linked, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

The finding may help in creating better treatments for obesity -- a growing problem in the United States and elsewhere.

"We wanted to know why, when people are already full, why people are still eating a lot," said Dr. Gene-Jack Wang of Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.

"We were able to simulate the process that takes place when the stomach is full, and for the first time we could see the pathway from the stomach to the brain that turns 'off' the brain's desire to continue eating."

Wang and colleagues tested seven obese volunteers who had been fitted with a gastric stimulator -- a device that tricks the body into thinking the stomach is full, a state known as satiety.

They used a positron emission tomography or PET scan to see which parts of the brain activated when the stimulator was activated. They also carefully questioned their volunteers, all of whom were very obese, about why and when they overate.

"We thought the activated area (of the brain) must be in the satiety center, which we learned in medical school is supposed to be in the hypothalamus," Wang said in a telephone interview.

But they did not see activity there.

"We saw a lot of activity in all areas of the brain, especially in the hippocampus. That region is related to learning, memory and is also related to a lot of things such as sensory and motor impulse and emotional behavior," Wang said.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Wang and colleagues said the hippocampus was 18 percent more active when the gastric stimulator was on.

The stimulators also sent messages of satiety to brain circuits in the orbitofrontal cortex and striatum, which have been linked to craving and desire in cocaine addicts.

"This provides further evidence of the connection between the hippocampus, the emotions, and the desire to eat, and gives us new insight into the mechanisms by which obese people use food to soothe their emotions," said Wang.

The volunteers were all genuinely hungry -- they had been fasting for 16 or 17 hours when the PET scans were run. The stimulator succeeded in making them feel less hungry, Wang said.

But the surprise was in which brain circuits it used in doing so.

"It was very similar to a study on when cocaine abusers, when they think of cocaine, they have a craving for cocaine," he said.

"This new pathway should be explored in further studies to determine if there are any implications for treating or preventing obesity."

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4.5 Cornell prof. studies mind-stomach link
    By Michael Hill, Associated Press Writer
    November 5, 2006

Think much about that popcorn while you're eating it? Or that plate of pasta? That bowl of soup?

Probably not.

But Cornell University marketing professor Brian Wansink does. A lot.

Wansink isn't concerned about the food, exactly, but why you eat it. His goal is to uncover hidden cues that influence how much we eat. He wants to know if people grab more M&M's from a bowl if there are more colors (yes), if people tend to eat less popcorn at comic films like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" than during gloomy films (yes) and whether people are tuned into the subtle prompts like mood and setting that affect their eating (generally, no).

After years of sometimes unorthodox research, Wansink argues that a good way to lose weight is not by obsessing over carbs or banning trans fats, but by addressing dietary "hidden persuaders." He lays out the case in his new book, "Mindless Eating, Why We Eat More than We Think We Eat."

"So much of the answer lies not in counting calories, not in legislating, but in the middle range of what we can do by changing some of our own habits," Wansink said during an interview in his Food and Brand Lab on Cornell's upstate New York campus.

The lab's main room is designed to look like a kitchen, albeit one with tiny surveillance cameras, a two-way mirror and a food scale hidden beneath a dishrag on the counter. The idea is to provide a homey atmosphere where test subjects can eat, and an unobtrusive way for researchers to watch.

On a recent day, Wansink leaned close into the two-way mirror as postdoctoral researcher Collin Payne served Beefaroni and vegetables to a test subject — only to cough on the dish before he got to her seat.

The cough was choreographed, a ruse to force her to dish herself another serving, this time on a slightly smaller plate. Wansink wants to know if she will dole out a smaller portion on the smaller plate, which she does.

This sort of clever subterfuge is common to Wansink's experiments. Wansink once designed self-filling soup bowls that pump tomato soup up from under the table as people supped from them. He wanted to find out if people stopped eating without the visual cue of an empty bowl. Some people ate more than a quart.

Another time, when he was at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he told half the diners at a restaurant/lab that their complementary glass of cabernet sauvignon that night came from California, the other half were told the same wine came from North Dakota. Not only did the North Dakota group eat less of their dinner, they headed for the exits quicker.

Same wine, same food, different cues, different results.

Wansink's larger point is that people make more than 200 food decisions a day, most of them subconsciously. He believes people trying fad diets would be better served changing little behaviors that could cut a relatively painless 100-200 calories a day. It can be done in part by hiding the candy or avoiding jumbo-sized packaging, which tends to encourage consumption.

Pick two or three habits a month, he advises. For instance, Wansink this month is trying not to eat a snack unless he first eats fruit, and he set a one-roll limit for meals out.

Wansink's "ingenious" study designs set him apart in the nascent field of investigating what motivates people to eat, said Andrew Geier, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania who has published eating behavior research.

"He's leading the way in trying explain eating behavior from the nose up," said Geier.

Wansink's Ph.D. is in marketing and consumer behavior, unusual in a field full of researchers with psychology backgrounds. The 46-year-old from Iowa farm country feels his research sometimes falls between the cracks academically. But he learned years ago he could end-run academic ambivalence by sending copies of his research directly to journalists. He recalls his getting early career media hits in Woman's Day and Cooking Light magazines and thinking "This is really cool!"

"I decided to write things that would always have a takeaway for consumers," he said.

Some of his most provocative work casts doubt on the value of nutrition labels for consumers. He believes people are either too busy or distracted to read packages. Worse, labels can lull people into a false sense of security, like Subway diners feeling good about eating a low-fat sandwich, and then loading up on chips and a soda.

Eating a wrap sandwich for lunch on campus, he can't help noticing a label on his mayonnaise packet: "As always 0g carbs."

"I love it!" he said with a laugh.

The packet doesn't mention that a single serving has 10 grams of fat and 90 calories.

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On the Net:

http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/

http://mindlesseating.org/

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