“We are just beginning to understand the influence of food on behavior.”  Jeffrey M. Smith

How aware are you of the relationship between your behavior and feelings, and what you’re eating?

And put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.  (Prov. 23:2; NKJ)

Perhaps many of you remember of reading about the Appleton, Wisconsin high school cafeteria that replaced their processed junk food with wholesome, nutritious food.  Before the change, this high school was a literal war zone with full-time cops on duty.  The school was “out of control” with continual weapons violations, student disruptions, suicides, expulsions, and drug violations.  Once the change took place in what the students were eating, the students became calm, focused and orderly.  It became a model school. 

Some of you may be thinking that this is preposterous.  How can what we eat have so much bearing on our behavior.  Jeffrey M. Smith, a brilliant writer and researcher is a leading spokesperson on the health dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).  In his article entitled, “Why Schools Should Remove Gene-Altered Foods from Their Cafeterias,” he tells the background story of Appleton’s experiment.

“Years ago, a science class at Appleton found support for their new diet by conducting a cruel and unusual experiment with three mice. They fed them the junk food that kids in other high schools eat everyday. The mice freaked out. Their behavior was totally different than the three mice in the neighboring cage. The neighboring mice had good karma; they were fed nutritious whole foods and behaved like mice. They slept during the day inside their cardboard tube, played with each other, and acted very mouse-like.”

He goes on to say that the junk food mice destroyed their cardboard tube, were no longer nocturnal, stopped playing with one another, and fought often.  Two of the mice eventually killed the third mice and ate it.  After three months of doing the experiment, the students rehabilitated the two surviving mice with a diet of whole foods.  It took about three weeks for their behavior to normalize.

The article goes on to say that, “Sister Luigi Frigo repeats this experiment every year in her second grade class in Cudahy, Wisconsin, but mercifully, for only four days. Even on the first day of junk food, the mice’s behavior ‘changes drastically.’ They become lazy, antisocial, and nervous. And it still takes the mice about two to three weeks on unprocessed foods to return to normal. One year, the second graders tried to do the experiment again a few months later with the same mice, but this time the animals refused to eat the junk food.”

Did you catch that?  The animals refused to EAT the junk food!  Although his article is mainly about the dangers of consuming GM foods,  Jeffrey Smith connects the dots for us by explaining that GM foods such as soy and corn are largely found in processed or junk foods.  There is much to be gained by looking at how processed, packaged, NON-food affects not only our health, but our behavior as well. 

What one thing can you do, starting today to improve what you and your family are eating?

Prayer Power
Father, we are so grateful that we have choices.  We don’t have to eat, processed, packaged junk food.  You have given us a bounty of wonderful, healthy food to choose from.  Bless our readers as they make the decision to choose wisely, for the sake of their destiny.

Link of the Day
Organic Consumers Association

Blessings on you as you continue to press on with making wise food choices.