I am currently following a diet that requires the elimination of any exogenous sources of glucose or fructose in my blood. This means no grains, no liquid milk, nothing that tastes sweet, and no starchy vegetables. I am able to eat meat, eggs, spices, vegetables, nuts, salt, and miscellaneous flavorings.
I told a friend last year about this diet, what success I had achieved, and her response was, "What about the Word of Wisdom? Aren't we supposed to eat less meat and more grains?" I eventually quit the diet last year because I conceded that she was right, and because of galling, gnawing, aggravating hunger. I stuck with a high-carb, low fat diet until recent health issues, such as weight and blood sugar levels, prompted me to go back on the no-carb diet, this time combined with high amounts of saturated fat. My results on this diet have been astonishing. So good, in fact, that I actually went back to D&C 89 to see if I had missed anything. Doesn't the Word of Wisdom tell us to reduce meat and eat fruits, vegetables, and grains? Let's have a look.
Conspiring Men
"A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of...the church, and also the saints in Zion...sent...by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days...Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation..." (v. 1-4).
This is a warning to us today, even though it was given over a century ago. We are warned about "evil designs" "in the hearts of conspiring men" in our day. One of the problems I had when doing a low-carb, low-fat diet was hunger. I was constantly craving. If I stuck to my diet faithfully, I would have dreams about eating chocolate frosting. (Nightmares, given their context.) I was eating fruits, grains, some meat, oils, and very little saturated fat. And I felt like I was starving. I was the best customer in the world, buying fruits on a regular basis, since I had decided to eliminate artificially sweetened foods from my diet. My mind was foggy after eating; my moods were unstable, fluctuating from mild mania to deep troughs of depression. My weight, seemingly moderate to others, was taking its toll on my knees, and my blood pressure. I would either undereat, and starve, or overeat, and starve anyway. I had more food in my guts and in my fat stores than I needed; why was I hungry all the time?
Sugar causes hunger. Leptin stops hunger pangs; insulin blocks that leptin signal from reaching the brain. Sugar spikes insulin requirements. So sugar makes more insulin, and chronically high insulin levels block satiety signals of leptin from reaching the brain. Insulin also prevents fat from releasing its energy stores into the blood. High insulin levels cause fat stores to increase. Eliminating any source of any kind of sugar, sweet or not, combined with high animal fat, has eliminated my genuine hunger due to caloric energy deficits, and reduced my roaring carb cravings to manageable pygmies.
According to recent research, it may be impossible to become addicted to anything, let alone food, without the presence of insulin in the brain: "[Dopamine] and insulin systems do not operate in isolation from each other, but
instead, work together to orchestrate both the motivation to engage in
consummatory behavior and to calibrate the associated level of reward.
Insulin signaling has been found to regulate [dopamine] neurotransmission and to
affect the ability of drugs that target the [dopamine] system to exert their
neurochemical and behavioral effects. Given that many abused drugs target the [dopamine] system, the elucidation of
how dopaminergic, as well as other brain reward systems, are regulated
by insulin will create opportunities to develop therapies for drug and
potentially food addiction. Moreover, a more complete understanding of
the relationship between [dopamine] neurotransmission and insulin may help to
uncover etiological bases for "food addiction" and the growing epidemic
of obesity."
Are food manufacturers aware of this relationship between cravings, insulin, and sugar? I assume that they are, especially since the majority of packaged foods produced by corporate food giants contain some form of sugar. Even foods generally not considered sweet, like salsas, salad dressings, and bread, are artificially loaded with sugar. The result? Those who eat them get hungry, and eat more. The people who sell the products get rich, while the people who eat them get obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and a host of other ills associated with the American populace. This is a different spin on the same business model Satan taught Cain: "...I may murder and get gain" (Moses 5:31). Instead of shooting people, they poison them with artificial foods, turning their trusting customers into addicts. All this is hidden with bogus information about the salubrious nature of the foods in question.
Instead of illicit drugs, food itself has been turned into an addictive drug. The great irony in all this is that people can be simultaneously overweight AND hungry. Even naturally lean people are hungry on this kind of carb-rich food, too.
In the Season Thereof
Isn't fruit good for us? Let's consult the scriptures:
"And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving" (v 10-11).
Why "in the season thereof?" Why not year round? Our bodies are designed to be a part of nature. In summer and autumn, fruit with its high sugar content gives us a chance to store fat for the winter. Our high insulin state keeps us eating it as long as it is available. Then, presumably, we lose access to sugar in the winter (feel free to chuckle at that contradiction) when we then burn off the excess stored fat. That's nature.
In modern America, however, we freely eat apples, berries, just about any fruit, all year round. True, these natural candies are loaded with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, fiber, pure water, and other nutrients whose prime purpose is to counteract and compensate for the negative effects of sugar on the body. Not only do we disregard the instruction to eat fruits "in the season thereof;" we also disregard the nutrients God packaged with the sugar, and forgo almost any potential health benefit by concentrating sugar into unnatural densities. Every part of our bodies, from head to toe, suffers as a result of this behavior. Our bodies are stuck in a permanent summer sugar craze, adding adipose tissue to prepare for a winter famine that never visits the US of A. We celebrate Thanksgiving by discarding prudence.
A Staff for Loafers?
What about grain? "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life..." (v 14). I don't need a staff to walk yet, or a cane, or a crutch, so I don't use one. Manual labor and hard farm work of the kind that early saints did in the 1800s required extra fuel. Today the Amish do such labor, and there are no obese Amish. One study on them confirmed that 3-4 hours a day of physical exertion activates an anti-obesity gene. But what about desk jockeys, earning a living by the sweat of their brain through concentration, rather than through manual physical exertion? Grain is glucose interrupted by fiber and amino acids, and in those who do no manual labor, it will cause fat deposition (unless one's metabolism is so high that one cannot gain weight, even when trying to). Asians eat rice by the bucket, but they are slim because they walk everywhere and work in rice patties daily. Such manual laborers, like rural Asian rice farmers and the Amish, need a staff to lean on, extra fuel to support extra exertion. (Athletes who do intense training also fall into this category.)
Speaking of exertion, what is the purported solution to America's health crisis? "Exercise more, eat less." This slogan is misleading, since intense exercise induces hunger more sharply than anything else I know of. Recent campaigns sponsored by well-meaning individuals to get American youngsters off the couch and moving will, I predict, end up in failure for everyone but the producers of carb-rich food. Insulin keeps fat stores from being tapped; that's why diabetics carry candy with them—because excess insulin won't allow them to use any fuel except what comes from their intestines. The kids in the exercise programs will work themselves into starvation, eat more sugar, retain their fat because the insulin never quite shuts off, possibly ruin their knees, and make a lot of money for doctors and high-carb food purveyors.
Sparingly
Now the tricky part—meat. I have changed my main fuel source from carbs to animal fat. "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger" (v. 12, 13, 15). How do you define "sparingly?" Dr. Paul Y. Hosskison explained that, during the time of Joseph Smith, massive meat consumption at each meal was not uncommon. Decades earlier, one visitor from England to pre-revolution America noted that he could not dine with the colonists without developing indigestion due to the excess meat served at every meal.
My consumption has risen as a percentage of my calories, but my total meat consumption has dropped due to low insulin levels. My total consumption of any kind of food has dropped because I no longer experiencing between-meal hunger; I eat about one and a half meals per day, and I have plenty of energy. D&C 59:20: "And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man (beasts as well as herbs); for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment (like surveying the results of a particular diet so far), not to excess (I crave/eat less), neither by extortion (i.e., selling foods that cause hunger and health problems to get wealthy)."
Skill, Judgement, Prudence, and Wisdom
These words (each scriptural) indicate the use of one's own wits in making personal health decisions. My friend who was certain that my diet was incompatible with the Word of Wisdom was comparing my actions with her assumptions based on a cursory glance at D&C 89, a socially transmitted construct largely bereft of skill, judgement, prudence, or wisdom. Much of our current dietary health information is distributed by those who sell food. "Of course our products are healthy! Can't you see the pictures of grain and little red hearts on the packages?" We have collectively swallowed these lies, along with the destructive food.
Since I began my no-carb, high-fat diet, I am reaping some of the blessings enumerated at the end of D&C 89. My teeth (bones) no longer ache from sweet food. My mind works consistently, without any brainfog, either before, during, or after meals; my abdomen has shrunk so that I can see my toes now without leaning forward; my mood swings have been replaced with emotional stability; my energy levels are not skyrocketing, but they are never lagging either (as I write this, I am operating on about six hours of sleep without feeling tired, yet I also sleep fitfully); I have lost about fifteen pounds in about two weeks. I am not saying that I have the only correct interpretation of the Word of Wisdom; I am saying that the way I feel now is more consistent with the promised results of the Word of Wisdom than when I ate foods that put glucose or fructose into my blood, or avoided saturated fats and cholesterol.
I may end up with egg on my face later, but so far I am enjoying undeniable benefits. "Health," "treasures of knowledge," absence of weariness, etc., have replaced weight issues, blood sugar issues, addiction-style cravings, and hazy cognition. I hope these trends continue. If they do, I will continue to eschew sweets and bread. Perhaps I will lose so much weight that these foods will be necessary to bring me back up to a healthy weight. But my experiences teach me that's a fantasy I should live without.
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Update: 14 July 2012
After a month of fairly stringent avoidance of sucrose, fructose, glucose, and lactose, I can report that most of the health benefits of living this way listed above still apply. However, I want to amend what I said about meat slightly. Sparingly is not tricky; moderation is easy to gauge, since God blessed me with a sensitive stomach, not to mention a lifetime of experience of how much is too much. Meat is easy to go overboard with, especially when limiting intake of carbs. I was doing that, and trying to justify it, with the above article. Insulin levels have dropped fantastically for me, resulting in healthy weight loss and marvelous blood pressure. However, I find that if I overeat meat, it still makes me sick to my stomach, and still keeps my abdomen flabby (egg on my waist AND on my face). Vegetables without appreciable sugar content are available for fairly cheap, and I find that filling up on fiber and less meat is as effective at killing my hunger as meat and dairy fat alone.
Also, a general apology for any hint of self-righteousness floating around in my articles. I am pugnacious about the gospel (a sad irony, since "disputations" are forbidden by Jesus the instant he greets the Nephites). Rather than "wrest" the scriptures to confirm a fad diet, I want to report on what actually works for me, and what does not. Humility is always the way to go.
I am pleased to report that sugar cravings are still manageable after more than a month without it. Now I need to fine-tune fat intake, meat intake, and veg intake. I joke with friends that my body lies all the time. It tells me that I will be happy if I turn off the alarm and go back to sleep; that I will be happy if I eat a package of junk food; etc. But now my body gives a less exaggerated report of what my caloric needs are. And it is pleasant when enough feels like enough.
