Sweet Poison

Periodically through my life this question has come up: "What is happening to my body?" I remember noticing for the first time, hair growing on my toes and feeling a vague sense of disgust when I was about 11, this was followed by more alarming changes through my teenage years. Spots was a major issue for most of that time. Then there was my height; when I was about 13 everyone else in my School Class had outgrown me, I didn't make five feet until I was 15. Then by 18 I was the height I am now (give or take a bit for possible shrinkage recently). Now I look in the mirror and wonder who that middle aged bloke staring out at me is.

As I have recorded on this blog before I have recently changed my diet in response to rising cholesterol levels, cut out, or at least drastically reduced my cheese intake, massively increased my porridge intake, cut down the consumption of sweet things. My body has responded in various ways. For a start I have lost weight coming in at 11 stone or just under. That has made quite a bit of difference, involving the possible demise of some of my favourite (but far to baggy) clothes and a noticable improvement in stamina.

What has also happened is that when I do indulge in the more junk like foods, very sweet things etc. my body really does not respond well. It is a bit like putting dirty fuel in the car, there is a lot of spluttering and backfiring happening (the least said about that, the better). My body has become trained to process the good stuff, to draw out nutrition from it and when it is confronted with sugar rich, fat rich foods it tends to go haywire. I know a person who gave up smoking a while back and then had one in a stressful situation and felt sick. It is similar to that.

Wouldn't it be nice if abstinence from sin built up in us an allergy to it and we found it impossible to do? A few weeks self effort and it would be sorted. As it is, the tried and tested method of cying out to God, repenting, receiving forgiveness and daily dying will have to suffice.