Modern living is going to be our downfall if we don't do something about it. Not too many generations ago, the average family in America lived a semi-rural existence; we were an agrarian society, rising early, eating a huge breakfast of meat, potatoes, eggs and lots of bread to slop up all that gravy. Then it was off to the fields or out on a three mile walk into the settlements to put in a good six hours of work until a pause for the mid-day meal. This usually included more meat, potatoes and bread. Six to eight hours later we indulged in the evening meal, which was hearty, to say the least. Chopping wood, spinning yarn, or tending livestock may have rounded out the evening's activities until we adjourned for five to six hours of sleep before the entire pioneer life cycle was started all over again the next day.

Very few of us can identify with this calorie-burning schedule today. Instead, we ride in a car to work, take an elevator to our office, and sit in a chair all day. At home, the most walking we may do is going from the television set to the refrigerator! Yet many of us have never changed our eating habits from those early plate-heaping days of our forefathers. You may argue that it is not really our fault; as children we were victims of over-protective parents who demanded that we clean our plates before we could leave the table. Or that as adults, today's easy availability of fast-foods and ready-made meals is the real reason we tip the scales a little more than we should. Nonetheless, the fact is that nowadays, the food you put on your plate is no longer 80% unprocessed vegetation. The typical person today has a diet that is nutritionally 40% fat and 20% sugar and alcohol. Not to mention all the chemicals and preservatives!

Now, all of this probably would not matter too much if we were only going to live for 25 or 30 years, which was the average life expectancy a few centuries ago. But today, you can plan on being around to at least celebrate your 70th birthday and personally, I plan to surpass that amount by a goodly number of years. That means by living longer, our body has more opportunity to get out of whack. Poor eating and lifestyle habits are the biggest gremlins affecting our health. Normally, a disease that takes 30 years to show up would not concern us if we only had a 25 year life span. But most of us will be around for three times that length of time, and there is where the trouble lies--especially if we have not been taking care of ourselves. Poor nutrition has been identified as a leading cause of cancer, and the link between diet and heart disease becomes stronger every day. In addition, the lack of exercise can cause a gradual breakdown of not only our physical make-up, but our emotional health as well.

In short, we can no longer eat and live as if we were only going to make it to our twenty-fifth birthday…or that may be as far as any of us will ever get! Likewise, many of us have been lulled into a sedentary lifestyle while still maintaining a farm-worker’s calorie-stuffed eating habits. Clearly, something must be done if we are to survive in both body and spirit in today’s society.

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