AMERICA, AWAKE...
YOUR DIET IS KILLING YOU!

America is a sick nation. Health care costs top a billion dollars annually and what do we have to show for it? Overall, are we, the people, getting healthier? The answer is: NO! The Standard American Diet (SAD) is killing the American public! Yes, the popular, traditional diet of meat and potatoes, eggs and bacon, soda pop and french fries, cake and ice cream, is putting us into our graves. Little have we understood how to properly feed and care for our bodies. Who would have thought that our general well-being...called health... is directly related to what we eat? For many, the connection is too obvious and too simple. Who would dare challenge what we eat, afterall, taste is so personal.

Most of us learned our eating habits when we were young. Mom and dad taught us how to sit up to the dinner table and eat. They taught us to mind our manners and eat what was on our plates. Remember? When it came to what was on the plate, it was usually mom's choice. As a rule, there's nothing like 'mom's home cooking.' If mom made it, it had to be good, because that's what mothers are all about: always looking out for the welfare of the family. However, what if mom's choices were, in reality, bad?

Nutrition is one of those understandings -or misunderstandings- that is learned through family tradition as well as so-called "professional" instruction. Unfortunately, both arenas can generate teachings that are filled with error. Who taught you the basics of good nutrition- your parents, school teachers, television, newspaper, a friend, or maybe a pastor? Much to the despair of we, the people, we have neglected to investigate the validity of our sources. We have failed to question what we are putting into our bodies. We have been a nation of consumers...all consuming the wrong things. We have been eating things that generate sickness and disease. As a society, we have been eating ourselves into the grave, destroying ourselves (as the scriptures say) for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). The fact is that proper nutrition is little known, taught, and understood in America.

It is becoming increasingly clear from scientific as well as medical research that nutrition has a direct influence on the health of the body. It is also being proven on a more consistent level that certain 'foods' contribute to the destruction of the body, that is, they help develop cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. It shouldn't take a professional to make the connection between harmful 'foods' and disease. This connection should be one of common sense, yet common sense has become a rare commodity in America. Every day most Americans are eating themselves into physical problems, many of which will result in death. Is this too shocking to be true? No, someone once said 'the truth is stranger than fiction', and certainly we are seeing the demise of a people- in this case, a nation, because of the kind of 'food' being consumed. It is sad, but true. The great deception of a poor diet is causing America to be destroyed.

What if someone were to tell you that you are malnourished? What if someone were say that most Americans are malnourished? Would you be shocked? You might think that the only malnourished people in the world are those starving in Africa. However, there is a greater percentage of starvation in America! The average American body is starving for nourishment everyday because it is being given the wrong diet! Most Americans never eat a good meal nor would they recognize one if they saw it. Our society has grown up on synthesized 'food' that has no ability to properly nourish the body. As a result, we have young people developing adult diseases and adults trying to learn how to be eternally young. We have become a nation confused in its origin and purpose. Now it's time to turn America around!

It's time, America, to examine your ways. It's time to get healthy. Your life depends upon it. As Americans, we need to think seriously about our individual health and question what we are putting into our bodies. We need to know whether the food we're eating is really food. We need to become discriminating in our tastes, lest we perish. We have been deceived long enough at the hands of the food industries, the medical profession, the television, the newspapers, the magazines, our schools, and yes, even our parents, friends, and churches. Once and for all, we need to get our diets right.

Those of us at the Living Way challenge you to read these pages and make intelligent decisions that will hopefully improve the quality of your life for the years to come. It is easy to die. Millions prove it daily. But if you want to live and live a vibrant, healthy life, there is a way that is both simple and effective. See for yourself what a diet change will do for you. Your life depends upon it!