Evaluating with Discernment

Oreos are the most popular cookie worldwide, they taste great, they make my kids and me happy - they must be o.k.!!!  From Kraftfoods website:



 

Hmmm, or maybe they are that bad... from nbc news:

 

 

 

So, just how bad are high fat, high sugar foods?

I am not writing this post to pick on Oreo cookies.  This is just a great example of how to evaluate what you read and hear with discernment.  So let's go through the steps - but let's make it more generic to include all processed high fat, high sugar foods.

1.  What is the motivation behind the groups doing the studies?  Well, Kraftfoods who makes the Oreo, the number one selling cookie in the world, is interested in profits.  They don't even try to say the cookie is healthy - they just tout the cookie's popularity.  What was the motivation of the college study?  It is important to look at both sides to make sure you understand their hidden allegiances (funding sources).  Investigating in more depth, I found this article about the study outlining the research and their funding, one source being a Keck grant.  I don't see a hidden agenda.  But don't stop here if you are evaluating with discernment.

 

2.  Does the information conflict in any way with what is written in the Bible?  One needs to read the entire Bible and study it to become familiar with what is in the Bible.  In many places of the Bible, God speaks about people being part of the world and enjoying the world's pleasures, from the people in Noah's time to those in the world when Jesus returns, and how this is not a good thing.  Two other great verses that come to mind are in James:  "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God.  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4: 4 - 5. 

3.  What are both sides saying about the issue?  I have presented a bit of information from both sides above and I also looked at many other articles.  I have previously posted an excellent article about research being done by the food industry to determine the exact proportions of fat/sugar/salt to make you crave their processed foods.  It is not by accident that these foods are so addictive.  

 

4.  What are the effects or results others have experienced?  I don't need other people's experience with this one - I know first hand.  I know that my sugar addiction is uncontrollable if I take cake out of the trash can and eat it!  I don't understand the chemical changes in my brain or know the addiction of cocaine, but I do know that sugar is highly addictive whereas God's sweeteners (fruit, dried-fruits, honey, maple syrup) are not for me.  I can eat and control how much I eat of them.  I also have seen the struggle (and denial) others have with sugar.

 

5.  After researching, pray about the matter.  I have most certainly done this part extensively on this subject.  I did not break my addiction on my own.  I know the power of the processed foods' addictiveness (sugar/salt/fat).  Just five years ago I did not know the extent of my addiction though and it has only been through prayer that God has made it very clear to me and helped me break free.  

 

6.  Oreo cookies have been around for 100 years.  Mass production of food and processing of food to extend shelf life became commonplace beginning in the late nineteenth century with the start of the industrial revolution.  While these things have been with us for some time, one can also look at the trend of health/disease over this time period and also the health/disease of other countries and peoples as "white man's" food was introduced.  I think it is quite clear to everyone that there is a strong correlation between a diet of processed foods and the general decline of each society's health.

 

This is probably not new information for you.  But I as using this example to help you understand what it means to research and evaluate with discernment. 

 

When you read an article like the college study do you ask yourself, how does this affect me?  This is key.  If you just think, "Oh, wow, that is terrible" or "Oh, but I love my processed sweets and don't want to give them up (whether it is soda or cookies or ice cream)", then you are not evaluating this with discernment. 

 

A study such as this should bring questions to your mind such as, "Do I continue to eat processed sweets because they are as addictive as strong drugs such as cocaine?" or "Do I not want to acknowledge my dependence on sugar because of its effects on my brain that are controlling me?"  If I am evaluating something with discernment, I must ask myself questions like this and then pray about the matter for clarity and strength to see the truth and act upon it.

"This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.  If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.'" Isaiah 48: 17 - 18