Ryan, Author at Arthur's Court

Alright, so you may have noticed, if you’re a neurotic Facebook/Internet stalker like I am that I have been on a documentary kick over the last several months. I’m not sure why this is, perhaps it’s because I really like to learn, research, study, whatever. Whatever the reason, I have come across a body of knowledge that every seems to sense, but very few seem to be giving any of it credit. It reminds me of the McDouble, fries and shake I grabbed on the way home from watching Super Size Me ((http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/super_size_me/)). It’s the “well, ya only live once, so may as well enjoy myself/what I eat” mentality ((http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/28.7?lang=eng#6)). I know I am not the only one to have thought, “yeah, I know my diet’s probably not the best, but I have no idea where to start,” so any enthusiasm I experience quickly fades away like the seeds dropped by the wayside in ever so telling parable found Matthew 13 ((http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/13)).

I have been battling what I feel is an uphill fight for quite some time now. In 2007 I cried when I read accounts about those who have ADD in a magnificent book by a doctor with ADD called Driven to Distraction. I felt validated and deeply understood for the first time in a very unique way. Just prior to that reading I had gone through what I felt was a diagnostic nightmare; Sitting down for ten minutes, telling a doctor that prescribes ADD meds that I didn’t apply myself in school and that I lose my keys sometimes seemed a rather subjective means of determining that I need a schedule II controlled substance ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act#Schedule_II_controlled_substances)) & stimulant pumped into my brain. Perhaps one day we’ll look back and say, “Man! What were we thinking!?” kinda like we have with the barbaric practice of sticking a rod into someone’s brain & destroying functioning in an attempt to alleviate undesirable symptoms, called a lobotomy.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not placing judgments on anyone who is using or has used psychotropic drugs. I’m just saying that I struggled that day I walked out of the doctor’s office. I debated whether or not to take the prescription I received. I have gone back and forth since then numerous times. At times I feel like I just want to have clarity, I want to push a button and make everything better. It’s in those times the call to go the drug route seems to have particular appeal. I have to admit, Dr Daniel Amen & Dr Ed Hallowell have both become two of my heroes, but both of them give the go ahead to use Adderall, etc. They both talk about other options, but neither advocate a change in diet to absolutely set things back to normal. I guess you’d call their advise the moderate or middle ground, not too extreme either way. Hard to get criticized too much there.

I have started many journeys to maintain focus on the things I feel passionate about and have gotten sidetracked more times than I can count. Over the past two years I’ve been interested in the world around me. A small group of us started a little study group to learn about the principles of freedom that led to the founding of our nation. It has been an amazing ride. I have listened to, read, discussed and debated many topics & now wish all would take the opportunity to do the same. Well, I believe it was that forum that led me to seeking more and more about how the world works and what’s behind the curtains so to speak, the things that we take for granted and assume will always be as they are. Well, that’s what all this is coming to? Diet.

Fast forward to summer 2010. I saw a movie called Food, Inc (). I believe it intrigued me because of the impact that Super Size Me had on me. I watched and was in awe. The food I eat doesn’t really come in most instances from where I would think. There’s a whole system in place to feed us not nutrition, but convenience. I think I took away from that movie just what kind of impact a large scale, pressures-driven system can have on our individual worlds without us ever knowing it. I of course had come to realize from our study groups that a similar thing occurs at times in government, but my understanding was now expanding into a new area.

Then about two & a half months ago I stumbled upon a video called The Future of Food ((http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food)). It took Food, Inc. to another level as far as the latent affects of our food system goes. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a contributor to the “obesity epidemic” that you’ve probably heard about a hundred times about was an outgrowth of government subsidies of corn (King Corn). I recently talked to my good friend Mike who steered me towards a Princeton study that showed rats given HFCS gained weight. Upon further investigation it appears that fructose, unlike sucrose, doesn’t trigger the body to tell you that you’re full, it then needs to store the excess energy it’s getting as fat. ((http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/))

Well, this one little insight probably doesn’t mean much outside the context of on last thing. All these videos, including some I failed to mention (about fluoride, water quality, air quality, autism, etc) finally struck something in me deep enough to spur me to action. As I tweeted lasted a bit ago ((http://twitter.com/#!/kingryanarthur/status/18064987251544065)), I started a diet plan that has called for the elimination of not just HFCS, but hydrogenated & partially hydrogenated oils, white flour/rice, sugar, processed/packaged foods, alcohol and caffeine. Well, I thought I had a head start because I had already eliminated caffeine from my diet back in high school and I don’t drink, but I’ve already had some cravings for the sweets that I love so much.

This is the first time I’ve aimed to address a complete overhaul in my diet. And while I have come to believe this diet can help address all sorts of ailments, I am personally seeking a greater ability to focus and turn down distractions. I am not seeking to hand away my agency, on the contrary, I see this as part of an active agency and choice to live a healthy life.

A couple last thoughts from what I have come to recognize as true principles:

“The Spirit refines our natural sensitivities” ((Key to the Science of Theology: https://www.ryanmendenhall.com/blog/2009/06/13/the-spirits-refining-power-parley-p-pratt-key-to-the-science-of-theology.htm)) and our bodies are the houses through which the Spirit can speak. Elder Boyd K. Packer says in one of my favorite concepts from the Temple Prep Manual ((http://lds.org/manual/endowed-from-on-high-temple-preparation-seminar-teachers-manual/lesson-2-we-must-be-worthy-to-enter-the-temple?lang=eng))

“What you learn spiritually depends, to a degree, on how you treat your body. That is why the Word of Wisdom is so important.

“The habit-forming substances prohibited by that revelation—tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco—interfere with the delicate feelings of spiritual communication, just as other addictive drugs will do.

“Do not ignore the Word of Wisdom, for that may cost you the ‘great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures’ promised to those who keep it. And good health is an added blessing” ((in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 78; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 61))

Dallin Oaks said:

“The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings. When a person requested a priesthood blessing, Brigham Young would ask, “Have you used any remedies?” To those who said no because “we wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed,” President Young replied: “That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and [then] to ask my Father in Heaven … to sanctify that application to the healing of my body.” ((http://lds.org/liahona/2010/05/healing-the-sick?lang=eng&format=conference))

Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.” (())

Could this just be another thing that Ryan tries before moving onto something else? Sure. But it could also be one of those things that I start off with, slowly at first, grasping for stability as a baby learns to walk, and then placing a bit here and a bit there until I’m in a whole different place of understanding. It feels like the later.

Hope you enjoy some of these as much as I did. Keep posted, I’ve already watched & read many more things since I originally wrote this post.