Eat to live: A physician’s perspective on the powerful role of food in a faithful life

Abstract

Desperately seeking greater health of mind, body, and spirit, communities face confusing and conflicting narratives. The Church owns an opportunity to serve as a guide, revealing the intimate linkage between physical health and spiritual health. An oft-neglected topic, food is a powerful reminder of the mercy of sustenance, but our collective broken relationship with food begs for intervention. The very food we eat has the ability to promote recovery and prevent disease. Sadly, much of the modern diet does the opposite, increasing the risk for early death and disabling believers from investment in their callings. God’s redemptive message and the fruits of modern science promote clarity as we eat to heal, eat to serve, eat to celebrate, and eat to change. The Church can invest in supporting communities as they experience God’s best through nourishing daily bread and, ultimately, through the Bread of Life.