GOD’S WORD FOR SEPTEMBER 4
GOD’S WORD FOR SEPTEMBER 4 ~ ~ Psalm 103:1-5~ ~“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Many ethnic cooking traditions have their origin in health considerations. Some of those traditions are so old their origin is unknown, which strongly suggests that the ancients had a very sophisticated knowledge of food and health, some of which is only being rediscovered today.
Throughout most of history, humans have not had the luxury of refrigeration or freezing to preserve food. And even these do not provide permanent storage for food. Meats, whether cooked or raw, deteriorate even when frozen. The cold simply slows down the process. Fat spoilage in meat is a universal problem.
Chemically, fat spoilage is referred to as lipid oxidation. Lipids in meat include fat and cholesterol. Lipid oxidation does more than give meat a rancid, warmed-over flavor. Researchers believe that oxidized lipids also contribute to heart disease. Japanese research suggested that ginger, common in oriental cooking, might retard lipid oxidation in meat. Armed with this knowledge, researchers investigated whether there was any connection between the common use of ginger and Japan’s very low rate of heart disease. They found that pork patties seasoned with ginger showed only one third as much lipid oxidation as unseasoned meat.
It appears that even before so called recorded history, people knew that ginger helped preserve meat and keep it more wholesome. There are many other ways people around the world preserved food before our “modern” ways came along. Many times our grandparents did things, like adding things to preserves or canning, and it doesn’t seem to make sense to us, but recently, scientists are finding the wisdom of those things.
How did our ancestors know to put these things in their food? How did they know what plants to use for medicinal purposes, and how much? It didn’t just pop into someone’s head. These things have been handed down through the generations, starting back in Genesis, with Adam and Eve surviving outside the blessed garden after the first sin, when everything changed (Genesis, chapters 2 and 3), and weeds grew for the first time, and death entered, causing everything to die and rot eventually. God had to show them what to do in this new environment. This knowledge was handed down, with some of it getting lost in direct relation to the invention of easier ways of living, but some survived to this day.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
“For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, and the cummin with a rod. Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, break it with his cartwheel, or crush it with his horsemen. This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.”
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.”
Live in the Light of Our Lord 