By Carter Shearer We should not be so quick to accept the claims of fad diets and follow them, instead we should find the research that has been done and make an informed decision based on what we find. Dieting has been around for a long time, with the first recorded diet being, "An Essay of Health and Long Life" by George Cheyne back in 1724. He was one of the first dietitians, and he managed to return to being healthy again after using his diet to overcome obesity. The 1800's was when dieting began to really come into it's own. William Banting wrote "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" which became an incredibly popular diet plan which was widely used. This writing was important because it has remained relevant to this day and made dieting something that was trendy and cool. Today, in the 21st century, dieting has blown up tremendously. There are hundreds, if not thousands of diets, all easily accessible to us by way of the internet. The issue we run into today is that so many popular diets overstate the benefits of the diet, and never speak of the possible downsides. While most diets are effective for losing weight if followed consistently, it is important for the public to be informed scientifically on a diet they wish to pursue so that they are aware of possible risks and side affects.
Dieting has become a common practice in our society.
During the 20th century, with the rise of the entertainment industry, namely movies and television, physical image began to become a huge fixation for our society. Magazines showing off models and actors and actresses at every checkout stand showed the public the "perfect" figure. We have been told what we should aspire to look like and it has become ingrained in us. To achieve this, many people began to create extreme eating plans or diets which would help people to lose weight and create their own "perfect" body. The problem with this is many were created not by scientists who understand how the body works, but by people trying to make money. Diets plans have made people extremely rich over the years. The consumers of these diets buy into it hoping they get the same results they see on the commercials where people have lost incredible amounts of weight. Often times these diets have very negative side affects to them if people are not careful.
Two themes from the reformation that apply to this fad are sola fide and sola scriptura. Sola fide refers to the ideology that faith is all that is required to achieve salvation. Sola Scriptura refers to the ideology that the scriptures contain the keys to salvation. In the reformation these were competing ideologies. In this situation they still compete. I would apply the idea of sola fide to the followers of fad dieting. They believe the diet works and trust that if they keep at it they will achieve the results they want. If they believe in it, it will work. I would apply sola scriptura to scientists who understand how the body works and how these diets can affect it. They believe in the "book" or science which gives us an understanding of how diets can harm, or help the body. Those who are in the sola fide camp so often don't research and look into the science behind the diets and don't understand possible dangers lurking behind the hope of weight loss.
Many diets do work and can help us become healthier, but the obsession of looking perfect and losing weight can lead people to blindly follow diets and ignore potential dangers.
We have all heard of trans fat and it's very negative effect on health. There was a big public scare about it and people didn't want it in their foods anymore. Well sadly it hasn't gone anywhere. Food industries who use trans fat still label it on their products as hydrogenated oil. This only takes a quick wikipedia search to find that the two are the same, but the average consumer will not bother. They will see there is no trans fat in their product and happily enjoy it, not knowing they are consuming something they would never if they were more educated. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat#Health_risks)
GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) in food
GMO's in food are a hotly contested topic in the food world. Many consumers and the media have blamed GMO's for a vast array of diseases and problems in nutrition today. Others claim that GMO's are harmless and often help the world, especially in low income areas. GMO's help crops to resist pests, have added nutritional benefits, and a handful of other benefits. GMO foods are widely used in the food industry and almost everyone consumes them daily.
(See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food#Derivative_products)
Keto Diet
Every few months there is a new hot diet to try. A very popular diet right now is the Keto diet which consists of limiting or eliminating all carbohydrates and eating a very high fat and protein diet. Doing this makes your body run a process called ketosis which burns fat for energy and produces ketones. Many hail it as a fat burning and weight loss wonder. However there are significant health risks that can occur from this diet, especially as the ketones grow in number in your body.
I have been very interested in food science for many years and have always been very frustrated with fad diets. Most of them are used to just make money and they hype up the diet so that people will buy into it. Some of these diets to have some legitimacy to them. The Keto diet does really burn fat, but people need to be aware of the possible side affects and health problems associated with it. Diets can be very dangerous if the dieter is ignorant of the science of the diet.
What could be more honorable and glorious than to fight for one's country? To go out into the world and fight the enemy to protect those you love? To fight side by side with your brothers and bring victory home to your country? We all have at one time or another fantasized about living out an adventure filled with battles and excitement where we emerge victorious amidst terrible odds and we get to go home to those we love. My childhood was full of these fantasies, reenacted countless times in play with my brothers. But childhood fantasies are far from what happens in war.
Dulce Et Decorum Est is a chilling poem which gives the listener a small taste of the horror of war. This poem bares us the bitter truth that war is not an adventure, it is not romantic, it is not a fantasy. The extended title of the poem is Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori which translates to "How sweet and honourable it is to die for one's country." This poem calls out all who dare call war romantic. It strips away the adventurous facade and shows us the grit and gore and horror found within. The author doesn't seek to denigrate the soldiers who fight for their country, for surely there is honor in that. But he denigrates those who pretend to these men who are signing up for war that it will be a holiday, that they will have their own chance at adventure.
We as citizens of a free country should always be grateful for those who have fought for our freedoms. We should honor them, and part of how we can do that is by understanding what they had to go through. We need to get the romantic notion of war out of our minds and understand its ugliness.
Growing up, I had a fascination with Edgar Allen Poe. I was too young to understand his work at the time, and barely read or listened to any of it. I'm not sure why I was fascinated with him, but I was. His name had weight to it, it carried with it mystery, the macabre, and a darkness that should have scared me away, but instead drew me in. Today I think I understand why I was fascinated by Poe. The one story I remember by Edgar Allen Poe is, "The Raven".
This dark poem tells of a man, who in mourning for his deceased love Lenore, finds himself in his chamber late at night. An ominous tapping from outside his chamber startles him, and as he seeks to find its owner he discovers a raven who enters the room. Curious at first, the man questions the raven, seeking to learn the name of his new companion. To his surprise the Raven responds with "Nevermore". Fascination rising, the man continues to question the raven, each inquiry more serious than the last. To each the Raven responds, "Nevermore". By this grim declaration he is told that he will never see again his lost love and that he will never have respite of the pain of losing her. As the poem progresses he descends into madness, tormented by the raven who will leave him, "Nevermore".
Edgar Allen Poe published this poem in 1845, and two short years later his wife died. Two years after that Edgar himself passed away. This poem seemed to foreshadow the remainder of Poe's life. "The Raven" is a masterfully crafted poem which gives us a glimpse of the darkness within each of us and in the world. I feel as though the raven in this story represents our own demons, deep within us, that want us to fail, that want us to grieve and suffer. If we engage our demons at the wrong time or in the wrong way, they can pull us down into the depths of misery and despair. We can break ourselves if we aren't prepared for the darkness inside of each of us. Like the grieving man in the story who curiously engaged with the raven and soon found himself shattered and broken even more than before, each of us deal with our own hardships and losses and we too can engage with our own ravens. But when we do we walk the razors edge between madness and sanity.
The mysteriousness and eerie feeling in this poem connect with me because I have those feelings in myself. I have suffered loss and I have let myself descend into darkness before. I enjoy this type of art not because I like those feelings, but because they are part of me and I need to recognize them and see them for what they are. We all need to stand up to our own ravens and not let them define how our life will go, or how it will end. We need too shoo the ravens within us and give heed to them "Nevermore".
I highly recommend you watch this video in the dark on full screen to get the full effect of this poem.
Something Big: The beauty in the random The thing about nature that has perplexed me forever is how it is so random and yet so beautiful. The way leaves fall from trees can't be replicated by a man. It would look unnatural. But when a tree sheds its leaves it makes beautiful shapes and patterns on the ground. No two snowflakes are alike, but all similar and beautiful. Mountains in their grandeur differ wildly and from one to the next, but all are awe inspiring. The bark on a tree, grass on a lawn, even the dirt behind your house. It's random, non uniform, and yet incredible to look at. Nature has a way of captivating the eye with its mastery of making random look beautiful.
Something Broken: Could someone please tell me whats wrong with my body? Why is it always something weird? Something Strange? Something unknown. I've lived a mostly healthy life, but the medical problems I have had have been odd to me. I've had shingles as a 24 year old (the average age of those with shingles is over 50), Lyme disease, and other skin conditions which numerous doctors couldn't diagnose. Looking around I see people with the flu, or strep, or some other common illness. Not me! When I get sick, I find something weird to get sick with, and I don't understand it.
Something Artistic or Man-Made: To Sleep or to Paint? I like to sleep, I think everyone does, or at the very least everyone needs to. However, when my artistic side makes an appearance (and when it does, you better beware) I seem to lose the need for sleep. I love to paint and when I start I can't stop. There have been many nights when I paint until the morning. One time years ago I stayed up for about two days straight, painting nearly nonstop. When I'm in the middle of it, I don't even feel tired. I just have this drive to progress and finish what I am working on. I don't know how this works or why. However, this inexhaustible energy which fuels my painting disappears the moment I stop. I have woken up many times in my chair or on the floor because of this.
Something Mysterious: Shadows Walking through an empty building on a guard patrol, there is nothing to report but empty rooms and dead silence. This should instill calm, knowing everything is ok, but walking through this dark empty building at 1 A.M. does the opposite. I feel anxious and jumpy, surrounded by shadow, hearing only my footsteps and the soft buzz of the emergency exit lights. What is it about the dark that causes a fear the cuts us to the core? What is in the shadows that we are so afraid of?
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a chilling story of a dignified respectable man who manages to separate his personality into two, his good side, and his evil side. The story plays with the idea of what happens when man has to much freedom. Dr. Jekyll creates a monster of himself and begins losing control of his humanity because of his experiments.
There is good and evil in all of us. What we choose defines us.
This story is fascinating because it explores freedom, good, evil, and agency. Dr. Jekyll splits himself and becomes two identities, the other being Mr. Hyde. Mr Hyde is the evil, base, carnal, animalistic, and instinctual side of Dr. Jekyll, where Jekyll retains the dignity, goodness, and well mannered behavior expected in a civilized society. This novel tells us the story of this man and what happens to him, and I very much look forward to reading it myself and learning more about it. From my brief research on the book thus far I've had some interesting thoughts.
I feel as though this story can be applied to each and every human. Each one of us has an internal battle that is constant between our conscience and our instinct. In a religious realm we are constantly choosing whether we will follow God, or lower ourselves and follow the Devil. However you choose to view this, we all make constant choices that fuel our good side or our evil side. We have the agency, as autonomous beings, to define our life and what we will be and who we will become. For many, the path of natural desire, instinct, lust, and self servitude is easier and more enticing. For others, the diligent quest of self mastery and goodness is the end goal.
But each of us has moments on both sides. Wether we are seeking evil or seeking good, we still make choices which fuel the other side. We need to be careful as we make our choices. If we let our evil sides have to much freedom, we, like Dr. Jekyll, can lose control and our Mr. Hyde will prevail. We have individual liberty to make our own path and to choose good or choose evil. What is beneath your surface? Dr. Jekyll? Or Mr. Hyde?
We live in a politically charged time where many feel they are not represented by our leaders. They feel that there is a disconnect between our values and the values of those in charge. John Locke said, "Men being... by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this condition and subjected to the political power of another without his own consent." We, as humans, have natural rights such as freedom, equality, and independence. In a society we often give up some of these rights so that we can live with safety, stability, and order. We give up part of our rights in a hope that our society will benefit us and reflect our beliefs. By living in a society we choose to be governed by it. While we live here we choose to be governed by our leaders. Now this becomes a problem when our leaders do not represent us and our beliefs. We may feel that too many of our rights are being taken.
John Locke goes on to say, "When any number of men have so consented to make one community or government, they are thereby incorporated and make on body politic wherein the majority have a right to act and govern the rest." If we as a people are disenfranchised with our leadership we have a right and obligation to act. In our case this means to vote. The majority governs the society, and if a majority want a change, they can achieve it. John Locke believed that there was power in people, and I believe that too. We may be terrified by the state of our country, but unless we do something, we just allow it to govern us. By taking a stand and voting one can make a difference and begins to take more of his rights back into his own hands and make a change in the way society is governed. People choose to be governed, and can also choose how they are governed. Let's all choose how we are governed and vote for something better.
It is a difficult thing to stand up for what you believe in. It is even more difficult to do so when the people who you once trusted are the ones against you and against what you believe in. Martin Luther was an incredibly brave man who held to what he believed in. Luther witnessed the Catholic Church straying from his beliefs and all he had learned and come to trust in. He saw them stray from Christ. Because of this, on October 31, 1517 Luther shocked the world with his 95 Theses. He played out where the church had strayed, despite how controversial he knew this would be. Martin Luther would be excommunicated for these thesis and other writings he produced. He would be kicked out of the church he once loved. But didn't fear what would happen, he did what he needed to do because of his moral compass.
We all have a moral compass within each of us. Some call it the conscience. Some would call it the light of Christ, others the promptings of the Spirit. Whatever it is inside of us that tells us to follow what we feel is right, we all have it. To be true to oneself despite what other men will do to you is a very honorable thing. Luther changed the world with his courage. We all will have opportunities in out lives to stand up for what we believe. We all can create a change in the world by doing this. It may not be on such a grand scale as Martin Luther, but we can create change. And change is good when guided by morals.
In the process of reading about explorers during the Renaissance voyaging out to "Brave New Worlds" and experiencing new peoples and cultures I pondered on what may have prompted their voyages. Governments surely dispatched some for reasons such as trade or imperialism. Others were prompted by a desire to experience new things and bring that knowledge back to their homes.
We all are explorers and adventurers facing our own Brave New worlds
Continuing on with this thought process I thought of others who left their homes to venture to new places and thought on their reasons. I ended up in America in the 1800s where Manifest Destiny was in full swing. Manifest Destiny was an attitude that America was a virtuous country who had an obligation to bring this virtue to the world and that this mission was divinely appointed to them from God. One of the big outcomes of Manifest Destiny was the settling of the west. I feel this expands the theme from the Renaissance of a Brave New World. While those who were settling the west weren't traveling oceans, they were expanding into their own new worlds and bringing American traditions with them. They were expanding their country and proliferating its values in new areas. Whether is was right or not for these people to spread and often force American culture onto the areas in which they settled is a discussion for another time. But their manifest destiny mindset and them traveling into their own "Brave New World" is something I think many people can relate to.
Many people grow up being taught values and principles which they hold close. In my own case, I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints and grew up with a specific set of beliefs and morals. I served a mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in a way went out with a manifest destiny mindset, feeling I had a mission from God to bring those beliefs and morals to others. I ventured out into the unknown, ready for new experiences and too meet new people, all the while desiring to bring my beliefs to them. I think many people have experiences and beliefs that connect them with the theme of A Brave New World and Manifest Destiny.
Knowledge has shaped the world into what we know today. Obtaining knowledge has always been one of the biggest pursuits of mankind. Throughout history however, knowledge was often restricted to the upper class and those with power. Knowledge was used to control those without it. The Renaissance did wonders to break this cycle, especially with the advent of the printing press. Knowledge became more affordable and accessible. The majority of people could access what was once forbidden to them, and people feasted on it.
A man I was very impressed with from my readings on the Renaissance is Aldus Manutius because of his generosity and his desire to disseminate knowledge for the benefit of man. He was a book manufacturer who created with pride beautiful books, but sold them at an affordable price because he wanted others to receive the blessings of education. While this was his business, he made a living while being generous. Aldus' attitudes and actions, from what I read, towards mankind made him a very honorable man. His example should be followed today.
In thinking on this, I look at my own experiences and see how I have been gifted an education. Education has been generously given to me by my parents, the government, as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Church truly understands the importance of education, and like Aldus, wants to distribute knowledge at an affordable price so that everyone has an opportunity to rise above their current state in life. The Church blesses thousands with an education at an incredibly affordable price.
Knowledge allows people to live a more full life. It brings fulfillment and happiness to those who hold it. It also encourages more growth. Once people get knowledge they want more, and this leads to advancements in society. If we want a society that succeeds in all aspects of life, education should be easily accessible to the people. Education is vital for the betterment of mankind.
The most fundamental attribute that all mankind is given is the ability to choose. We have the gift of agency to choose the path our life will take. We may choose evil, we may choose good, the choice is ours. This gift from God allows us to become a being of conviction and resolve. We, through action, can mold our life into what we desire by acting, rather than be acted upon. We have a hand on the steering wheel of our destiny because of the gift of agency. Agency has led to some of the greatest good on earth. Medicine, technology, and the wealth of knowledge that blesses us every day is because someone chose to learn and act on their knowledge. The world we live in is only possible because of choice. This wonderful gift is a double edged sword, however. While many, if not most people, use their agency to choose good and try to improve their life and surroundings, others do the opposite. Throughout human history men have chosen evil and acted in ways to harm others and the world at large. This is a terrible fact of life, and while we wish people would choose good, this will not always be the case.
There are many choices before us, and we are free to choose.
Many wonder why God allows terrible things to happen. I feel as though it is because he respects and honors agency to such a degree that he lets people choose for themselves what they will be and do. Not only this, but good and evil work together in such a way that because of each, we know the other better. By contrast of experiences, our capacity to grow increases. Our joy can increase as we have come to know sadness. While it is a nice thought to live in a world free of calamity and sorrow, evil and hate, we gain a more true understanding of our humanity by seeing good and evil around us. By living around evil, opportunities arise for mankind to rise up and become honorable, heroic, and good. Agency is a great gift. We truly can forge our futures with it. As Pico della Mirandola said, man "...is granted to have what he chooses, to be what he wills to be." And what a beautiful thought that is.
A society free of war, contention and all manner of strife and at the same time, being filled with all the best parts of humanity, ranging from art to engineering is an appealing notion. Who wouldn't want to live in a place where there is no want of food, where one wouldn't need to worry for their children's safety, and where one can pursue art or writing or music instead of taking a sword up for the defense of the state. Utopia's have always had a place in the hearts and minds of the great thinkers. A place where one is free to think and craft ideas has a nice ring to it, but is it as good as it seems? Are there problems in this problem-less society?
Adversity is a necessary part of life, it allows for personal and national growth. Competition and a need to provide urge thinkers and engineers to invent and create business. In a society with all needs being met, where would one receive the prodding to push the bounds of humanity. With endless comfort and safety, where could man grow? A Utopia is a nice idea, but mankind requires adversity to reach their full potential. Just as coal would never become a diamond if left to sit on a pillow, mankind would never amount to something more beautiful if left unchecked by adversity.
Dieting has been around for a long time, with the first recorded diet being, "An Essay of Health and Long Life" by George Cheyne back in 1724. He was one of the first dietitians, and he managed to return to being healthy again after using his diet to overcome obesity. The 1800's was when dieting began to really come into it's own. William Banting wrote "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" which became an incredibly popular diet plan which was widely used. This writing was important because it has remained relevant to this day and made dieting something that was trendy and cool. Today, in the 21st century, dieting has blown up tremendously. There are hundreds, if not thousands of diets, all easily accessible to us by way of the internet. The issue we run into today is that so many popular diets overstate the benefits of the diet, and never speak of the possible downsides. While most diets are effective for losing weight if followed consistently, it is important for the public to be informed scientifically on a diet they wish to pursue so that they are aware of possible risks and side affects. 
