Health & Nutrition
Ever since high school I’ve always tried to be healthy and to exercise but, it always seems that I here my self saying "ill start eating healthy tomorrow." I want to learn how to take care of my body so that when I’m old my body will still be able to function properly also obviously to look good haha jk. So I started my quest on how to eat and exercise right. I found a website called “the food guide pyramid." I would just post the web site on here but I don’t know how. So this site shows you what to eat and how much to eat. it also provides very good recipes for healthier meals. Also, contained in this site is a guide on how to work out properly. For example you should work out at least three to four days a week, and with in that work out you should have cardio and switch off days doing muscle groups. I believe that if you stick with what is taught on this website then you will not only see results in our body but also mentally you will be happier and you will sleep better and longer at night. Heck I’m writing up my own work out plan right now along with a eating pattern I’m going to use!!!!!!!!!!
--Ashley Penney
Myths about athletes and health:
1. “A person must consume extra protein in order to build muscle.” Excess protein in your diet can cause dehydration, kidney, and liver problems.
2. “Athletes should avoid sugar before competitions because consuming it will affect their performance negatively.” Some athletes avoid syrup on their pancakes, eliminate fruit or fruit juice from their diets and drink water instead of sports drinks because of this belief. More recent studies have shown this affect to be minimal on performance. In fact, the effect of carbohydrate consumption before exercise can have a positive effect on performance. Moderate carbohydrate intake before a training session or competition is okay
3. “Only athletes who exercise for more than an hour need to consume sports drinks to replace lost fluid.” critical role of well-formulated sports drinks for athletes who exercise for less than 60 minutes. Such drinks also benefit those who exercise in hot, humid environments and those involved in stop-and-go sports such as soccer and basketball. Water is good, the editors said, but sports drinks might be better in some cases.
4. “Sweating is a good way to lose weight.” Sweating is the way your body cools itself, and weight loss during exercise often represents a loss of fluids from the body rather than a reduction of fat.
Source: Georgia Institute of TechnologySuperstitions on Food items:
1. Bread & Butter: “Bread that has been buttered can never be unbuttered. So when two people walking together are parted by something, they say “bread and butter” to be sure nothing separates their friendship.”
2. Egg: “Once an egg is eaten, it is important to break up the shell completely. If you don’t, a witch may use the empty shell as a boat, set sail in it, and destroy ships at sea.”
3. Food: “If one is given a gift of food, the container it came in must not be returned empty. To return it empty would bring hunger to the house of the giver or the receiver.”
4. APPLE: “Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.”
5. APPLE: “If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.”
6. APPLE: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” “It’s better to spend money on healthy food than on a visit to the doctor.”
7. Cure a cough: “To cure a cough: take a hair from the coughing person’s head, put it between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to a dog, and say, “Eat well you hound, may you be sick and I be sound.”
8. Lettuce: “Lettuce is believed to have magical and healing properties, including the power to arouse love and counteract the effects of wine.”
9. Lettuce: “Lettuce promotes child bearing if eaten by young women, and certain types of salad can bring on labor in pregnant women.”
10. Milk: It’s bad luck to let milk boil over”
11. Onion: “An onion cut in half and placed under the bed of a sick person will draw off fever and poisons.”
12. Onion: “A wish will come true if you make it while burning onions.”
13. Pepper: “If you spill pepper you will have a serious argument with your best friend.”
14. Salt: “Bad luck will follow the spilling of salt unless a pinch is thrown over the left shoulder into the face of the devil waiting there.”
15. Salt: “Put salt on the doorstep of a new house and no evil can enter.”
16. Salt: “Salty soup is a sign that the cook is in love.”
17. Watermelon: “A watermelon will grow in your stomach if you swallow a watermelon seed.”
18. Death: “If 3 people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.”
19. To dance in the open air, especially round a tree, on New Year's Day is declared to ensure luck in love and prosperity and freedom from ill health during the coming twelve months.
20. Sources:
ii. Superstitions
iii. Oldsuperstitions.com
--- (FOOD TABLE) -- Check it out it is pretty cool. The table shows the health benefits for different foods and the research behind it came from a science institute. The table was put together by high school students in New York
---- The following is a link that shows great literature for teaching children about nutrition. (http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/preschoolnutr/348-950/348-950.html)
Submitted by: Amber Preston
Live with Less
It’s a great value to aspire to. Return to basics whenever possible, splurging only if the moment suits your mood – but rarely out of duty. Favor quality over quantity.
Farm-fresh food fits the bill when choosing to live more simply. North Americans, as a whole, have been doing the opposite for generations: consuming more and more food made up of wasteful calories and unnecessary packaging. But, think about it: living simply is a way to joy, and good eating and good hospitality go hand-in-hand. This hospitality should extend to the whole planet. We are what we eat; and what we eat shows who we are and how we live.
By Dallin
On a beautiful April morning in 2001, Pamela Hansen decided to do something she hadn't done for a very long time. She decided to take a walk. Fearful that she would not be able to take more than a few steps with her morbidly obese body, she was desperate to focus her attention on something other than the tragedies of her life-the death of an infant daughter, the cruel and debilitating autoimmune diseases that attacked two other children, and finally the stillbirth of a son just a few weeks earlier. That first walk, which lasted just 10 minutes, was the beginning of an amazing journey that ultimately led to a 100-pound weight loss (without surgery or pills) and the fulfillment of a dream to run a marathon.
Pamela Hansen, life was not an easy one, this book is about her journey to be physically, emotionally, and spiritual stronger. I learned a lot about how the world see obese people, and how most of the time, when a person is fat, it is deeper then just they like to eat. In Pamela's case it was her outlet on her hectic life. I also learned a lot about healthy foods and exercise.
Submitted by Rachel Callister
An autobiography of Lance Armstrong titled It's Not about the Bike relates to the topic of health and nutrition. In this book, the author takes the reader through Lance's journey of overcoming cancer. Lance Armstrong was able to overcome his cancer by fighting hard for his life. This book is inspirational and teaches one that it is possible to overcome our weaknesses and make them strengths. It also teaches the importance of being healthy and fit. When we are healthy and fit it can be a great blessing in our lives because we are better able to serve those around us.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780425179611&z=y
This is a talk given by Harold G Hillam about how to be healthy, mainly in relation to Doctrine and Covenants 89
Submitted by Kim Larson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yELpGaVjN_w
Mostly I chose this particular music video because of the sound quiality. But the song fits well with the movie to. Anyway, this is a song about a family who's son is suffering from a deadly disease. The author, Mark Shultz, met the parents of this child, and felt prompted to write a song for them. Here's the original story: Mark Shultz penned the work in 1998 based upon an experience with a member of his youth group. Martin Baird, a 14-year-old eighth grader, complained to his father that his finger wouldn't bend. Several days later with no improvement, the Bairds took their son to the doctor.
Tests revealed no damage to the finger, but tragically the diagnosis determined Martin had contracted leukemia. Suddenly, the Baird family faced the rigors and trauma of intense chemotherapy along with the uncertainty of its success.
The chorus of "He's My Son" embodies the essence of a Christian parent's prayer for a sick child. Faith provides the knowledge that God hears it, but human frailty always casts a small shadow of doubt.
And the Lyrics to the song just in case you could not understand the words.
I'm down on my knees again tonight
I'm hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs your help
I've done all that I can do myself
His mother is tired
I'm sure you can understand
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes
Chorus~
Can you hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can you see him?
Can you make him feel all right?
If you can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone
He's my son
Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he'd like to be
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
He's so tired and he's scared
Let him know that You're there
Submitted by Tina Trepanier
"You the Owner's Manual" by Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
I really enjoyed this book. It is by two medical Doctor's so it is very important information we all should know about our bodies and it is written in such a way that it is easy reading to understand. For me one concern is cancer prevention. Cancer never really mattered or scared me until my mom has been diagnosed with a few different types of very serious cancer. In this book on page 333 it talks about cancer: and the live younger plan. It talks about researching your genetic line and finding out what cancer you are prone to and adjusting your lifestyle accordingly. "Keeping your heart and arteris young, your're also following a good prescription for preventing cancer." Then the book outlines different actions we can take to helping take our health into our own hands. Action1- Fight with nutrients. We need to add more vitamin D, Folate, Tomato products, Selenium, Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, burssels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower) and take your vitamins. Action 2 for cancer prevention is to get tested. Get regular exams and pyhsicals with your doctor. Self check exams are also very important.
One line it says in here I really like that I think we all should remember is, "You're responsible for your own healthy destiny. You make decisions reagarding your health everyday (fried or baked, stairs or elevator?), and you can influence how long and how well you live."
I highly recommend this book to everyone, it is a good read.
Rachel Carter
National Cancer Institute.
This is a very good site for information on cancer and treatment. http://www.cancer.gov/
It has a lot of good information that is useful for those that may have cancer in their families.
Preventing and Detecting Specific Cancers
This section provides information on prevention and detection of specific cancers, including breast, cervical, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, lung, oral, ovarian, prostate, skin, and stomach. Links offer details on genetic factors, causes, screening, key trials and contacts. Information on other types of cancers, along with treatment and diagnosis information can be found on the NCI's Cancer Information web page.
Rachel Carter
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b3bc55cbf541229058520974e44916a0/?vgnextoid=88021b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=23e8767978c20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1
While researching on nutrition I found an article that was really helpful to me, especially since I've never had to worry about planning my own meals before. It takes you through lots of things you need to know when learning about nutrition, planning meals, budgeting, etc.
Kelly Heath
This is a great website describing people's sleep needs as well as common sleep disorders people suffer from.
Jason McKenzie
Website:
mypyramid.gov is a great website to gain personal information oh how to obtain a healthy lifestyle. On this website you can find what your daily intake of food should consist of my going to my pyramid plan. It is a great information site targeted for all ages. -- Brenda Roberts
I picked a talk by President Boyd K. Packer that was in the Ensign of May 1996. It is called "The Word of Wisdom:The Principle and the Promises." It talks aboutthe word of wisdom and why it is so important in our church. He talks about how the word of wisom is all about restrictions and how young people don't like restriction, but follows that with how these "restrictions" really keep us safe from mself destruction and ruined lives. Things can that can cause these are the obvios- drugs, any kind of addictions, etc... Later, he talks about how if we keep the covenant to obey this commandment, we will be blessed. He does not promise us perfect health, but he says that the Lord will bless us with "Health in their navel and marrow to their bones." and "shall run and not be weary, and shall walk an not faint." He also urges us to "cease to sleep longer than is needful, retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary." I think that that is something very important to remeber as college students because it is so easy to go to bed early and just to sleep as long as we want to, but this is also part of the word of wisdom, it does ot just include what to eat and how to exercise. If we sleep longer than is needful, we could missing out on something that the Lord has in store for us, for example, to help someone who is in need of help or service. This talk was very inspiring and is something that we should read to remind ourselves of blessings we will receive from the Lord if we obey his commandments.
This website is great for health information. it is targeted to all ages and can help set up the recommended food intake and exercise for anyone.
The Atkins diet was and still is one of the number one diets throughout America today. Dieting is very important in keeping and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Clicking on this link you can learn more about the Atkins diet and what it provides.
http://www.atkins.com/research-library
Submitted by: Mary Fischbuch
Book : Losing It! By Melanie Douglass
This book discusses how health is not only based on our weight, but entails our mind, body and spirit. In the book she states:
"We have all seen the evil workings of the adversary, but have we ever considered that maybe the adversary is waging a war on our health? Wouldn't it be easy for him to take away our health, happiness, and self-esteem in a teachnology-laden, food-dependent world (Douglass 3)?" She suggests 5 steps for staying healthy in the book and offers some advice from an LDS perspective. She quotes Elder Ezra Taft Benson "The condition of the physical body can effect the spirit. That's why the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom. He also said that we should retire to our beds early and arise early, that we should not run faster than we have strength, and that we should use moderation in all good things...Food can affect the mind, and deficiencies in certain elements in the body can promote mental depression...Rest and physical exercise are essential, and a walk in the fresh air can refresh the spirit. Wholesome recreation is part of our religion, and a change of pace is necessary, and even anticipation can lift the spirit."
The website for the book:
Submitted by: Celeste Olsen
After a visit to the Library and Wellness Center I was able to track down an article that deals with Carcinogens (things that cause cancer). It's amazing how often we come into contact with these products or foods each day. This could serve as the base as an in depth report of things we should avoid to become healthier.
http://halifaxhealth.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-is-carcinogen.html
submitted by Aaron Olsen
STEROIDS. One of my friends is really into body building, and he has a right to because he's unbelievably ripped, but there's only one tiny problem. Last year he started using steroids to pump up his muscle! I was really dissapointed when I found out. He and I are really close so we talk about it a lot. He says there's nothing to worry about, and that he knows what he's doing, but it's still hard to me to deal with the fact that he's knowingly using illegal drugs and is ok with it. I started researching the usage of these pills, and was pretty sad with what I found. I found that they work, and work well in most cases. I don't want him or anyone else taking these things and risking the side effects that can come with them. Apparently, because of some of chemical inbalance that may occur, men can grow breasts and become really moody. I'm going to see him this weekend and I'm nervous about what has happened to his bod. Here's what can happen to you if you use them too!!
Prescription for a Healthy Nation A New Approach to Improving our Lives by Fixing Our Everyday World
Tom Farley, M.D. and Deborah A. Cohen, M.D.
I wanted to find out more about health and nutrition so I went to the library and ran a search. They have tons of books, articles, magazines, to choose from but this one book caught my attention. Not only does it cover these two topics of health and nutrition but it suggests doing more with less and brings up some really good thought provoking topics. It is also a book that brings up or points out some of the flaws in the health system, then offers ways we can fix them and improve our lives.
The book first mentions that in America we spend more than twice as much for health care than any other nation, and then proposes the question why we are among the sickest people in the industrialzed world. Another point it brings up is how are world is becoming more concerned with health by trying to prevent health problems before they happen. In the last quarter of a century there has been more health club memberships, health food stores, articles on nutrition, health and fitness magazines, and health television segments, all of this to keep our bodies healthier longer. But at the same time what is the advantage of this? The book brings up despite all that some people are doing some of our nation's statistics are barely better than some Third-World countries. The World Bank complied some of these statistics and the US ranks only 24th in the age-adjusted mortaility rate for men and 31st for women, below both Slovenia and Costa Rica. The infant mortailty rate is a mere 26th, which is twice that of Singapore and is tied with Cuba and Croatia. This is a really powerful statement that I like the most, "Our health statistics in America are gradually getting better, but that is hardly an accomplishment when other countries do so much more with so much less (Farely and Cohen, XII)."
The book introduces a new way of thinking that offers suggestions for improving our lives and a healthier nation.
Cari Berrett
Tall Tales of Nutrition
Ever wonder what tall tales there are out there about nutrition? Click this link Tall Tales of Nutrition to take you to see some interesting and bizarre tales of nutrition. You know they say, “You are what you eat.”
Americans Telling Tall Tales About Their Height - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included
SEE Link: How tall are you?
Proverbs
I also thought these health proverbs and quotes were pretty cool: Health Quotes.
Riddles
Here are some fun easy riddles about food groups Food Group Riddles; Food Riddles.
Songs about Nutrition
I
http://www.groovypyramid.com/
f you don’t look at anything else I post, check this link out Groovy Pyramid Wellness Program. Songs about nutrition (lyrics included), it is really fun!Being skinny
"I'm sure it is the same with everyone: You think it will solve all your problems if you are skinny," said Carly Fullmer, a sister two years older than Mackenzie.
She remembers standing in front of the mirror with Mackenzie as they criticized their bodies. They knew their bodies well. They knew what they liked about them and what they didn't.
Then while visiting their grandparents' home for Thanksgiving, Carly saw her sister head for the bathroom, knowing she was planning to purge Thanksgiving dinner. "I walked in on her throwing up. . . . She felt violated. I felt scared. She got mad and I was sad. It put a strain on our relationship," said Carly.
The two sisters once shared so much. They loved music, dance, books, friends and people. But within months, anorexia and bulimia took those things from Mackenzie.
Kenzie, as her family called her, spent more and more time in her room. Carly spent more and more time with friends. When Carly brought friends home, Mackenzie would immediately take refuge somewhere alone.
Carly felt guilty. She worried that her outgoing personality caused Mackenzie to be even more insecure. "I wanted to change myself . . . but it wasn't my fault," Carly said. "She tried to have a body that wasn't hers."
Perfect ballerina body
Sister Fullmer believes a turning point for Mackenzie came in high school. She played the flute in wind ensemble, had numerous honors and advanced placement classes and started taking dance for a third time. "She set herself up for failure," Sister Fullmer said. "She was doing too much."
Mackenzie also signed up for dance lessons at the private dance studio where many of her friends studied. After excelling at hip-hop and jazz dancing, Mackenzie tried ballet.
"She had never been overweight; she was 5 feet 9 inches and weighed between 140 and 145 pounds. She walked into that class and because everyone was so thin, she stood out. That was something Mackenzie never liked to do. She didn't want to draw attention to herself," recalled her mother.
Mackenzie started restricting her diet and began dropping weight. Her ballet teacher noticed and publicly praised her. She felt she had to lose more and fast. "I had no time to continue losing the healthy way — I wanted the perfect ballerina body now," wrote Mackenzie. "Since I couldn't restrict enough to lose weight very quickly, I began purging."
Mackenzie wrote that the decision to throw up was not a conscious one. "I just remember sitting at the table after Sunday dinner, feeling still hungry because I was restricting in an effort to lose weight. My mom broke out the desserts, and I couldn't help myself. I ate some thin mint ice cream and immediately felt extremely guilty. I thought about how I had ballet the next day, and how bad I would look in my leotard. My negative mind took over, and all I could think is that if I had any self-control, I wouldn't have eaten dessert. I sat, getting more uncomfortable by the second, thinking I had to do something to get rid of what I just ate."
Worried, the Fullmers found Mackenzie a therapist. During the next three years, Mackenzie would attend 40 to 45 sessions a year.
When she reached 110 pounds, Mackenzie started passing out and began to develop bizarre behavior. She would hide food in her room, which she would later binge on and purge.
The Fullmers asked their home teacher and a member of the bishopric to give their daughter a priesthood blessing. When they finished, one of the men looked at Sister Fullmer and said he didn't think the trial was over. "I was so angry," recalled Sister Fullmer. "I was so naive."
But the Fullmers didn't give up. They had a family fast. They put Mackenzie's name on the temple prayer roll. They prayed for her.
The family struggled. They wanted her to make the choice to stop the behavior, just as she had made the choice to start it. "This is a severe mental illness," Sister Fullmer said. "If we had been fast learners we may have been more instrumental in helping her get well. You cannot control. You have to love and be positive constantly. But that was hard to learn because we so desperately wanted to save her."
Mackenzie, in writing about herself said, "I can't pinpoint an exact time my eating disorder started. For as long as I can remember, I have viewed food as a negative thing. Eating too much meant weakness, and restraining one's self meant control and superiority."
Instant praise
Often, said Roger Hollingsworth, a clinical social worker at Primary Children's Center for Counseling, control can become as important as weight loss. People, he said, can feel in control of their lives when they restrict their food intake.
He knows this not only as a mental health professional, but also through personal experience. As a missionary in 1985, he got word that his sister, Kathleen, had died of anorexia.
Like Mackenzie, Kathleen had many of the personality traits that put her at high risk for developing an eating disorder. She was a perfectionist and high achiever. She was shy, had feelings of low self-worth and felt intense social pressure.
Like Mackenzie, Kathleen found inpatient treatment degrading and humiliating.
And like Mackenzie's, Kathleen's illness sent her entire family spiraling downward. Everyone, said Brother Hollingsworth, wanted to gain control, as the potential of the illness was death. The problem was, he added, "control didn't work. The anorexic is not going to relinquish control."
Families worried about a child with an eating disorder need to move away from controlling the situation to evaluating where that child is in terms of self-worth, he said. Most people with this problem, he added, tend to isolate themselves, when what they really want is to feel connected.
He said the complex nature of the disorder creates a paradox for patients.
Brother Hollingsworth said that since his sister's death — just two years after singer Karen Carpenter died of anorexia and opened the floodgate of public discussion and awareness of this illness — his family has spent countless hours reflecting.
He hopes that awareness will continue to grow, finally reaching the point where anorexia and bulimia are fought primarily through early intervention and prevention.
Few people who suffer from eating disorders get the treatment they need, he said. "Treatment is more involved than insurance companies are willing to pay."
Residential treatment
Determined to help, Brother and Sister Fullmer found residential treatment for Mackenzie. She was hospitalized the day before her high school Christmas dance concert in 1999 and then moved to a treatment center. With no experience, the family relied on the advice of experts.
However, the treatment center was not specialized for patients with eating disorders, and Mackenzie found ways to continue hers while there. The experience left her hurting and feeling much worse about herself.
After the insurance ran out, she returned home sicker than before. Mackenzie began throwing up in bushes outside their home and in plastic bags in her bedroom and car. "It made her feel like a failure," said Sister Fullmer.
Mackenzie began to avoid friends, all of whom knew about her struggles and watched everything she ate or didn't eat. She quit dance. She quit attending Church because she felt guilty. She stopped going to school. Her entire life revolved around her eating disorder.
It had taken everything from her.
"It just had such a hold on her — she couldn't break free," Sister Fullmer said. "We blamed ballet and still do. We blamed the first treatment center and still do. We blamed the insurance company and still do. We blamed the media and still do. We blamed our society and still do. We blamed ourselves and still do."
Doubting their looks
Mackenzie and her oldest sister, Adrie Fullmer Peterson, connected on a level no one else could. They loved dance with such a passion that it could be understood by only each other, explained Carly.
As a teenager, Adrie also felt pressure to be thin and developed an eating disorder. At one point, Adrie's high school dance teacher tested her students' body fat. "We want you girls to be very healthy," she told them.
For much of a year Adrie restricted her diet and occasionally purged after overeating. But her weight never varied more than a few pounds.
"I thought I could do even better," recalled Adrie.
So, she continued dancing three to five hours a day and stopped eating entirely; if she did eat she threw up.
A week later she had a seizure during early morning dance practice. Her drill teacher had just finished a course in CPR and saved her life.
"I got out of the hospital and realized that was the dumbest thing I had ever done. I prayed really hard. . . . I prayed that Heavenly Father would take the [eating disorder] away. I also had a priesthood blessing."
Adrie told her younger sisters about the experience. Carly wrote about it in her journal. Mackenzie put it far back in her mind. "She was thinking, 'That won't happen to me,' " Adrie said. "You always think it will be somebody else."
Most young women go through a period in their life where they doubt their looks, said Adrie. "I got to the point where I said, 'I am not willing to sacrifice everything for the perfect body.' "
Mackenzie, she said, never reached that point. "The further into it she got, the further away I got from understanding her. We both had eating disorders," she said. "We went two different ways. I felt my worth. Mackenzie always doubted hers."
Running out of answers
During their daughter's junior year in high school, the Fullmers again turned to residential treatment.
This time, Brother Fullmer took out his retirement to pay for the $60,000, three-month program geared specifically for those with eating disorders. (That money was part of the more than $100,000 the Fullmers spent seeking help for their daughter.)
It was there, during a family counseling session, that the Fullmers gained deeper insight in their role in Mackenzie's illness.
While role playing, Mackenzie took on the role of her father: "You are good enough to play your flute in a symphony," Mackenzie depicted her father saying. "You are so talented. You could do anything."
Realizing the intense pressure their daughter felt to excel, Mackenzie's parents responded the only way that they knew how: "We love you so much."
Loving their daughter meant giving her independence, and relinquishing control — something they were finally able to do. Still, Mackenzie didn't get better. The Fullmers were discouraged, and the experts didn't have any answers.
The experts
Experts don't agree on the causes or treatments of anorexia and bulimia. All agree, however, that young women or young men who suffer from a diagnosable eating disorder need help. An estimated 20 percent of those who suffer from anorexia die. More than 50 percent of those who suffer from bulimia report never getting better.
Diane L. Spangler, a BYU professor of psychology, said outpatient treatment can be effective, especially for those suffering from bulimia. Inpatient treatment is necessary for some who suffer from anorexia. (Mackenzie didn't respond to either.)
She conducted a BYU study — in Utah, California and Massachusetts — that found when it came to body satisfaction LDS women viewed their bodies no differently than the general population. They were "just as likely to believe their worth as a person was dependent on how they look," she said. "LDS men across the board have a higher body satisfaction than non-LDS men," she added.
The media, she explained, tell girls and women they should have a certain body type. "Young women are storing the message that the way to be good and successful is to be thin and pretty."
Sister Spangler and her colleagues also found that LDS women in Utah, where there is a concentration of Latter-day Saints, are at a higher risk of developing low body satisfaction than LDS women living outside the state. There is a perception among many Church members, she said, that "looking good means being a good Latter-day Saint."
Sister Spangler wishes all families could foster an environment in their homes that does not adhere to the thin ideal; young women raised in this environment are at a reduced risk of developing an eating disorder. Parent-child interviews can help parents learn how their children feel about themselves, their friends and their bodies. Families should serve meals with moderation; "an occasional sweet is fine," she said. Teasing among family members about a person's weight or looks should never be tolerated, she added.
The last visit
Alex Baird met Mackenzie in junior high. They both played the flute in the junior high wind ensemble and became instant friends. They spent weekends together.
From the balcony of her BYU dormitory, Alex recalled her friend's quick wit, her ability as a flutist, and her love of dance.
As high school students, the young women occasionally skipped band, instead taking refuge in their high school's vacant dance room. They would talk. They would laugh. Alex would try to do homework. Mackenzie would take off her shoes and dance.
Then Mackenzie started dancing at a private studio and Alex saw her less and less.
One weekend while going for a drive, Mackenzie confided that she had lost 28 pounds in recent months. "She told me that her ballet teacher weighed them."
At the last weighing, Mackenzie was 117 pounds. Another dancer weighed too much — 124. Mackenzie told Alex how bad she felt for her, because the teacher scolded her. Alex didn't know how to respond.
Alex felt that way often: Once when Mackenzie threw up after going to a restaurant with her friends, once when Alex first noticed Mackenzie's pale skin and dry, cracked knuckles; once on a walk in the canyons when Mackenzie told Alex she had an eating disorder.
"She got really sick and she stopped coming to band. . . . I only did so much. I didn't know when to mind my own business and when not to. I could have done something more."
But it was hard. Mackenzie was ashamed of her illness. She knew her friends were watching her. "She would come to school and she would come to lunch with us. We were all aware if she was eating and what she was eating."
Alex knew Mackenzie was frustrated; she knew she wanted to get better.
"She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. She loved her body. She could dance with it, she didn't want to hurt it. . . . I would just listen and try to understand what she was saying the best I could and try to tell her that I was hoping and praying she would get better."
Mackenzie spent most of her last months on earth in her bedroom, a haven and a hell. There, in the place she felt most comfortable, she stored the food that she used to support her eating disorder. It was a constant reminder of the thing she hated most about herself.
Friends called, but Mackenzie usually didn't answer. She felt ugly and strange. She felt like a service project.
Then Sister Fullmer called Alex: Mackenzie was in the hospital again and wanted her to visit.
At first glance, Alex knew something was really wrong. Mackenzie lay in a hospital gown that did not hide her now 80-pound body.
"It hit me that she was really sick and that she was probably not going to get better," said Alex. "I sat next to her and I held her hand and she said, 'Tell me, Alex, what do you think about yourself? I really want to know what you think about yourself.'
"I didn't know how to answer the question for her. It went right over her head that I was OK with myself, that I enjoyed life. I said a prayer and walked out."
Alex said at that moment she realized Mackenzie was out of her reach.
Just before Christmas Alex saw Mackenzie for the last time. They talked on the phone a few weeks later. "I am still sick," Mackenzie told her.
On Feb. 12, a friend told Alex that Mackenzie had died a day earlier. That night Alex drove to Salt Lake City and visited the Fullmers. They gave her the Christmas gift Mackenzie had for her.
It was a framed picture of a little dancer.
This is just an article the my Womens Health Teacher gave us about the church's view point on eating disorders.
-Candice Forbush
When i think of Nutrition and Health i always seem to refer back to eating disorders. Throughout High school I learned a lot about anorexia and bulimia and how it starts and how quickly someone’s life could end because of it. I found this book on Amazon The Happy Room by Catherine Palmer, I haven’t read it yet, only an excerpt, it is about a woman, who is facing many problems of her own then comes to realize her sister was diagnosed with anorexia. I think that disorders like this can happen to anyone. I've learned over time that it starts off with a simple, "Maybe if i skip this one meal", then escalades to not eating at all. The picture below, though cruel, it shows how people could end up. A lot of the time people believe they have to be perfect in the sight of the world; they have to be thin in order to be pretty. I'm so glad that we all have the gospel in our lives, so we know that what the world thinks and what God thinks are complete opposites. Yes, God wants us to be healthy, by means of eating well, exercise and good sleeping habits as well as being emotionally healthy. Anorexia or even Bulimia do not help someone stay healthy, it makes someone so thin they are unable to function. These eating disorders are not only physically challenging but they are a mental illness, they people who has anorexia or bulimia sees themselves as being overweight even though they may be only 80 lbs. It is important for people to focus of what we think of our selves having the Lord in mind, and not what other people think of us. It is us who are being tested to return to our Heavenly Father, we must not get caught up in the things of the world. If we do that, we may lose track of why we are really here... to return to our Heavenly Father.
Submitted by Elisa Guzman
I am attaching a link that will take you to a list of poems on health. I found some of these poems to be quite unique and interesting. In reading them
realized that a lot of times our health problems do not deal with what we eat or how often we exercise but that they are in out mind. The problems with health that we often face deal with our view of ourself. They deal with allowing our mind to controle out bodies, and therefore not having enough controle over your mind to not allow yourself to tare yourself down. This brings to mind a great movie called "A Beautiful Mind" About a man who has schizophrenia and how he deals with it. Its a very interesting movie. And I have no clue why this won't let me left align my typing but it won't so sorry about the weirdness and confusion. Here is the Link. http://www.poemhunter.com/search/?q=health&w=title
Brad Bartholomew
I just thought this was funny.
-Candice
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zbpsbc-7vGQ
This is a link to a weight loss commercial from the 50’s. The issue of weight has always been around in our culture. It is sad to see what lengths people are willing to go through in order to appease society. When does one draw the line? And if this line already exsist why do people keep crossing it continually?
Kendall George
I have a text book called a fit and well way of life. It covers not just exercise but nutrition as well. if any one wants to look at it they are more than welcome to it. Just let me know so I can bring it to class.
Danielle RowLee
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