Summary: The American diet has poisoned our bodies. The American philosophy has poisoned our souls. Of course we are depressed! Jesus offers a solution which almost no one has tried. Try it!

Why Are We So Sick?

As I write this, they are still trying to discover what could possibly have motivated a retired accountant to open fire on a country music concert, killing more than 50 and wounding more than 500. It’s so stupid. So random. So evil. We can’t find words to describe it, let alone explain it.

This tragedy is not just horrible in itself. It touches something horrible in us. As we search for a “Why?” for the crazed shooter we have a sinking feeling. We don’t have a “Why?” for ourselves. We can give no explanation for the meaning of our lives. We go through the motions of living but have no reason to live.

You can see it in our eyes. After visiting the United States, Mother Theresa said that western poverty is the worst she has ever seen, worse even than the streets of Calcutta.

One in six Americans takes an antidepressant. Among white males, the number is even higher. How can people who have so much be so miserable? Of course the brain is just like any other organ. Sometimes it malfunctions. But if one in six people need medication, surely something is wrong. If that many people came down with any other disease, wouldn’t we demand an explanation? How did so many of us get sick?

It isn’t just people on psych meds who feel this. Most medicate by distractions: Netflix, shopping, Game of Thrones, sports, church, eating, remodeling the house, Rush Limbaugh. Diversions take our mind off of our problem. They do not solve it.

The problem lies deeper. It is our toxic way of life. The American diet is killing our bodies. The American philosophy has poisoned our souls. Our bodies ache and our souls cry out. If that’s not a recipe for depression, what is? 

Our Poisoned Bodies

Most of what we call food is only vaguely food. It is manufactured in a lab. The only winners are the chemical companies which “fertilize” the fields and the pharmaceutical companies which sell drugs to treat us when we eat the Frankenfoods grown in those fields.

Julie and I have experienced the power of counter-cultural eating. For months at a time we have eaten a primarily plant-based diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, the more organic the better. When we are in this healthy mode, we steer clear of the slickly packaged food-like substances that make up 90% of grocery stores. Most of these are not foods. They are drugs. They are not created to nourish our bodies. They are formulated to give us a rush and make us addicts. By rejecting these “foods” we have lost weight, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, lessened joint pain, and increased energy. All this is good for depression.

I’m not a nutritionist and I’m not trying to sell you on any particular diet. Diet fanatics can be as weird and creepy as religious fanatics. Our approach to food is like our approach to faith. We learn everything we can and try to make healthy choices. We steer clear of dogma.

The biggest challenge is swimming against the current. Julie and I like to eat out but it is nearly impossible to eat out and eat healthy. Restaurants don’t want you to walk out saying, “Man, that was healthy!” They want you to walk out saying, “Man, that was yummy!” Julie and I have come up with our own definition of “eating out.” We pack up a healthy meal and drive to a beautiful place to eat it. We do our best to “eat out” more often. 

Lest I sound like a goody-two-shoes I must confess that we regularly surrender to temptation. My weakness is Cold Stone Ice Cream. Julie is a Baskin-Robbins girl. We sometimes fall into months of debauchery, eating what we know is killing us. It tastes so good! We’re addicted.