It is already March! Time to think about exercise, after the long, weary winter months of watching the most relentless winter weather in years, and unfolding our cramped muscles to indulge in the exercise that the Spirit of Prophecy says is the most beneficial of all exercises—WALKING! In Healthful Living, 130 it says: “There is no exercise that will prove as beneficial to every part of the body as walking.
“Action is the law of our being. Every organ of the body has its appointed work, upon the performance of which its development and strength depend. The normal action of all the organs gives strength and vigor, while the tendency of disuse is toward decay and death. Bind up an arm, even for a few weeks, and then free it from its bands, and you will see that it is weaker than the one you have been using moderately during the same time. Inactivity produces the same effect upon the whole muscular system.
“Inactivity is a fruitful cause of disease. Exercise quickens and equalizes the circulation of the blood, but in idleness the blood does not circulate freely, and the changes in it, so necessary to life and health, do not take place. The skin, too, becomes inactive. Impurities are not expelled as they would be if the circulation had been quickened by vigorous exercise, the skin kept in a healthy condition, and the lungs fed with plenty of pure, fresh air. This state of the system throws a double burden on the excretory organs, and disease is the result . . .”Exercise aids the dyspeptic by giving the digestive organs a healthy tone. To engage in severe study or violent physical exercise immediately after eating, hinders the work of digestion; but a short walk after a meal, with the head erect and the shoulders back, is a great benefit.
“Notwithstanding all that is said and written concerning its importance, there are still many who neglect physical exercise. Some grow corpulent because the system is clogged; others become thin and feeble because their vital powers are exhausted in disposing of an excess of food. The liver is burdened in its effort to cleanse the blood of impurities, and illness is the result.
“Those whose habits are sedentary should, when the weather will permit, exercise in the open air every day, summer or winter. Walking is preferable to riding or driving, for it brings more of the muscles into exercise. The lungs are forced into healthy action, since it is impossible to walk briskly without inflating them.
“Such exercise would in many cases be better for the health than medicine.” Ministry of Healing, 237, 238, 240.
Let us make a new resolution—EXERCISE!
Homemade Nut Meat
Place in Blender and whiz:
1 Cup Tomatoes or Puree
1 Cup Distilled Water
1 Cup Toasted Cashews or Peanuts
2 Tbsps. Arrowroot Powder
1/4 Cup Soy Flour
2 Tbsps. Flake Yeast
2 Tbsps. Onion Powder
2 Tbsps. Garlic Powder
1 Tsp. Sea Salt
Add 1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts, and place in tin cans 3/4 full. Cover and steam in water 2-3 hours until firm. Cool before removing and slicing.