Drink Your Orange Juice

Genesis 1:29

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every … tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

Presumably, before the fall into sin, we didn’t have any bad cholesterol, or at least it didn’t do any damage in our bloodstream. The so-called “bad cholesterol” is low-density-lipoprotein. It’s called bad because it tends to cause our arteries to clog unless countered by the so-called “good cholesterol” or high-density-lipoprotein.

Based on earlier research, scientists wanted to test the idea that substances in orange juice could improve levels of good cholesterol. Volunteers had their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis during the test period. After six weeks of a low cholesterol diet, they were to drink one glass of orange juice every day for four weeks. The result was a 5 percent increase in the good cholesterol. Then they drank two glasses of orange juice per day for four weeks. The result was another 7 percent increase in good cholesterol. Then they were directed to drink three glasses per day. The result was a 27 percent overall improvement. Surprisingly, researchers found that five weeks after they stopped the three glasses-a-day portion of the experiment, their good cholesterol remained high.

We can be thankful that, in His perfect foreknowledge, God created some foods that counter the effects of sin on us. We can be even more thankful that His plan to save us from our sins was in place even before there was sin. Author: Paul A. Bartz

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for providing for all my needs, especially my need for a Savior. Amen.

Ref: Science News, 11/18: 2000, p. 327, J. Raloff, “Path to heart health is one with a peel.”  Photo: Orange juice. (PD)