Life isn’t Venice Beach, but …

My favorite place on the planet is a beach just about anywhere. But one of my favorite beaches is a four-mile stretch of sand called Limantour Beach, tucked away north of San Francisco in the Point Reyes National Seashore.

For around a couple decades I lived about an hour away from that area, which turned out to be a little problematic for a beach lover like myself. The problem was that in that part of Northern California, you rarely got a warm, sunny “beach day.” It wasn’t uncommon for it to be foggy and cool along the coast for the first part of a day in mid summer!

Because of that, I would try to get down to Southern California for some beach time: Santa Monica Beach for sun, Huntington Beach for body surfing (or “boogey boarding”), and, alas, Venice Beach for “people watching.”

Venice Beach is a unique place. Just about every stripe of humanity makes its way onto or through that stretch of beach, which made “people watching” so interesting. An iconic part of the area is the famous “Muscle Beach – Venice,” featuring an outdoor gym where serious body builders come to work out … and show off. The gym website describes the scene like this:

“Muscle Beach Venice is the ‘Home of Bodybuilding,’ nestled right in the heart of Venice Beach since 1963. Some of the biggest names in bodybuilding and film including Franco Columbu, Lou Ferrigno, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane have all called Muscle Beach Venice home. Bodybuilders and bodybuilding enthusiasts flock to this outdoor gym to work out and be a part of the bodybuilding tradition …”

Both locals and tourists often find loitering by the gym entertaining, as the body builders aren’t shy about showing off and soaking in not just the sun, but the “adoration” of people gawking at the freakish muscles on men and women who spend an inordinate amount of time (even a lifetime) devoted to sculpting their physical bodies. It wouldn’t be off the mark to say that spot on Venice Beach is for “muscle worshipers.”

But life isn’t Venice Beach.

Life isn’t meant to be about the adoration or worship of the physical body.

BUT, in all things important to human beings, the physical body isn’t to be neglected, either. Yet many of us are as serious about neglecting the care and stewardship of our physical bodies as Venice Beach gym members are serious about flexing for the crowds.

At the heart of that neglect is a careless disregard of how we fuel our bodies — our nutrition.

Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, provided a snapshot of the poor nutritional habits of Americans in a 2021 report:

Many of the latest findings on the American diet are not encouraging. Almost half of U.S. adults, or 46 percent, have a poor-quality diet, with too little fish, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans, and too much salt, sugar-sweetened beverages, and processed meats.

Our additional research shows U.S. kids are doing even worse: More than half, or 56 percent, have a poor diet. Importantly, for both adults and children, most of the dietary shortcomings were from too few healthy foods, rather than too much unhealthy foods.

The largest single category of foods is carbohydrate-rich: grains, cereals, starches and sugars. In the U.S., 42 percent of all calories consumed are carbohydrates from lower-nutritional-quality foods such as refined grains and cereals, added sugars, and potatoes. Only 9 percent of calories are from higher-nutritional-quality carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, legumes and non-starchy vegetables. What’s more, the average American takes in nearly four 50-gram servings – or about 7 ounces – of processed meat per week. Processed meats include luncheon meats, sausage, hot dogs, ham and bacon. These products, preserved with sodium, nitrites and other additives, have strong links to stroke, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Dr. Mozaffarian would go on to make harsher, bolder claims about just how negligent we are when it comes to fueling our bodies:

Poor nutrition is the number one cause of illness in the United States and is responsible for more than half a million deaths per year, according to a white paper written by a panel of national nutrition experts.

“COVID-19 killed 100,000 Americans in just four months — a devastating tragedy of epic proportions. And, in just the last four months, poor diet has caused an estimated 107,000 U.S. deaths from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and 80,000 new cases of cancer. Half of U.S. adults have diabetes or prediabetes. It is also a devastating tragedy of epic proportions,” wrote Mozaffarian.

The research Mozaffarian was involved with is just a tip of the iceberg regarding research about nutrition. We’ve known for a long time that a majority of us know we’re making poor nutritional choices, but we haven’t cared enough to make any changes.

That’s why March is national Nutrition Month. It’s a time once a year where a spotlight is placed on the essential need for all people to make wise choices about how they fuel their bodies. It really does matter what and how you eat; and what and how you eat are a core component to your stewardship of the body God has supplied you with.

Before this month is over, let me encourage you to step back and take an honest and serious look at the eating practices that make up your personal nutrition habits, and if needed, to challenge yourself to care for your body better with wiser nutrition choices and practices.

Life isn’t Venice Beach. Healthy nutritional choices and habits aren’t about adoring the human body, it’s about the most basic care and stewardship of it.

Scotty