Angela's Lesson Helps
by Angela Williams / ga11022007

Introduction:  I actually got my undergrad in Health Promotion. So, I am pretty familiar with this topic.

Q: Name all the things that you ate yesterday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Scripture Discussion:
Put these items on the table and have the girls look up these scriptures.

Soap – D&C 38:42 (be clean, inside and out)
Clock – D&C 88:124 (retire and rise early)
Fruit – D&C 89:11 (in season)
Meat – D&C 89: 12 (sparingly)
Grain – D&C 89:14 (staff of life)
Shoes – D&C 89:20 (exercise)

Q: Why do you think Heavenly Father has given us these instructions?

Explain that there are at least three areas in which we should develop healthy habits.
1. Eat a well-balanced diet
2. Get proper Exercise
3. Get proper rest

1. EAT A WELL BALANCED DIET
Q: Did you eat foods from each of the food groups? How could you make your diet more well-balanced?

INFORMATION/ STATS:
Daily caloric intake for teenage active teenage girl = 2200 calories.
Sugar = (4 grams is equivalent to 1 teaspoon) in a serving of the food.

The average American eats about 155 pounds of sugars a year or 39 teaspoons day!*

A teenage girl aged between 11 and 14 should aim to eat no more than 54g sugar in one day (just under 11 teaspoons).

DID YOU KNOW?
1 bowl of Cheerios = 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 bowl of Total Raisin Bran = 3-4 t. sugar
1 chocolate bar = 7 ½ ts. sugar
1 12 oz can cola soda = 9 t sugar
1 can of Apple Juice = 8 ½ t. sugar
10 oz. glass of Malted Milkshake = 710 t sugar

(I brought in a teaspoon and a container of sugar and measured out each item’s sugar content).

RULE OF THUMB: Foods with 10 grams or more of sugar is considered HiGH sugar. Less than 2 grams is considered LOW.

2. GET PROPER EXERCISE
Q: What do you do for exercise? What is your favorite way to exercise? How could you make exercise a more regular part of your life?

I held up visuals of different snack foods (potato chips, slice of cake, pizza, etc) and told them how long you have to run, walk, swim, etc to work of that particular food. (I got the information from Parents magazine (I think Sept 07 issue).

3. GET PROPER REST
Q: What do you do for rest and relaxation? How well do you follow the counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 88:124?

QUOTE:
“When our appetites control us, when we neglect to keep our bodies and minds in the best possible condition, we may not be literally breaking the Word of Wisdom, but we are neglecting a sacred trust that the Lord has given to us when he gave us our marvelous bodies” (Lindsay R. Curtis, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1975, p. 21).

Have class members read 1 Corinthians 3:16–17.
QUOTE:
President David O. McKay stated: “The healthy man, who takes care of his physical being, has strength and vitality; his temple is a fit place for his spirit to reside. … It is necessary, therefore, to care for our physical bodies, and to observe the laws of physical health and happiness” (“The ‘Whole’ Man,” Improvement Era, Apr. 1952, 221).
Q: How does it make you feel to know that you are a temple of God? Any thoughts?
Q: Ask yourself: How well are you taking care of your temple?

Not only is it important for you to be healthy now, because it is these practices and habits you form now that are important later in life when you need to be healthy for others too.

QUOTE:
“Womanhood should be intelligent and pure, because it is the living life-fountain from which flows the stream of humanity. She who would pollute that stream by tobacco, poisonous drugs, or germs that would shackle the unborn is untrue to her sex and an enemy to the strength and perpetuity of the race” (David O. McKay, “These Two Together,” Improvement Era, May 1969, p. 2).

Since I am a mother to a new baby, I will discuss briefly the importance of properly caring for my own health and the health of my child.
* The benefits of proper health practices before having children (possibly emphasizing the Word of Wisdom, proper nutrition, rest, and exercise).
* The benefits of good health practices during pregnancy (including following a doctor’s counsel and taking no harmful drugs).
* How knowledge of good health rules has been and will be beneficial to her child.

TAKE AWAY:
I found these cute Halloween tins at Target in their dollar spot and filled them with trail mix and a tag that says “Eat well. Exercise Often. Sleep Tight.”

If you wanted to tie specifically the Word of Wisdom into this lesson… you could start the lesson off with this quiz and then move into the scriptures.

Quiz
• What is the Lord’s law of health usually called? (The Word of Wisdom.)
• Where in the scriptures is the Word of Wisdom found? (Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants.)
• Is drinking coffee violating the Word of Wisdom? (Yes.)
• Are there more “dos” or more “don’ts” in the Word of Wisdom? (More “dos.”)
• Does unnecessarily using drugs violate the Word of Wisdom? (Yes.)
• Does the Word of Wisdom list foods that are good for us to eat? (Yes.)
• Can you overeat and still keep the spirit of the Word of Wisdom? (No.)