Hey y’all, and welcome to Monday Manna!
Tomorrow we’re publishing a piece on Halloween that will probably cost us some unsubscribes and unfollowers.
That’s okay. It’s expected.
Halloween is only the opening act of something much bigger, and it starts this week…
Our family of nine, suited up as the Incredibles — always a crowd favorite at our local church’s Fall Harvest Festival.
Dressing up was never the problem.
What October 31 asks our children to celebrate is…
Welcome to Sugar-Bomb Season
The sugar bomb doesn’t arrive in one day. It builds for months, one “special occasion” at a time:
Pumpkin spice lattes
Halloween candy
Thanksgiving pie
Christmas cookies
New Year’s drinks and treats
By the time the season is over, most Christians have been eating white sugar every single day for three months… and calling it “celebration.”
Meanwhile, all we hear about are back-to-school germs and the flu that peaks when the weather turns cold. Even in Norway, a country that knows a thing or two about cold, flu outbreaks usually start around Christmas and New Year’s.
Yet nobody seems to connect the holiday sickness with the holiday treats. The “experts” never talk about what all that sugar may be doing to the body’s defenses.
Here’s what they’re not telling you. A famous human study once showed that a 100-gram dose of simple sugar (about what you’d get in two and a half cans of soda) significantly reduces the ability of your neutrophils to engulf bacteria.
Neutrophils are your frontline immune cells, the first responders God designed to find and destroy invaders.
And the effect was still measurable five hours later!
So your holiday sugar bomb doesn’t just add to your waistline. It slows down your first line of defense, right in the middle of flu and cold season.
Now, a moderate amount of honey and natural sweeteners is one thing. Honey is a Biblical superfood:
“My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.” — Proverbs 24:13
But the very same book also says,
“If you have found honey, eat only enough for you.” — Proverbs 25:16
In that study, even honey slowed the neutrophils down at a 100-gram dose (nearly 5 tablespoons), so God’s wisdom on “only enough” was there all along.
That’s why we don’t buy into the “all things in moderation” lie, and neither should you.
You don’t want a “moderate” level of immune suppression from sugar.
You don’t want a “moderate” level of sickness because it’s flu and cold season.
You don’t want a “moderate” habit of daily sugar sabotaging your health.
Sugar is in your medicine, your “all-natural” gummies, and your packaged and processed foods. Sugar is everywhere.
The last thing your body needs is three months of holiday bingeing on top of all that, and it all starts this Saturday with Halloween.
That’s why tomorrow’s Halloween piece matters so much to us. We know it may cost us some followers, and we’re at peace with that:
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” — Galatians 1:10
So keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow.
This is your sign to get ahead of sugar-bomb season before it ruins your health again. We’re praying for you.
Still think “everything in moderation” is in the Bible? Read this first…
YOUR DAILY MANNA
“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.” — Daniel 1:8
Notice when Daniel made his decision. He didn’t wait until he was at the banquet table with the king’s food in front of him, because he had already resolved it in his heart before the plate ever reached him.
And notice what happened ten days later. Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better nourished than every young man who ate from the king’s table (Daniel 1:15).
That’s how you win sugar-bomb season. You don’t decide at the party, with the cookie tray already in your hand. You decide now, while your head is clear.
So here is your one thing this week.
Before Saturday, sit down as a family and settle your plan for Halloween through New Year’s: what you’ll say yes to, what you’ll say no to, and what you’ll bring instead. Then run your own Daniel test and go ten days with zero white processed sugar, starting today.
The battle with the cookie tray is won before you ever walk into the room.
What We’re Loving This Week
Introducing the first ever Christian-owned Amazon-style marketplace with health-conscience brands that share more about their ingredients, so we can make informed choices for our home, support businesses we believe in, and save money along the way.
Launch Special Ending Soon: Get a FREE Membership to the Christian-Owned “Non-Toxic Amazon” + $10 Coupon Off Your First Purchase
Imagine a Christian-owned version of Amazon that makes sure the products are transparent, honest and healthy...
Bible Health Daily
Every morning, Bible Health Daily gives you one verse and a few minutes with Dr. Z, so the Word gets into your heart before the world gets into your feed.
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or right here on Substack. And if it blesses you, would you take ten seconds to rate and review it on Apple Podcasts? It helps more people find it.
Here are a few of our latest episodes:
Featured Posts
Everything we’ve published since Manna #25, all three pieces, right here.
Inner Circle
Founding & Inner Circle Members: we’re in the home stretch of the 41-Day Nervous System Reset! Last week, we tackled Rewiring the Parasympathetic Path. This week we wrap up with Week 6: A Family Built to Stand, because a regulated body is meant to anchor a whole household.
![[LIVE] Week 5 Nervous System Reset — Rewiring the Parasympathetic Path](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jTY!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F221503506%2F72d904e8-1fd1-41ac-9176-f5a70f3f9aff%2Ftranscoded-00001.png)
From Natural Living Family
Bible Health is where we teach the why. Over on Natural Living Family this week we taught the how. Here are three favorites worth your five minutes…
DIY Dish Soap + Vanilla for Healing + Garlic for Colds + Hibiscus Iced Tea
DIY Hand Sanitizer + Ashwagandha & Your Thyroid + Tarragon Essential Oil
DIY Bruise Remedy + Helichrysum Oil + Healing Kale + Homemade Almond Milk
DIY Nausea Roll-On + Gut Healing Essential Oils + Avocado Benefits + Tomato Bisque
Want more from our Natural Living Family Substack?
The world will keep knocking. Let’s make sure the Word answers the door.
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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z