It's hard to be Mormon
In other news on the health front, the LDS church's Ensign magazine comes out against caffeine-fueled energy drinks. Alcohol, of course, is prohibited to Mormons, but exactly how to apply church's so-called "Word of Wisdom" to caffeinated beverages has always been confusing. For many young Mormons, a slug of Amp or Rockstar is the only way survive an orgy of ballroom dancing.As Dr. Thomas Boud, a volunteer consulting physician in the church's Missionary Medical Department, explains:
While we are counseled against taking addictive substances or harmful drugs, the Word of Wisdom does not specifically prohibit caffeine. However, I believe that if we follow the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, we will be very careful about what we consume, particularly any substance that can have a negative impact on our bodies.And energy draughts should be considered on the WofW hit list, Boud says, and could even bring on an attack of the "destroying angel." Yikes.
How marvelous these promises are, that we may walk and not faint and run and not be weary and that the destroying angel will pass us by!The godless Phoenix New Times, however, takes issue with the Boud's article:
While the good doctor may be right in that overdoing caffeine could lead to serious ailments, his extensive list of possible problems seems to be culled from every potentially negative article every written about the drug. Naturally, the biased Dr. Thomas Boud doesn't include a single word about the possible benefits of caffeine, which may be extensive. That seems pretty deceptive for a publication some gullible Mormons believe is inseparable from biblical Scripture.
18 Comments:
I saw the article. I don't drink the energy drinks. I don't drink the coke products with the stuff in it.
You can go over the top with this. What about chocolate? Get real.
The article isn't going to stop active people I know from having an occasional Dr. Pepper. It might get them to keep it down from the 6 or more cans to 1 or 2, or look at the ingredients for some of those energy drinks and not have a bunch of them a day.
Any substance which may be harmful to our bodies?
So, I assume the LDS Church will soon come out against Ice Cream, French Fries, Donuts, anything at Chuck-A-Rama, large portions of red meat...the list goes on and on.
If you're really going to try and say that anything harmful to ones body should be avoided, you best start examining what most LDS folks eat....these are the people who fought for Chadders.
Quit complaining and get real. I get dirty looks for buying a can of coffee in a grocery store. caffene is not a bad thing this is just one more reason for people to complain and everybody who is not mormon or is not active to say they are better SHUT UP!
Ppfff... Please
What the good doctor is saying is that it's a personal decision but advises in the case of caffeine as does the WoW to be smart about it. It's more common sense than anything.
And of course he's going to have a bias opinion, he is writing for the Ensign remember.
The WofW is a principle with a promise, it does not outline every specific consumption practice that should be avoided or encouraged.
Every LDS person must decide for him or herself what is appropriate to consume based on the principle. That doesn't mean there aren't some things that should be avoided by everyone (I think energy drinks should be included in that) but that the decision is left up to the individual.
So rather than bickering about whether or not the Church should say anything about it, let's discuss whether or not these drinks are good for a person, or anything else for that matter, yes, including french fries, pizza, and ice cream.
I try to avoid anything that is not good for my health, but that's just me.
If you want more energy, you would be better off using that same money and buying a gym membership pass.
I wish the LDS Church would let us smoke a cigar once in a while, maybe one a week.
It is silly individuals are not able to decide for themselves what is good or bad for them. It is important to be an individual first and part of a group or entity second to provide sustainable memberships.
Yeah, pretty hard to make sensible choices, like sleeping, eating right, and exercising instead of building chemical dependencies.
And ballroom dancing? None of the Mormon kids I grew up with would be caught dead.
I almost spilled my Irish Coffee all over my key board...Jameson and Folgers!!
The Church WILL let you smoke a Cigar once a week..it's your choice. If you really step back and look at the LDS faith, it is a faith of free agency - one of the main principles guiding the faithful.
You can also gamble, drive too fast while texting or skydive. They all have their risks which are all relative to the individual.
I read the article and my observation is that the leadership of the church (and a legitimate doctor, not some "quack" selling male enhancement at 4 AM) is seeing these drinks abused...much more so than a 12 oz can of coke, and this stuff has 10X the sugar and caffeine as the aforementioned.
The word of wisdom isn't "so called", it adheres to 110% of all conventional wisdom regarding too much red meat, junk food, or any substance that you become dependent on - it's called an "addiction."
I'm LDS and LOVE the smell of fresh ground coffee...just don't drink it. My choice.
It's too bad that one's faith needs to come down to whether or not one smokes or drinks; i.e. "good" (Mormon). How about a better benchmark. I know the LDS Church helps many people. However, it seems that most of its members define themselves as good (or bad) based on the aforementioned behaviors.
If we are talking about what is or is not detrimental to our health, let's talk about the obesity problem in and outside of the church. Which principle of the WOW are these people not living? Man, stones being thrown all over the place.
I drink these when I have my bi-weekly 300 mile drives and I don't feel one bit guilty about it.
Warchol, why are you such a prick? Just wondering.
This doctor really is a big jerk--how dare he suggest that people not get addicted to drinks that are proven to be harmful?
I believe it comes down to personal choice. No one is going to get excommunicated just because they drink red bull. If they want to have that terrible stuff it's their own choice. If they keep it limited, it probably isn't too bad for them. The people I worry about are the ones who drink 3 cans a day because those cans are actually 2 servings. And just like the person who mentioned things like french fries and ice cream being bad for you. If you eat them only occasionally, you're fine. But if you eat them every day then you're probably going to be the size of a whale and have clogged arteries. People just need to be smart and be healthy for themselves, that's what the WoW is all about.
I'll never give up Diet Coke, and the way you people look at a sunset, is the same way I look at a meat counter at the store.
People Don't get too nutty with every thing a doctor tells you.
The differents between God and a doctor is, , , God doesn't think his a doctor.
Old news. Warchol is just baiting his readers to throw stones at each other on a slow news day. Even NPR has been prattling about the topic of energy drinks since at least early 2007 (see http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6720000).
It's up to us people if we will try to drink the energy drinks in the market today.But selecting the best energy drink will keep us at least healthy and fit.
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