God's Food Pyramid

Last night was a lot of fun, as Jonny and I talked over coffee at J&B's. We had met to discuss how we were planning on approaching Titus 1 in our Bible Study, but we ended staying for a few hours and touching on topics from sports to The Matrix to relationships. My favorite, however, was Jonny's rant on dietary topics.

It began on milk. Jonny explains that his frappucino drink, while good, is going to cause him some ill effects later because of the milk in it.
"Are you lactose-intolerant?" I ask.
"No, I just don't drink milk."
"How can you not drink milk?"
"It's bad for you."
"Jonny!" I exclaim. "It's in the food pyramid!"
Unperturbed, he retorts, "It's not in God's food pyramid."

He's really not joking, either, which is part of what made this conversation priceless. Jonny isn't the kind of guy to go around spouting statements like that without having something to back it up, so I let him explain all the reasons he thinks milk is bad for you. He's done exhaustive research, that's for sure, and, philosopher that he is, he knows how to build a convincing argument. I was intrigued but unaffected until he got to the part about how milk is bad for your asthma...he had me there. He says that his doctor tells mothers of asthmatic children to stop giving them milk and see if it doesn't help them breathe. And apparently, it almost always does.

As much as I love milk (as you all know), I hate my asthma worse. It's been flaring up more often and more seriously in the past few weeks than it ever has before, and at this point I'll try anything (short of going to the doctor) to help it get better. Jonny urged me to try abstaining from milk for a couple of weeks, claiming that it makes him feel better. "I'm either deceived myself or I'm telling the truth...the only way for you to find out is to see for yourself." Good point, Jonny. So, bemused, I find myself allowing him to convince me, and here I sit, drinking only coffee with my oatmeal (I wouldn't let him tell me why coffee is bad for me. Some things I just can't give up).

That conversation led into Jonny's belief that the Old Testament dietary laws served a purpose beyond encouraging obedience. He figures that if God ordered His people to eat a certain way, it was because He knew what would be good for them. And even though we no longer are under the old levitical laws, Jonny thinks that paying attention to them could still be profitable. So he does...he doesn't eat much beef or pork, hits the vegetables and fruits pretty hard, etc. He certainly looks healthy and happy...so who knows. I have no plans on giving up beef and pork, but he still may have a good point. I just smiled at him at the end of the evening and said, "Jonny, you're a complete radical, but that doesn't change the fact that you might be right."