TT 178

Re-centre your Defence

CONTENTS

My Pulpit Message notes | Family: Re-centre your defence | 3-4

My Devotional: Don’t Beat Yourself | 6

King’s Inspiration: Take that step of faith | 7 Wambui’s reflections: The 7 gates of success | 8

My Entrepreneur: Rest: A word for the ambitious | 9

My Health: High protein breakfast may help prevent overeating and obesity | 10-11

My Kitchen: Christmas Steak |12

My Sports: Messi feeling fit ahead of ‘special’ last World Cup |13

My Pulpit Message Notes

Re-centre your Defence

God singles a man, one man, and his family to build the Jewish people, the cho sen people, not to exclude others, but to include all. If you read the instructions that are given to Abraham, he is given a blessing in the book of Genesis 12 that he will be blessed to become a blessing to all the families of the earth. And you know that God kept His promise to Abraham and that promise was so that Abraham would be blessed, but that blessing would cascade to your family and my family, to all the families of the earth.

So we go to the patriachs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then we go to the judges like Mrs. Deborah, Gideon, Samson and Samuel. Then we go to the kings. The great in stature one - King Saul, the great in fame - King David, the great in wisdom - King Solomon and then this kingdom is split, the northern kingdom that is overtaken by the Assyrians because of their sin and about 135 years later, the southern kingdom also taken over by Babylon. They go into exile as a way of judging their sin and God remembers His people and in waves brings them back from the exile to the promised land.

And that promise of Abraham still remains that they were a chosen, not just for themselves, but a blessing that would bless all the families of the earth. When they return to the chosen land, the last lot brought in by Ezra in this return, they find a lot of spiritual despondency. They have lived so far from knowing the LORD that when they return to the land of the LORD, they have forgotten God and His ways.

So God quickens the statehouse comptroller to the Persian King Nehemiah and not just him alone, but together with others like Ezrael to bring about revival to God’s people. And therefore it is no surprise in verse 14 when Nehemiah tells them, “fight for your families”, because it has been a family affair from Genesis and He will bring these families to His conclusion as we see in the book of Rev elation, where John sees a number that no man could number and you and I are there, but in between we are there, we are charged to fight for our families.

Challenges that the people of God were going through (Nehemiah 4)

- “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” (Nehemiah 4:1-2)

Enemies that were coming against these families

External Enemies

1. Sanballat - verse 1,2

2. Infrastructural enemy - They did not have correct constructional material because the stones had become heaps of rubble and burned. verses 2b

3. Tobiah the Ammonite - verse 3 “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”

4. - Verse 6 “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.” It’s a good thing that the wall had been build all around and had reached half way, but half full means half empty.

- This was a technical / infrastructural enemy because at that time the only protection that was offered to a city was its walls. If a city was not walled then it was vulnerable to the enemies. Today, the secular state of Israel has a lot more sophisticated walls than the walls we are seeing that are being rebuild by Nehe miah. They have the iron dome, surface to air anti-missile protection etc. But at that time you needed a wall. At that time the cities had such huge walls that snipers would be able to defend the city from the wall. But they were also so wide that horses and chariots would ride on the wall as part of the protection of the city. You can imagine the ridicule how stinging it was to be told that the stones are burned and in ruin.

1. Verse 7-8 “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.”

- The history of this time was very complicated. Nehemiah has been given per mission by the prince of Persia to rebuild the wall, but for the neighbours they knew that the strength of Jerusalem meant that they would no longer take ad vantage of that city. So as much as they could not outrightly wage war because Nehemiah and associates had state permission to rebuild the wall, they had to do it by ridicule, by bringing them down and guerrilla attacks here and there. So their threats were not empty, though they could not come up in open war fare. It had to be in hiding / covert.

- When you see the amount of anger and vitriol that they had, you realise how tough it was.

- Verse 8 “They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.”

Internal Enemies

- Verse 10 “Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the labourers is giving out,…” Not only do they have the external enemies, they had an inter nal enemy of discouragement.

- They had worked all the way to half point rebuilding this wall, but physical ly they were fatigued and emotionally completely exhausted. Then there is so much verbal that ‘we cannot rebuild the wall’.

- Verse 11,The external enemies - “1 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us (espionage and infiltration), we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

- Verse 12, The internal fragmentation - “Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

My Pulpit Message Notes are transcribed from the sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 20th November, 2022. Preacher: Reverend Munengi Mulandi , Senior Pastor, NBC. Nehemiah 4:7-14. Topic: Family - Re-centre your Defence

My Pulpit Message Notes

Do you get a picture of the forces that were against them? The kind of fortifi cations and enemies that were plotted against them? Do you see how they were surrounded and in much jeopardy, externally, infrastructurally and internally losing hope?

- That’s the same thing. Don’t we open up our papers and read this family mem ber kills this family member? Don’t we read things about families whether ex tended, or nuclear that just makes us think it’s too much.? We have built the wall to half way, but we are done, our strength is over.

With the kind of enemies that Nehemiah had, did he have a strategy? I suggest that they had three Fs.

“The enemies have surrounded us”, Nehemiah said. The Job is great and our strength is small. We’re doing the best with what we have, is the report from the scene. Then he says some really ridiculous things:

1. Fear not2. Forget not 3. Fight on

1. Fear not

“14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

- This verse was very encouraging to me, “Fight on”, but something both ered me about this verse. The beginning is ridiculous, “After I looked things over”. There are external enemies, infrastructural enemies, internal enemies. There was danger all over and the first thing Nehemiah tells them is ‘Fear not’.

In the Bible there are at least 365 verses, it is suggested one for each day, for us not to fear. ‘Do not fear. One of my favourites is Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

With all that is going on in our families, with all that was going on with the families that Nehemiah was taking care of, he tells them, fight for your fam ilies, but the order of the play, the diamond for 3-2-2. was this; ‘fear not’.

Fear can be so debilitating. No wonder someone called it, F.E.A.R the acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real. Maybe the ridicule that you have heard has made you so scared and you have been told, your family, it will never work. The word of God comes to you and says, ‘Fear not’.

We have people in our families trying to re-centre and defend them is so hard, because they are not in a stable mind. What is that to God? He tells Nehemiah the word that gives him strength to tell the people, and it is all the people that are listening, ‘Fear not’.

If you and I are going to fight for our families, we need to shed off ‘fear’. Fear when you hear that someone is in addiction, or someone is depressed or when you hear the word ‘cancer’, or age is increasing. Nehemiah told them, ‘Fear not’. Do not be afraid of them.

Had Nehemiah calculated the risk? Yes he had. But he looked at all those things and says this is evidence, but it is false evidence appearing real.

2. Forget not

“14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord,”

- So many times you and I forget Who is on our side. After being told ‘fear not’ we are told ‘Remember the LORD.” The antidote for fear is remembering the LORD. You and I have no idea what power is besides us in the Lord Jesus Christ, even in that family where they do witchcraft. ‘Remember the Lord.’.

- Remembering the LORD did not make Sanballat’s words fewer. The evidence was not reduced. Remembering the LORD did not make the wall automatically

go up by itself. But it brought a perspective that the people would go to the third ‘F’, to fight on.

- Nehemiah tells them fear not, forget not, and he chooses two attributes of God that can help them at this time as they fortfy themselves to fight for their families, he says ‘Remember the LORD who is great, expansive, powerful, awe some.’

- One of the challenges of modern Christianity is that we are running out of vocabulary to describe God is because when you are asked how your day was, ‘it was amazing’ then when singing ‘amazing grace’ you have cheapened the grace of God. We have cheapened the vocabulary of God for mundane things. How is your boyfriend? answer: He’s so awesome. If your boyfriend was awe some you wouldn’t be dating him. The word used for awesome, the root is fear. One who is blinding. One who instils fear and inspires reverence.

- Can you imagine what it meant to them when they were told, fear not, forget not the LORD, the one who does to their enemies, they cant see. His bril liance is excess. They were saying that a fox can topple the wall, but their God is great, but also so awesome, one who instils fear, inspires reverence, one whom when you see, like the Christmas carol when we go into in the next few weeks, ‘Fall on your knees, …” because of His awesomeness.

3. Fight on

Lastly he tells them, ‘Fight on’ “fight for your families, your sons and your daugh ters, your wives and your homes.”

-This is not an obscure part of Scripture. We have seen what Psalm 144 says, “He trains my fingers for battle,…”. Jeremiah 51:20 says, “You are my war club, and with you will I shutter the nations.” I like the war attitude that Moses has in the penultimate plague when Pharaoh tells him - actually, I now let you go, but not with your livestock cause that means you are now going forever. Exodus 10:26 Moses tells him, “Not a hoof will remain behind.” Joshua said in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house…”

Some of us need to go and look for the verses that talk about the attri butes of God, because there is an attribute of God that is relevant to your partic ular situation.

Some of us need to put on our fighting gear. You need to take on this diamond formation to fight for your family. To fear not, no matter how great the challenges are, to forget not, - it amazing that our families are being attacked daily, but we are not in the word daily to know the God who is with us. God who when He is next next to us is great that a chime of money coming in our phones in the form of MPESA.

- Some of us need to put on our boxing gloves and fight for our families. Some of the ways we can fight of them are:

i. Pray for them.

ii. Presence - You can choose to be present in their lives

iii. Protection. You can be a protection for them.

iv. Praise. You can have a word of praise for each one. Send a message just prais ing them for one thing or the other.

v. Provision. Making provision for them.

Verse 19-20

“19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there, our God will fight for us!”

- This is not a solo fight. If yo are in a family where things are tough, come to the larger family of God and let us pray victory for you. Sound the trumpet and we will all gather there and fight with you.

20 “Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there, our God will fight for us!”

My Life

How to get saved and spend eternity with God

His Love

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NASB)

My response

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

My prayer

Lord God Almighty, thank You for Your love for me. Thank You that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed against You. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died on the cross and You raised Him from the dead on the third day. Please write my name in the Lamb’s book of life. Help me to live a life that is holy and pleasing unto You. In Jesus’ Name I pray and believe. Amen

My Devotional

Don’t Beat Yourself

By Katherine Singer | www.sportsspectrum.com|

“No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” — 1 Corinthians 9:27

While watching the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, I recall a former athlete bringing up an important point about competition. His words were, “Don’t beat yourself. It’s one thing to be beaten, but don’t beat yourself.”

Any person who has played sports on some level knows that, sometimes, the athlete can be their own worst enemy. It’s not always that the other team or op ponent is playing better than you; it’s that you are bringing inevitable defeat on yourself by either your play or your attitude. We’ve all seen situations where it looked like a team or individual was winning handily or at least equally compet itive, only to suffer a complete meltdown and eventually lose.

Throughout our lives, we can all think of times or situations where we’ve beat en ourselves and let our circumstances or attitudes break us down in the heat of the moment. We’ve allowed ourselves to get in our own way and hinder our ability to perform freely and confidently. And often, losses or setbacks that re sulted from this were even more painful and frustrating than if we’d just been outperformed, because we knew we didn’t give our best. We all can agree there’s a dignity in losing well if we left it all out there and tried our hardest, so it hurts more when we shot ourselves in the foot, so to speak. We knew we could’ve done better and we just fell short.

Whether on the field of play or in the arena of life, it’s important to always go out

there with the attitude that you won’t self-sabotage your own success. By devel oping a healthy mental, emotional and spiritual perspective, as well as training hard in your skills or physical development, there’s a lot you can do to strengthen your outlook and yourself so that you are better prepared for the challenges that life and competition bring your way.

In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul talks about the fact that he works on himself and disciplines himself so that he won’t be a hindrance to his own work by not prac ticing what he preaches. In either spiritual or physical terms, he wants his life to line up in all aspects because he doesn’t want to disqualify himself from the eternal race.

And the same should be true for each of us. We should want to pay attention to our inner and outer life so that we are not damaging our testimony or our chances of eternal success for the Kingdom by getting in our own way. Or, worse yet, getting in God’s way by letting our doubts, fears, sins or struggles hinder our ability to love, serve and believe the way we should.

God’s forgiveness is there when we fail, and that is a blessing, but we also need to care about the approach we take to competition and to life so that, to the best of our fallible human ability, we do not beat ourselves along the way.

Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Feb. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

King’s Inspiration

Take that step of faith

By William King | Email: kingwilliam189@gmail.com | image courtesy: reflectiionsdevotional.com

It is easy to get comfortable in life with things that are less than God’s best. We know there’s more in us, but we don’t want to have to stretch or take the risk that it might not work out. We can get comfortable with friends who are pulling us down, addictions. The problem with staying comfortable is that you will miss your destiny.

When God is about to take you higher, you always have to make the choice: comfort or calling? Are you going to stay in the comfort of where you are, not having to stretch, be more disciplined, push past your fears? Or are you going to step out in faith and take that risk? In John 5, Jesus approached a disabled man who was lying beside the pool of Bethesda.

He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” It seemed like an odd question - all of the many blind, lame and paralyzed people gathered around the pool were there in hopes of being healed. You can be at the right place in the wrong frame of mind and miss your miracle. Jesus knew that after years of coming to the pool,

the man had lost his passion to be well.

Rather than saying, “Yes, that is what I am believing for,” he made excuses and tried to justify his condition. Jesus didn’t say, “It’s too bad that you’re at a disad vantage.” Rather He said, “Rise, pick up your bed and walk.” Jesus asked him to do what he couldn’t do. The man could have said, “it’s impossible.”

This man, however, heard the call and had to decide: “Am I going to stay in my dysfunction where I’m comfortable with my friends or am I going to act on Jesus’ calling and try what I’ve never done?” Something rose up in him and against all odds, a sudden strength came into his legs.

As with this man, God is going to ask you to do things that you didn’t think you can do. In your own ability, you can’t, but when you take that step of faith, God will step in and give you supernatural ability. That’s because there’s favour in your calling. You’ll break addictions, beat the cancer.

The 7 gates of success Wambui’s Reflections

By Wambui | image courtesy: Istock

(A.) OBEDIENCE

_Deuteronomy 28_

- We are disobedient in ways such as in our thoughts. We dictate that it must go our way even when the Word of God says otherwisee g. Acts 2 : 38. Intercessors and prayer warriors are like this and are not aware.

- Disobedience will cause you to fall out of grace and open you up to demonic attacks and afflictions.

- Obedience may look hard and tough but doing it will cost you absolute Joy and great Success.

- Disobedience may look simpler and easier but will cause you years of sorrow, Struggle, Stress and closed heavens and you will never get breakthroughs!

- Your prayers and services will often bounce back to you, because of the great contamination of your disobedience.

- There is great power in obedience that will open up the gates for you. It opens even in the Heavens - your breakthroughs is guaranteed!

(B.) KNOWLEDGE

Hosea 4 : 6

- We die of the knowledge we do not have.

- You cannot be successful in Warfare without comprehensive knowledge of the Word of God which is made available to you.

- Knowledge is a gateway to open your mind. To make your mind mature and new giving you great knowledge of God so that your able to do His work.

- Ignorance increases, strengthens the forces of darkness to rule and dominate your life.

- Satan has no power to control your destiny o future etc....unless you allow him. Knowledge is a powerful gift that you need so as to understand spiritual warfare!

(C.) VISION

_Acts 26 : 19_

- People without vision perish. You must have a vision so as to get a plan.

- As a believer, develop your mind, tune it to divine frequency and get connected to the Lord and beyond, so that God can empower you to handle your Respon sibilities.

(D.) FORGIVENESS

_Mathew 6 : 18_

- You must be ready to forgive all those who have often offended you.

- It must come from deep inside you and it must flow easily.

- A man or woman of warfare must not carry any grudges, bitterness or recent ment because what your delivering will turn back to you.

- Unforgiveness opens your heart for satan’s destruction. As you Forgive you spit out the bitter pill of hatred and you accommodate the Love of God!

- Forgive yourself also no matter how much you want to blame yourself.

- Everything God allows is for our goodness but above all it is for His Glory!!

(E.) PERSISTENCE

Romans 2 : 7

- The Kingdom of God advances forcefully and only men / women of God with persistence will succeed.

- You Cannot succeed unless you keep claiming the Word of God persistently.

- You need to persist, persue, overtake and recover all that has been stolen from you.

- There is nothing impossible with God, no situation is beyond God’s control.

(F.) *SOWING AND GIVING

_2nd Corinthians 9:6- 11_

- You must understand that the spirit of poverty cannot be defeated by prayer & fasting but by being a giver.

- Giving must be generous. It should not be because you have excess. e.g:...story of Elijah and the widow and her son)

- God always requires you to give Him first even if the needs are great. This Sac rifice and obedience opens the doors of plenty.

_2nd Corinthians 8:1-12_

(G.) PRAISE AND WORSHIP

Psalms 100 : 4

- Praise has nothing to do with your feelings good or bad.

- Praise activates your spirit to get connected to God. It frustrates and paralyses the forces of the enemy totally.

- Angels are always around all those who praise God, because that is their job to praise God.

- It is Only in Praise that you encounter the below:..

(1.) Victory - it is close to you and is guaranteed.

(2.) You receive healing

(3.) You receive peace

(4.) It brings relaxation and rest

- Learn to Praise God in the Beauty of His Holiness and you will expect showers of blessings and refreshing.

- God releases His holiness to us, His beauty and victory to us when we praise Him!

Conclusion

Obedience to God one pays a very high price but the rewards are divine!

Every Good Gift Sells

Entrepreneur

Rest: A word for the ambitious

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3).

God had no need to rest from his work. But he did. Why?

I don’t think it’s farfetched to conclude that because God created work as a form of worship, he knew we would be tempted to work nonstop.

I think God rested because he knew we would forget to. So he graciously modeled a rhythm of work and rest that we were designed to mimic.

We see that the Word commands us to work in a way that embraces the tension between “trusting” and “hustling.” How can we know if we’re managing that tension well? By whether or not we are able to rest.

Can’t fall asleep because you’re working out a problem that faces you at work the next morning? Find yourself glancing at email while you’re on vacation? Maybe you’re trusting in your own strength and “hustle” rather than the Lord.

Whether it’s Sabbath once a week or not checking email after a certain time each evening, rest is one of the most powerful ways we can preach the gospel to our selves.

It’s a way of saying that we trust in God to produce results and that we have value regardless of what we accomplish at work.

It’s a way of reminding us that the gospel—not work—provides the ultimate “verdict” for our lives and frees us from the need to be productive.

www.biblicalleadership.com | By Jordan Raynor | image credit: istock

My Health

High protein breakfast may help prevent overeating and obesity

Researchers investigated the link between protein consumption and caloric in take.

They found a link between lower protein consumption and higher caloric intake from fats and carbohydrates, which may increase obesity risk.

They concluded that consumers, industry, and the government should prioritize reducing the intake of highly processed foods and increasing whole food intake. Obesity is linked to some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Between 1999 and 2020, population obesity rates in the United States increased from 30.5% to 41.9%.

First proposed in 2005, the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) is a theory for the cause of obesity. It states that if the body’s needs for protein consumption are unmet, fat and carbohydrate consumption increases, dampening satiety signals and increasing food intake.

Studieshave shown that as the percentage of energy from protein has decreased in American diets, obesity rates have risen.

Another study found that inpatient adults exposed to ultra-processed diets in gested more carbohydrates, fat, and total energy than those on unprocessed di ets and consequently gained weight.

Understanding the health effects of highly processed foods and low protein in take could improve obesity prevention strategies.

Recently, researchers analyzed population health data to understand the rela tionship between protein intake and obesity.

They found a link between lower protein intake during the day’s first meal and higher overall food intake throughout the day.

The study’s findings appear in Obesity.

Protein intake’s impact on overall diet

The researchers analyzed data from the 2011-2012 National Nutrition and Phys ical Activity Survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. They included data from 9,341 people with an average age of 46.3.

Data included:

caloric intake from protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and alcohol time of food consumption body mass index (BMI)

The average energy intake was 2072 calories, including:

18.4% from protein 43.5% from carbohydrates 30.9% from fat 2.2% from fiber 4.3% from alcohol

By comparing energy intake and time of consumption, the researchers found that those who consumed lower amounts of protein in their first meal of the day had higher calorie intake in later meals.

The researchers noted that as protein intake decreased, energy from fat, carbo hydrates, sugars, and alcohol increased in what is known as “protein dilution.”

| By Annie Lennon on November 17, 2022 — Fact checked by Patricia Weiser, PharmD

My Health

They further noted that those who consumed less protein in their first meal con sumed more highly-processed foods throughout the day.

“Our study suggests that in free-living humans, eating low protein meals early in the day results, via protein leverage, in energy (fat and carb) over-consumption,” said Prof. David Raubenheimer, a study author and Chair of Nutritional Ecology at the University of Sydney, Australia.

“Even though people who have low-protein breakfasts tend to select higher pro tein meals thereafter (at lunch and dinner), they don’t quite compensate for the low protein start so that at the end of the day the overall daily diet is lower in protein and higher in fats and/or carbs than people who begin the day with

higher protein meals,” Prof. Raubenheimer told Medical News Today.

Protein deficiency and overeating

The researchers noted that many factors might explain why humans are predis posed to consume highly processed foods. These include:

taste cheap price convenience aggressive marketing general availability corporate political activity interfering with public health policy

They also noted that umami-flavored, savory snack foods might hijack the body’s protein-seeking responses in what is known as the “protein decoy effect.” They wrote that these products might exacerbate, rather than satisfy, a protein deficiency.

Adding protein to breakfast

MNT spoke with Dr. Dana Ellis Hunnes Ph.D., MPH, R.D., Assistant Professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study. Dr. Hunnes is also the author of “Recipe for Survival: What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and More Environmentally Friendly Life.”

“Protein slows down the rate at which we digest and absorb sugars and carbo hydrates from our foods, as does fat. If we eat a breakfast that is full of highly processed or sugary foods, we digest and absorb those foods rapidly.”

– Dr. Hunnes

“This causes our insulin levels to spike very rapidly, causing our cells to take the sugar (glucose) out of our blood very rapidly- assuming we don’t have dia betes,” she noted. “This then leads to a rapid decrease in blood sugar levels that can make us feel hungry again, and stoke that appetite, even if we are not “truly hungry.”

In conversation with MNT, Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian nutrition ist at the Cleveland Clinic, not involved in the study, added: “If you are hungry, then you are more likely to eat, and if you are experiencing cravings, lack of sleep, near food, smell food- there are so many complex variables here on what one will choose, even your gut microbiota plays a role in the type of food you choose- then you may be more likely to eat.”

How much protein should you eat?

A study earlier in the year suggested that diets with less animal protein and higher levels of complex carbohydrates are most beneficial for long-term health and lifespan.

When asked how the findings in the current study suggesting higher levels of protein correspond to these earlier findings, Dr. Hunnes noted that the studies do not contradict each other but “demonstrate the nuance of nutrition and how studies can be misinterpreted.”

Dr. Raubenheimer further explained that the earlier study noted that fiber could be a healthy substitute for high protein levels.

“The [theory that] low protein ‘leverages’ high intakes of fats and carbohydrates applies to diets that have a large proportion of processed foods that are low in both fiber and protein. In those conditions, we over-eat energy to reach our protein target.

However, for people eating diets with high proportions of whole plant foods, which are rich in fiber, the fiber partly replaces protein in providing the feeling of fullness which stops eating.”

– Dr. Raubenheimer

He explained that the advantages of higher fiber intake include reduced protein intake, which has been linked to extended healthspans, and increased levels of micronutrients and other beneficial compounds like antioxidants lost in indus trial food processing.

“All these mechanisms likely explain why the diets associated with the longest healthy lifespans (e.g. traditional Okinawa diet, Mediterranean Blue zone, etc.) are low in protein (not much above 10% of energy, vs around 15%-18% for typ ical USA/Australian diets) and rich in plant foods,” Dr. Raubenheimer noted.

Limitations

When asked about the study’s limitations, Dr. Hunnes noted that it didn’t differ entiate between types of protein and that the findings may glorify protein as a “miracle nutrient when it is not.” She explained that overall diet quality is a bet ter measure and predictor of health, longevity, and disease risk, and it should be taking into account what other nutrients are being incorporated into one’s diet, such as fiber and whole foods.

Kristen Kirkpatrick added: “I often caution my patients that food intake, weight status, and health do not just boil down to one thing. We as humans are com plex, and our choices are as well. Environment, social support, genetics, activity, level, even geographic location may all play a role in how we decide and imple ment a specific dietary pattern.”

My Kitchen

Christmas Steak

Ingredients

Salsa Roja:

2 small plum tomatoes, cored

2 cloves garlic

1 small jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and halved

1/2 small white onion, halved

1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chimichurri:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup ice cubes

2 tablespoons packed fresh oregano leaves

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Steak:

One 2-pound bone-in porterhouse steak (about 2 inches thick)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 cloves garlic

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

For the salsa roja: Add the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno and onion to a medium saucepan. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer until the vegetables are softened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain the vegetables, add to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool, then cov

er with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the chimichurri: Add the vinegar, garlic and a generous pinch of salt to a blender and blend on low until smooth. Add the parsley, cilantro, ice, oregano and jalapeno and blend on medium speed. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and blend, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until smooth, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chimichurri to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the steak: Let the steak sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Position an oven rack 5 to 6 inches from the broiler and preheat the broiler. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the steak dry and sprin kle generously with salt and pepper; the steak should be almost completely white from the salt. Add the oil to the hot skillet and when it begins to smoke, add the steak. Cook the steak until browned and crusty on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board.

Cut the strip steak from the bone and carve the meat across the grain. Cut the tenderloin filet from the bone and carve the meat across the grain. Place the bone back in the center of the skillet and arrange the sliced steak around the bone in its original formation so that it looks like a full steak. Top with the but ter, garlic and thyme.

Broil until the butter is melted and a thermometer inserted sideways in the cen ter of the steak registers 120 degrees F for medium rare, 3 to 4 minutes (see Cook’s Note). Tilt the skillet slightly to pool the butter, then spoon it over the steak several times to coat.

Transfer the steak to a serving platter and pour the melted butter over top. Top one half of the steak with the chimichurri and spread evenly. Top the other half with the salsa roja and spread evenly. Serve with the remaining chimichurri and salsa roja on the side.

My Sports

Messi feeling fit ahead of ‘special’ last World Cup

By Anita Kobylinska | https://www.reuters.com/

Argentina captain Lionel Messi said he was physically ready for the World Cup in Qatar and that it will be a special occasion as his side are one of the favourites in what is likely to be his last appearance in the global tournament.

“I feel very good physically, I think I’m in a great moment, both personally and physi cally and I don’t have any problems,” Messi, who did light training away from his team mates on Saturday, told a news conference on Monday.

“I heard that they said I trained differently. It was because I had a knock but there is nothing strange (happening). It was just a precaution.”

The 35-year-old, who in Qatar will be playing his fifth World Cup, added that he did not prepare differently for the tournament which for the first time is being played in November and December.

“I didn’t do anything special,” the forward said.

“I took care of myself and worked as I have done all my career, knowing that this is a special moment, as this is probably my last World Cup, my last chance to achieve this great dream that I have, that we all have.”

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has enjoyed a trophy-laden career at both club and personal level but has so far failed to deliver a long awaited World Cup for his country, something many fans around the world would like to see change this time around.

“It’s a beautiful thing that many people outside Argentina want us to be champi

ons and that it’s largely because of me,” Messi said.

“I didn’t do anything special,” the forward said.

“I’m grateful for the love I’ve received around the world during my career, and here in Qatar it’s another example of that.

“I don’t know if we arrive better than at other World Cups. But we’ve just won (the 2021 Copa America) and that decompresses us a lot.

“It makes us work in a different way, without anxiety about the national team and its results, and enjoying ourselves.”

Argentina kick off their World Cup campaign with a Group C opener against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and will then face Mexico and Poland.

The Times Today is a publication of Elizabeth Omondi Consultancy. P.O. Box 833-00100 GPO Nairobi. Tel: 0722 927792. www.elizabethomondiconsultancy.com