Smorgasbord.

I love to eat. My long-suffering wife will attest to my total addiction to good, healthy, life-sustaining nourishment--especially when it's prepared in her kitchen.

Occasionally, I like to give her a break from the stove and we head out to a favorite restaurant; a place where we can find tasty vegetarian grub at reasonable prices. I especially enjoy those all-you-can-eat smorgasbords.

The last time we were at such an establishment, filling our plates with garlic mashed potatoes (a personal favorite), home-style lima beans, steamed carrots, and enough salad to satisfy a growing rabbit, I got to thinking. All this food. All these nutrients. I suddenly realized that what I chose to eat depended on whether I'm trying to prevent a disease, or fight one. Take cancer, for instance. Blueberries, apples, and plums provide powerful antioxidants to protect you from that particular curse. However, if you're fighting an established cancer in your body, anything sweet--natural or otherwise--is the last thing you should be placing on your plate. Why? Because cancers feed on sugars. They help them grow, spread, kill.

Carrots and potatoes, adorning the dinner tables of vegetarians everywhere, are a no-no if you're battling diabetes. Hypoglycemic? There's a long list of foods you can no longer savor. Same with heart disease and hypertension. Show up at your doctor's office with any serious medical condition and chances are he or she will hand you a list of perfectly healthy foods you must now avoid.

A recent article in the Harvard Heart Letter--speaking of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes--put it this way: "Once these diseases have reared their ugly heads, different strategies are needed to treat and cope with them. Preventing them, though, isn't so complex."

Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I stood gazing down at the rich variety of delicious dishes waiting for me to sample.

Friend, if you need motivation to care for your body, to make the tough choices, to change your lifestyle to help ward off the possibility of disease, I invite you to spend a moment at my favorite smorgasbord. Study all those wonderful foods arranged so appealingly. Then consider what it would be like to have to leave off many of your favorites--to know that what once nourished and satisfied you has now become a danger to your body.

Am I trying to scare you? Absolutely. Why? Because I want you to always have the privilege of choosing from any of the delicious, healthy foods our loving Creator provided to help our bodies prevent serious illness. I have only one request. Please don't eat all the garlic mashed potatoes.