Star Date: 06.03.2025
I didn’t always know that food could be medicine.
In fact, for years, I made choices that felt routine but were silently working against me. Fast food. Late-night snacks. Sugary pick-me-ups. I thought I was just tired from life — from stress, work, and age. But what I didn’t realize was that the very things I was eating were causing inflammation, fatigue, brain fog, and real damage inside my body.
Then came the health scare.
A moment where everything paused. Tests revealed what I had been ignoring. It hit me: If I don’t change something now, this will only get worse. I wasn’t just out of shape — I was out of alignment with the life God wanted for me. A full life. A long life. One where I could give my best to others — not just what was left of me.
I didn’t need another fad diet. I needed to rewire my brain, starting with food experiments to find the source of my ailments.
The Hope Hiding in Our Brains
The science of neuroplasticity changed everything for me.
It’s the idea that your brain — no matter your age — is capable of change. You can teach it new habits. You can rewrite old patterns. You can quite literally rebuild your mindset, one intentional choice at a time.
Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, explains that the brain changes most effectively when:
We’re focused on a new behavior
We repeat that behavior with emotion or reward
We allow for rest and sleep to consolidate the changes
And that’s exactly what I started doing.
Three Keys That Helped Me Rewire My Habits
1. Attention is the Spark
Instead of mindlessly eating, I slowed down. I paid attention to what I was putting in my body. I learned to ask, Is this fueling life or feeding disease? That focus lit the fuse for change.
It started with my grocery cart.
I began concentrating on foods without labels — whole, natural foods that don’t need a list of ingredients because they are the ingredient. Apples. Leafy greens. Sweet potatoes. Wild salmon. The more I stayed away from processed items filled with things I couldn’t pronounce, the more my body began to thank me.
My rule of thumb? If God made it, it’s probably good. If man altered it, I needed to pause. That simple shift in how I shopped rewired the way I ate. I also asked myself if my food choices were similar to the choices my caveman ancestors made. Hint: Their food choices were highly limited compared to what we see in grocery stores today.
2. Reward the Win
Huberman teaches that the emotion tied to a habit determines whether it sticks. So I made a decision: every time I chose something nourishing, I would smile, say a short prayer of thanks, and remind myself: This is who I’m becoming. That simple moment of joy helped my brain say, “Let’s do that again.”
3. Sleep is the Cement
Your brain consolidates learning at night. I began protecting my rest like it was sacred — because it is. I limited screens, embraced natural light in the morning, and let go of late-night snacking. My sleep improved, and so did everything else. I found that my hunger no longer shows up every two hours. This helps me sleep better at night.
Grace, Healing, and a Renewed Mind
Romans 12:2 reminds us:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Neuroplasticity is the scientific confirmation of that scripture. And I believe it’s one of the most hopeful truths we can hold onto: We are not stuck.
Through focused effort, faith, and the incredible adaptability God placed in our brains, we can change. We can heal. We can thrive.
Final Encouragement
If you’re facing your own health scare, if you feel discouraged by the habits you’ve struggled to break, please hear this:
You’re not too far gone.
You’re not too old.
You’re not stuck.
Your brain is listening.
Your body is waiting.
And by God’s grace, you can rewire your life — one faithful step at a time. Every baby step matters.
Let’s keep walking forward, together.
Live long and prosper,
Michael
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