In recent months, steroid use in sports has drawn national attention from President Bush, Congress, league presidents and players’ unions. Major League Baseball has been on the hot seat with allegations of steroid abuse by former player Jose Canseco and by testimonies from current superstars admitting the same.

Once people find out that I serve in the FCA Health and Fitness Ministry, I get bombarded with questions about everything from food to fitness equipment, exercising to eating right, calories to carbohydrates. If I am eating out, people watch what I eat and ask me if it is OK to order certain entrees. And frankly, I love it! It gives me countless opportunities to help cut through the confusion and restore some basic truths about how to take care of our bodies the way God intends.

So, this month’s column is all about questions and answers.

Solomon knew the importance of taking care of the heart. It is not only the most important muscle in the body for physical life, but also for spiritual life. Have you ever considered that your behavior is really a reflection of your heart? We are encouraged to guard our hearts because our attitudes, our thoughts, our emotions, our words and our actions all flow from the condition of the heart. Anger, jealousy, pride, conflict — all of these reveal the state of your heart.

One of the most popular movements in health and wellness today is the concept of “detox.” In fact, this spring, Oprah Winfrey completed her own 21-day detoxification program in an effort to rid her body of accumulated toxins and harmful substances, and in the process, she brought renewed national interest to the idea.

During her 21 days of physical cleansing, she completely avoided all animal products, caffeine, alcohol, bread (and gluten) and refined sugar. At first-glance, this may not seem like that big of a deal. However, the program that Oprah followed was based on a book called Quantum Wellness by author and new age spiritual counselor Kathy Freston.