Nevertheless, what if you or a person you know violates the rule of having balanced diet because of the foods you need to avoid in accordance to your religious rule? Today, being a member in a particular religion have laws or commandments about foods (including restrictions or total avoidance) you need to follow which on the average means a plus factor to improve your spiritual life.
Keep on reading in this article as it details you many Christian denominations and religions about the diet they follow.
- Islam- Under the law of this religion, Muslims do fasting or refraining from eating, drinking and
having sexual intercourse in the whole month of Ramadan or the month of fasting. Prohibited foods to avoid in the Islam diet include pork and gelatin. Muslims also follow Halal diet which conforms to the Islam law of permissible foods such as animals that have been slaughtered in the correct fashion.
- Judaism- Jewish people mainly believe in the laws written in the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Bible. Jewish diet and food preparation is called Kosher which means ritually correct. One dietary law included is called Shehitah or the ritual slaughtering of animals. It is designed to kill animals quickly and with as little pain as possible. The ritual should be done by a specially trained slaughterer, who chants special blessing before killing the animal. Jews do not eat pork or shellfish, such as shrimp and oysters. They also separate meat and milk at the same mealtime but put a 6-12 hour interval before consuming.
- Hinduism- There are several customs in Hinduism in terms of food preparation. The system of caste also follows. Example is when a cooked food from the family of a middle-class Hindu was touched by a lower caste member, they consider it as ‘”polluted”. The word “pollution” in Hinduism means physical and spiritual impurity.
Foods restricted in this religion include meat, poultry, fish and alcoholic drinks. They believe all these foods can cause ritual pollution. They also maintain godly and sacred treatment to cows so they do not eat products with beef such as corned beef.
In addition, every fasting season for them means not a life without food but the avoidance of wheat, rice, millet or pulses (beans) in their foods. Hindu fasting-food is less tasty than the normal vegetarian diet.
- Buddhism- The main focus of Buddhism relies on philosophical thinking and meditation of body, soul and mind. Therefore, followers do not have
specific laws in terms of food. But one of the rules written in the religion’s principle of Eightfold path states that Buddhists should refrain from taking drugs or drinks (Alcoholic drinks) which according to them can cloud the mind and does not lead them to further enlightenment and peace of mind.
- Jainism- Dubbed to be the largest religious community of India, Jainism beliefs on food sticks to full vegetarian diet. Jains do not eat products coming from animals because of believing that all elements of the earth have living souls to take care for.
- Jehovah’s Witnesses- A Christian denomination whose members abstain from drinking liquors and eating animal blood dishes.
- Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) - Another independent-running Christian church founded in the Philippines by Felix Manalo. The church teaches their members to also abstain from drinking liquors, eating animal blood dishes and animal food that was not ritually prepared or against the commandment from the Bible.
- Ang Dating Daan (Church of God International) - Just the same as the Iglesia ni Cristo and Jehovah’s Witnesses, members do not drink liquors and eat blood dishes. All these churches have common reasons which they base from the Bible. They believe that eating blood is also eating another life.
- Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) - Following not only the Bible but also the Book of Mormon and two more scriptures, members are well-known for their code of wisdom. According to the teachings of their founding prophet- Joseph Smith, Latter-day Saints should always maintain the gift of wisdom in them by respecting God’s commandments of not drinking coffee, liquors and tea as well as eating caffeine-containing products such as chocolates.
- Seventh-Adventist Church- A Christian church firmly believing in the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, Adventists put great emphasis on health and avoid eating meat and using narcotics and stimulants.
