Au Naturel

Our old friend Rav Lazer, master of Emuna and our ambassador to the wonderful world of Abir, has important news for us. Apparently not all food is good for you.

Lazer got the scoop from Peggy, a loyal reader.

As a nurse and as an objective observer, I've arrived at the following conclusion as far as choosing the best foods for your health: If Hashem made it - it is good for you and eat it. If man made it - beware, it is not good for you. As for Hashem's foods, there's no need to count calories; Hashem doesn't use dangerous additives to make money off of people. There's no such thing as junk foods that grow in the soil or on a tree.

Man's use of chemicals, preservatives, and fats don't lead to good health. Hashem's perfectly balanced foods, such as the whole-grain wheat kernel, certainly do lead to good health. Hashem does a better job. Thanks and many blessings to you and best wishes, Peggy from Indiana

Well said, Peggy. With Hashem's help, we hope to do more posts on natural eating and health in the future, for a healthy body is so very conducive to a healthy soul.

You know, it's times like this that I can't help thinking I know too much for my own good. I can only hope no tells Peggy or Lazer about "natural" things like pokeweed, hemlock or my favorite, deadly nightshade. And I sure hope she takes her own advice when it comes to processed things like soy and margarine, popular dairy substitutes in pareve cooking. (To be fair, there is indeed some research suggesting that too much soy can be bad for you. Especially if you're a homophobic pseudoscientific nutjob.) And of course, there's the fantastic point about not needing to count calories if you're only eating natural foods (assuming, of course, your food is natural to begin with). Say, what happened to my 20th serving of oranges? What do you mean, I'm obese?

Incidentally, speaking of Jews and healthy diets, I recently came across an interesting article a relative brought back from a local Florida Jewish newspaper discussing the role of Jewish diets in causing illness. The money quote:

When it comes to the Jewish diet and disease, [Susan] Silberstein said, there is good news and bad news. "The good news is that pork and shellfish are bad for your health. The bad news is that Jewish cooking is very high in calories and fat and can lead to a myriad of diseases, including heart disease and cancer."

Some of the traditionally high-fat items... are beef brisket, stuffed kishka, corned beef and cabbage, and kugel. She also said Passover is her hardest holiday to observe because of the cottonseed and corn oils contained in matzah and almost all kosher for Passover foods.

Hmm. Maybe the rabbis should be spending less time worrying about Kosher for Passover bleach and more time making sure their flocks aren't giving themselves colon cancer by having thirds on cholent. Or the Breslovers could all become vegetarians. That'd be a start. Oh well. Win some, lose some, I guess.

For another fascinating view of the relationship between Jewish food and diseases, check out this 47-year-old TIME article on Yemenite Jews- real ones this time, I swear.