Is a kosher diet a healthy diet?

Submitted by AFAN team member Debbie Young-Somers a Jewish on 24/04/2009 08:41
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People follow the Jewish food laws (known as Kashrut or keeping Kosher) for a wide variety of reasons - from being told to by the law, for a sense of community, because mum always did, and some for health reasons. The medieval Jewish sage and physician Moses Maimonides was a proponent of the health benefits of a kosher diet (though with all diets some are in favour and some aren't so much!) Maimonides writes that:

"Whoever conducts himself in the ways we have set forth, I will guarantee that he will not get sick throughout his life.... He will not need a doctor and his body will be in perfect shape and remain healthy all his life." (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De'ot 4:20.)

The following is an orthodox exploration of some of these themes: http://aish.com/torahportion/mysticalTour/Holy_Food.asp