Understanding the Kosher Diet: Foods to Include & Avoid

“Kosher” is a term that is used to describe the dietary plan that is prepared by the Jewish law. There is a lot of debate on this Kosher diet plan. Some of the Jews follow this diet plan because they believe in it while the others use it for its health benefits.

Kosher Diet Rules

Here are a few special rules that are part of the Kosher Diet:

• In this form of diet, certain animals cannot be eaten at all.
• Even food items from these animals including their eggs, flesh, organs and milk are banned from consumption. These are called the ‘banned’ animals as per the diet plan.
• Animals which have cloven hooves and chew their cud are acceptable to be eaten, whereas animals which possess neither of these qualities cannot be consumed.
• It is permissible to eat animals like sheep, goats, cattle and deer, but the law forbids eating animals like camels, hare and pig.
• Only animals which have been slaughtered can be consumed.
• Those animals that die of natural causes or are eaten by other animals cannot be eaten.
• Also, the slaughter has to be done in accordance to the Jewish method of slaughtering.

Foods to Avoid in Kosher Diet

This diet has a lot of specific rules and restrictions that need to be followed. Foods that cannot be eaten in the kosher diet are as follows:

1. Pork Products:

Any food made out of pork cannot be consumed. Pork products are banned in the kosher diet. Therefore foods such as bacon and sausages are banned from consumption. This is beneficial to the health as it helps to maintain a healthy body.

2. Some Poultry:

The only poultry that can be eaten in this diet are goose, chicken, duck and turkey.

3. Most Ice Creams:

If you are an ice cream lover then you are going to have a tough time following this diet as it restricts consumption of most ice creams. Since most ice creams mix both dairy and animal products you are allowed to buy only kosher ice creams.

4. Rabbit:

Rabbit is a banned animal meat according to kosher rule book. You cannot slaughter this animal for consumption.

5. Cheeseburgers:

Cheeseburgers are a mixture of meat and dairy product which is without any doubt banned by the kashrut. Cheese and meat have high calorie content. So you could do without cheeseburgers to save your health from deteriorating.

6. Some Yogurt:

Yogurt which is consumed without added sugar is beneficial to the health. It can be eaten as a snack to curb your hunger and it also helps the body. It also helps brings down the temperature of the body. Yogurt soothes the body and helps in the process of digestion. But sometimes yogurt is mixed with dairy and animal products during production. Therefore you should buy kosher yogurt if you are on the diet.

7. Some Fruits and Nuts:

According to the Kosher diet rules, you cannot consume any fruits available on the tree. Fruits that were harvested on trees which were at least three years old can be consumed. Therefore it is advisable to buy kosher fruits as well in order to be on the safe side.

Now that you know about the kosher diet, you know its benefits and flaws. Choose the diet according to your preference and if you want to go ahead and indulge in it, make sure you remember the basics.