Are there health benefits to eating kosher foods?

Question

I am not Jewish and I know Jewish people eat kosher foods for spiritual reasons.

Answer 1

Well, many kosher foods have more restrictive processing requirements than non-kosher.

For example, in the US, cows have to undergo a slaughtering and preservation process within USDA guidelines.

Kosher meat must undergo additional requirements from kashrut law. Rabbis claim that the meat is naturally going to be a higher quality as a result.

Answer 2

I'm a rabbi, and I couldn't see what the possible health benefits could be. People will give some, but they're silly if you think about them for very long.

Kosher food has mostly to do withhow the animals are slaughtered, and then that they are purged of blood before 3 days time. I suppose the purging it of blood is good for health, rather than letting it sit in its own juice for 3 days; but really, who does that anyway?

Not mixing meat and dairy products doesn't seem to me to have any health benefits.

Not eating untithed produce doesn't have any health benefits.

SOme of the animals forbidden to eat are nasty, but some of them are also good. And even the nasty ones are probably deliscious if served right. I know a man who ate bar-b-qued rat in China and says it was deliscious. I think as long as you chose healthy (not sick) animals and cook right, those animals can be good.

I think Kosher is a spiritual practice that has no health benefits. Even in Jewish sources it is called a "chok." A "Chok" is a rule that doesn't make rational sense, but is the sovereign will of G-d. The Rambam says there are health benefits, but his reasoning seems strained to me.

Answer 3

Of course! Kosher foods consist of many things. One thing about kosher, is that the food you eat has to be made meticulously clean and free of unhealthy parts! Another aspect of kosher is separating milk and meat products and waiting some time in between eating each one...it is extremely unhealthy to eat certain meat and milk products together! I hope I have given you an idea of why kosher has health benefits :)

Answer 4

Well, requiring that all the blood be drained from an animal certainly reduces the risk of blood-borne diseases.

Look at the law against shellfish, and then look at all the people who die from mercury poisoned lobster and oysters.

There's also the law against pork, and eating pork is the only way to get the disease trichinosis.

So in general, I would say yes, there are several health benefits to eating foods from the Kosher plate.

Answer 5

yes !! 7thday adventist also are vegetarians completely because the public meat is not pure anymore,,and they dont know how it is killed, God gives specific instructions to clean and unclean meats,,you can find books like that, at tomorrows world.org, etc.....there are reasons we are not supposed to eat bottom feeders(shrimp) etc..they are for health benefits, and who knows better what we should eat, and how,,than OUR CREATOR ?? 7thday adventist were interviewed because of their long life and longevity, well up into their 90's still more active than many 20 year olds.....i cant remember if it was 48 hrs, or 60 minutes, or an abc news special ?? you could proably search that up also.. there is also a case against dairy for what they are fed, shots given, etc, when tested off the grocery store shelf, the things found in it are disgusting, they are not processing it properly !! not killing the germs, etc. meats have the disease that eats your brain now, so it is safest not to eat any. if you raise your own and kill your own it would be safer, but then, the food you feed them, would still possibly be tainted !!

Answer 6

It is cleaner it think. The meat is "bled" thoroughly. But it can still contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which are terrible for you.