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Jewish Values Vs. Realities Related to Health
By: Richard H. Schwartz




Limiting our presumption against our own body, God's word calls to us: "Do not commit suicide!" "Do not injure yourself!" "Do not ruin yourself!" "Do not endanger yourself!" "Do not weaken yourself!" "Preserve yourself!" (Ibid, Section 427)

Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of God - for one cannot understand or have any knowledge of the Creator if one is ill - therefore one must avoid that which harms the body and accustom oneself to that which is helpful and helps the body become stronger. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah,Hilchot Deot 4:1)

Following the many precedents prescribed in the Code of Jewish Law, we would have little difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that, if indeed eating meat is injurious to one's health, it is not only permissible, but possibly even mandatory that we reduce our ingestion of an unhealthful product to the minimal level. (Rabbi Alfred Cohen, "Vegetarianism From a Jewish Perspective", Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, Fall, 1981, p. 61)



1. Epidemiological studies indicate that populations of countries where meat consumption is high (such as the United States, Canada, Israel, and Australia) have much higher mortality rates from heart disease, cancer, and stroke, compared to countries where meat consumption is low.

2. In its 1997 position paper on vegetarianism, the American Dietetic Association stated: "Scientific data suggest positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and several types of cancer."


4. European Jewish women living in Israel are three times more likely to get breast cancer than Sephardic Jews, apparently due to dietary practices. Japanese women in the United States who consume typical American animal-based diets are four times more likely to develop breast cancer than their counterparts in Japan.

5. An article in the peer-reviewed journal, "Preventive Medicine" (24, 646-655 (1995) revealed that annual medical costs in the U. S. associated with diseases resulting from animal-centered diets are comparable to those associated with cigarette smoking.

6. Cornell University Professor, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, whose study of eating habits of 6,500 people in various areas in China that was described by Jane Brody, New York Times` nutrition editor, as the "grand prix of epidemiology," stated that even "small intakes of animal products are associated with significant increases in chronic degenerative diseases."

7. Recent research has linked osteoporosis to high animal protein diets. It has been found that high levels of animal protein in the diet cause large amounts of calcium to be removed from bones and excreted.


9. According to a U. S. Surgeon General's Report, 68% of all diseases in the United States are diet related.



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