Kosher Diets and Eating Disorders in the Jewish Community

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Special Projects Coordinator at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

For many cultures and religions across the global, diet can be more than just nutrition but a customary way of honoring longstanding traditions, behaviors, and rituals. Many foods are symbolic to certain cultures and the manner in which food is eaten is also representative of several important facets to a people and their beliefs.

While different cultures follow their own standards and customs, the Jewish culture historically has its unique methods of approaching food and nutrition.

Dietary Laws

Orthodox Jewish law in particular has very specific dietary laws known as Kashrut, or a set of biblical dietary restrictions. Kashrut is known more commonly as “kosher”, which effectively describes foods that meet standards acceptable to the Orthodox Jewish culture. Kosher dietary laws are typically observed continuously throughout the year, and there are additional dietary restrictions for Jewish holidays, such as Passover.

Some of the general kosher guidelines includes the restriction of flesh, eggs, organs, and milk of forbidden animals, the separation of meats from dairy, and the inspection and fruits and vegetables before consumption.

Other aspects of Kosher diets are focused on the preparation and handling of foods. For example, kosher law dictates that utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa, and that all blood must be drained from meat and poultry before eaten.

In certain situations, a rabbi or organization must certify packaged products to ensure kosher preparation, which involves the examination of the ingredients and process by which the food is prepared.

Kosher Diets Can Trigger Eating Disorders

For the Jewish individual who may have other risk factors for an eating disorder, the rules and regulations with following a strict Kosher diet can be potentially triggering. Eating disorder related behaviors can easily be masked as religious rituals, and it is important to understand and discern the difference.

As a professional who may engage with individuals who are Jewish, being aware of cultural differences is an important aspect of identifying possible eating disorder behaviors that may result from following certain food rules and rituals that may be customary.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

What are the potential ways in which a person can use religious rituals to mask eating disorder behaviors and habits?

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on January 24, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com