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Hi Shaf,

I am trying a diet which forbits me to eat pork, but no reason was given, other than it is bad for my immune system.
I can eat as much red meat as i like.

I am looking for some scientific reasons on why pork is bad, and I thought that you might know.

Apart from the usual: the fact that it is meat, high fat content, carcnogenic when cooked etc. What sets it aside from other meats?

To be honest, the reason why Jews and Muslims don't eat pork is because God forbids Muslims and Jews from eating pork!

The Quran doesn't give a reason, other than a reference to pigs being dirty (contrast that with alcohol where God says there is some good in it, but the bad outweighs the good).


Therefore the justifications on health grounds given by some are just people trying to understand the reasons why pork may be forbidden.

From what I've read (and from memory):
1. Pork has high fat content
2. Pork is more prone to parasites/bacteria - that is why steak tartare (raw beef or lamb) is ok, but pork has to be thoroughly cooked (even today where the argument is that pigs are more hygenically raised than in the past)
3. It is a white meat and similar to human flesh (cannibals in the pacific refer to human meat as 'long pig', people say that burnt humans - at fires, explosions etc - smell like bacon/pork (sorry, I know it's gross).
4. Pigs are anatomically similar to humans - and one of the issues of xenotransplants is that the porcine retro-viruses etc may easily mutate and cause harm in humans. Pigs are used to produce hormones that can be used by humans (insulin, for example IIRC).

3 and 4 are my personal observations - and I use as additional reasons why it may not be advisable to eat pork on health grounds (I mean if the concerns about pig viruses are an issue in transplants, then shouldn't you treat pig flesh the same way you'd treat the bodily fluids of a suspected aids victim?)


Just my 2 cents - but there's quite a lot of material out there on the subject. (However, I'm not sure that's a reason why doctors/dieticians would say pork is bad for your immune system.)

Good luck with the diet!

Edit: Did a quick Google - found this article:
http://knol.google.com/k/human-pathogen ... s-of-pork#


Cheers,
Shafique

This piece of info really courage me. Thanks.
My aim: less pork and more fish.^o^

I could live without pork and I definitely eat less of it since moving to Dubai but dropping bacon from my diet I can't do. Anyway I think there is some scientific material out there about health issues (can't remember what) associated from eating pork.

I think if pork was really "bad" food, it would not be sold. What is said is that it has to be thoroughly cooked. But so does chicken.

My understanding why Jews don't eat pork or shellfish is that pigs are considered the scavengers of the earth, and shellfish (lobster and shrimp) are the scavengers of the sea as they eat from the bottom. When eating in a restaurant I knew who were "Jewish" because they wold suck the shellfish dry!!!

There's always turkey "bacon", which, because of the word "bacon" can be found in the pork section of supermarkets. Some companies have changed it to turkey strips and is on the shelves outside of the pork section as it is a big seller as it has 50%+ less fat. Just as good as pork bacon, just not fatty or greasy.

shafique wrote:To be honest, the reason why Jews and Muslims don't eat pork is because God forbids Muslims and Jews from eating pork!

The Quran doesn't give a reason, other than a reference to pigs being dirty (contrast that with alcohol where God says there is some good in it, but the bad outweighs the good).


Therefore the justifications on health grounds given by some are just people trying to understand the reasons why pork may be forbidden.

From what I've read (and from memory):
1. Pork has high fat content
2. Pork is more prone to parasites/bacteria - that is why steak tartare (raw beef or lamb) is ok, but pork has to be thoroughly cooked (even today where the argument is that pigs are more hygenically raised than in the past)
3. It is a white meat and similar to human flesh (cannibals in the pacific refer to human meat as 'long pig', people say that burnt humans - at fires, explosions etc - smell like bacon/pork (sorry, I know it's gross).
4. Pigs are anatomically similar to humans - and one of the issues of xenotransplants is that the porcine retro-viruses etc may easily mutate and cause harm in humans. Pigs are used to produce hormones that can be used by humans (insulin, for example IIRC).

3 and 4 are my personal observations - and I use as additional reasons why it may not be advisable to eat pork on health grounds (I mean if the concerns about pig viruses are an issue in transplants, then shouldn't you treat pig flesh the same way you'd treat the bodily fluids of a suspected aids victim?)


Just my 2 cents - but there's quite a lot of material out there on the subject. (However, I'm not sure that's a reason why doctors/dieticians would say pork is bad for your immune system.)

Good luck with the diet!

Edit: Did a quick Google - found this article:
http://knol.google.com/k/human-pathogen ... s-of-pork#


Cheers,
Shafique

thanks

You must not kill any living being for the sake of your food.
The killing is the greatest sin
You must not kill any living being for the sake of your food. God has given enough vegetable food that contains all the ingredients present in the non-vegetarian food. After all, the source of ingredients of any flesh is only vegetable kingdom only. Eating the non-vegetarian food is not a sin because same ingredients exist in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. But, you have to kill a living being for the sake of non-vegetarian food. The killing is the greatest sin.
You may argue that you have not killed the living being directly. Such argument cannot stand. Since you are eating the non-vegetarian food, the living being is killed. You are responsible for its killing. Therefore, you are the principle shareholder of the sin. There is nothing wrong if you eat a living being after its natural death. In Hinduism, there is a sect of people called ‘Kapalikas’, who eat the dead living beings. Therefore, they do not acquire sin. The tsunami is always due to anger of God since you are killing the living beings present in water for food. The earthquakes are due to killing of living beings that exist on the earth. God in the form of Buddha and Mahavir preached the non-violence and severely opposed the killing of living beings.

God in some other human forms might have followed the practice of non-vegetarian food in order to join with non-vegetarian people so that, certain other higher aspects to be preached might have been taken into consideration. That does not mean that God has encouraged the killing of living beings through non-vegetarian food. He might have kept silent on this issue in order to give importance to other serious issues. God follows the ignorance of the students in order to become friendly with them. To control a running bull, you have to run along with it for some distance before controlling it.

All these are the basic concepts of nivrutti, which are the core of pravrutti. By following the ethics of pravrutti, you will avoid God becoming furious with you. Then, through nivrutti, you can please God. On one hand, you are making God furious by not following the ethics of pravrutti and how can you please God through nivrutti simultaneously?
www.universal-spirituality.org
Universal Spirituality for World Peace

DTTS you're on about it again, I suggest before you start digging up old threads finish off, the ones you have already started on the same topic.

desertdudeshj wrote:DTTS you're on about it again, I suggest before you start digging up old threads finish off, the ones you have already started on the same topic.

Munchkin, you need to revisit the Muslim thread and answer my question as to where I have insulted a child. BM is not going to let this one drop I'm afraid.

With regards to parasites and worms etc the same can be said about fish if you eat alot of it raw.

The tsunami is always due to anger of God since you are killing the living beings present in water for food. The earthquakes are due to killing of living beings that exist on the earth.

Yeah, no such thing as plate tectonics, eh? http://www.scienceclarified.com/Di-El/Earthquake.html

So if the entire world, humans and lesser animals alike, became vegetarian there would no longer be earthquakes or tsunamis?

kanelli wrote:The tsunami is always due to anger of God since you are killing the living beings present in water for food. The earthquakes are due to killing of living beings that exist on the earth.

Yeah, no such thing as plate tectonics, eh? http://www.scienceclarified.com/Di-El/Earthquake.html

So if the entire world, humans and lesser animals alike, became vegetarian there would no longer be earthquakes or tsunamis?

The sin, which is the source of all sufferings, cannot be cancelled through any extent of devotion and any extent of dearness and nearness to God. No way is competent to cancel the sin except one path. Such only one path is real and permanent transformation of the mind. Such transformation will avoid the doing of sin in future. Since the punishment given for the sin done in the past also aims at this transformation only, there is no meaning of punishing the soul further for the past sins after the transformation. Hence, the permanent and real transformation of the soul cancels all the past sins and the future possibility of doing any sin more. There is no other way than this because such unique way is the will of God.

If God cancels all your past sins, it means that you are really and permanently transformed and that you will never do sin in the future. Such permanent and real transformation of the soul can be achieved only by getting the true knowledge, which is the starting step of the correct treatment. After getting the true knowledge, you will try to travel in the right path and now your effort gains importance. Gradually, you will succeed in getting the real and permanent transformation through the right knowledge associated with your subsequent effort to implement the right knowledge in practice. Both right knowledge and your effort are necessary to achieve the goal.

Realization is the process of effort to change the soul and reformation is the actual change of the soul. If the soul is reformed, the proof for it is that the sin is not practically repeated. If this result is achieved, there is no need of punishment. The punishment is not for the sake of past sin, since past is past. The punishment is only to change the soul so that in future the sin is not repeated.

The day you have stopped repeating the sin, you are excused by God for the past sin. This is the only way to stop the punishment of sin, which is in the form of problems of life. If you have stopped all the sins, your life will be the happiest and for this you need not pray even God. Prayer to God will not cancel even the trace of the sin.

Ravana prayed Lord Shiva in several ways, but, he could not escape the punishment of his sin. If you are committing sin, you are violating the word of God and going against the will of God. God wants you not to commit any sin. His word is the ethical scripture, which says that you should not commit any sin. The sin will disturb the balance of the society since it hurts the co-living beings.

So that's a no?