After spending another daf and a half on dreams and their
interpretations, today’s Gemara, TB Berachot 57, moves on to the topic of food. “The
Gemara says: Three food items enter the body yet the body does
not benefit from them: Cherries, bad dates, and unripe dates.
“Six matters cure a sick person from his illness, and
their cure is an effective cure. They are: Cabbage, beets, dried foley,
a medicinal plant, the stomach, the placenta, and the diaphragm of an
animal. Some say that small fish also possess these qualities. Furthermore,
small fish cause one’s entire body to flourish and become healthy.
“In contrast, there are ten matters that cause a sick
person who has recovered to suffer a relapse of his illness, and his illness
is even more severe, and they are: Eating ox meat, eating fatty
meat in general, eating roasted meat, eating poultry, eating a
roasted egg, shaving, eating cress, drinking milk, eating cheese,
and bathing in a bathhouse. And some say eating nuts, and some
say even eating cucumbers.” (Sefaria.org
translation)
I recognize that sometimes folk medicines have real medicinal
qualities. Nevertheless, I am skeptical of the benefits and deficits described
by the Talmud until proven otherwise by modern science. I do believe that we often
don’t choose healthy food over unhealthy choices. Let me share with you a
couple examples from the website Eat this, Not that.
Brown Rice
Unhealthy Ingredients: Arsenic
Despite the countless health benefits of brown rice—which
include digestion-slowing fiber and metabolism-boosting selenium—there is one
reason you might consider the white grain over brown: arsenic levels. Recent
analyses conducted by the Food and Drug Administration have found that arsenic is
showing up at alarming rates in our beloved brown rice. Not only is arsenic
known to be a carcinogen, but long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic is
also associated with higher rates of skin, bladder, and lung cancers, as well
as heart disease, according to the FDA. Because arsenic seeps into the
outermost layers of the grain, it remains in fiber-rich brown rice but not in
polished white rice.
Eat This! Instead: Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN,
registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith
Nutrition, agrees that the levels of arsenic in rice are concerning,
but assures the risks can easily be reduced by varying all grains and starches
we consume.
Deli Meats
Unhealthy Ingredients: Excess sodium
The deli meats you use to make your lunch may be putting
your life at risk. How? Consider this: just 2 of those
thinly-sliced pieces of meat can contain more sodium than a bag of pretzels, and
upwards of 680 milligrams! (And who only uses 2 slices…?) A diet high in sodium
puts many at risk for high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease, and
with the average American consuming 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day,
according to the American Heart Association, you should try to choose
lower-sodium options whenever they are available.
Eat This! Instead: Unfortunately, all-natural,
"uncured" meats still contain nitrates from natural additives like
celery powder, so you won't really be reducing any negative health risks by
purchasing these. Rather, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)
recommends focusing on reducing your intake of processed meats to 18 ounces (or
six 3-ounce servings of meat) a week. https://www.eatthis.com/unhealthiest-foods-on-the-planet/
To help us make better choices, I refer you to these two
webpages
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