Other Lifestyles

Last Updated on Monday, 15 March 2010 14:19

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While most people choose a mainstream diet some people either cannot (due to a health condition or for religious reasons) or choose not to (for health or ethical reasons) eat certain types of food.

Some examples are:

Wheat-free / gluten-free diets

Wheat intolerances and allergies are common, in varying degrees. The most severe example of gluten intolerance in Coeliac disease, in which people can have severe reactions to very small amounts of wheat products containing gluten. Wheat products include bread, pasta, and many biscuits and cakes. Recently, rice-based substitutes for bread and pasta have become far more widely available, making this diet easier to follow than it had been in the past.

Organic foods

Food that is certified organic is free of any genetically modified components and free of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Organic food is not necessarily any more nutritious than conventional food, but tends to be premium produce, which may be fresher and therefore retaining more nutrients. It is also free of the potential risks of eating traces of pesticides, or genetically modified foods. Organic food is, however, too expensive for many people to eat all the time.

Vegetarian and Vegan diets

Vegetarian diets can be adopted for moral reasons (i.e. animal welfare), ecological reasons (damage to the land by farming animals; unsustainable commercial fishing practices; more energy efficient to eat lower on the food chain), health reasons (diets lower on the food chain are typically lower in saturated fats and cumulative toxins) or religious reasons (certain castes in Hinduism, Sikh, many Taoists, Jains and many Seventh Day Adventists are vegetarian.) Vegetarians typically include dairy products and eggs in their diet (lacto-ovo vegetarians), while vegans eat no animal-derived food at all. Many vegetarians also exclude products like gelatine (found in jelly, lollies, and some firm dairy products) and cheese made with animal rennet. Semi- vegetarians may include fish in their diet, and some also include chicken.

Halal

This is the diet permitted under Islamic law. It excludes pork and any pig-based products, carnivorous animals, blood and intoxicants such as alcohol. Halal meat requires the animal to be killed according to Dhabiĥa.

Kosher

This is the religious diet permitted in Judaism. Meat is restricted to animals which chew cud and have cloven hooves as well as birds, such as poultry. Meat must be killed according to shechita, which is similar to the halal requirements of Dhabiĥa. Meals cannot mix meat and milk.

Youth Art- Cherry Piyapaneekul - As strong as a tree

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