Rabbi Shalom Arush on Unhealthy Eating

Many Rabbi's are becoming aware of the tremendous dangers of unhealthy eating and food addictions that are plaguing our nation. Many of us are literally eating ourselves to sickness and death. According to the Torah, unhealthy eating is PROHIBITED. As Rabbi Shalom Arush author of The Garden of Healing explains: "Its forbidden to eat harmful foods for any reason, even if it may be considered in honor of Shabbat. Furthermore a person cannot rely on his Emuna and his efforts at Teshuva, expecting to be healthy while physically harming himself... Hashem commands us in His Torah to guard our health and certainly not to do anything to damage our health in any way as the verse clearly states "And you should diligently guard your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:15)

"Its fundamental to acknowledge the point that illness is the is the natural result of unhealthy eating. Punishment is the consequence of sin, just like the act of placing one's hand in a fire results in serious burns. Leading a hazardous negligent lifestyle and maintaining poor eating and living habits is tantamount to sticking one's hand in a fire....today almost every food that we purchase contains toxic chemicals, preservatives, and food colorings and undergoes countless stages of processing that strips it of all its natural beneficial constituents, leaving mostly waste products which can be enormously harmful and dangerous. " Rabbi Shalom Arush The Garden of Healing page 175