Clean and Unclean foods, what was Gods purpose.

We read in the Bible about how clean animals must have a split divided hoof and chew the cud, and how unclean animals are those (like pig) do not have the above features. While those in the sea, the clean sea animals must have fins and scales. Why did God give these instructions, what was the whole purpose?

Some people say that was changed when Peter was given the vision of the unclean animals coming down in a sheet:

Acts 10 King James Version (KJV)
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

But the vision was about people, and how they were viewed, not about food or clean and unclean animals. Notice verse 28:

Acts 10:28 King James Version (KJV)
28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Now our original diet that God gave was grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables chosen for us by our Creator. These foods were as simple and natural manner as possible, and were the most healthful and nourishing. Even today we know they impart a strength, endurance, and help the intellect, that are not afforded by a more complex and even meat diet.

I can no longer eat sugars especially when added to foods, so I was reading and came across a new finding that diabetes can be brought under control if people would just eat vegies, basically the diet found in the Garden of Eden.

"The positive effects of a vegan diet on diabetes have made the news big time lately, but here is an interesting article that goes further, and specifically researches the effects of vegetables.

The results are promising, and enough to convince anyone, especially diabetics, to eat more than just the recommended '5 servings a day.' Even better news: vegetables are also powerful warriors against cancer, but it's important not to smoke, or these benefits may be erased.

Chomping on a few vegetables may help ward off diabetes. That is according to a new study at the Minnesota School of Public Health. Inside these and other orange, red, and green foods like carrots, tomatoes, kale, and spinach are caroteniods. Those carotenoids have previously been shown to protect against cancer. These have been shown to lower your odds of a lifetime of getting diabetes....Now go eat your vegetables!.."

"....When it comes to vegetables, people with diabetes, should eat at least three servings a day. Vegetables are healthy, chock full of vitamins and minerals, and some give you much needed fiber. The best part: vegetables are naturally low in calories -- if you are careful not to top them with butter, sour cream, cream soups, or cheese sauces.

Remember, non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, lettuce, greens, carrots, chilies, peppers and tomatoes (those in this food group) do contain a small amount of carbohydrate -- 5 grams per serving.

Easy ways to eat your vegetables:
•Keep frozen and canned vegetables on hand to know you always have vegetables at the ready.
•Make double and triple portions; at a serving one day and have one ready-to-go for the next.
•Blanch (quick cook and chill) a head of broccoli or cauliflower, break it into pieces, place in a plastic container and have a ready supply for the week, hot or cold.
•Keep a bag of pre-cut or baby carrots around -- grab a handful as a snack, pack them with lunch, throw them into stew, or microwave for a quick vegetable.
•Microwave or sauté onions and peppers to put more vegetables into a tomato sauce.
•Toss extra sautéed vegetables on a frozen pizza.
•Make a big salad to last a few days, store in the refrigerator in a plastic container.
•Add vegetables into sandwiches -- not just the old lettuce and tomato, try alfalfa sprouts, sliced red onion, sliced cucumbers, sliced yellow squash or zucchini, red peppers, or leftover grilled vegetables.
•Add vegetables to an omelette or scrambled eggs -- sauté onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and add some fresh herbs.
•Drink tomato juice, V-8 ... as a vegetable.
•In a tomato sauce, cut the amount of meat you use in half, and add more vegetables -- onions, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini or others..."
Adapted from the book Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy. Written by Hope S. Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, a nationally recognized expert on healthy eating and diabetes

So that's all we would be eating but because of sin, their came a change as after the flood as there was not much out in the land, so God allowed man to eat meat. But then He clearly showed a difference between eating clean and unclean meat, so why. Well here is a good review...

"Many factors such as diet, genetic makeup, environment, exercise and good and bad habits affect our health. However, theological as well as medical researchers have recognized the benefits of following the health laws of Scripture.

Commenting on Leviticus 11-15, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary states: “In general it can be said that the laws protected Israel from bad diet, dangerous vermin, and communicable diseases. Only in recent days have better laws of health been possible with the advance of medicine. These were rule-of-thumb laws that God gave in his wisdom to a people who could not know the reason for the provision…

“The Hebrew was not only to avoid eating unclean animals; he was not to touch their dead carcasses. Thus the laws automatically helped control vermin. Common unclean animals would be spiders, flies, bugs, rats, and mice. A dead rat in a Hebrew house was not overlooked. It was carefully taken out and buried. In an effort to avoid such problems, the Hebrew housewife would normally keep a clean house…

“It is, of course, true that some cultures have adopted similar rules out of sad experience. The [Old Testament] did not get its taboos from surrounding cultures, but some other cultures in later times adopted by experience some of these taboos…The laws were wonderfully fashioned by God for the general health of the nation” (R. Laird Harris, Vol. 2, 1990, p. 569).

Theology professor Roland Harrison writes: “The classification of animal species into clean and unclean categories (Leviticus 11:1-47) is significant because, being part of the Pentateuchal medical code, it constituted the basis of dietary regulations that are still adhered to by orthodox Jews and by those Gentiles who are concerned with maintaining good physical health.

“This categorizing is also important in view of the fact that it is unique in the annals of Near Eastern literature because its emphasis is not so much upon the avoidance of magical practices associated with certain animal species as upon the positive delineation of dietary principles intended to insure the physical well-being of the individual and the nation alike through a consistent [preventative] approach” (Introduction to the Old Testament, 1999, p. 603)."....https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-does-the-bible-teach-about-clean-and-unclean-meats/a-matter-of-health
Even the NY times sees what is the cause of many of the diseases...
https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/11/us/disease-source-unclean-foods.html

 

Neither do the Jews or Christians, as its not in the Ten Commandments, its for our health. Eating vegan or kosher is not salvaic...

 

Need to keep current on the latest on diet..

"Our major findings on cancer and animal foods
There is strong evidence that consuming:

• red meat INCREASES the risk of colorectal cancer
• processed meat INCREASES the risk of colorectal cancer
• Cantonese-style salted fish INCREASES the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer
• dairy products DECREASES the risk of colorectal cancer"...Meat, fish & dairy

"The IARC group of 22 experts from 10 countries found that eating 50 grams of processed meat a day, which is less than two slices of bacon, increases the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18 percent. Toni Brayer, M.D., an internist with the Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, says IARC confirmed what many scientists and doctors have known for years — that processed meats are essentially carcinogenic.

“The data is as strong as it possibly can be that processed meat creates a higher incidence of cancers, particularly pancreatic, prostate, stomach and colorectal cancers,” Dr. Brayer says. “IARC also said that fresh cuts of red meat probably cause cancer, too.”"........
Does Meat Cause Cancer? | Sutter Health