No beer, no bread, no-brainer? Is Passover indeed healthier?
With most carb derivatives as major Passover culprits, it would seem that the Exodus can do wonders for the waistline. With no choice but to cut out some of the usual suspects that hobble a healthy lifestyle, being a member of The Tribe may have never looked better.
But with most things Jewish, it's not quite so simple.
Health experts seem to be as split as the Red Sea about the healthfulness of Passover, considering that food is such an underlined aspect of the holiday -- but that could be just the right catalyst to forge a new path to the promised land of healthy living. Food is such a symbolic part of the Passover holiday -- and while at times food is the centerpiece -- it doesn't have to be the downfall of a healthy diet.
We're known to habitually overeat and overcompensate for the absence of our leavened favorites over the eight-day Festival of Freedom. One friend who has never consumed a chocolate chip muffin in her life is zealously stocking up on these secular substitutes in what appears to be a preemptive baking panic.
But for the health-conscious, it's not too late to avoid the destructive diet traps normally associated with Passover. Anyone can make this Passover a healthy one -- during the week and beyond -- and examine our own health habits through the prism of the Passover story.
The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years -- and now we still allow ourselves to be slaves to unhealthy eating habits! But we can turn that around this year if we let the meaning of Passover really penetrate. Actualizing our freedom isn't about getting our hands on so many secular substitutes -- it's about the will to say no to them!
And don't forget the kids! Even if he seemed ambivalent about his "bark mitzvah" last year, once the family dog has been codified a man according to Jewish tradition, he's not off the hook with his chametz intake - and many pet food regimens necessitate a Passover-friendly makeover that may take some getting used to. But with this important status comes great dietary responsibility, even if he doesn't quite understand what the price of freedom means to his people.
One thing all the health experts can agree on: the path to Passover health can start with whole grain matzo. It may not sound sexy, but in moderation, it is healthy. But when it's a mitzvah, or commandment, to eat matzo in prodigious quantities - fulfilling the obligation to remember the Exodus by doing so - and matzo becomes a plague for digestion, the liberated can suddenly feel doomed. Don't despair: that's why there's a product called "Kosher for Passover prunes."
Happy -- and healthy -- Passover!