A couple of weeks back in our annual Generations magazine, our summer intern Eshley Spitzer did a write-up about the Rambam’s tips for healthy living. Along with being one of the greatest-ever Jewish scholars, Maimonides was a renowned physician, and these are just a few of his guidelines. He also wrote in-depth about disease prevention and treatment, including detailing certain foods that are particularly beneficial.
What’s fascinating is how many of his tips and guidelines are as relevant as ever, and have been co-opted by myriad dietitians and other medical professionals.
1. Eat to live, don’t live to eat. The Rambam warns against pure physical gratification, which leads to overeating as our focus becomes about what makes us feel good in the short term, rather than what benefits our physical well-being.
2. Don’t fad diet, change your habits. “The quicker the fix, the quicker it gives out,” writes Spitzer. A truth we know all too well. Better to incrementally enact changes in our diet and lifestyle. Once something because a regular habit, it’s much more difficult to break.
3. Eat until your stomach is three-quarters full. A common mistake we make is eating until we feel full, which means we’re actually overeating, because about fifteen minutes after “feeling full”, we tend to feel bloated.
4. Work, eat, rest. It’s the routines drummed into us by personal trainers the world round, and the Rambam says that even a few stretches before eating quickens the metabolism.
5. Eat what’s in season. Here the Rambam goes beyond berries in summer, apples and pears in autumn, and asparagus in spring, and talks about the temperatures of foods, that warm spicy food in the winter prevents sickness and cold foods in summer, like salads, keep us from overheating.
6. Put intellect before instincts. This is a particularly hard one, because we all know apple fritters and doughnuts aren’t good for us, but yet… It’s another way of saying mind over body.
7. Treat your table like a temple. Eating is a communal ritual and we should treat where we eat with respect. If we take a moment to express gratitude, we’re more likely to appreciate our table, and less likely to thoughtlessly overeat.
8. Don’t drink while digesting, in other words, don’t drink during a meal and for about half hour after.
9. Eat a portion of fibrous fruit. For example strawberries or melon – at the start of a meal to aid digestions.
10. Commit to your regime. This goes back to number one; if you change your habits you’ll have a much easier time staying consistent.
These are just ten of Rambam’s guidelines – do you know any others? Specifically, are you familiar with any of the particular ingredients (fruit, veg) that Rambam recommended? If so, please share!
I find it amazing how relevant Rambam’s science is now, years later. I remember once reading something about the importance of onions, garlic, cumin and mustard seeds to ward off flu.