Religious Beliefs

• The rules and moral beliefs of the religion a person follows can influence the diet and the food that they eat. This may be through disallowing the consumption of certain foods.
• For example, Muslims cannot eat pork or blood, Jews cannot eat pork, Christians can’t eat blood and Hindus can’t eat beef.
• Some foods, particularly meat may not also be allowed, unless they are prepared in a certain way.
• In Islam foods must be classed as halal to be eaten. A common example of this is that animals must be slaughtered in a specific way, which ensures all blood is drained away, in order to be considered halal.
• in Judaism, Kosher foods are foods that follow certain dietary rules. For example, mixing meat and dairy is not allowed.
• While religious beliefs are unlikely to have a large impact on nutritional intake, due to only certain foods being restricted, some religious observances can alter diet significantly, for example, Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from dawn till dusk, and Lent, a period of abstinence Christians follow where they may give up certain foods or food groups for 40 days.
• Some religions such as Buddhism, also encourage certain diets such as vegetarianism, which can have an impact on diet.