Halal Diets
Despite more sophisticated medical technology and improved hygiene standards, we are going through an unprecedented epidemic of obesity and chronic diet related diseases with no end in sight. A healthy diet is based on a greater variety of unprocessed foods, particularly vegetables, fruits, olive oil, nuts, prebiotics, fibre and polyphenols. Bright coloured vegetables and fruits contain high levels of polyphenols. Selecting healthy foods on the basis of colour, counting ‘colories’ rather than ‘calories’, makes more sense. Research shows that eating less meat is an important building block for a healthy diet, which will also automatically reduce the intake of antibiotics from the industrial-scale antibiotic-dependent fish and meat industry. The objective of this viewpoint paper is to understand the halal dietary laws and dietary recommendations from the holy Quran & Hadith, and propose a halal certification system to better support a healthy lifestyle choice fo