You Are How Much You Eat
In his code of Jewish law and thought, Maimonides devoted an entire chapter of The Laws of Character Traits to healthy lifestyle instructions. Choosing health, he began, “is from the ways of God - because when one is sick it’s impossible to understand or know anything about the Creator.”
“The ways of God” isn’t a generic Maimonidean stamp of approval; the term refers to the biblical commandment to balance every character trait according to the mind’s guidance. In The Healthy Jew’s debut column, we learned how entering humanity requires employing the mind to guide the body toward health - so healthy choices obviously play a critical role in emulating God’s ways.
This central principle deserves careful contemplation. (I’m currently working on a deep-dive series on the topic. Stay tuned.) Today, however, I want to jump straight into Maimonides’ instructions. Let’s be Walkers, not just Talkers.
This is Maimonides’ first principle of healthy living:
A person should never eat unless he’s hungry and shouldn’t drink unless he’s thirsty.
Several lines later, he begins advising on diet in detail:
A person shouldn’t eat until his stomach is filled but should withhold at around a quarter from fullness.
Later on, concluding his advice on nutrition and exercise:
Another principle of physical health: if a person exerts himself a lot and isn’t satiated and his bowels are loose, sickness won’t fall on him and his strength will increase, even if he eats bad foods.
After adding that overeating is “like poison and is the primary source of all disease,” Maimonides concludes by expounding on Proverbs (21:23):
Solomon said in his wisdom, “One who guards his mouth and tongue has guarded himself from troubles.” This refers to guarding his mouth from eating bad foods or satiation, and his tongue from talking more than necessary.
Food quantity, Maimonides tells us, is a critical component of healthy living - even more than food quality. (Important caveat: eating disorders like anorexia are possibly far more prevalent today than in the Middle Ages. So it’s particularly vital to take this advice with balance.)