If you like Jamaica and you want to experience life like a true Rastafarian, there are some things you need to change in your diet.
First, the Rastafarian often reject the Western lifestyle because they think Western cultures are built on vanity, greed, materials, and unethical behavior.
When it comes to their diet, the Rastafarians believe that their body is a temple, and they treat it as such.
In this article, we will show you the most important things you need to know about this diet and lifestyle.
If you find it interesting and would like to try it, make sure to read everything about the Rastafarian diet before getting started. It’s always good to know exactly what to expect before diving into the unknown.
Now let’s see what this diet is all about.
Rastafarian Diet
The Role of Ital
The culture, religion, and many aspects of the Rastafarians’ life, including their diet, are based on Ital. This translates to vital, showing the strong relationship between Jamaicans and the environment.
When it comes to food, Ital plays an important role. The Rastafarian diet, based on the Ital beliefs, contains only natural, pure food.
You can’t simply start the Rastafarian diet without knowing more about Ital and its involvement in the Rasta circles. While the Ital diet is associated with vegetarianism in most cases, the Rastafarian diet is more than that, and it’s a way of healthy and pure life.
This diet has many similarities to a Kosher diet.
Before you decide that this is the proper diet for you, it’s essential to consult with your doctor or nutritionist.
The Contemporary Rastafarian Diet
Since the Rastafarian movement in the 1930s, many things have changed. For instance, because of globalization, the diet is now a lot more flexible than it used to be. Nowadays, you can keep the contemporary Rastafarian diet anytime you want to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Due to genetically modified organisms and the fear of diseases, the movement is growing. If you want to take on this diet, make sure to stack your fridge with natural food and many healthy snacks.
Now let’s see what you are allowed to eat.
Eating Like a True Rastafarian
The Rastafarian diet is based only on food with no additives, food coloring, flavoring, and preservatives. Also, it’s important to choose food that doesn’t contain salt.
Fortunately, you can add natural spices and herbs if you want to give more flavor to your food. Of course, packaged foods are not allowed.
First of all, the most important things on this diet are vegetables and fruits and most of these need to be eaten raw. The idea is that cooking vegetables or fruits reduces the nutritional density.
Coconut is one of the most used ingredients, and it is used as a fruit, oil, or milk. This gives a lot of flavor to your food, and it’s also a lot healthier than other vegetable oils.
If coconut is not your favorite, you can choose from various fruits, including oranges, strawberries, papaya, and melons.
Also, you can eat onions, carrots, yams, and many leafy greens. Other options include peppers, pumpkin, mango, guava, passion fruit banana, breadfruit, coconut, avocado, sugar apple, soursop, tamarind.
Green leafy vegetables include collard greens, kale, and spinach-like green called callaloo.
Nuts and grains are also allowed in this diet. You can eat brown rice and many roasted seeds, adding flavor to the fruits and vegetables.
Also, these are great resources of protein, so you might want to load up on peas and beans because you are not allowed to eat meat. The Rasta diet allows the consumption of some smaller-sized fish – no bigger than 12 inches long- but shellfish are not allowed. Strict followers may eliminate animal products altogether, essentially following a vegan diet in addition to eliminating some types of beverages mentioned below.
You might wonder what you can drink when you have this diet. Well, the best drink is fruit juices and herbal drinks. You can also try fresh fruit smoothies.
Alcohol is forbidden. Also, you need to exclude coffee, soda, and other processed drinks because they are considered unhealthy.
Conclusion
These are some of the most important things you should know before starting the Rastafarian diet. Before you begin any diet, it’s recommended that you check it out with your doctor and see if it’s appropriate for you.
Because this is a diet full of nutrients and minerals, most people can do it. However, the protein deficit is a genuine concern, especially for those who don’t like beans and peas.
Shellfish is not allowed on Rasta diets because it violates rules of Leviticus regarding clean (kosher) food.