The Danger of Pork.
Pigs are considered the scavengers of the farm (created to eliminate any waste on the farm),
often eating anything they can find.
This includes not only bugs, insects, and whatever leftover scraps they find laying around,
but also their own feces, as well as the dead carcasses of sick animals, including their own young.
This in itself can explain why the meat of the pig can be so unclean or at the very least not so appetizing to consume.
And while being ‘grossed out’ may or may not be a valid reason not to eat something it’s vital to understand
a bit more about pork before reaching your own conclusion.
Know the Facts
Pork is one of the most consumed meats in the world.
China is the largest producer of pigs that were first domesticated way back around 7500 B.C.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that more than 100 viruses come
to the United States each year from China through pigs. There are some obvious concerns about this.
Aside from not needing more viruses to fight off, some of these viruses can prove to be downright dangerous to humans.
Of course, you’re probably familiar with H1N1, better known as ‘the swine flu.” This too is a virus that has made the leap from pig to human.
But H1N1 is not the only disease to fear from the pig. There are other sicknesses you can get from eating the meat of the pig.
Pork meat is loaded with toxins, more so than most other meats like beef and chicken.
Is Pork Meat Toxic?
There are reasons that the meat of the pig becomes more saturated with toxins than many of its counterpart farm animals.
The first reason has to do with the digestive system of a pig.
A pig digests whatever it eats rather quickly, in up to about four hours in one stomach.
On the other hand a cow takes a good twenty-four hours to digest what it’s eaten
in four stomachs which actually one stomach has four chambers.
During the digestive process, animals (including humans) get rid of excess toxins
as well as other components of the food eaten that could be dangerous to health.
Since the pig’s digestive system operates rather basically,
many of these toxins remain in their system to be stored in their more than adequate fatty tissues ready for our consumption.
Another issue with the pig is that it doesn’t have any sweat glands.
Sweat glands are a tool the body uses to be rid of toxins. This leaves more toxins in the pig’s body.
And when you consume pork meat, you too are getting all these toxins that weren’t eliminated from the pig.
None of us need more toxins in our systems. In fact we should all be doing what we can to eliminate and cut down on toxin exposure.
One vital way to do this is by choosing what you eat carefully.
Trichinellosis, Pork Meat, and Your Health
Did you know that pigs carry a variety of parasites in their bodies and meat?
Some of these parasites are difficult to kill even when cooking.
This is the reason there are so many warnings out there about eating undercooked pork.
One of the biggest concerns with eating pork meat is trichinellosis or trichinosis.
This is an infection that humans get from eating undercooked or uncooked pork
that contains the larvae of the trichinella worm.
This worm parasite is very commonly found in pork.
When the worm, most often living in cysts in the stomach, opens through stomach acids,
its larvae are released into the body of the pig.
These new worms make their homes in the muscles of the pig. Next stop?
The unknowing human body who consumes this infected meat flesh.
And while no one particularly wants to consume worms, trichinellosis is
a serious illness that you should do virtually anything to avoid.
Common Symptoms of Trichinellosis:
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Headache
Fever
Chills
Cough
Swollen eyes
Muscle pain
Aching joints
Coordination problems
Heart issues
Breathing problems
These symptoms of trichinellosis can really put you out of the game for quite a while.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) these symptoms can last for weeks and in more serious cases months on end.
The CDC recommends thorough cooking of pork as well as freezing the pork meat prior to cooking to kill off any worms.
In fact, it’s been theorized that trichinellosis is the exact cause of Mozart’s rather sudden death at age 35.
An American researcher theorized this after studying all the documents recording the days before, during, and after Mozart’s death.
He found that Mozart suffered many of the above listed symptoms and he, himself,
had recorded in his journal the consumption of pork just forty-four days before his own death.
(If you want to read more on this intriguing story you can find it in the
Archives of Internal Medicine’s June 2001 issue.)
But that’s not all….
Pigs carry many viruses and parasites with them.
Whether by coming in direct contact with them through farms or by eating their meat
we put ourselves at higher risk of getting one of these painful, often debilitating diseases
(not to mention put our bodies on toxic overload.)
Pigs are primary carriers of:
Taenia solium tapeworm
Hepatitis E virus (HEV)
PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome)
Nipah virus
Menangle virus
Each of these parasites and viruses can lead to serious health problems that can last for years to come.
Also, Pork is regarded as one of the kinds of meat that contain the most cholesterol,
an increase of which in the bloodstream leads to an increased likelihood of blocked arteries.
The fatty acids in pork are also of an unusual formation, when compared with the fatty acids in other types of food,
which makes them more easily absorbed by the body, thus increasing cholesterol levels.
Pork meat and pork fat contribute to the spread of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and blood.
Pork meat and pork fat contribute to obesity and related diseases that are difficult to treat.
Eating pork leads to scabies, allergies and stomach ulcers.
Eating pork causes lung infections which result from tapeworms, lungworms and microbial infections of the lungs.
The reasons discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to eating pigs and your health.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (2010)
Science Direct (1999)
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (2007)
The Religious views about pork
Both the Bible and Qur'an Prohibit the eating of pork. Muslims are aware of this prohibition and observe it strictly. Allah says:
" He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah.
But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit],
there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
(The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an 2:173).
However, most readers of the Bible say they do not know where they can find this in the Bible.
In the book of Leviticus, Chapter 11, v.7, it is recorded that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers.
Then, in verse 8, God says: ' You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you'.
This command is repeated in Deuteronomy 14;7-8. Then, in Isaiah 65:2-4, and 66:17, God issues a stern warning against those who eat pork.
Some people are aware of this prohibition from God, but they say that they can eat pork because
St. Paul said that all food is clean in his letter to the Romans 14:20. St. Paul said this because he believed
(as he wrote in his letter to the Ephesians 2:14-15)
that Jesus had abolished the Law with all its commandments and regulations.
He seems, however, to have misunderstood what he heard from Jesus. In the Gospel According to Matthew 5:17-20,
Jesus is reported to have said quite the contrary, as follows: ' Do not think that I have come to abolish the law...'
Jesus then went on in that passage (in verse 19) to denounce anyone who would break the smallest commandment and teach others likewise.
He also praised his true followers who will practice and teach even the smallest commandments.
One of the commandments, as we have seen, is to stay away from pork.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:17-18
This is why the true followers of Jesus, holding on to his teachings,
did not let unclean food such as pork enter their mouths, so that Peter, the chief disciple, can say:'
I have never eaten anything impure or unclean'
(Acts of the Apostles, ch.10, v.14).
Five chapters later in the Acts of the Apostles, 15:29, we find that the original disciples still differentiate
between clean and unclean foods. and this time Paul is in agreement with them. Six chapters later, in ch.21, v.25,
their decision to impose food regulations on believers is mentioned without regret, and this time Paul is challenged to prove
that he is in agreement with them; and he demonstrated his full agreement with Diem.
This is a vid of a Christain speaker telling us how pork is impure being to be eaten:
What remains then, is that Jesus, on whom be peace, upheld the prohibition against pork.
His disciples also upheld it, and so must ail his followers.
Those who fail to uphold it need to be informed and reminded of this rule from God.
This is one reason why God sent His final messenger, on whom be peace and blessings. God says:
“ O people of the Scripture! Now has Our Messenger come unto you,
expounding unto you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture and forgiving much.
Now has come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture”
(The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an 5:15).
We don't have or need to know the purpose and goal of everything to obey Allah's words
Is it not the prerogative of the Creator to command His slaves as He will, and to rule them as He will.
No one can overturn His ruling or change His words.
Is it not the duty of the created being, the slave, to say to his Lord,
whenever He commands him to do something: “We hear and we obey”?
You may enjoy its taste and want to eat it, and those around you may enjoy it,
but doesn’t Paradise deserve some sacrifice on your part of that which your heart desires?.
Sources:
http://www.draxe.com/why-you-should-avoid-pork/ .
http://islamqa.info/en/ref/12558 .
Youtube.
May Allah protect us from all harms and evils and May He The Exalted help us to worship Him right
and always keep us guided and firm on His straight path Ameeeen