"Ital" Vegan Diet
The word Ital is most often used in the context of food.
It usually means 'pure' or 'natural'
- that is, without additives of any sort, organically
produced, and non-processed.
In theory, Ital is also strictly vegan,
or at least vegetarian, though as with
many aspects of Rastafari culture, there may be
considerable diversity of practice. Hence, some Rastas
have absolutely vegan and even salt-free diets, while
others consume dairy products including eggs, and at
least some also eat fish and even meats.
However, pork is generally avoided, in accordance with
the Old Testament dietary restrictions. On similar lines,
the Ital diet may also be linked strongly with the
biblical Nazirite Vow, which requires abstinence from wine and
other fermented drink.
Another scriptural verse that is often cited is 1
which speaks of the 'temple' of the
human body. The idea that the physical body should be
kept pure and holy as a temple for the Divine is a very
ancient concept indeed, based on a paradox in which the
part contains the whole, the finite contains the infinite,
the microcosm contains the macrocosm. Today this idea
appears to be re-emerging as a powerful metaphor in a
number of modern religious movements. Abstaining
from the intake of 'polluting' or 'defiling' substances
is one important way of observing boundaries of respect
for the sacred, just as is the case in
spatial terms within an actual temple.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, including exotic varieties,
are easily come by in Jamaica. Hence, the Ital diet seems
an especially natural choice for Rastas living in the
Caribbean. Moreover it fits very closely with the
recommendations of modern health experts and dieticians,
who advocate the timeless wisdom of such sayings as 'Nature
knows best', and 'You are what you eat'.
At its best, Ital cuisine is anything but dull!
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