If you just sometimes find yourself checking the fat content on a milk or yogurt container, or you occasionally leave the car in the garage and walk instead, you're already familiar with Wellness.
Interest in health, nutrition and Wellness has grown dramatically over the last few years. People everywhere are trying to embrace more of a Wellness lifestyle, realizing that physical exercise and a careful diet can dramatically improve their health.
According to the Jewish tradition, the maintenance of good health is of prime imp ortance, and it is even considered a Biblical commandment: "You shall guard your health very carefully." The great rabbi Maimonides is famous not only for being an outstanding Torah scholar and a Talmudic codifier, but also as a physician whose dietary recommendations sound like those of, well... a health nut.
Nowadays, it is not so easy to live up to the familiar Yiddish blessing 'you should live to 120.' Our soil and foods are being depleted of their nutrients, even as rushed meals and fast foods lead to deficiencies of essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function optimally. As a result, many are turning to vitamin and mineral supplementation. Nature's wonderful bounty of herbs and medicinal plants have begun to attract interest as health enhancers. As the current rise in pesticides, preservatives and genetically engineered foods raise serious questions, a growing number of consumers are seeking out organic wholesome foods. And as Jews who are simultaneously pursuing both a physical and a spiritual health regimen, we also need to make sure our supplements are kosher.
But some may dismiss and pooh-pooh this problem. "What's the problem? They're just vitamins, isn't that like medicine?" "What could be not kosher about organic foods made by a vegetarian company?" These are just a few of the common prevalent misconceptions about health foods and the Kosher diet.
Rabbi Yehudah Rosenbaum of KOF-K explained that "The fact is that 'Natural' doesn't automatically mean kosher. Meat and animal products are natural, too. Carmine, a beetle derivative and common natural coloring, is also natural but not kosher. Grape skin extract is natural, yet it presents a major Kosher problem.
Vitamins commonly come from many non-Kosher sources including wine, gelatin, shellfish and other animal sources. Vegetarian vitamins may contain non-kosher fillings, and then there is the seasonal problem of chametz, during the week of Pesach and after. In addition, all manufactured products, food or supplements may share production lines with non-kosher foods in the factory. So what's a mineral maven to do?
Fortunately, thanks to the reliable kosher supervision of KOF-K, we can still enjoy an abundance of health products. A leader in the field of Kosher supervision, KOF-K offers a big selection of health products to the discriminating consumer. "We have been in the field for 35 years. Our education and experience allows us to do a thorough and conscientious job," Rabbi Rosenbaum notes.
This sentiment is echoed by Benjie Brecher of Hain Foods, the world's largest supplier of natural and organic foods. Hain has many of its products certified by KOF-K supervision, including oils, baked goods, cereals, rice cakes and snacks.
"We obtained kosher supervision for strategic marketing; it's really a booming market. KOF-K gives great, universally accepted supervision and quick response to the hundreds of plants we work with," Benjie explains.
Solgar, a leading manufacturer of vitamins and nutritional supplements, is proud to offer many KOF-K supervised products. "We are known as a leader in providing kosher supplements. We developed a vegetarian, as opposed to gelatin, capsule technology for the industry, enabling many more kosher supplements to be developed," says Solgar spokesman Jeff Whipple.
Do you want to boost your brain power with Ginko? Fight that cold with echinecha? These are only 2 of the 360 herbal extracts manufactured by Nature's Answer. "Members of the Jewish community kept calling to know if they could use our products --now with KOF-K working with us, they can!" exclaimed Steve Loren. "KOF-K is highly respected and universally recognized. They readily answer any of our questions, and investigate thoroughly." Tofutti Protein Powder is another of the fine health products that Kosher consumers can use with confidence, as it bears a Kof- K symbol.
So, L'chaim—to your health and Wellness! With kosher supervised health foods you can have the best of both worlds- good for your body and good for your soul!
Sponsored by KOF-K Kosher Supervision
