Food and mosaic law (Not a discussion of Macht Study)

I would tend to agree with Abshalom. The Jewish dietary restrictions make more sense to me as a "totemic" device, that is a way to distinguish themselves from the neighboring tribes. Of course, I believe that this has a secular origin, but nothing logically precludes a deity of separating her people from others through dietary restrictions and religious rites. So even if the dietary restrictions have no health benefits, it has no bearing on whether or not they are divinely inspired.On the other hand, if it can be shown that a kosher diet is healthier than the standard Bronze Age Middle Eastern diet, it could either be from a god protecting the health of her people, or the result of pure trial and error experimentation on the part of the people over centuries.In short, neither the health benefits of a kosher diet, nor the lack of any health benefits, have any relevance one way or the other to the question of Yahweh's existence.I would point this out to kendemeyer, but I have no intention of reading Macht's study.

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there is a school of thought that attributes Cromagnon's advanced mental and spiritual evolution beyond Neanderthal's due to the Cromagnon's shellfish and waterfowl rich diet vs the Neanderthal's more "kosher" diet of red meat (hoofed ruminates, etc.).

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Hmm. I seem to remember something like this when I was younger - modern humans advanced when they began to exploit the nutritious food sources available in the ocean coasts and lakes. Thanks for reminding me.