Big attention worldwide is given to nutrition in order to prevent many noninfectious diseases that gained an epidemic proportion in today’s society. Among them are conditions linked with heart diseases.

Diet, as a tool for prevention, doesn’t include just healthy eating habits; it should include other factors, like composition of food and presence of nutrients that effect on our nervous, cardiovascular and immune system. Today, the high-fat diet is present all over the world and it is well-known that especially saturated fats are associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and the development of certain forms of cancer (colon, prostate, breast, lungs).  We all know that fats and proteins and carbohydrates belong to the macronutrients. They are part of our daily diet and the question should be based just on what kind of fats we should enter to keep our blood vessels and heart in good shape, and what kind of fat should we avoid preventing hazardous impact on our health? Cardiologists all around the world observe that in recent years many younger people started suffering from many heart problems and many ended with death so the former limit of 65 dropped to 45 years, and it’s getting even lower [1]. So, what can we do to prevent such state? One of the solutions is to consume food and food products with the lowest amount of added artificial substances and with the healthier kinds of fats.

Halal standard makes the set of rules and guidelines for the production and preparation of food in accordance with Islamic religious customs. Halal requirements were derived from the Quran and Shari’a law, which among other things, regulates which food is allowed or in Arabic language “Halal”, and what is haram – “forbidden”.

Halal among other things prohibits the use of: pork, including products made from blood, all by-products of pork, such as porcine gelatin or enzymes that are sometimes used in productions of some cheeses or in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. By halal, even meat of improperly slaughtered or previously wrongly nourished bovine animals for example, with GMO ingredients or fed with food that contains mycotoxins, (milk, meat, lard and so on) is forbidden to use.

Also, food that is prepared with wine or any other kind of alcoholic beverages (mostly in cakes or sauces) can’t belong to food based on Halal principles.

Why is pork meat so dangerous?

Just one good reason why we should avoid pork meat regardless of our religion is linked to their nature as they behave as vulture; therefore, pigs are transferor of many infectious diseases and they contain many parasites. For instance, people who eat pork are on greater risk of getting sick from toxoplasmosis due to the presence of parasite known as “toxoplasma gondii” that can be found in pork meat [2]. To kids and people with weakened immune systems, toxoplasmosis can cause extremely serious complications such as seizures, mental confusions and lung problems that may look a lot like tuberculosis.

Trichinellosis infections are another good reason to avoid pork. Symptoms vary from apparency of fatigue, weakness or muscle pain, to more complicated symptoms as myocarditis that can damage the heart so heavily and even end with death [3]. Pork meat even lean kind of pork meat, including products such as sausages, hot dogs are fulfilled with saturated fats and food that contains saturated fats raises the level of bad cholesterol in blood (LDL), which then increases risk of getting some kind of heart disease or stroke [4].

Nevertheless, halal food is worldwide available, and is also suitable for all ages and members of other religions, as they include all types of food which are hygienically and microbiologically safe.

Halal food products are well known as a high-quality kind of food. For example, halal products contain the minimum of chemical additives or artificial substances, and so consumers will enter healthier kinds of food and influence in prevention of some difficult heart related conditions.

[1] Leading underlying causes of death in Australia by age group, 2011–2013

[2]  Slany M, Reslova N, Babak V, Lorencova A. Molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii in pork meat from different production systems in the Czech Republic. Veterinary Research Institute, Department of Food Safety and Feed, Hudcova  Int J Food Microbiol.  2016 Dec 5;238:252-255   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27693960

[3]  Djurković-Djaković O, Bobić B, Nikolić A, Klun I, Dupouy-Camet J. Pork as a source of human parasitic infection. Serbian Centre for Parasitic Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.  Clin Microbiol Infect.  2013 Jul;19(7):586-94.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23402388

[4]  The American Heart Association “Saturated Fats”