Ethiopian's Unique Way of Dieting

The typical Ethiopian diet is often reflective of religious beliefs that frequently dictate what kinds of foods can be eaten and on what days. Generally, the Ethiopian diet revolves around different kinds of sauces, meats and vegetables eaten with a kind of flat bread called injera.A majority of Ethiopians are Ethiopian Orthodox and tend to fast very often, usually daily, weekly, or monthly. Ethiopian Orthodox followers do not eat meat, eggs or dairy products on Wednesdays and Fridays; in fact, they abstain from eating any animal product with the exception of fish on these particular days. They also observe various fasting periods, the longest of which is the Easter fast or Kudade Tsom, which lasts for 55 days straight. During the weekly or monthly periods of fasting, Ethiopians main meals are salad, fruits, vegetables, sauce, and even injera alone. These foods only eaten during the week or month period which helps loss weight and stay healthy, the injera itself is healthy if it is cooked with wheat flower instead of white flower. Catholics fasting are completely distant compared to Ethiopian fasting. Catholics only have to sacrifice one important object of food while Ethiopians have to give up dairy and meat all together. American Catholics on the other hand only have to give up meat once or twice a week while Ethiopian Orthodox give up dairy, eggs, and meat throughout the whole time frame. Ethiopian Orthodox are emotionally and spiritually committed to fasting knowing that it is for the right purpose.