On food and religion and what truly nourishes us

When I wake up late on the weekends, hungover or peacefully rested (the latter being less frequent as a 29 year old), I am always hungry. The first thing on my mind is what am I going to eat? What is my body craving? What is going to satisfy me? Will I cook? Will I order? Will I call a friend to go for a meal? Do I want grease? Or Asian? What is going to comfort me? What is going to nourish me?

And on this particular morning, an unusual well-rested wake up at 10 am on a Saturday; no bags under my eyes; refreshed and alive, I had a foreign craving for Bacon.. I don't even eat pork that often. First of all, as good as it tastes, it seems to be my tummy's arch nemesis. And then, there is also the fact, that I currently live in a Muslim country, so I have to go to a special grocery store to get it.

So, I made the trip to the special grocery store, Choitrams, to be exact, and it got me thinking about food and the religious restraints people put on what one can eat and not eat. Particularly, because food is one of the only things that truly nourishes us all the time, and also universally nourishes us. Everyone needs it to survive, just like water and air... where as religion, education, art and more can be truly nourishing to people, but scientifically, we would not die if we did not have them.

Therefore, I guess my question is to the Jains, Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, and many other religious groups who put limitations on what people can eat as they practice or during particular is why put restrictions on what someone can eat, when it gives us life, energy and the ability to carry on and practice religion, get an education, discuss and make art, and more. Shouldn't food be like numbers, something we all just kind of accept and agree on?

I understand that there are an indefinite number of justifications for why certain religions don't eat certain foods, but again, scientifically, I think that listening to your body important (within reason) and satisfying cravings (again, everything in moderation) is a healthy way of living your life...