Daily Devotional – July 8

Microbiology

Not so long ago, scientists discovered that eating undercooked pork could cause an infection from a parasite called trichinosis. This parasitic worm can infest pigs and be passed on to us when we eat insufficiently cooked pork. When someone eats pork with this parasite, digestive juices dissolve the cyst, releasing the parasite larvae into the body. These larvae penetrate the small intestine walls where they grow, mate, and produce more parasites. Yuck! The adult female can produce thousands of larvae that enter the bloodstream and then burrow into the muscles and other tissues.

The best way to protect against this parasite is to kill it off before you eat pork. This can be done either by freezing the meat below 5 degrees Fahrenheit for 21 days prior to eating pork or making sure the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit when cooking. Also, today’s hog farms are meticulous, preventing the trichinosis parasite altogether. Did the Israelites know about this prevention? God knew the problems with eating undercooked pork, so He prohibited His people from eating pork in order to keep them safe. In fact, it has been found that those who followed the Israelite’s dietary rules were far healthier than other cultures that did not. God always has our best interests at heart even though we may not understand the specific reasons.

And the swine, .... it is unclean unto you : ye shall not eat of their flesh

~ Deuteronomy 14:8

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.