PubMed Central, : RMMJ Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal Rambam Health Care Campus 2020 October; 11(4): e0029. ISSN: 2076-9172Published online 2020 October 14. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10396

Table 2.

Agreement between Maimonides’ Recommended Eating Habits and Contemporary Recommendations.

Eating Habit	Maimonides⁹^*	USA¹⁰^,¹¹^*	Netherlands¹²^*	WHO¹⁵^*	Mediterranean Diet¹³^,¹⁴^*
Exercise	Regular exercise AND not eating to satiation AND “loose bowels” are recipe for health–even if person eats harmful foods	Agree²⁴	Agree but not in dietary guidelines²⁵	Agree but not in dietary guidelines²⁶	N/C
Air quality	Avoid polluted air²⁷	Agree²⁸	Agree²⁹	Agree³⁰	N/C
Water at mealtime	Small amount mixed with wine during the meal^†	N/C	N/C	N/C	N/C
Stool quality	Soft is preferable	N/C	N/C	N/C	N/C
Food odor	Avoid foods with putrid odor	N/C	N/C	Agree³¹	N/C
Timing of eating food	Only eat after true hunger	N/C	N/C	N/C	N/C
Sequence of foods	Lightest foods first, foods difficult to consume last	N/C	N/C	N/C	N/C
Amount of food	Not to fullness (3/4 satisfied)	Agree: limit calories for daily intake; do not eat if not hungry³²	Agree: limit calories for daily intake	Agree: limit calories for daily intake	Agree: limit calories for daily intake
Exercise after eating	No heavy exertion, walking, strolling until food is digested	Partial agreement: no exertion after eating³³	N/C	N/C	N/C
Seasonal eating	Specific foods should be eaten only in summer or winter, but not both	N/C	N/C	N/C	N/C

^*Unless otherwise indicated within the table, then those references take precedence.

^†Maimonides made several other recommendations regarding how water should be consumed, including 30 minutes before or after a meal; 1 hour after meal, and drinking a glass of water with each meal and between each meal.

N/C, no commentary in the guidelines.