Title: Wait.. that’s Kosher?

Presenter: Elizabeth (Libby) Parker, MS, RD, CDN, CEDS-C

What does it mean to “keep kosher”—and how can clinicians distinguish between culturally or religiously rooted food choices and disordered eating? In this presentation, dietitian Libby Parker will demystify the laws of kashrut, from traditional kosher food rules to the wide range of observance among Jewish clients, including secular or cultural Jewish identities. Attendees will explore how kosher preferences may manifest in treatment, how to honor spiritual or identity-based practices, and when to appropriately challenge potentially harmful rigidity.

This session will also address the clinical importance of not pathologizing kosher-style preferences, including abstaining from shellfish or pork, when they are part of Jewish cultural identity—not eating disorder behavior.

Attendees will leave with an improved ability to create inclusive, culturally responsive care for Jewish clients—whether they keep glatt kosher, identify as culturally Jewish, or fall anywhere in between.