Soda versus Buddhism - a new drink is killing monasticism in Thailand (7 photos)

Everyone has a rough idea of how a Buddhist monk's day goes: in the morning after prayer, they leave the temple to collect alms or offerings from Buddhist believers in their cauldrons.





A monk's duty is to pray with everyone who makes an offering (food, drinks, small amounts for the temple). And then they return home to cook food from what they were given.



Biting off butter from a brick? Why? It's so tasty...

And since more than 90% of the population of Thailand are Buddhists, and monks are highly respected here, they are given a portion. And therefore their health is becoming increasingly worrying: Thai monks are gaining too much weight.

Land of Fat Monks





Doctors conduct a medical examination of novices, there are hundreds of thousands of them in Thailand

Suddenly, this is a very accurate name for Thailand. Because there are about 349,000 monks, and almost half of them are overweight or obese. Suddenly, monks are the "fattest" segment of the population in the country. Why? It's all about their lifestyle. They get up early, not allowing themselves to get enough sleep. The monks are also forbidden to eat after 12:00, they eat only once or twice a day from 6:00 to noon. And they are served very different food, so the monks cannot regulate their diet themselves.



What beautiful alms bowls they have, they are also pots

Their lunch literally depends on what is put in the pot. And usually it is high-calorie food, often home-cooked. All with good intentions, Buddhist believers want to offer something valuable and tasty. Due to excess weight, the monks suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, have vision problems, suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee joints. But usually monks don't even understand what's wrong with them - they have no education. When the monks were examined, the doctors were shocked. Because many monks have no toes due to amputation due to diabetes, but they don't even know what it is!



It's immediately clear who's putting extras in their food

At the same time, according to surveys, monks consume only 150 calories less than Thai men. They can't eat after noon, but they want to eat. But they can drink, and now all the monks are crazy about... soda! They used to drink water and tea, but now it's hard to deny yourself a can of delicious soda. And on an empty stomach! So the sugar from the liquid is quickly absorbed. In addition to all the negativity, monks are forbidden to play sports - it is considered useless.



They are literally walking advertisements for cola

That's how monks lived for hundreds of years and did not get sick, and then soda came and slowly destroyed them. Now doctors want to introduce lessons and lectures so that novices themselves understand what they can eat and what they can't. It's quite difficult for those who are fed so rarely, and not by choice. I'm not sure that this will give results.



Do you have a pie? What if I find one?