Kosher fat?

Dear Rabbi, For the sake of my health I follow a carnivore diet, eating only kosher meat and eggs. I'm dairy intolerant so the meat/milk issue isn't relevant. Advocates of this diet / lifestyle promote high fat. My question: "Is any and all animal fat forbidden to me?" Thank you for your help Rebecca

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

There are two words for the fat of an animal in Hebrew. One is “shuman” which refers to the fats that we are permitted to consumed. When you buy kosher meat in the supermarket or butcher and you see some “fat” on the meat, it is going to be shuman fat and it is completely permissible to eat.

The other type of fat is known as “cheilev” and this type of fat is strictly forbidden to consume. As the Torah says, “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them: You shall eat no fat (“cheilev”) , of ox, or sheep, or goat.” — Leviticus 7:23–24

The cheilev, forbidden fats, are removed before the meat gets to the consumer. In other words, anyone who buys kosher certified meat has nothing to worry about as the forbidden fats are removed before the meat is sent for sale. The process for removing the cheilev is known as “nikkur” or “trabering” and must be performed by a specially certified rabbis.

When sacrifices were offered the cheilev fat was burned on the altar. The cheilev fats are generally found on the kidneys, liver, and some of the intestines. The penalty for eating cheilev is kareis (spiritual excision).

The prohibition on eating cheilev only applies to animals that were qualified to be offered as a sacrifice in the Beit Hamikdash, such as cattle, sheep and goats. As such, there are no fat related bans on birds or deer.

YD 64