Yes, the Amish eat sugar, often in generous amounts, in traditional homemade foods like pies, cakes, jams, and sweetened drinks, but their high physical activity levels help balance the high-calorie, high-sugar diet, though some communities are exploring healthier options. While they love sweets, they tend to consume less processed sugar from sodas and prepackaged snacks compared to mainstream culture, relying more on natural sweeteners and home-baked goods.
The Amish Have No Dietary Restrictions
“What do the Amish eat?” is the most popular question we get from tourists. Having no dietary restrictions means they can eat whatever their heart desires.
The sweet tooth reigns in Amish communities. Many of the recipes that are a hit with the visitors are improved by the addition of sugar while they are being made. An Amish meal is usually served with water to drink.
In many Amish homes, rags are a common toilet paper alternative. These rags are typically old clothes that have been worn out. After simple processing, they become practical cleaning tools. After use, they are washed clean and can be reused multiple times.
Therefore, the use of condoms by Amish men is strictly forbidden and condemned in most, if not all, Amish communities.
I don't know about all of them but 28 years ago before I left we did not use any store bought tampons or pads. Instead we used these ripped up towels and rags and they would be like this long and we would roll them four or five times and then we would use four safety pins and pin them to our homemade underwear.
Covering their hair is seen as a way to distinguish themselves from men and to show their role as caretakers of the home and family. As a matter of fact, Amish women don't cut or shave any hair from their bodies.
The Amish wedding night will usually be spent in the bride's parent's home, as the couple will need to assist in clean up the following day. They will then spend their first months of marriage – their honeymoon – visiting relatives. (This is when most gifts they receive will be given.)
In the more conservative commmunity, the women do not wear bras, but have a handsewn garment which they wear under their dresses to provide extra covering in that area (and hold in flannels that absorb breast milk when they are nursing).
So to repeat, the Amish do not have more than one wife, or husband. Polygamy is not permitted according to Amish beliefs. And “Amish Polygamists” have never existed in their history. It has always been one man and one woman – that's the only acceptable form of marriage in the Amish church.
Amish men born between 1895 and 1934 who lived past their twenty-fifth birthday had an average lifespan of 76.3 years, compared with the white men of Ohio of the same age category, who had an average lifespan of 71.3 years, for a difference of five years.
Summary: The Amish typically have their teeth pulled out by unlicensed dentists instead of incurring the high cost of dentistry. They perceive dentures as more cost effective and easier to maintain oral health.
Popular Amish specialties sold in local Lancaster shops include shoofly pie, Dutch apple dumplings, smoked cheeses, and rich baked goods made with butter, sugar, and traditional spices like cloves, bay leaves, and thyme.
There is a high degree of inbreeding, resulting in a high frequency of recessive disorders, many of which are seen rarely or are unknown outside of this population. Extensive genealogical records are available, and the average family size is large.
Use of Mirrors: While the Amish avoid photographs, considering them graven images, they do use mirrors. Women use them for hair arrangement, and men for shaving, as mirrors are not viewed as vanity objects. No Dietary Restrictions: The Amish have no specific dietary prohibitions.
The Amish in the community I came from are not allowed to use condoms. After I left AMISH, one of my sister-in-law's pulled me aside and she was so upset and felt so guilty. She told me that they were using condoms and sinning. I told her at least they weren't getting pregnant every time.
The "3 bra rule" is a guideline recommending you own at least three bras for a simple rotation: one to wear, one to wash, and one to rest (in the drawer), allowing elastic to recover between wears to extend the bra's lifespan and maintain fit. This system prevents wearing the same bra daily, which stretches out the elastic and reduces support, helping bras last longer.
Instead we used newspapers to wipe. We would tear a piece and we would crumple it together and the more we crumbled it the softer it got. Now my family uses store-bought toilet paper. I'm so happy that they upgraded their life.
A: There is no right or wrong answer to whether the bride should sleep with the groom the night before the wedding. Some couples prefer to spend the night apart to build anticipation for the big day, while others feel more comfortable and relaxed staying together.
Rumspringa is a period that begins at age sixteen and ends with the promise of baptism, during this period young Amish are exposed to the outside world. Another problem the Amish community faces during the Rumspringa period is unexpected pregnancy.
Unlike many weddings among non-Amish, the Amish couple will not conclude their wedding with a honeymoon trip. Instead, they will spend the next day helping to clean after the wedding. The next few months will be spent living with the bride's parents until they are ready to start a home of their own.
It depends on the community. We are currently working with a Mennonite community and all the boys that have been born were circumcised. There is an Amish community downstate that doesn't circumcise. So it really depends on the community as to what they practice.
Earning renown as skilled entrepreneurs, the Amish generate income from a diverse array of businesses, ranging from carpentry and construction to retail shops and restaurants. While the Amish are most well-known for farming, community members also provide a variety of services including lodgings and furniture-making.
But zippers are generally frowned up among the Amish. But often these customs have more to do with tradition that any sort of strong theological objection. As a generally rule, though, fancier clothing has zippers and that is something most Amish would steer away from.