On February 27, Orthodox Christians will begin Lent - the strictest of the year, which lasts about 48 days until Easter. Let's look at this issue from a medical point of view. Is fasting harmful, is it a diet, to whom is it contraindicated, how is it combined with sports, and is it worth planning to conceive a child during this period? Read the answers to these and many other questions.
What not to eat during Lent
If you do not take into account the days when, according to church regulations, you should fast, then during Lent you cannot eat food of animal origin: meat, milk and dairy products, eggs. And everything that contains these components, for example, you won’t be able to treat yourself to sweet marshmallows, since it contains egg white. Fish is allowed only twice - on the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on Palm Sunday.
Products allowed during fasting
The food should be constantly varied, which can only be achieved if you cook it yourself at home. You can eat vegetables and pickles, fresh fruits and dried fruits, nuts, cereals, legumes, pasta, bread, lean pastries and sweets (for example, agar marmalade and oatmeal cookies). As an exception, seafood such as squid, shrimp, etc. are allowed.
How is this post useful?
We can say that fasting is useful, but there are categories of people for whom it is contraindicated. You should weigh your strengths and take into account your state of health. Many doctors advise limiting fasting in time, not 48, but, for example, only 20 days.
In general, fasting is not bad for the body, since the supply of animal protein, which, although complete, is still heavy, is temporarily stopped. The load on the liver and kidneys is reduced, blood vessels and intestines are cleansed, heart function improves and then it is easier to switch to a healthy diet. The main thing is not to starve, then there will be no problems.
Who is contraindicated to fast?
People often mistakenly view fasting as a “long-term diet.” Fasting is not a diet, legumes, potatoes, many cereals and bread are quite high in calories, so you won’t be able to lose a lot of extra pounds.
Fasting is contraindicated pregnant and lactating women, those engaged in heavy physical labor, elderly people and children under 14 years of age.
Refuse post should, for example, with exacerbation of chronic gastritis, erosions of the stomach and duodenum, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer with high acidity.
Fasting is contraindicated and patients after gastrointestinal bleeding, with anemia, hypovitaminosis, weakened patients with underweight, suffering from chronic cholecystitis, pancreatitis with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency with malabsorption syndrome, diabetes mellitus, chronic diarrhea.
Is it possible to exercise and visit beauty salons during fasting?
Many people ask similar questions, remembering the church charter that fasting also means abstaining from entertainment. However, sports and physical beauty affect spiritual beauty, so the church does not forbid these events.
From a medical point of view, if you go to the gym, fitness or dance, then you should not give up dairy products. Athletes all the more need strength and energy for regular training, so you can limit yourself to meat, eggs and butter.
Should you abstain from sex?
This question can also often be found on forums dedicated to fasting. Regarding marital intimacy, church ministers have differing opinions. Some say that fasting is not only abstinence from food, but also liberation from passions. Others argue that it is not forbidden to perform marital duties even on fasting days; the main thing is not to get carried away with them.
Doctors are categorical about one thing: if the spouses are fasting and planning to conceive a child, then it is worth temporarily giving up either the first or the second. Doctors say that children conceived during the fasting period may have certain developmental problems, since the fetus does not receive the substances it needs. Particularly important is protein, which is the building material of the fetus. As everyone remembers, animal and plant proteins differ.
How to “exit” a fast correctly
You shouldn’t suddenly switch to your usual sausage, cheese, eggs and pastries. You need to come out of fasting gently. Abruptly returning to a nutritious diet puts a strain on the intestines, liver, and gallbladder. Colic and other diseases may occur. You should add a little meat and other forbidden foods to your lean diet, gradually increasing the amount. But this does not mean that after this you can forget about vegetables and cereals for a long time and switch only to meat and baked goods. Fasting is an excellent reason to switch to a healthy diet and wisely combine foods of animal and plant origin.
Prepared using materials: interfax.by, medportal.md
Temporary abstinence from food is practiced in many religions of the world and in each of them there are certain rules about this. In Orthodoxy, Lent begins immediately after Maslenitsa week and is particularly strict. During the time of the state fight against religion, scientific propaganda called fasting a harmful atavism of the past, which could cause serious harm to health. However, believers continue to consider fasting beneficial not only for the spirit, but also for the body. We found out how the requirements of fasting meet the rules of modern scientific dietetics.
Lenten diet.
It has long been known that a diet that can be called healthy should include a lot of vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Lent falls in the spring, so the main products of this Lent are pickles and stews of vegetables and fruits, as well as carrots, onions, cabbage, beets, canned green peas and other legumes, apples, oranges, dried fruits and nuts. There are many different dishes that can be prepared using these and other products.
Therapeutic fasting.
Modern nutritionists argue that short-term fasting periods are simply necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive and excretory systems. This allows you to remove toxins from the body that accumulate there during uncontrolled consumption of food. The principles of fasting are fully consistent with this aspect of proper nutrition - there are days on which food is prohibited altogether. From a medical point of view, such a shake-up will benefit the body in any case.
Psychological attitude.
Religious fasting in any religion of the world puts spiritual purification first of all. From the point of view of modern psychology, such an attitude can be much more beneficial than strictly following the rules. This means that the very refusal of a rich diet can significantly change a person’s life through a profound revision of eating habits.
Need and need.
Both plant and animal foods simultaneously contain a set of different substances that we need. Fasting requires the fasting person to give up “meat” foods: meat, fish and butter. However, fasting does not prohibit eating their analogues - beans, vegetables and fruits. The only not very useful nuance of strict observance of fasting is the refusal of believers to eat oil. Thus, the body is deprived of the necessary energy and fatty acids for the normal functioning of the body. A lean alternative to oils are nuts, which are high in fatty acids.
Protein fast.
Today, many people slightly modify the traditional fast, giving up only meat. In this case, fish of various varieties, as well as seafood and seaweed, can help you. During the spring fast, such a diet will be especially useful due to the increased content of calcium, protein, minerals and vitamins. If you fast according to all the rules, then you should pay attention to beans, beans, nuts, seeds, soybeans and peas.
Date of publication: 01/29/17
Since the time of the baptism of Rus', all Orthodox people have observed multi-day fasts for centuries in order to purify the spiritual and physical. Over time, people began to notice the obvious benefits of fasting, since they occurred immediately after festive feasts and helped unload the body after abundant treats and libations.
The topic of the benefits and harms of fasting for health is highly discussed and in demand among believers. We will try to consider it from a physiological perspective, avoiding, however, seeing it only from the point of view of a lean diet. What do believers expect from fasting, and how does it affect health?
What they say and write about fasting.
The topic of Christian food fasting is quite open and actively discussed; clergy, doctors, and ordinary journalists actively express their opinions. Often, their concepts of perceiving fasting and the way they present information initially orient the reader incorrectly, leading him away from issues of soul salvation and switching him to issues of nutrition. Unfortunately, this approach can be encountered quite often, especially when so-called “Orthodox doctors” join in the discussion of the topic. As a rule, these people do not have any spiritual education, do not deeply understand religious issues and try to present the issue from their own, purely medical point of view. In fact, in the works of Orthodox authorities there are references to the fact that fasting allows one to maintain good spirits, clarifies thoughts, and facilitates prayer. However, in these words there is nothing about the fact that fasting supposedly serves as a means of healing the body. Orthodox Christians resort to fasting for other reasons.
Spiritual benefits of fasting
When addressing the topic of fasting, you must always remember that its spiritual component is the main one. The main goal of Orthodox fasting is to return control over one’s passions to a person relaxed by everyday bustle, in order to regain the awareness that life consists not only of satisfying various needs (physiological, mental, etc.). Often in everyday life, filled with events and impressions, people fall into the power of some passion that hardens them, leading to a loss of self-control and a sober assessment of their spiritual state. Under these conditions, fasting has a sobering effect.
Basic human needs, such as food, drink, clothing, shelter, etc. are not inherently sinful and are completely natural. However, evil spirits find means to defile every human action and turn a natural need into a sinful hobby. It’s not uncommon to see people who are already burdened with weight, most of whose day is devoted to endless chewing, filling their stomachs with unhealthy foods, etc. And look at the pitiful appearance of alcoholics, a significant part of the Russian population suffers from this mental illness - don’t go far for example. Using the example of alcoholism, one can see how a person, created in the image of God, turns into a slave of a shameful passion, which does not allow him to make any spiritual movement. Looking at such people, we should lament and thank God for not allowing us to fall into such a pitiful state. Perhaps it is fasting that helps many Orthodox Christians avoid such enslavement.
While observing the dietary restrictions of Lent, we should not forget about the need to give up other habits that relax a person’s attention and turn him away from Orthodox spiritual life: marital relationships, attending entertainment events, watching films and television programs, reading literature, viewing Internet sites with entertainment content.
Are there any health benefits of eating a fasted diet?
The possible beneficial effects of fasting on health cannot be completely ruled out. However, these facts are rather of particular importance, and they cannot be spoken of as certain patterns. Let's consider some aspects of the impact of fasting on human health.
1. Lean nutrition and weight.
Lean (non-lenten) foods (for example, meat, lard, butter, cheese, etc.) are often high in calories. Therefore, purely theoretically, their exclusion from the diet can lead to a general decrease in energy intake in the body. When discussing this, we must remember that fasting people usually replace these foods with others, often also high-calorie foods - bread, cereals, sweets, etc. The final result of such a post may be different in each specific case. Some people, especially those who fast strictly, actually lose weight during fasting. However, in other cases, the opposite happens - and fasters actually “get better.” This is just an observation that does not claim strict statistical conclusions, however, it shows that fasting cannot be considered a universal means for losing weight.
2. Lenten nutrition and immunity.
There is evidence from doctors that alternating the diet throughout the year (fasting - no fasting) increases the body's resistance and improves the condition of the immune system. They argue that the physiological stress that fasting causes mobilizes the body's defenses.
3. Fasting and general condition of the body.
Foods high in animal fats and proteins create a large burden on the human digestive system. It is also necessary to take into account the decline in the quality of products in our country in recent years. In particular, meat animals today are increasingly raised using hormones and heavy antibiotics. All these products that are unnecessary for humans enter the human body through the digestive system, interfering with metabolism. When a person frees himself from this “burden,” it can be assumed that the body’s systems will suffer less.
However, fasting should be approached very carefully by people without relevant experience. There are cases when people who have just begun their Christian life rush headlong into the “pool” of fasting, without calculating their strength. I was told about one young man who recklessly decided on a strict fast for himself, consisting of eating only bread and water. A few weeks later he was taken by ambulance to intensive care, as his body was not accustomed to fasting, and the strict restriction in food turned out to be too much work for him. If the young man had first consulted with a priest who knew his physical condition and spiritual experience, he would probably have dissuaded him from such an impossible “feat.” Children who grew up in families of respectable Christians, who teach children to periods of abstinence from food from an early age, have a certain advantage in fulfilling the requirements of the Orthodox Remain.
4. Negative consequences of fasting for the body.
When a person embarks on the path of correction, purification of the soul, no one promises him that the road will be easy. All this also applies to fasting and its consequences for the body. Changing your diet is always stressful, primarily for the digestive system (especially the stomach, intestines, and gall bladder). Patients with gastrointestinal diseases may notice signs of dysbiosis and irritable bowel syndrome at the beginning of fasting. It may take time for your body to get used to eating lean foods. It is advisable for such people to prepare for fasting in advance and enter into it gradually. Perhaps this is precisely why the Orthodox Church provided for the Meat Eating Week (“Cheese Week”) before Lent, when believers already refuse meat products. In addition to gastrointestinal disorders, restriction in certain foods can affect other body systems. For example, some women stop menstruating during fasting. From the point of view of the body, this is a completely rational solution, because sexual activity during fasting is also prohibited and therefore conception is not expected. However, from this it is obvious that the whole body participates in fasting, and therefore during this period you need to be more attentive to your health. A weak state of the body, in which a person can barely walk, is exactly what many Christian ascetics strived for (see, for example, the life of St. Kirill of Beloezersky). However, one must be prepared for such a feat and must have the blessing of a confessor.
5. Fasting for medical reasons.
In some cases, fasting can be a medicine not only for the spirit, but also for the body in the most literal sense. This applies to people whose body systems do not tolerate protein foods well. This primarily applies to patients with various kidney diseases. A competent endocrinologist will be sincerely happy for a patient with kidney disease who decides to limit the intake of animal protein on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and during multi-day fasts. These periods of abstinence from heavy food become a time of rest and restoration of the weakened excretory system. Periods of food restriction are also indicated in many cases for patients with allergic diseases. Most allergy sufferers are forced to give up certain foods constantly, and this is also, to some extent, a form of fasting. However, short periods of therapeutic fasting serve as a good stimulator for the immune system of a sick person: this activates the activity of the adrenal glands, increasing the production of glucocorticosteroid hormones that suppress allergic inflammatory processes.
Fasting is a difficult period in the life of an Orthodox person, which allows you to understand your true spiritual state. For the health of some people, the fasting regime may be too difficult a test; for them the Church makes concessions. However, you should not neglect fasting, because this period is a good opportunity to restore order in your soul, a reason to take on the task of correcting at least one of your shortcomings.
Many of our compatriots observe Lent in March. What does a 40-day strict dietary restriction bring with it? Is it beneficial or harmful to the body? There are very different opinions on this matter. However, as always, the truth is somewhere in the middle
The most dangerous observance of strict fasting is for people who do not adhere to the general fasting schedule and restrictions existing among believers throughout the year. People who observe these restrictions practically do not experience such problems, since Lent for them is not the only one, but only the most important and strictest in regular abstinence.
In most cases, these people abstain from eating animal foods on Wednesday and Friday throughout the year. Therefore, their body is more adapted to such tests. In addition, a week before fasting, believers no longer eat meat, and the way out of fasting is not gluttony, as some people think, but the consumption of small portions of certain non-lenten foods.
By the way, it is during Easter that there is a surge in various diseases associated with overeating fast food. During long-term fasting, the body adapts to a different type of metabolism and stops producing enzymes necessary for the breakdown of fats and proteins. And then one day a powerful “food blow” hits. The pancreas is in shock, the stomach is in shock What health benefits are there!
Well, for people who still dare to fast, perhaps for the first time in their lives, let me give a number of recommendations so that fasting will be beneficial and not harmful.
Remember that spring is a period of general weakening of the body, or as doctors say, asthenia. One of the leading causes of such disorders in the body is serious vitamin deficiency stress. And excluding animal products from the diet leads to an even deeper deficiency of vitamins.
Therefore, during the fasting period, meals should be organized in such a way as to maximally saturate the body with vitamins and microelements. To do this, first of all, you should reduce the proportion of vegetables and fruits from the previous harvest in the diet. Not only do they contain practically no vitamins, but some of them can be harmful to the body. They should be replaced with new harvested fruits and vegetables. Now they are imported in sufficient quantities from southern countries. It is advisable to increase the consumption of whole grains, nuts, and add bran to all dishes. Thus, the deficiency of B vitamins will be eliminated.
To raise your overall tone, you can introduce into your diet foods especially rich in magnesium, vitamins and microelements (asparagus, spinach, beans) and magnesium mineral waters.
The basic principle of cooking during this period is minimal heat treatment. Those foods that can be eaten raw are best eaten raw. This way we will retain maximum vitamins.
And yet, even with proper nutrition, it would not be superfluous to take additional multivitamins. Any preparations that contain essential vitamins and microelements are suitable.
As a nutritionist, I often come across the fact that many people expect to lose extra pounds during the fasting period. So, I would like to say: Lent, like any other fast, is not a diet, and it is intended for something else. For deeply religious people, this is, first of all, a period of repentance and purification of the soul. And those extra pounds are a matter of seeing a nutritionist.
And by the way, you most likely won’t be able to lose weight during fasting. By excluding animal foods from their diet, people tend to load up on carbohydrates. And 100 grams of excess carbohydrates is usually about 10 grams of stored fat. In addition, the fate of extra pounds depends not only on the composition, but also on the amount of food. And you can also abuse lean foods. Here is just one example of a suggested diet during Lent, taken from real life.
Why is giving up animal products at least temporarily necessary for health? What could be bad about mushrooms or cabbage? What diseases can be prevented by abstaining from meat and milk? How to fast for pregnant women? Should children be deprived of fasting? Therapist Natalya Yuryevna Tarasova talks about these and other aspects of the “lenten theme”.
Unhealthy meat
I would like to begin the conversation about fasting with the words of St. Basil the Great, who said that fasting protects the baby, makes the young chaste, and makes the old man more beautiful.
From a medical point of view, human health is determined by two important factors: a person’s lifestyle and his diet. Therefore, in my opinion, fasting, whatever it may be, has a positive effect on a person. After all, it is based on the rejection of the most harmful products: animal protein and fats.
Fasting plays a leading role, first of all, in the prevention of such serious diseases as hypertension, tumor and cardiovascular diseases. What is the main cause of these ailments? This is damage to the vascular walls, as well as sclerotic processes. Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease of the arteries, expressed in thickening, hardening of their walls, and the appearance of so-called atherosclerotic plaques. The reason for the development of these plaques is excess cholesterol, which is very high in animal products. Therefore, when we fast, that is, we exclude animal products from our diet (this includes milk) and include more plant foods, we indirectly reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood and, therefore, slow down or stop the process of formation of atherosclerotic plaques. At the same time, let’s not forget that plant foods themselves contain an amino acid, which has a beneficial effect on lowering cholesterol.
Another important factor is soy products, which are often consumed during fasting. They help reduce the secretion of cholesterol in the liver, which leads to a decrease in total cholesterol levels.
In our ordinary life, we lack vegetables, salads, traditional greens: parsley, dill, green onions... We try to eat more meat, sausages, pickles, smoked meats - everything that aggravates the consequences of our, as a rule, passive lifestyle, affects metabolism, leads to the development of obesity and atherosclerotic process. This means that it can lead to the development of such dangerous diseases as heart attacks and strokes. Fasting interrupts these negative processes at least for some time.
I repeat: from a medical point of view, if a person observes our traditional holy fasts, this has a very positive effect on his well-being, on his health. And if in everyday life we ate as much as possible of those foods that we usually eat during fasting, this would improve health indicators by 90% and reduce the risks of developing dangerous diseases.
Let's start with the main thing: dietary restrictions
We doctors know many people who have experienced the benefits of abstinence. I have never seen any harm from fasting. Fasting is also for our benefit because it is an internal spiritual activity. By fasting, a person realizes that by doing this he pleases God. And a person must definitely understand for himself why and for what he fasts. Without faith, fasting will be difficult and painful, if possible at all. This is how fasting differs from diets, which everyone is so passionate about today: diets and fasting have different goals. Understanding that fasting is a virtue, and a not very healthy person will be able to carry it out with great benefit, including for his physical condition.
Even with such serious illnesses as cancer, severe infectious diseases, severe liver damage (cirrhosis), I more often saw a real improvement in well-being in those patients who resorted to fasting. So, without any medications, just because the patient was fasting, after a few weeks we observed a decrease in the enzymatic activity of the liver: the levels of ALT, AST and cholesterol metabolism returned to normal. But one of the factors of fatty liver is a violation of metabolic processes.
One of my patients had stage 4 cancer. Despite the severity of the disease, despite the fact that she was undergoing chemotherapy, she always fasted, being a very religious person. I did not observe any disturbances in her general condition. Moreover, the doctors sentenced her, but thanks to her spiritual strength, she lived for a long time with such a terrible diagnosis and gave joy to her loved ones.
At appointments, I always tell patients: “ Let's start with the most important thing: dietary restrictions." In patients who exclude from the diet foods high in carbohydrates, flour foods, foods with large amounts of animal fats and switch to a vegetarian diet, sugar levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure are normalized. We also recommend certain physical activity to such patients, because physical inactivity is a terrible disease. So it turns out that treatment is possible in the initial stage of the disease without the use of any drug therapy! In my practice there are a lot of such cases.
When a patient comes to me with high blood sugar, I understand that, on the one hand, these may be minimal changes such as impaired carbohydrate tolerance, on the other hand, this may be newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. I try not to immediately resort to using drugs that lower sugar. I find out what this person’s diet is, what he eats most often, and suggest that he switch to a lean diet. This is how we achieve excellent results.
Blessing for fasting
I don’t understand those who, considering themselves Christians, say about fasting: “ I can not», « Don't want" It seems to me that this is due to lack of faith.
I also don’t agree with the approach when people (especially at the beginning of Lent) decide to combine fasting with a diet in order to lose weight. I absolutely do not welcome this. I repeat: Fasting and diet are fundamentally different! It is necessary to distinguish between these concepts.
And another important point: we, believers, must enter into fasting with blessing. Let me give you an example from my life. After the operation, I doubted: could I fast, could I stand it? I turned to our priest Father Tikhon for a blessing: he blessed me to fast for a week. It seems that I suffered a serious illness, an operation, but the priest blessed me - and I fasted. And it turned out that this made the postoperative period easier for myself. But why be surprised here: when you do something with blessing, the Lord Himself supports you.
Measure in everything
During fasting, we exclude from our diet all meat (and during certain fasts, fish), dairy, and eggs. We eat food of non-animal origin, that is, plant food, sometimes allowing ourselves fish. But in order for fasting to be beneficial for your health, you need to remember the measure. When consuming large quantities of greens and vegetables, especially raw ones, biliary dyskinesia may develop and problems with the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract may arise. Food must be taken in such a way that there is no feeling of fullness in the stomach, a feeling of oversaturation, or any discomfort. Even plant foods should be taken in a balanced manner.
In addition, you must definitely include porridge in your diet: oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, millet. Oatmeal is a very healthy porridge. Our ancestors made a leaven from oatmeal that coped with infections without any antibiotics. People were treated this way even for such a formidable and severe intestinal disease as dysentery.
If a person, having contracted an infectious disease, eats properly, then this contributes by half, if not 90%, to a real improvement in his well-being.
Be sure to eat foods rich in fiber. At the same time, I advise you to include in your diet those that contain fiber, which is easier to digest: broccoli, Brussels sprouts - they are very healthy. But, for example, a person with a disease such as gastric ulcer should eat less white cabbage, because especially sauerkraut in large quantities can cause an exacerbation of this disease.
Milk and mushroom battles
During the period of fasting, many ask priests to allow them to drink milk. There is a lot of controversy about milk right now. On the one hand, milk is useful, on the other hand, it is still one of the factors in the formation and development of tumor processes. It is recommended to use it in the diet not so often and in very small quantities.
If someone has an exacerbation of the disease during the fasting period, then it is necessary to reconsider their diet of lean foods, reduce the amount of fiber, eliminate pickling, and partially salted vegetables (especially if the person has concomitant hypertension). To achieve normal blood pressure levels, it is recommended to include no more than 3 grams of salt in your diet.
I always advise eating less pickles during fasting. If possible, it is better to eat fresh vegetables, at least baked ones, and be sure to add porridge to your diet.
What about mushrooms? We know that mushrooms often replace meat products for us, since mushrooms are difficult to digest - within 7-8 hours - and when a person eats them, he is satisfied for a long time. But we must understand that mushrooms are not allowed for everyone. Artificially grown mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms and champignons are good in small quantities. They are soft and well tolerated, but in large quantities it is better not to.
Vitamins and controversy surrounding raw food eating
Which lean foods contain the most vitamins and minerals? They are found in varying quantities in all fruits and vegetables. Bananas, for example, contain a large amount of potassium, magnesium, calcium, which is necessary for the cardiovascular system. Oatmeal with small banana slices is very healthy.
All green products of plant origin contain such an important component as arginine. Lemons, sauerkraut, and black currants contain a significant amount of ascorbic acid, an important component for maintaining the immune system. Cranberries and lingonberries are products that have both a diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect and are very useful as an anti-inflammatory treatment for diseases of the urinary system and kidneys. Products like kiwi and pomegranate are good for the hematopoietic system.
An equally important question is: how to eat fruits and vegetables? Do they need to be heat treated? Fashionable topic today - raw food diet. I can immediately say that For people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, raw food eating is not beneficial. It is best to lightly process the products. Let’s say it’s healthier to eat baked potatoes; it’s also better not to boil other vegetables, but to bake or stew them.
Foods such as beans, lentils, and peas are rich in protein. These are nitrogenous active foods, they are also very useful, but there are diseases for which it is recommended to eat them in very limited quantities. For example, gout.
Well, general advice: if you have any diseases, then before you start fasting, especially if you are fasting for the first time, consult your doctor about your diet.
How to deal with fatigue and malaise
It happens that a person feels general malaise and weakness after fasting. People who fast constantly do not experience such problems. When a person encounters this for the first time, he can consult a doctor, and it is better if the doctor is a believer and understands why fasting is needed from a spiritual point of view and how to support the person who comes to him for advice.
The state of malaise is completely understandable, because during fasting we limit the consumption of what we are accustomed to. Even if you don’t want to buy a toy for a small child, his mood will immediately spoil. The same thing happens to an adult when you stop giving him what he is used to. He’s used to eating meat, and even a kilogram at a time, but here – there’s no meat! His mood immediately worsens. Therefore, we must understand why we fast, what we are coming to. If we realize that our main task is to grow spiritually, to become spiritually stronger, we will understand that fasting is a virtue, and we will endure all our infirmities absolutely calmly.
Another problem: some, remembering that fasting will begin soon, say to themselves: “We need to eat before fasting!” - and start eating everything. This is also bad. It is imperative to prepare: a week before the start of fasting, it is advisable to gradually limit yourself in foods, and a day or two before, you can fast to cleanse your body a little. You can take activated carbon, it removes waste and toxins very well.
When we suddenly switch to something, it is always stressful for the body. And stress leads to a vegetative-vascular reaction, fatigue, etc. Therefore, everything must be done systematically.
You cannot cancel a fast when you feel unwell. It’s another matter when a person is not ready for fasting in principle, but this is not a matter for the doctor, but for the confessor.
Fasting and pregnancy
I worked in a antenatal clinic for several years and I know how pleasant this condition for a woman can be and very difficult. Especially the first three months of pregnancy, when many women develop toxicosis. During this period, the most unpleasant sensations arise, including incessant vomiting. Pregnant women should be advised to fast during this period, understanding what is happening to them. If the pregnancy is pathological, if deviations from the norm appear, then before you start fasting, you should definitely consult with your doctor. If pregnancy is mostly physiological, then fasting is quite possible.
By the way, now I often see that expectant mothers treat pregnancy as some kind of pathology. For them this is not joy, but insane fear. They start going to doctors almost every day, swallowing pills... They are afraid that they will not be able to carry the child to term. But pregnancy is a normal physiological process, we shouldn’t forget about it. But we also need to remember that everything depends on the will of God. Not a single hair will fall from a person’s head without the will of God. If something is meant to happen, it will happen.
You must accept your pregnancy with joy and endure it with faith. Confess, receive communion, fast, live as you lived before. The only thing you can limit yourself to is excessive consumption of meat, fried foods, and salty foods. Don’t eat what you want, but try to reasonably limit yourself, spend more time in the fresh air and enjoy life.
Many priests advise their children take communion more often during pregnancy, because what is from God must come in God’s way. Fasting is always from God. I strongly disagree with the idea that you should not fast during pregnancy. It’s another matter when this condition becomes painful - in this case, a decision must be made only together with the obstetrician.
Why is fasting for all ages?
I would like to quote the words of our beloved father, Father Job (Gumerov). When I asked him whether children could fast, he said that children, like flowering plants, are watered with the water of fasting.
If the children are very young, they do not fast, but from the age of 7, children can consciously, following the example of their parents, fast. I have repeatedly asked seminarians, especially from priestly families with many children, how they resolved the “Lenten issue” for children. They said: mother prepares Lenten dishes, everyone fasts, so the question itself never comes up. Of course, if dad eats haphazardly, and mom eats haphazardly, and they try to force the child to fast, nothing good will come of it. A child must definitely follow the example of his parents.
I am now reading the lives of saints to my kids. When they hear what kind of torment Boris and Gleb endured for obedience to God, they understand that fasting is a small virtue, a much smaller tribute of love to the Lord than that which the saints offered. I always tell children: don't forget that everything that happens to us happens only by the grace of God. If we learn to thank God, if we learn to love God, He will always help us, He will always be with us.
So it seems to me The post should not have an age. Fasting is for everyone, because it is a purely spiritual activity. If we go to church, pray, take communion, but are unable to fast, we will not grow spiritually. And we must grow as our saints originally instructed. But fasting alone is not enough for spiritual growth, and what is needed, as St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) taught, is patience, humble enduring of infirmities and suffering - our ill health, bodily ailments.
Now the number of cancer patients has increased significantly, the environmental situation is ugly, many new diseases are emerging that are tolerant to modern therapy, there is an economic crisis in the country... But, nevertheless, when a person lives with God, observing fasting, prayer, communion, he can do anything survive even the most difficult times.
How to correctly enter and exit a post
Very often we come across the fact that people overeat before fasting and during the first 10 days of fasting they simply suffer: nausea, loss of strength, dizziness, and some kind of vascular cataclysms begin. It is better to enter a state of abstinence gradually, calmly, a few days before the start of fasting, limit yourself to animal proteins, give up meat, and gradually give up dairy products. Try to include more porridges, soups and vegetable main courses in your diet. For people who fast on Wednesday and Friday (and many on Monday) in everyday life, entering long-term fasts is easy.
You also need to gradually leave fasting.. Our priest advises (usually this applies to strict fasts, especially the Great Fast, when we can eat practically nothing for several days of the first week), when breaking fast, first drink half a mug of vegetable broth, and then gradually eat some meat.
To those who have entered the Nativity fast, I would like to wish that they endure the fast well, that they go to church more often, confess, and receive communion. It should be a holiday for a person to fast, especially when the whole family is fasting. Each of us goes through our lives in vain, but during fasting you become stronger in spiritual work.
Those who decide to fast ascetically need to take the blessing of their confessor for this. When there is a blessing, any action is a virtue!
Fasting is a strengthening of faith. Fasting is a great power that helps us give up our habits, lusts, our desires to eat everything indiscriminately and, to some extent, contributes to healing.
Natalya Tarasova
Pravoslavie.ru
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