Fasting is a popular religious practice among many Christians. In many denominations, especially Protestant groups, there are no specific food restrictions or fasting days (although some groups prohibit alcohol or caffeine consumption). Prayer and fasting are often combined as preparation for important decisions or to seek God’s blessing or guidance. However, other Christian denominations have more specific guidelines.
For example, the Greek Orthodox Church advises fasting for 180–200 days throughout the year, i.e., approximately 6.5 months/year. The diet during fasting resembles a vegetarian‐style dietary pattern. Avoidance of meat, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese is recommended on Wednesdays and Fridays. The major fasting periods of the year are 40 days before Christmas, 48 days before Easter, and 15 days prior to the Assumption of Virgin Mary (August 15th). During the fasting before Christmas, devotees do not eat meat, eggs, and dairy, but they can eat fish and olive oil all days except Wednesdays and Fridays. Pre‐Easter fasting has the same dietary restrictions as Christmas, but during this period fish consumption is permitted twice, on March 25th (the Annunciation) and on Palm Sunday. Olive oil consumption is permitted only on weekends.
Orthodox fasting does not impose any restriction on the consumption of mollusks, shellfish, and snails, which are consumed freely during these periods. Animal‐derived products are stored during this period in order to be consumed after the end of fasting. Similar to other religions, the dietary suggestions of the various Christian denominations are associated with low rates of chronic degenerative diseases, and they constitute a sustainable practice with positive financial implications.
Compliance with Orthodox Christianity not only offers a theological structure but also a flexible lifestyle pattern with health benefits. Orthodox fasting periods are characterized by a restriction in total energy and fat intake and an increase in the consumption of carbohydrate and fiber. Lipid profile seems to be optimal, while the reduction in total cholesterol and LDL‐C levels is consistent across studies. However, the effect on HDL is still uncertain. Results regarding the impact on body weight and glucose homeostasis are conflicting, and a definite conclusion cannot be drawn. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the potentially negative effect of orthodox fasting on vitamins D and B12 and mineral (mainly calcium) intake.
Key Point
Compliance with Orthodox Christianity not only offers a theological structure but also a flexible lifestyle pattern with health benefits.
According to Roman Catholicism, the pious believers must fast on the prescribed fasting days by reducing food intake (allowing one full meal and two smaller) and refraining from consuming meat or meat products on these holy days. Fasting is obligatory for all Catholics 18–60 years old on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, unless they are exempt for health reasons. Abstinence from meat is obligatory for those more than 14 years of age. The dietary laws are not universal in the Catholic Church; episcopal conferences are able to propose adjustments on the fasting laws for their home countries.
Key Point
The dietary laws are not universal in the Catholic Church; episcopal conferences are able to propose adjustments on the fasting laws for their home countries.
Take‐Home Messages
Religion is an important factor in shaping people's beliefs; their lifestyle and dietary habits may also be influenced by their religious traditions and practices.
Fasting periods exist in almost all religions; they comprise a call to holiness and spirituality.
Buddhist meditation has positive effects on reducing stress and increasing mindfulness, as well as improving BP and vascular endothelial function. Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of mindfulness‐based stress reduction in T2DM showing modest improvements in body weight and glycemic control.
A short‐term engagement in yoga practice has been found to improve obesity, CVD, and T2DM risk factors among high‐risk populations.
Fasting, known as Vrat or Vratam, is fundamental to the Hindu religion; it shows the denial of the body's physical needs in favor of mental health.
In Judaism, believers consume only what is considered to be kosher, i.e., whatever has been produced in agreement with the Jewish dietary laws.
Islamic dietary laws dictate that Muslims can eat foods that purify their body and spirit from all kinds of dirt and impurities, based on what Allah commands. The most renowned fasting period of Muslims is Ramadan.
The health benefits associated with Ramadan fasting include weight loss, improvements in insulin resistance, blood glucose, BP, and lipid profile as well as the prevention of several chronic diseases.
In Christianity, fasting is sometimes paired with prayer in seeking God’s guidance. Some sects have specific dietary rituals. In the Greek Orthodox Church fasting is practiced throughout the year, about 6.5 months/year. The dietary rules of Orthodox Christianity offer a flexible lifestyle pattern with several, well‐documented health benefits.
Self‐Assessment Questions
1 Apart from diet, what other lifestyle factors improve health status in Buddhism?
2 What kinds of foods are usually avoided during fasting in Hinduism?
3 What does Kashrut mean in Judaism?
4 During Ramadan fasting, patients with T1DM should be aware of the possibility of:hyperglycemic episodeshypoglycemic episodesincrease in body fatno changes in fat‐free mass
5 Complete the sentence: Orthodox fasting periods are characterized by _______________________.
The Healthy Nordic Diet
The Nordic diet, also called the Baltic Sea diet, has been recently developed as a healthy dietary pattern. It is based on the principles of the traditional, plant‐based Mediterranean diet using foods locally available in the Nordic regions of Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. This pattern is characterized by high consumption of fruits (e.g., berries, apples, and pears), vegetables (e.g., root vegetables, cabbage, potatoes, carrots), wild mushrooms, pulses (e.g., beans, peas), nuts, whole‐grain foods (e.g., rye, barley, oats), rapeseed (canola) oil, oily fish (e.g., mackerel, salmon, herring), shellfish, and seaweed, while emphasis is given to low‐fat choices of meat (such as poultry and game), low‐fat dairy, salt restriction, and avoidance of sugar‐sweetened products (Figure 6.2).
Key Point
The Nordic diet, also called the Baltic Sea diet, has been recently developed as a healthy dietary pattern.
Compared to the Mediterranean and the DASH diets, the Nordic diet emphasizes the use of different types of oil and vegetables and fruit choices based on products indigenous to the Scandinavian region. In the Nordic diet the added culinary fat is the canola oil, a variety of rapeseed, instead of the olive oil that is used in the Mediterranean diet. Canola oil is rich in MUFAs and alpha‐linolenic acid, a plant‐based n‐3 PUFA.
