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What foods can you eat during fasting? What can you eat during Lent? Lenten recipes

Abstinence in food is not an end in itself, but only a tool with which a person fights his passions and sins. The main thing is to refrain from bad thoughts, feelings, and actions. A body not burdened by excesses in food gives freedom to the soul. Now she will have the difficulty of being freed from sins and passing any tests.

During Lent, you cannot eat foods of living origin: meat, eggs, milk.

Fish is allowed only on certain days - on the feasts of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God(but this year it falls on Holy Week, so fish is prohibited) and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), fish roe is allowed on Lazarus Saturday.

During the first and last weeks of Great Lent, special observances are made. strict fast- complete abstinence from food or dry eating (to the best of the ability of the fasting person and with the blessing of a spiritual mentor).

During the remaining weeks, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, food should be eaten cold and without vegetable oil. These are days of dry eating, on which you are allowed to eat once a day at 15.00 or much later.

Products consumed during fasting

Now they adhere to 2 options for dry eating:

1) The option is very strict: raw or dried vegetables and fruits, bread. Boiled vegetables, decoctions, even hot tea or coffee are prohibited. All foods must be unprocessed (except bread). Vegetable oil and wine are strictly prohibited these days!

Allowed:

  • Bread;
  • Water;
  • Nuts;
  • Dried fruits;
  • Some preparations (sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, vegetables) without oil;
  • Fruits vegetables.

2) The option is not very strict: baked vegetables are allowed. You can also pour boiling water over cereal or cereal flakes and let it brew. You can drink tea.

On Tuesdays and Fridays, hot food without oil is allowed.

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can add vegetable oil to hot dishes several times a day - after the Divine Liturgy (lunch around noon) and after supper. You can drink to strengthen your strength small cup diluted warm water 1:3 grape wine (except Saturday of Holy Week).

Despite the restrictions, you should still eat a varied and balanced diet.

Products allowed during fasting

Main permitted foods during Lent.

  1. Black bread, cereal crispbreads, cereals, legumes.
  2. Salted, pickled, soaked and pickled fruits, berries, vegetables, mushrooms.
  3. Jam from berries and fruits.
  4. Dried fruits, nuts, honey.
  5. Seasonal vegetables and fruits.

On days when it is allowed to eat vegetable oil, seafood (shrimp, squid, mussels) is allowed.

Orthodox believers, observing Lent, as if they are walking the entire path with Christ, nevertheless, you only need to abstain from food, and not exhaust yourself. You must soberly assess your strength and health. If you are fasting for the first time, it is advisable to talk with the priest and ask for a blessing to observe the fast.

If possible, attend all Lenten services. Simply refusing to eat without praying will not benefit the soul.

What foods can you eat during fasting so as not to harm the body?

Avoiding some foods and increasing consumption of others can cause an imbalance. To prevent this from happening, plant sources can make up for the lack of protein.

  1. Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas).
  2. Cereals (black, brown rice, buckwheat, barley, oats).
  3. An excellent alternative to animal protein will be pumpkin seeds and nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts or walnuts).

It is important to adhere balanced nutrition so that the body receives everything necessary substances- proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Everything must be supplied in sufficient quantities and proportions.

Plant foods during fasting should be selected so that they contain not only carbohydrates, but also proteins and fats, because fats in pure form(even vegetable oil) and animal protein(seafood and fish) are limited during Lent.

To cleanse the body you need fiber. Most people don't even take 15g dietary fiber per day, although the norm is 25-30 g.

Fiber is found in fruits, berries, vegetables, whole grain bread, legumes, dried fruits, nuts, but most of all - in bran.

Add as many fruits as possible to your Lenten diet and eat vegetables at every meal. They will strengthen the immune system, give vigor and protect against spring vitamin deficiency.

If you don’t have the strength, don’t ignore your weakness, take your vitamins. Many fasting people choose only one type of food, either vegetables or porridge. Such a meager diet worsens mood and well-being, leading to loss of strength.

Try to diversify your diet fresh vegetables and fruits. This will make fasting easier, since monotonous food and hunger make you constantly think about food.

Great Lent is a time of cleansing of the soul and body, which requires a person to be attentive to his emotional and physical condition. People who decide they are ready for strict restrictions, should also know the rules that will help to fast without harm to health and help to cleanse and heal the body.

Too sudden a change from normal diet to strict prohibitions can become a shock to the body and lead to a deterioration in well-being. If on Maslenitsa you ate pancakes and had a grand feast, and from the first day of fasting you decided to strictly limit yourself, then the functioning of the digestive system may be disrupted.

Sudden changes in diet will lead to fatigue and at the end of the fast you will have no strength at all. Therefore, it is better to prepare in advance and introduce restrictions gradually.

Don't go hungry, instead eat up to 5 small meals a day and try to listen to your body. If possible, eat more fruits and vegetables raw, this will help lift your mood due to fast carbohydrates, and a large number of fiber will improve digestion, the body will be replenished with vitamins, minerals, and plant enzymes.

Most of them are biologically active substances are destroyed over long periods of time heat treatment, and dead food is of no use. If only the weight increases due to the predominance of carbohydrates in the body...

Remember that health comes first!

Doctor's advice

Before giving up your usual diet, you need to make sure that there are no contraindications. After all, not everyone can benefit from fasting. People who suffer from metabolic disorders or have digestive problems, as well as whose body acutely regulates the lack of protein, need to be especially careful.

  • small children;
  • lactating and pregnant women;
  • people whose lifestyle is associated with serious physical activity and long trips.

To ensure that restrictions do not harm and are beneficial, before excluding foods during fasting, first consult a doctor to protect yourself and your health.


If you are fasting and would like to know what you can eat during this period and what is prohibited, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of products. Do not think that by fasting you will go hungry and not eat enough. A properly selected menu and knowledge of the main products containing fats, carbohydrates and proteins will allow you to easily carry out the holy cleansing, and even lose extra pounds.

You can eat any fruits and vegetables during fasting:

  1. Potato
  2. Cabbage, including sauerkraut
  3. Mushrooms
  4. Radish and radish, turnip
  5. Beet
  6. Carrot
  7. Onion and garlic
  8. Greens and lettuce
  9. Eggplants and zucchini
  10. Bell pepper
  11. Cucumbers, including pickles
  12. Pumpkin
  13. Apples
  14. Pears
  15. Bananas
  16. Tangerines, oranges, grapefruit and lemon
  17. Persimmon
  18. Plum and grapes
  19. Peaches and apricots
  20. Any berries

Vegetables and mushrooms can be boiled, stewed, baked without adding butter. A huge number of salads and snacks can be made from vegetables. Fruits can be eaten fresh, or baked, or made into salads. Adding vegetable oil is allowed only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

During Lent you can eat any cereals and porridges:

  1. Buckwheat
  2. Oatmeal
  3. Pshenka
  4. Pearl barley
  5. Lentils, peas and beans
  6. Corn porridge
  7. Semolina

You can also eat dried fruits, nuts, pasta, cookies and bread (without eggs or egg powder). You can prepare delicious pastries and pies, most importantly without adding animal fats or eggs. Fish is allowed twice during the entire Lent: on the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on Palm Sunday. If it is difficult for you to fast without fish, then it is better to replace it with soy products. Even on holidays, you can drink a small amount of wine.

During fasting you should not eat products of animal origin:

  1. Meat and all meat-containing products
  2. Bird and eggs
  3. Milk and all dairy products (sour cream, cottage cheese, yoghurts, kefir, cheeses and milk drinks)
  4. Baking and pasta with eggs, butter
  5. Mayonnaise
  6. Chocolate
  7. Fast food because it's high in fat
  8. Fish and vegetable oil, excluding weekends and holidays
  9. Alcohol, with the exception of small amounts of wine on holiday

In fact, modern priests, speaking about fasting, note that this is a limitation that a person must make for himself. For some people, it is enough to give up only meat, while eating dairy products, while others need to adhere to fasting according to all the canons.

In the photo: vegetable salads on the Lenten menu are not only tasty, but also healthy

What foods will help maintain health during fasting and how not to gain weight during fasting?

What can't you eat during Lent?

According to Orthodox traditions, during fasting it is forbidden to eat any products of animal origin.

The large list of products includes: meat, poultry, fish, milk and dairy products (sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc.), as well as eggs.

Regarding seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid, oysters, etc.), various denominations have not come to a common agreement. Thus, according to the Greek statute, seafood is equated to mushrooms, since they have plant and animal cells. And you can eat seafood occasionally.


In the photo: Greek regulations equate seafood to mushrooms, so you can occasionally eat seafood

Vegetable oil (sunflower and olive) is allowed only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

You should also exclude mayonnaise, beloved by many, during fasting.

You cannot drink any alcoholic beverages during fasting.

You should also exclude sweet foods from your diet. White bread, a variety of baked goods from wheat flour and sweets.

What can you eat during Lent?

You can eat any food plant origin: potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, turnips, radishes, beans, mushrooms, nuts, various berries, fruits and dried fruits.


In the photo: salad from sauerkraut, bell pepper, onions and cranberries

In our stores you can also find “Lenten Menu” brands, which were developed with the participation and blessing of the Danilov Patriarchal Monastery.

Not everyone can withstand dietary restrictions throughout the entire period of fasting, especially if you decide to fast for the first time.

Doctors pay attention to this fact: during Lent, some may... gain weight.

It would seem: you deliberately refuse meat and other animal products, but you gain several kg in weight per month.

Reasons for gaining weight during fasting

1. Fast carbohydrates

The reason for obesity during fasting: a large amount of fast carbohydrates.

You feel hungry, which is quite natural, and drink tea with sugar and bagels, eat instant vegetable soups, snack on white bread with homemade jam. All this leads to the release of insulin, and this hormone is known to synthesize fat and increase appetite.

You feel hungry, consume fast carbohydrates, are hungry again and eat again. Eventually - excess weight.

2. Don't forget to have breakfast

Be sure to have breakfast. Brew yourself in the morning oatmeal, eat buckwheat, millet, bulgur, egg, couscous, spelt and polenta.


In the photo: what could be better than tasty and boiled buckwheat porridge?

Try making a salad with quinoa - a very fashionable plant today that comes from South America. The Incas called it "golden grain."

Quinoa contains a lot of protein and about 20 amino acids. This plant also contains a lot important microelements: iron, calcium and phosphorus.


Pictured: quinoa and vegetable salad

Even chefs of fashionable restaurants prepare warm vegetable salads and soups with quinoa.

Remember that at breakfast you should eat a third of the daily value.

If you didn't have time to have breakfast, then at lunch and dinner you will eat much more than your body needs.

The norm of calorie consumption for women is no more than 1500 kilocalories, for men engaged in physical labor - 1900 kilocalories.

10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161.

3. Frequent snacking

Many people believe that when they feel hungry, they can snack on nuts and dried fruits. Yes, these products are very rich in various microelements, but they are also very high in calories. 100 g of nuts contain on average up to 600 kilocalories.


In the photo: the Lenten menu may include dried fruits and nuts. But remember that this is a high-calorie food, so in order not to gain excess weight, you should not eat them daily

The same applies to oil. Do not generously pour vegetable (olive) oil over all dishes. As doctors note, the rate of oil consumption is no more than 1 tablespoon per day.

4. Food at night

Have dinner at least 4 hours before bedtime. Salad with vegetables and herbs, durum wheat pasta with vegetables, fish or seafood in non-strict days fasting, beets, grain porridge with pumpkin - all this contributes to normal digestion.

And don’t forget about greens: parsley, dill, mint, green onions, arugula, pea pods, spinach help cleanse the body of toxins.

And the lack of fats and proteins can be compensated for with fish oil, which is now available in capsules. You can also buy it in pharmacies fish fat with wheat germ oil, sea buckthorn and rosehip.


In the photo: Omega-3 fish oil with wheat germ, sea buckthorn and rose hip oils

Every Orthodox person sooner or later thinks about how to organize his meals during Lent on a daily basis. He asks his friends, studies literature and often gets scared strict rules eating and a monotonous diet. It's actually not that scary.

Refusal from certain types of food for a while is a spiritual feat

Among our compatriots there are many who not so long ago decided to make their bloodless sacrifice to the Creator. These people discovered many products that previously in ordinary worldly life the menu consists largely of protein foods of animal origin. Fasting prohibits meat and dairy products, as well as eggs.

How to properly prepare for fasting?

What time and what to eat during fasting is not an idle question. The church allows seafood, vegetables, nuts, fruits, mushrooms and cereals. They can be eaten throughout the entire period of abstinence, with the exception of a few special days, on which you can’t eat at all, in particular on Good Friday, and on the day of Christmas Eve - Christmas and Epiphany. Meals during fasting are scheduled for each day. Orthodox calendar. The degree of severity is regulated by the canons. However, regulations sometimes change. In every church, priests make sure to explain to parishioners what they can do during fasting and what they should abstain from. The most correct thing is to ask a priest for a blessing before fasting. He will clarify what is possible and when, and what will have to be refused. Some Christians quite rightly believe that the inhabitants of monasteries know and follow the most precise rules. Whether to copy their routine or not, each layman has the right to decide independently, having previously talked with his confessor of clergy.

Do lay people need to follow the monastic rules?

The diet of lay people and monks differs significantly. The monks fast according to all the rules - they eat only once a day, strictly observe dry eating on the prescribed days, and do not eat meat even outside of fasting. The main guideline for all Christians is the forty-day fast of Jesus Christ. Before accepting the mission entrusted by God the Father, the Lord retired to the desert, where he prayed and fought temptations, and supported his physical body with wild honey and locusts. Christ commanded us that we can save our souls only by fasting and prayer. Any fast should be aimed primarily at the desire to comprehend and accept into your soul the commandment “Love one another.”

What foods are allowed during fasting?

Meals during fasting by day for the laity usually look like this. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dry eating is accepted, that is, food cannot be cooked. These days, cereals soaked in water and soaked until soft, as well as dried fruits and water soaked in the same way are allowed.

On Tuesday and Thursday you can cook hot food. It can be porridge with water or vegetable broth, jelly, seafood, pasta. Do you often make jelly for yourself outside of fasting? But they are very good for health. Kissels can be made from fruits, berries, and cereal flakes.

What can be prepared from lean products?

Mushrooms, vegetables and sea creatures can be cooked very delicious soups. Eating during fasting does not prohibit the use of seasonings and spices. And they are almost always not of animal origin. Lent is the time to master oriental cuisine. Soy sauces, Indian spices, domestic herbs, nuts, honey - these are all things that you can experiment with four days a week, and on Saturday and Sunday vegetable oil is also allowed. Eating daily while fasting will add variety to your life. At the end of the week you can bake strudels. These are a kind of rolls made from very thinly rolled stretch dough. To prepare it, only flour, water and a little salt are used. The filling for them can be sweet, for example, apple and apricot. Take fresh apples, dried apricots or apricot jam, flavor with cinnamon or vanilla, and so that the filling does not flow out, secure it with potato starch.

You can use fresh cabbage as a filling for a savory lean roll. To prevent it from becoming bitter, boil water and put crushed vegetables in it for 3-5 minutes. cabbage leaves, then drain in a colander. After the water has drained, use the cabbage in any dish. For the strudel filling, fry on vegetable oil onion and mix with cabbage, add one cardamom grain, salt and pepper to improve the taste.

Meals during Lent can be varied with jelly and jellied dishes on agar-agar. They can be made for future use, but whether they are allowed to be eaten on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have to be checked with the priest of your church.

Benefits of fasting for physical health

Eating during fasting by day will not allow you to gain excess weight, but will allow you to eat those foods that you forbade yourself during the day. ordinary life. For example, potato pies fried in vegetable oil. Will you say: “Death to the figure”? Nothing happened! You can only afford this pleasure on Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the days the weight will return to normal. In general, eating during fasting by day of the week is quite an exciting thing. You will not only greatly expand your culinary horizons by adding new dishes to your diet, but also get rid of dysbacteriosis and improve your work gastrointestinal tract, cleanse your body of waste and toxins. The nutrition calendar during Lent sets quite strict boundaries for believers, but it does not make their life dull and monotonous.

Fasts vary in length and severity. During the Apostolic, or Peter's, Fast, as well as during the Filippov Fast, that is, the Nativity Fast, fish is quite often allowed. Accordingly, the filling for baked goods, soups and main courses become even more interesting. Even during Lent you can treat yourself to fish on Annunciation and Palm Sunday and fish caviar on Lazarus Saturday.

The joy of successfully overcoming carnal temptations

Only those who have endured a multi-day fast have the opportunity to feel the real joy of eating. Usually the first week after a multi-day fast is continuous. Foods that have been banned for several weeks are perceived in a new way. Fresh cottage cheese with rich sour cream and condensed milk tastes like the most delicate ambrosia. And if you spread it on a butter cake, the flesh of which is not white, but bright yellow from the eggs generously added to the dough?! Who can afford such luxury if not those who for a long time have deprived themselves of the joys of gluttony, abstinence from food and prayer?

The joy of the Incarnation of the Lord in the Only Begotten Son and His victory over death are celebrated very widely; no prohibitions overshadow these two holidays for those who properly prepare for them. At this time, believers completely freely indulge in the joys of life, without worrying about a slim figure, calories, eating hours, etc. A liberated and cleansed body works perfectly. All useful material are used to improve health and build tissue cells of all organs, and harmful ones are removed without delay.

You no longer have to wonder when and what to eat. During fasting, these issues had to be resolved every day, because it is no secret that, no matter how hard you try, fasts generally last a long time, and it is not always possible to cook food. Snacks on Snickers and cappuccino are not allowed. So Orthodox Christians most often eat water, nuts and dried fruits. Honestly, it's not easy.

What if you couldn’t cope with the prohibitions and regulations?

Attending worship services and reading prayers greatly help strengthen the will and spirit. And if you still couldn’t pass the test of fasting, don’t despair. It didn’t work out now, it will work out another time. The most important thing is that the Lord sees your efforts.

How to fast correctly? What rules are important to follow? What can you eat during Lent? Sputnik Georgia tried to find answers to these questions, which you can find below.

How to fast correctly

Of the four multi-day fasts established Orthodox Church Lent is the most basic, long and strict. It consists of two parts and lasts a total of seven weeks.

The first part is the Holy Pentecost, established by the Orthodox in memory of the forty-day fast of Jesus Christ in the desert and lasts six weeks. The second is Holy Week, the last week before Easter, during which we remember last days earthly life and death on the cross of the Savior.

According to church regulations, in order for the laity to fast, they must receive the blessing of their confessor. Because before entering into fasting, Christians must prepare spiritually and undergo the sacrament of confession.

The clergy constantly remind us that fasting is a time of prayer and repentance, and not a diet that limits the consumption of certain foods. Therefore, during Lent, Orthodox Christians need to first of all take care of the purification of the soul and thoughts, so that with a pure heart to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. And for this it is necessary to pray daily and, if possible, attend church services throughout the seven weeks of Lent.

Believers who observe fasting are categorically not recommended to take part in all kinds of entertainment events these days. Throughout Lent, you cannot get married, much less get married. Other celebrations should also be celebrated after the fast is completed. During this period, it is advisable to refrain from bad habits, for example, from smoking and drinking alcohol.

Church ministers believe that a person, by observing fasting and devoting more time to prayer, pushing everything unnecessary into the background, will be able to get closer to God. The first and last weeks of fasting are the strictest, and the prayers are longer. Some believers, if desired, take only water and bread on these days.

According to church canons, on Clean Monday, the first day of Lent, and Good Friday (the last Friday before Easter), it is customary to completely abstain from food.

What is possible, what is not

Refusal of certain foods and physical cleansing is one of the important components of Lent. People who do not have health problems should first of all give up any food of animal origin during the fasting period. It includes all varieties of meat and poultry, eggs, animal fats, and dairy products.

On these days it is also forbidden to eat fish, except for a couple of days. And also everything that contains elements of these products. The main foods that can be taken during fasting are grains, fruits, and vegetables.

According to church canons, a Lenten cuisine menu should be drawn up according to the following principles:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dry eating, that is, you are allowed to eat bread, fruits, vegetables;

Tuesday, Thursday - you can eat hot food of plant origin without oil;

Saturday, Sunday (except for the final week of fasting) - food of plant origin with vegetable oil is allowed.

© photo: Sputnik / Sergey Nikonets

Fish is allowed only on the holidays of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (April 7) and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem - Palm Sunday, which in 2019 falls on April 21.

On Good (Red) Friday, which falls on April 26 in 2019, you cannot eat food until the shroud is taken out during a church service.

Previously, fasting was observed very strictly, especially in the first week and during Holy Week. People even abstained from drinking water until nine o'clock in the morning. Kings and nobles also fasted, like the common people, eating only mushrooms and vegetables on these days.

Seriously ill people, pregnant women, nursing mothers, military personnel, workers engaged in heavy physical labor, as well as travelers and children under seven years of age are exempt from fasting. From seven to 14 years of age, children can fast only on Wednesdays and Fridays. And after 14 years of age, a teenager must choose whether to fast or not.

If you have health problems, before deciding to fast, you should definitely consult with your doctor about whether you can fast without harming your health.

During fasting, you need to abstain not only from savory food, but also from envy, anger, squabbles and scandals. Also on these days you need to do as many good deeds as possible, because without this, fasting loses its meaning.

The priests believe that if a person becomes nervous and irritable due to a ban on certain foods, it is better to stop fasting. Because this is not a diet, but a period of spiritual cleansing, which cannot be achieved while constantly being in an irritated state.

Rules and traditions

During the seven weeks during which Lent continues, believers must observe certain traditions and remember the most significant deeds of the holy saints.

In the first week, which is called Fedorov's week, the defenders of the Christian faith are commemorated. On Saturday, believers honor the memory of the martyr Theodore of Amasea, who, despite torture, refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods.

The second week of Lent is spent in commemoration of Gregory Palamas - the crowned aristocrat at the age of twenty abandoned brilliant prospects and left the royal court of the rulers of Constantinople to spend his life as a hermit on Mount Athos in the confinement of monasteries and work his way up to the rank of Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Orthodox theologian, polemicist and philosopher .

The third week of Lent is called the Worship of the Cross. At this time, believers worship the Life-Giving Cross. The Church displays the Cross in order to strengthen those who fast to continue the feat of fasting by reminding them of the suffering and death of the Lord.

The fourth week of Lent is dedicated to the life of John Climacus, who at the age of sixteen went to the mountains of Sinai to become a monk. Subsequently, he lived in the desert as a hermit for another forty years, and then became abbot of the monastery in Sinai. It was John who became the author of the Ladders - spiritual ascetic tablets that are designed to help believers achieve spiritual perfection.

During the first part of Lent, there are three parental Saturdays at once - the second, third and fourth weeks of Lent are established for the remembrance of the dead.

The fifth week of Lent is spent commemorating the life and deeds of the patroness of all repentant sinners - Mary of Egypt. The life of Saint Mary, a great sinner who was able to sincerely repent of her sins and spent many years in the desert in repentance, should convince everyone of the great mercy of God.

© Sputnik / Alexander Imedashvili

On the sixth week (Sunday), Orthodox Christians celebrate the great twelfth holiday - the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. This holiday is also called Palm Sunday - the day when they remember the events when Jesus entered Jerusalem. At the All-Night Vigil, the blossoming branches of willow (vaya) or other plants are blessed by sprinkling holy water, which are then distributed to the believers. The day before, at Matins and Liturgy, the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus Christ is remembered.

Palm Sunday ends Lent and Holy Week begins. Every day of this week is Great, as it was accompanied by the most important biblical events - the Last Supper, betrayal, judgment, Golgotha ​​and the miraculous Resurrection.

Therefore, fasting becomes stricter during the last week, especially on Red Friday, the day of Jesus’ execution. Holy Saturday is the only Saturday during the entire year when strict fasting can be observed. Those people who are preparing for communion should not drink or eat anything after eight o'clock in the evening. In the event that someone breaks the fast, he must repent and continue it, but not stop under any circumstances.

IN last week During the fast, you need to repent of voluntary or involuntary sins, take communion and cleanse yourself of everything sinful, since during this week Jesus endured cruel torment for the sake of people.

This week, believers should protect themselves as much as possible from the bustle of the world - do not watch television programs, do not listen to music and stay at home as much as possible.

Benefit

According to research, fasting is primarily beneficial for health. When eating lean foods, the body is cleansed of cholesterol, which reduces the amount cardiovascular diseases. Fasting also has a beneficial effect on other vital important systems body, but only if you do it correctly. But if you violate the nutritional rules of fasting, you can harm your body.

© Sputnik / Alexander Imedashvili

In any case, your diet should be balanced and contain everything necessary elements. Therefore, doctors advise thinking about proper product replacement.

For example, replace meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and eggs with legumes, nuts, seeds, various cereals and cereals, and wholemeal products. With this you can compensate for the protein deficiency in your diet.

IN Lenten menu you should add pasta and potatoes - they are excellent sources of energy, will give you strength and vigor, and return good mood and joy of life.

Vegetables and fruits in quantities of at least 500 grams daily.

Try to drink more liquid during this period - jelly, compotes, water, tea, and so on. It is advisable to eat small portions several times a day.

But still, the main meaning of fasting remains spiritual cleansing. The fasting person, refusing delicacies, mentally prepares himself for a meeting with God. This is it the main point and the value of the post.

The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.