Greek Orthodox fasting rituals: a hidden characteristic of the Mediterranean diet of Crete

Abstract

The longevity and excellent health status of the population of Crete has been attributed to its lifestyle and dietary habits. The impact of Greek Orthodox Christian Church fasting on these dietary habits has never been studied. One hundred and twenty Greek Orthodox Christians living in Crete participated in a 1-year prospective study. One half of the subjects, who fasted regularly (fasters), and sixty non-faster controls were followed longitudinally for the three main fasting periods over 1 year; Christmas (40 d), Lent (48 d) and the Assumption (15 d). Pre-and end-holy days measurements were performed in each fasting period including: 24 h dietary recall, blood collection and anthropometric measurements. Based on the 24 h recall, fasters as compared with controls had lower intakes of end-holy days dietary cholesterol, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids and protein (P, 0·001). Fasters presented a decrease of 753 kJ (180 kcal) in end-holy days energy intake (P, 0·05) compared with an increase of 573 kJ (137 kcal) in the controls (P,0·05). Fasters had a decrease in end-holy days Ca intake (P, 0·001) and an increase in end-holy days total dietary fibre (P,0·001) and folate (P, 0·05), attributed to their higher consumption of fruit and vegetables in end-holy periods (P, 0·001). There were no differences for other vitamins or minerals between pre-and end-holy periods in both groups except for vitamin B 2 . The Orthodox Christian dietary regulations are an important component of the Mediterranean diet of Crete characterised by low levels of dietary saturated fatty acids, high levels of fibre and folate, and a high consumption of fruit, vegetables and legumes.

Calcium, nutrient and food intake of Greek Orthodox Christian monks during a fasting and non-fasting week

“…Our expectation that Ca intakes would be lower during the fasting week, compared with the non-fasting week, was confirmed. This is in accordance with earlier literature (9,11) and most probably reflects the restriction of dairy products during Greek Orthodox fasting periods. A finding of concern is that mean Ca intake was low during both assessment weeks.…”

“…In this earlier study, fish/seafood consumption also appeared to be higher whereas, in contrast to the present study, legume intake was lower when participants fasted. Meat consumption during non-fasting periods was similar to the intake reported during the non-fasting week in the present study (9) . A model of the Greek Orthodox fasting rituals was also established in another study, which assessed the nutrient composition of this eating pattern by chemically analysing the weekly food and nutrient intake of a strict adherent to the Church's recommendations (11) .…”

Health benefits and consequences of the Eastern Orthodox fasting in monks of Mount Athos: a cross-sectional study

“…However, data on the effects of OF as practised by Orthodox monks are limited to previous studies in Orthodox monks in Crete (14)(15)(16)(17), where nutrient profiles, including energy and fat intake were more favourable during the fasting week. The monasterial state of Mount Athos in Halkidiki, Northern Greece, comprises the largest Greek monasterial community.…”

“…Whilst this diet is becoming less popular as Western-style eating habits become more widespread, Orthodox fasting (OF), a type of diet dictated by the Christian Orthodox religion, which involves periodic abstaining from certain foods, has been suggested to contribute significantly to the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet through a host of potentially cardio-protective mechanisms (8, 9),including the restriction of consumption of animal products and the increased consumption of plant-based foods during OF (10-12). Previous studies (13,14), reported a more favourable lipid profile and a lower body mass index (BMI) in subjects following OF compared with non-fasting controls.…”

“…Friday during non-fasting periods and on weekdays during fasting periods (Nativity Fast, Great Lent, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast) (16)(17)(18)(19). To facilitate the nutritional analysis of the Athonian OF during a fasting period, we performed dietary and anthropometric evaluations during the middle (22nd-25th day of fasting) of the two principal fasting periods of Athonian OF (Nativity Fast and Great Lent), (December 2013 and March 2014, respectively).…”