Fasting

Fasting is the abstinence from food and it has been a Russian custom for many centuries. Worldwide, fasting has been practiced for thousands of years and for a number of reasons, both spiritual and physical. It’s an easy, inexpensive detoxification method and the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, fasted along with the Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates.

The Greeks believed that fasting was an excellent curative because by expelling toxins and liquid, solid and gaseous wastes from the body, it restored mental and physical efficiency. How? Simply by giving the hard working bowels the well deserved rest they need. Think about it: many diseases stem from excess, especially those of food and drink.

Many of us are probably familiar with the spiritual aspect of fasting. Religions throughout the world including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Pagans endorse fasting.

Fasting comes down to self control, a mastery over self and one’s desires. It runs the gamut from not eating at all, drinking only, abstaining from a particular food to eating simply and avoiding gluttony. In the spiritual sense, prayer accompanies the task.

I grew up in the Russian Orthodox faith, and fasting played a huge role in the church. In the strictest sense, during the week, all Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days. In monasteries, Mondays are also fast days in honor of the angels, the fleshless ones. There are exceptions to fasting during Bright Week, the week after Easter and other days. Small children, the sick, old, pregnant and nursing mothers are excluded from these rules. A person abstains from food, drink, including water if taking Communion as well.

In addition to the weekly fasts, there exist four major fasting periods or Lents in the church: the Great which is before Easter, the Nativity, the Apostles and the Dormition.

If one was to follow the fast to the letter of the law, meat, dairy, fish, eggs, wine and olive/vegetable oils are not permitted and a person would eat fruit, vegetables and grains only. Strangely, however, in the Slavic tradition beer is allowed, as are shellfish.

I admit that I don’t fast as much as I should, but recently have reconsidered it for the benefits and have reached the conclusion that vegetarianism is a form of fasting, too. It seems Americans don’t practice fasting as much as their counterparts in Europe and in the rest of the world do and this, along with eating a lot of processed food and garbage, may partially explain the obesity epidemic and extraordinary rates of cancer and heart disease.

Not all of us have the fortitude to fast for extended periods, but a day spent quietly drinking water, herbal tea, or freshly juiced vegetables and fruits can work wonders for the body, mind, and soul. Afterwards, one is refreshed and invigorated. In the spiritual sense, it can work miracles and elevate a person above the mundane. That is another topic altogether and I’ll be exploring it in the article, “Modern Russian Holy Man.”

There is something to be said for fasting for certain: the benefits are tangible. We come back full circle to Hippocrates and his premise: “let medicine be your food, and food your medicine.”

Let that be food for thought.