Eastern fast and health

[Monica4316]

Hello, I was wondering something about the Lent fast in Eastern rites… I know spiritual good is over the physical but fasts are designed to break attachment to the passions without serious health problems. I guess the health part varies with the individual. I’ve been trying to follow the strict Lent fast like one meal a day, no meat/animal products or oil - for weekdays. But a while ago I started having strong chest pains and feeling sort of light headed sometimes, although otherwise I liked the fast and it helped me spiritually. I found out this could be from low iron - I tried to incorporate iron from plants but I guess it doesn’t always absorb that well. I was disappointed but thought this could get serious in a while and turn to anemia or affect the heart… So I had to break the fast today.

I would have to talk to my priest about getting it lessened somehow… Maybe more food during the day and more oil. I don’t know if iron supplements could help instead of meat. Anyways I’m wondering has this happened to anyone, and is it ok to have the fast reduced for such a reason?

Thank you!

 

[GLam8833]

Yes, Monica, it is a good question, I, myself had lost
40 lbs. in weight because of fasting two days a week,
esp. even after getting a physically demanding job.
I would be interested in knowing how far does the
fasting apply, in the face of health risks!!!

 

[wynd]

Yes, you can reduce the fast for health reasons.

Rather than a minimum that one must meet under pain of sin, we see it as a maximum to strive for. To use a sports analogy, the west might say “You must be able to run at least one mile or else, but anything beyond that is not required” whereas the east might say “We’d like you to be able to run a marathon, but if you can’t do that yet then do what you can and you’ll get there eventually.”

 

[wynd]

I found this while looking for something unrelated that might be of interest to you:

Pravmir: Fasting for Non-Monastics

Is It a Sin to Break the Fast?

So, is it a sin to break the fast? The answer to this question depends on what is meant by breaking the fast. As we have discussed, it turns out that most people—monastic and lay alike—deviate from the rule in some way. If this deviation is meaningful and its purpose is to accommodate a real physiological need, then, it seems to me it is well within the spirit of fasting, even if it is not exactly according to monastic rules. If, however, the deviation is due to our gluttony, laziness, lack of discipline, or some other weakness, then we have something that should be corrected. Perhaps, the best way to think about sin in relation to fasting is not in legal terms—law, crime, and punishment, but in terms of preparation or exercise. Fasting is an ascetic discipline. The word “ascetic” comes from the Greek ἄσκησις which means “exercise” or “training.” In other words, imagine that you are a soldier preparing for a difficult and dangerous mission. It is not so much a crime to be lazy in your training or to cut corners as much as it means that you may not be well-prepared for your task and thus will not be able to complete it or even perish in the process. So, if you choose not to exercise the discipline of fasting, you are cheating yourself out of the training necessary to fight against the enemy—sins and passions—and will be unprepared to face the snares of the devil.

 

[Monica4316]

Thanks for the replies! I’m actually not sure now if the symptoms were from fasting or something else, but I’ll try to figure that out… Still the question is something I’d like to understand in the West they give the minimum and its a sin to break it, and that is what I’m used to so I’m still understanding the Eastern practice… So its not a sin to get a fast lessened for a valid reason especially with the advice of a priest? I’m not bound to it anyway according to my diocese, not living in the territory of my rite, but its still something I’d want to learn about.

 

[GLam8833]

I like the analogy of fasting being a form of exercise,
spiritual exercise or discipline, it removes much of the
objections as to whether to break a fast for physical
health reasons! One has to decide or weigh the benefits
of continuing the fast against the wisdom of doing your-
self harm if you continue, unless you stand to lose
much spiritually in the process of giving up the fasting.

 

[5Loaves]

A reminder of what has been said before on this topic when you’ve raised it before, fasting in Eastern Christianity is always to be done with the counsel of a spiritual father or mother for precisely the reasons you bring up. Until you are able to accept counsel from the priests whom you have gone to with your concerns you really ought to avoid any strict fasting.
In the East we prayed entering Great Lent “Let us begin the Fast with joy”.

 

[5Loaves]

Father Moses of Holy Resurrection Monastery just wrote an excellent article on fasting in the Eastern Churches. It’s available on Every Home a Monastery.

“…Everyone’s situation is different and everyone needs to apply the fasting traditions to their own circumstances always in consultation with their spiritual father or mother…”
-Fr Moses, in the just linked to article.

 

[Ignatius]

Hello, I was wondering something about the Lent fast in Eastern rites… I know spiritual good is over the physical but fasts are designed to break attachment to the passions without serious health problems. I guess the health part varies with the individual. I’ve been trying to follow the strict Lent fast like one meal a day, no meat/animal products or oil - for weekdays. But a while ago I started having strong chest pains and feeling sort of light headed sometimes, although otherwise I liked the fast and it helped me spiritually. I found out this could be from low iron - I tried to incorporate iron from plants but I guess it doesn’t always absorb that well. I was disappointed but thought this could get serious in a while and turn to anemia or affect the heart… So I had to break the fast today.

I would have to talk to my priest about getting it lessened somehow… Maybe more food during the day and more oil. I don’t know if iron supplements could help instead of meat. Anyways I’m wondering has this happened to anyone, and is it ok to have the fast reduced for such a reason?

Thank you!

You definitely want check with your doctor about those symptoms. See if vitamin and mineral supplements can help. The Fast must be kept in a prudent way, we are not supposed to damage our health.

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you! I think the symptoms were probably from something else and I made a mistake maybe.
But its still a topic to discuss

 

[JW55]

If you indeed have an iron deficiency issue from lack of meat, an Iron supplement might be helpful. Iron supplements are pretty cheap. Of course you would want make sure you didn’t take to much. Your Dr. might recommend this.

 

[Vico]

If you indeed have an iron deficiency issue from lack of meat, an Iron supplement might be helpful. Iron supplements are pretty cheap. Of course you would want make sure you didn’t take to much. Your Dr. might recommend this.

Dietary iron is found in animal foods that originally contained hemoglobin including fish (sardines, halibut, haddock, perch, salmon, or tuna) and shellfish (clams, mollusks, mussels, oysters), and from plant sources like lentils, beans, and spinach.