Today is a landmark day for the Orthodox. Lent began. Believers for 40 days exclude from their diet a number of products, primarily - meat and milk. Relaxation religion allows for pregnant women, nursing mothers and those who are engaged in particularly hard physical work. As for children, there are no special instructions. "Parents, at their discretion, can restrict children in food," says Archpriest Alexander Sorokin. - At school they can eat what they are offered in the dining room, and continue the house at home, I do not see anything terrible in it.
Photo: GettyImagesMain rule: fasting should not harm health. Of course, with children it is not necessary to demand the fulfillment of all the fasting regulations intended for adults. In this case, many parents believe: for a month and a half without meat nothing will happen. But how useful will it be for a child, if from its diet, even for such a short time, exclude important for growth microelements? That's what official medicine thinks about this. Nikola Komov, a pediatrician, a teacher of the propaedeutics department of childhood diseases with a childcare course:
Children in food can not be limited. They are constantly growing every day. In general, the Orthodox fast is not as hard as in other religions. And its adherents say that vegetable sources of protein, such as buckwheat and beans, can extinguish the body's need. But they miss that moment, that this fiber will be inferior, therefore for children it all the same is undesirable. Let us explain what we are talking about. To fully develop the body requires an animal protein with essential amino acids, which our body can not synthesize on its own. It is found in meat, eggs, milk. That is, those products that during Lent for 40 days should be completely excluded from the diet. And this is the biggest disadvantage of such a "diet", because the vegetable protein does not contain the entire spectrum of amino acids necessary for the construction of the body.You can, of course, look for a balance, pick upproducts, adjust the diet. Some amino acids are contained one by one in separate products, for example, in film or in corn flour. Yes, it will be difficult, but it is possible to collect the full spectrum. Vegetarians, for example, do this. But whether it will eat a child not accustomed to such food - another question. The teacher explains: in modern children and so the body lacks protein. Indeed, children are much better at eating foods rich in carbohydrates: pasta, potatoes. Meat is worse, but also eaten. But to cram into yourself 400 grams of buckwheat per day to get a relatively equivalent replacement, is unlikely to agree.
Photo: GettyImagesIf the parents still want the childIf you are fasting, I recommend leaving at least one product with animal protein: either meat, eggs, or milk. But medicine is ready to support restrictions on sweets and fatty foods for life. Let us clarify: our expert is talking about older preschool children. Up to three years, while the body is still actively developing, no restrictions on food are allowed at all. For those who are still hesitating, we remind you: restriction in food is an important, but not the most important component of fasting. Pure thoughts and good deeds - this is what should be a priority component in the next 40 days. And if you still want to limit your child in something, it is better to remove sweets and cartoons from his life for this time. Doctors will definitely thank you for this. Also interesting:
