As human civilization developed, so did belief systems, and in the first millennium AD, the three largest religious systems that are now considered were formed. These religions, like most less common beliefs, include not only a set of tenets of faith, but also a whole set of rituals, rules and moral and behavioral norms that every adherent of the religion must adhere to. All religious systems in one way or another regulate the lives of all adherents of the faith, establishing norms and rules of behavior in various situations and dictating attitudes towards certain things and phenomena. And of course, Almost all religions pay a lot of attention to this important aspect, as a culture of human nutrition.

Even in prehistoric times, when people adhered to primitive beliefs, a significant influence of religion on food culture was already visible, manifested in the traditions of ritual meals, donations of food to deities, food restrictions in certain days and in lavish feasts in honor of religious holidays. In modern religions, there are many more norms and rules governing the nutrition of adherents of the faith than in primitive ones. The sacred books of world religions and in numerous works and treatises of outstanding religious figures spell out a whole set of recommendations, restrictions and prohibitions regarding food. Let us consider the features of the food culture of adherents of the most widespread modern world religions.

Christian food culture

Modern Christianity takes its origins from more ancient religion- Judaism, therefore adherents of these two religions draw knowledge about faith from the same book - the Bible. However, if Jews recognize only the Old Testament, then Christians believe that many of the rules and norms established in the Pentateuch of Moses lost their relevance after the appearance of the New Testament, the books of which were written down by the companions and followers of the new prophet - Jesus Christ. And since in all of Christ’s sermons one of the main themes was love for others, the need to forgive and the condemnation of others, the rules that Christians must adhere to are significantly simpler and more loyal than the norms of behavior of Jews.

The food culture of Christians is considered in its entirety since it is governed by the same rules that affect other areas of life. In particular, one of the main virtues of Christians is moderation, and adherents of this religion must observe this quality in everything, from their attitude to the financial sphere of life to the consumption of food. And vice versa, Gluttony in Catholic Christianity is considered one of the 7 sins, leading to the destruction of the soul.

According to the teachings of Christ, every follower of his must put God and faith in the first place in his life, therefore Christians are recommended to pay more attention to spiritual development, and not neglect the spiritual in favor of the material. Based on this, A Christian's food should be simple and satisfying, so that a person can satisfy his hunger and get energy from it for godly deeds.

There are no special prohibitions on eating certain foods, so Christians can tailor their diet according to personal preferences and moderation. The only exception to this rule is dishes made from carrion and dishes containing animal blood. However, based on the fact that in the national cuisines of both Russians and Europeans, dishes with blood are not very popular, and not only the Bible, but also doctors do not advise eating carrion, we can say that the rules regarding the choice of foods in Christianity very loyal.

Christianity is also loyal to alcohol - adherents of this religion are allowed in reasonable quantities. Moreover, it is important that alcohol can not only be present on the festive tables of Christians, but also plays an important role in the ritual part of the Christian religion - in particular, the sacrament of communion includes the consumption of wine, symbolizing the blood of Christ.

One of the most important elements of food culture in Christianity is the need to fast. During Lent, every Christian should focus as much as possible on spiritual development and learn to pacify your physical desires by eating plant-based foods. In different branches of Christianity, the tradition of observing fasts varies - for example, Catholics observe Lent (40 days before Easter), Advent (4 Sundays before Christmas), and also abstain from eating food of animal origin every Friday, while Orthodox Christians fast more than 200 days a year , but different posts differ in severity.

Muslim food culture

The tenets and rules of Islam strictly regulate the food culture of Muslims and determine which foods are allowed to be eaten and which are prohibited. According to this teaching, all food is divided into three groups: halal (permitted foods), haram (forbidden foods) and makrooh (food the consumption of which is not directly prohibited in the Koran, but is not advisable to eat). The list of prohibited foods in Islam includes the following:

There are several versions why Muslims cannot eat pork, entrails and meat from predators. Most religious scholars and Islamic leaders are of the opinion that these animal products are “unclean”, since the diet of pigs and predators includes substances that can harm human health, and the internal organs of any animals are capable of accumulating heavy chemical elements. Some historians believe that the answer to the question why Muslims cannot eat pork lies in climatic factor. They explain their version by saying that the weather is hot most of the year, and eating fatty meat in the heat is very unhealthy.

No less important component of Muslim food culture than the division of all products into three groups is fasting. . In Islam, there are two types of fasts: the obligatory fast of Ramadan and the recommended fasts (all Mondays and Thursdays, 6 days in the month of Shawwal, all full moon days, the 9th - 11th of the month of Mukharam and the 9th of the month of Dhul-Hijjah). During fasting, Muslims are prohibited from eating any food or drink during the day (from the time of morning prayer until sunset). During Ramadan, adherents of Islam eat only in the dark, and the fasting diet should not include fatty, fried or overly sweet foods.

Buddhist food culture

Unlike the monotheistic religions of Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is a religion in which there is no concept of sin, which means there are no prohibitions. However, the sacred texts of Buddhists contain a number of recommendations that should help adherents practice the Noble Eightfold Path and achieve Enlightenment. Some of these recommendations also concern nutritional culture.

The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Path, that is, the path in which there are no extremes, therefore Buddhists are advised to practice moderation in everything, including diet. And since Enlightenment is impossible without renouncing material and physical attachments, Buddhists must learn to perceive food only as a source of energy, but not as a source of pleasure.

Vegetarianism is encouraged in Buddhism however, it is not obligatory - according to the teachers of this doctrine, every adherent must come to the refusal of the meat of killed animals himself. However, Buddhists are discouraged from seeing animals killed or eating the meat of any animal that has been slaughtered specifically for them. For example, a Buddhist will never hunt and will not accept a bird or game killed during a hunt as a gift.

Baptism of Rus'. The influence of Orthodoxy on Russian culture.

The Baptism of Rus' is one of the most important cultural events in the history of Ancient Rus'. It marked the end of the pagan and the beginning of the Christian history of Russia. The baptism of Rus' took place at the end of the 9th century, through the efforts made by Prince Vladimir during the establishment of Christianity as the state religion. The baptism of Rus' did not take place painlessly for the Russian people and was associated with significant resistance to the new Orthodox culture.

Despite the fact that, in fact, the large-scale Baptism of Rus' began only in the 9th century, the prerequisites for this event appeared a long time ago. Lands and peoples united by the name Ancient Rus', learned Christianity long before 988, when Prince Vladimir officially accepted it. There is an assumption according to which the Rus, who were under the rule of the Khazars, were first baptized by the Slavic enlighteners Cyril and Methodius during their trip to the Khazar Kaganate in 858.

Initially, the path to Christianity to the very heart of the Kyiv reign of Rus' was paved by Princess Olga, the widow of Prince Igor, killed by the Drevlyans. Around 955, she became imbued with Christianity and was baptized in Constantinople. From there she brought Greek priests to Rus'. However, Christianity was not widespread at that time. Princess Olga's son Svyatoslav did not see the need for Christianity and continued to honor the old gods. The merit of establishing Orthodoxy in Rus' belongs to one of his sons, Prince Vladimir.

The adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir was not free from political calculations. The Byzantine Emperor Basil II (976-1025), who was looking for an ally against the pretender to the throne, military leader Bardas Phocas, turned to Vladimir of Kyiv for help, agreeing to marry his sister Anna to him. Without being baptized, Vladimir could not marry the princess, and such a union highly raised the political status of the Kyiv princes. An alliance with Byzantium was necessary to strengthen the growing authority ancient Russian state. For the Slavs, Byzantium was the same symbol of power, wealth and sovereign splendor as for other neighboring states that were just beginning to build and strengthen their statehood. The alliance with Byzantium opened up the necessary prospects for both further military and economic growth.

The most common version of the circumstances of the Baptism of Rus' is as follows. Vladimir sent a squad of about 6 thousand people to help Vasily II, but the Greeks were in no hurry to fulfill their promises. The prince “hurried” them by taking the city of Korsun (Chersonese), which, not without some irony, was offered to them as a bride price. The only thing left for the Empire to do was to please its pride by the fact that it was formally acquiring a new subject. Prince of Kyiv received a third-class court title, which nevertheless automatically introduced him into the hierarchical system of the empire. The “diplomatic” marriage of a Russian prince and a Byzantine princess could also secure the northern borders of Byzantium for a long time, and the predominance at first of Greek clergy in Rus' provided Constantinople (Constantinople) with the opportunity to influence the unpredictable Rus with the authority of the Orthodox Church.

At the end of the summer of 988, Vladimir gathered all the people of Kiev on the banks of the Dnieper and Byzantine priests baptized them in its waters. This event went down in history as the baptism of Rus', becoming the beginning of a long process of establishing Christianity in Russian lands.

Russian chronicles contain legendary information about the choice of faith by Prince Vladimir. The legends in their own way reflected the real picture of the diplomatic activity of the Kyiv grand-ducal court. In addition to Byzantium, he maintained contacts with Khazar Khaganate, Rome, Western European countries, Muslim peoples, southern Slavs. These relationships were also associated with finding a way state development, and with the definition of the political, cultural and spiritual orientation of Kyiv.

Among the reasons that determined the choice of Byzantium as a model of state building, an important role was played by the splendor of the Orthodox priesthood. The chronicle gives impressions of the Russian embassy about the service: in the Constantinople Church, the ambassadors, according to them, did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth. The Byzantine Church amazed them with the unearthly beauty of the temples and the splendor of the service. Shortly before this, says the Tale of Bygone Years in 986, Prince Vladimir talked with ambassadors from Volga Bulgaria about Islam, with missionaries from Rome, with Khazar preachers of Judaism and with a “Greek philosopher” - an Orthodox missionary. The prince especially liked the philosopher’s speech, and he began to lean towards Orthodoxy.

After baptism, which, according to legend, Vladimir received in Korsun, the stern ruler and warrior, who paved the way to the heights of power in a brutal internecine struggle, who had six wives (not counting about eight hundred concubines), who had not previously interfered with human sacrifices, sincerely accepted the teachings of the Church about sin, Christ's words about love and mercy. Baptism transformed Vladimir. He even seriously intended to introduce an innovation hitherto unheard of in human history - to abolish the death penalty for robbers, fearing sin.

Vladimir's reign was marked by the emergence of Christian charity in Rus', emanating from state power. The prince contributed to the establishment of hospitals and almshouses (shelters for the elderly and disabled), and took care of the food of the poor people of Kiev. The construction and decoration of churches received state support, the first school was created, and full-scale training of the Russian clergy began.

Of course, forced Christianization and destruction of ancient pagan sanctuaries sometimes met fierce resistance from the people and priesthood. However, due to the fact that the first Russian Christian priests showed loyalty to the assimilation of pagan traditions to the Orthodox. All this led to the creation of an original Orthodox tradition. And as a result, Christianity contributed to the general development of culture, the creation of monuments of writing, art and architectural architecture Ancient Rus'.

Since the 10th century, Orthodoxy has become the state religion. In the Russian lands, this left its mark on the further history of development. Until the 11th century (until 1054) it existed as a single religion, since religion is one physical forms social consciousness, then it is a reflection of the life of society. There cannot be uniform social conditions in different areas. Consequently, religion could not be the same; two forms arose - in the Western form - Catholicism, and in the Eastern form - Orthodoxy. Both Catholicism and Orthodoxy began to differ, although until the mid-11th century they were within the same church. Orthodoxy has its roots in ancient Greek culture. There is a man in the center. Attention was paid to the spiritual world of man. Orthodox Church paid great attention to the soul of the believer. The meaning of the Orthodox faith is to prepare your soul for the afterlife. Catholicism inherited from its predecessor a commitment to strength, to order, and that is why the motto of Catholicism becomes: discipline, order, power. From the point of view of an Orthodox person, if you are lucky and have accumulated wealth, then at the end of your life you are obliged to give it to a monastery or to the poor. In Russia, wealth was never encouraged. If people acquired wealth, they did not advertise it. As a rule, the most revered were the holy fools who had neither a home nor anything. This ultimately acted as a brake on the establishment and development of commodity-money relations. If you take a Protestant or Catholic, they believe that God created all people the same, but sent them to earth to test what they are capable of. The richer a person is, the better off he will be in the afterlife. In other words, the establishment of Protestantism in Europe contributed to bourgeois development. Another influence had a very strong impact on the political life of the country. From the point of view of an Orthodox person, there are no saints. If you do everything right, you will go to heaven. For Catholics and Protestants, the Pope is the main light of faith. As for Orthodoxy, there are no holy people - the church itself is holy. The Orthodox Church does not recognize any monarch, but only the legitimate one. Therefore, in the history of Russia, the question of the legitimacy of the tsar had great value. Orthodoxy also influenced the psychology of Russians. What Christ said is the only way to do it. Nowhere has Marxism given such roots as in Russia, because it can be explained to a Russian that now it is necessary to give up benefits, because this and that. Self-detachment and self-sacrifice are characteristic of Russians. Under Vladimir, one of the greatest events in Russian history took place - Rus' adopted Christianity. Before accepting Christianity, because The Slavs were farmers, they deified the earth, the sun, and rivers. Having come to power, Vladimir wanted to strengthen the pagan faith, but he failed. It was very difficult to force people to believe in the old gods anew, and in its previous form, paganism no longer suited the princely authorities. “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells that in 986 representatives of third religions arrived in Kyiv: Christianity (Byzantium), Judaism (Khazaria), Islam (Volga Bulgaria). Each of them offered their own religion. Islam was not suitable for Vladimir, because... he was not satisfied with abstinence from wine, Judaism - because. Jews who professed it lost their state and were scattered throughout the earth. And the sermon of the representatives of the Byzantine Empire made an impression on Vladimir. However, to make sure of everything, he sends his ambassadors to see how to worship God in different countries. And when the messengers returned, they named the best Greek faith. Vladimir's decision to accept the Christian faith could also be related to his marriage to the Byzantine princess Anna. The baptism of Rus' happened very slowly, because There was great resistance from the population; only violence and intimidation helped to force the pagans to submit. In order to somehow make it easier for the Slavs to accept Christianity, the church sanctified some pagan holidays (such as Maslenitsa, Ivan Kupala...). Beliefs in mermaids, goblins, and brownies have also been preserved. The adoption of Christianity in Rus' was of great importance. Christianity forced people to eat a lot of vegetables, therefore, gardening improved. Christianity influenced the development of crafts; techniques for laying walls, erecting domes, mosaics, etc. were also adopted. Stone architecture, frescoes, and icon painting also appeared in Rus' thanks to Christianity. Many temples were built (There were about 400 temples in Kyiv, and not one of them copied another). Rus' received two alphabets: Glagolitic and Cyrillic, which contributed to the spread of literacy. The first began to appear handwritten books. Morals in Rus' changed very noticeably, since the church categorically prohibited human sacrifices and the killing of slaves... Christianity also contributed to the strengthening of princely power. The prince was now perceived as a messenger of God. And finally, the adoption of Christianity radically changed international situation Rus'. She organically fit into European culture and diplomatic relations with other countries.

If you want, we will say it more clearly. What is national cuisine in general? Some will say: “Well, of course - these are recipes, certain dishes characteristic of a given people, country, area, etc.” That's it. But in addition to purely recipe details, there are several more important things: products, processing technologies, type and nature of food, norms and customs of serving dishes. And finally, cultural practices around food consumption. So the role of the church was overwhelmingly reduced to the latter.

Let’s not talk about the Orthodox contribution to cuisine in the form of dishes appropriate for one or another religious event - kutia, Easter cake, colored eggs. And how many are there? As they say, on the fingers of one hand... And then, don’t you think that porridge from wheat grains sprinkled with honey would not have arisen without Christianity? To tell the truth, it did not have any special influence on Russian cuisine.

In general, there are many stereotypes regarding the role of the Christian Church in the development of world culture, science, and art. One of them is “if there were no church, all this would not exist.” Yes, for many centuries civilization developed within a religious context. Now, where are Aristotle, Pliny, Omar Khayyam, and where is Christianity? Or is this not culture? And Orthodoxy in this sense was completely late to the division of the cultural achievements of mankind.

“Name at least one pre-Christian scientist, artist or writer in Rus'?” - supporters of the church version of Russian history ask with a grin. Meanwhile, if you think about it, this is hardly a winning topic for them. Since Orthodox writers or scientists beforeXVI- XVIIcenturies, almost no one knows. Why would that be? Is it not because it was in this era that printing and at least some kind of educational fashion began to penetrate. So it is not at all a fact that the role of our church in this process was stimulating and not inhibiting.

And then, as you know, “Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.” This Latin expression, meaning "after this, therefore as a consequence of this", is very suitable for our case. Because it describes a typical logical error. So, Russian culture, science and even cooking have been developing for centuries parallel to the existence of the church, in the church context. But not necessarily thanks to her.

Yes, of course, we know many scientists who were thoroughly imbued with religious feeling. But the phrase “If there were no Orthodox Church, there would be no science or art,” Lomonosov, who did not hide his disgust for obscurantists in robes, would have raised his eyebrows ironically. And Leo Tolstoy, who deserved excommunication from the church, claiming that church teaching is “an insidious and harmful lie, a collection of superstitions, various types of witchcraft and wild customs.” We're not talking about academician Basov and aircraft designer Tupolev.

So the church's contribution to national culture over the past 500 years is, to say the least, a highly controversial issue. Why make an exception for Russian cuisine, which, again, according to church adherents, is unthinkable without Orthodoxy?

Actually very conceivable. What it was like before the baptism of Rus' inX century and many centuries after this event. You don’t think that before Prince Vladimir we didn’t bake bread, cook cabbage soup or make pies? Pancakes are also a pagan dish. About beer and mead, the same Vladimir, deified today, says: “For Rus' has joy to drink. We can’t live without it.”

Someone will say that new products came to us from Byzantium along with Orthodoxy. Yes, indeed, buckwheat appears in the first monasteries, where Byzantine monks cultivated it. But what does religion have to do with it? This is a common borrowing from neighboring peoples. This has always been the case in Rus': sour milk from the nomads, rice from the Asians, cabbage from the southern Slavs, celery from the Germans, pasta from the Italians. What's Orthodox about this?

In fact, the adoption of Christianity did not become the cornerstone of the development of our early medieval cuisine. This process was long and controversial. And even today, after 1000 years, we follow pagan customs. Pancakes for Maslenitsa are a vivid example of this, something the Orthodox Church was forced to come to terms with.

Yes, the Russian Lenten table is a separate phenomenon in the history of our cuisine. Its influence is twofold. On the one hand, there is a conscious limitation in food consumption. On the other hand... Do you think that in the Middle Ages every family could afford meat, even as a “meat eater”? It's just saving food.

Fasting (as a restriction on food) is far from an Orthodox invention. It is available in both Germany and France. Buddhists, Manichaeans, and Zoroastrians have it. Vegetarians all over the world generally eat meatless foods - is it really under the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church? But, after all, they give themselves quite spiritual justifications for this in the spirit of Leo Tolstoy’s “First Step”.

Well, what else is from the Orthodox (or generally Christian) influence?

· You cannot eat food sacrificed to idols, i.e. sacrificed to the gods of other religions (ICor:10-28).
· It is not just the meat of individual animals that is prohibited, but specifically the methods of killing them for food. “For it pleases the Holy Spirit and us not to place any more burden on you than this necessary: ​​to abstain... from blood and things strangled.” (Acts 15:28-29).
· The Church takes care of the flock, recommending restraint in food, warning against eating foods evoking feelings laziness and other sinful states.
· An Orthodox meal should be accompanied by prayer, during which believers ask to bless their food and thank God for their daily bread.
Isn’t it true that nothing at all has to do with cooking here?

Now let’s think about what negative things Orthodoxy has brought into Russian cuisine. There is also something to speculate about here.

It turns out, for example, that eating veal was considered a great sin in the Moscow state. We find eerie evidence of this in the book of Jacob Reitenfels, written in the 70s of the 17th century: “Everything has been stubbornly avoiding veal for a long time, I don’t know for what reason, to the point that Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich [the Terrible] ordered the workers who were building it to be thrown into the fire fortress in Vologda, because they, forced by hunger, bought and slaughtered a calf.” Do you think veal is all? But no.

Today, the famous revivalist of invented Russian cuisine, Maxim Syrnikov, for example, argues that “hard cheeses, pressed and aged, were prepared in Russian antiquity.” Why invented? Yes, because this comical “historian” does not understand that the rennet for such cheese is obtained from the stomach of a calf. Cutting which was considered a sin. So it turns out that “thanks” to the Orthodox Church we did not have normal cheeses untilXVIII- XIX centuries, when this stupid ban died of its own accord.

Or another example. Ancient yurma soup. This stew was mentioned in Domostroy in the 1550s. What was she? Boiled fish in the ear, next to it is chicken in broth. And then the chicken is cut into pieces and sent to fish broth. And so you get chicken with the smell of sturgeon or sterlet. A dish that has practically disappeared today in Central Russia. Why? Yes, simply because yurma contradicts the church principle of dividing any food into fasting and fasting. And eating fish again after fasting is not an acquired taste.

To the one who says: “What kind of disgusting thing is this, chicken and fish?” We recommend going to Rostov and trying the popular local dish “rooster fish soup”. Yes, yes, only on the outskirts of Russia, where withXV century free people They fled, among other things, from church and monastic oppression; only a semblance of this curious dish of Russian cuisine has been preserved.

And most importantly, let’s not forget the basic “brace” of our Orthodoxy. It says that “any power is from God” and the main thing for the church is to support this power in every possible way. For many centuries, serfdom was the basis of Russian life, so dear to our church.

It’s worth talking about the role of the cook in this vein. “While the prestige of French chefs was constantly increasing, their social status until the revolution (1793) he remained the same - servants.” This opinion of the American researcher Paul Metzner surprisingly accurately reflects the social and professional conflict that had matured by that time. The French culinary specialist Grimaud de la Reniere says about him: “Happy is the one who has a really good cook! He should treat him not as a servant, but as a friend.” Needless to say, the situation in Russia was even more difficult. After all, even at the beginning of the 19th century, most cooks were serfs.

To demand that slaves develop culinary arts is not an illusion? Life confirmed this when cooking in Russia sharply “opened up” towards the middleXIXcentury. And the profession of “cook” became not a serf profession, but a free one.

Another confirmation is Soviet cuisine. Consigned to oblivion many traditions of Russian cooking. But, after all, the Soviet government was so loved by the Russian Orthodox Church? Whose hierarchs did not hesitate to receive orders and dachas from her? So is there really an intrigue here too, and the Russian Orthodox Church passionately loved Soviet power, secretly eating anti-Soviet sturgeon like a monastery?

As with any complex cultural phenomenon, it is impossible to give a clear “black and white” answer. It is clear that the role of monasteries in preserving Russian traditional cuisine is great. For historical science, church sources are very important, preserving the memory of festive table centuries ago. But no less than that, we must take into account the role of the Orthodox Church, which supports the most backward views on culture and science. Including to ensure that Russian cuisine remains at the level of the Domostroev order so dear to it. Fortunately, the progress of society has left her with little opportunity for this.

People have long noticed that the health of the body and the health of the spirit are closely related things and depend on each other. Over the course of many centuries, each of the world's great religions has developed its own, special approach to proper nutrition that supports human life.

Of course, teachers of faith proceeded from spiritual premises, which did not always have a rational explanation. How and what to believe is everyone’s personal business; no one has the right to give advice here. But some principles in relation to daily food, developed in various doctrines, are quite reasonable from the point of view of nutrition. Let's try to use them for the benefit of the body.

Christianity and food culture

For the soul. There are no total prohibitions related to food in Christianity. In general, everything is possible. The restrictions apply only to certain periods of time - fasting. Different faiths have formulated different rules for abstaining from certain foods. For example, in Orthodox calendar 4 multi-day fasts preceding great holidays. There are also one-day ones: Wednesday and Friday of each week, with the exception of weeks - holiday periods following major church dates.

According to church charter, fasting involves abstaining from food of animal origin.(meat, dairy products, eggs), as well as rich bread and sweets. Fish is allowed on some days. Of course, fasting is not a diet. This is a special time dedicated to diligent service to God and intense prayer. But at the dawn of the existence of the church, when the tradition developed, it was necessary to get meat for the table and cook it. spend a lot of effort and time. And plant food was literally “under your feet” - take it and eat it. Giving up meat allowed me to free myself from unnecessary worries and switch my thoughts to something else.

For the body. A non-religious person may well find physiological benefits in the Orthodox approach to nutrition. Everyone knows that flour and sweet foods are more suitable for holidays than for everyday life, although not everyone follows this principle. With proteins necessary for the body to function normally, it is more difficult: they are building material for muscles, ensure brain function, form enzymes responsible for the normal course of all processes.

Still, it is useful to periodically give a break to the digestive system, excluding animal products from your menu. The abundance of meat and dairy on the table puts a strain on the kidneys, liver, heart, blood vessels, nervous system. Give up “heavy” types of meat for a while, not to mention sausages, and the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet will immediately decrease. The lack of proteins can be compensated for by such gifts of nature as beans, peas, lentils, nuts, and seeds. By the way, the protein component in meat is about 25%, and in nuts - more than 30%, although these proteins are not identical.

If you can’t live a day without meat and milk, leave chicken in your diet, which is rich in healthy fatty acids. fish(these acids form brain cells and participate in hormonal metabolism), as well as some low-fat fermented milk products to support the functioning of the stomach and intestines.

Hinduism, Buddhism and food culture

For the soul. These beliefs originated in India, and then conquered all of Southeast Asia and Far East. There are many of their adherents in the West. Eastern religions do not place humans above other living beings and therefore teach not to kill animals, birds and fish for their own food. But adherents of Eastern religions enjoy using their gifts - dairy products and eggs.

For the body. In India, the cradle of these doctrines, vegetables, fruits, grains, beans grow in abundance, therefore the diet of an oriental vegetarian is much more varied and more balanced than the table of a resident of the North.

By the way, all traditional dishes are richly seasoned with spices and herbs. They are considered a gift from the gods. Witness is really useful. This can be taken into account. Pepper and herbs have a disinfecting effect, which has always been important for countries with hot and humid climates, where pathogenic microbes multiply quickly. Rich color spices (for example, saffron, cinnamon, red pepper) indicates a large amount of flavonoids - useful, biologically active phytosubstances.

Islam and food culture

For the soul. Forbidden foods for Muslims are pork and alcoholic beverages. It is believed that alcohol is dangerous even in small doses, because drinking and not losing control of oneself is a more difficult task than not drinking at all. Scientists are wondering about the reasons for the ban on pork among the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East (it was preserved by both Jews and Muslims). Maybe it's the pig's uncleanliness and indiscriminate eating. Another version says that in ancient times trichinosis was very common - a fatal disease transmitted to humans through pork. Today science has methods for its reliable prevention.

The meat of other animals can be eaten. But for it to become permitted, a number of rules must be followed. Some of them are purely spiritual, others are closely related to hygiene. So the meat turns out to be clean, literally and figuratively. By the way, it is available in regular supermarkets with appropriate labeling.

Devout Muslims are also required to observe strict fasting for one month a year. Its essence is not in refusing any foods, but in complete abstinence from food and drink during daylight hours.

For the body. From a nutritional point of view, it is not good for young and active people not to eat all day long, and even more so to gorge themselves at night. Therefore, trying to extract “bodily benefits” from the Islamic food system, let us turn to everyday, and not “lenten” prohibitions.

For example, eliminating pork (or at least reducing its share in the diet) is good advice. This meat is usually fatty and difficult to digest. 100 g of pork contains about 300 kcal. This is almost 1/3 higher than that of beef, and accordingly 2 and 3 times higher than the calorie content of chicken and veal. In addition, 300 kcal is an average figure.

There are especially tasty and fatty parts, for example, neck or ham, the energy value of which reaches 500 kcal per 100 g - a whole meal in one piece! Pork meat is inexpensive, nourishing, and easy to process, so it is readily used by manufacturers of various kinds of semi-finished products, including sausages. It turns out that giving up pork and semi-finished products from it helps you make a choice in favor of homemade, healthier cooking.

Judaism and food culture

For the soul. In Judaism, as in Islam, pork is strictly prohibited. Koshrut (literally, what is permitted) generally involves a lot of dietary restrictions. Most taboos have nothing to do with physiology. The origins of some rules go deep into history.

For example, the instruction given by Moses to “do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” apparently was a prohibition on the repetition of a certain pagan ritual. Over time, the tradition expanded it, and now an Orthodox Jew does not allow the combination of any meat and dairy products. They should be eaten from different dishes and at intervals of at least half an hour.

For the body.There is no scientific evidence that combining meat and dairy is harmful. But the general approach from the point of view of common sense may be this: protein foods of animal origin in high concentrations are a serious burden on all systems of the body. So you shouldn’t eat different types of it at the same time.

You can also take note of the careful approach of the Jews to processing meat. It shouldn't contain not a drop of blood. To do this, the meat is pre-soaked in water or sprinkled with coarse salt, which absorbs the liquid. Practice shows that after this the meat becomes lighter and more appetizing in appearance, and there is no scale in the broth, it is cleaner and more transparent. You should also forget about undercooked steak (with blood), in which pathogens of intestinal infections can persist.

The Jewish calendar has 6 fasts per year. They are short, usually daily. But they are very strict - no food or drink. They, like some Christian fasts, can be compared with fasting and fasting days recommended by nutritionists. However, from a scientific point of view, leaving the body completely without water is still wrong. In general, the rules of kosher force us to be very attentive and selective about everything that ends up on the table and in the mouth, and this only benefits one’s well-being.

Currently, there are more than 6 billion people living on the globe, and they all differ from each other not only in language, skin color, nationality, but also in religion.

Religion in modern society objectively represents one of the most important components of the culture of peoples. The first and central question of any religion is the question of faith. Religion is an established system that exists on the basis of theory (religious doctrine - in Russian this word corresponds to the concept of “theology”) and practical activity. The existence of religion is impossible without practice, the main and obligatory element of which is cult (from Latin - care, veneration).

Issues of nutrition, to a greater or lesser extent, as elements of a cult, are present in all religions. These are prohibitions and restrictions (fasts), customs, traditions and other regulations.

The culture and traditions of peoples related to nutrition and national cuisine depend significantly on religious beliefs. Even I.M. Mechnikov wrote in 1915 that many peoples have preserved culinary customs prescribed by the rules of religion.

Religion influenced the lives of believers and changed the dietary traditions of individual peoples. This influence can be traced through the history of nutrition Eastern Slavs before the Baptism of Rus' and after it. Orthodox fasts led to the emergence of many dishes made from plant products and fish. At the same time, horse meat was displaced.

Religious precepts are not discussed by a believer, no matter what they concern. Nutritional regulations also had a purely economic basis - the need to carefully use food supplies; compliance with the gradually developed elementary hygienic rules was of vital importance.

Thus, the life of the primitive community was gradually regulated by a system of various prohibitions. Subsequently, as society developed, these cults acquired religious overtones. As a result, the church gave the fasts essentially a new content - not only and not so much physical, but, above all, moral cleansing.

There are many religions - from very small ones to national-state ones (for example, Hinduism in India forms the basis of the religious life of the nation) and even world ones, which have spread beyond the cultural-national center in which they arose and have a huge number of adherents all over the world. The world religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam: 1833 million Christians; 971 million Muslims; 732.8 million Hindus; 314.9 million Buddhists.

One of the most ancient human activities was cooking. For a long time, different nations Not only cooking skills were formed, but also attachments and preferences. Culinary features were formed under the influence of many factors: geographical location, climatic features, economic opportunities, certain traditions and more. The menu of the peoples living on the shores of the seas and oceans, naturally, was dominated by fish and seafood; nomads (pastoralists) ate what animal husbandry could provide, i.e. milk and meat; inhabitants of forest-steppes used livestock and forestry products in their diet; residents southern countries A large number of vegetables and fruits were used for cooking. In this way, a set of initial products for cooking was determined. Another important factor under the influence of which national cuisines took shape is the technology of food preparation and the method of processing it. The determining factor was the use of fire, i.e., the arrangement of the hearth. Geographical location and climate were of paramount importance in this matter. In a rather harsh winter, the Russian stove served as a source of heat and a device for cooking food at the same time. Southerners used open fire, often setting up the kitchen separately from the home. In turn, the design of the hearth determined the characteristics of heat treatment. It is most convenient to cook, stew and bake in an oven; it is preferable to fry over an open fire (on a spit, on a grill).

Taste preferences and diet also evolved depending on climatic and geographical features: southern peoples When preparing food, various spices, hot sauces and seasonings were widely used; the northerners preferred relatively bland food. Most peoples have a tradition of eating three times a day. Southerners usually have a light breakfast, and lunch and dinner are plentiful.

The degree of influence of religions on the characteristics of national nutrition varies among different peoples. Most often, church regulations and prohibitions fit organically into the system of already established culinary traditions. However, the influence of the church as a whole on the characteristics of national cuisines is an undeniable and significant fact. Everyone knows that Muslims do not eat pork, considering the pig an “unclean” animal. The people of India who profess Hinduism (the vast majority of them in the country) do not eat animal meat at all; many Hindus are strict vegetarians. As a result, each nation's cooking acquires its own specific features. This is how national cuisines developed, an essential element of which to this day are religious prescriptions.

In China, a system of religious practice has developed in an amazing way. Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism exist on equal terms in the country. If Buddhism is one of the world religions, then the last two are predominantly widespread in China.

Residents of Japan also profess both Buddhism and Shintoism (Japanese national religion). A similar situation exists in many countries around the world. In addition, there is no strict unity within the confessions. Christians have long been divided into Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, Muslims - into Sunnis and Shiites, within Buddhism there are several directions, and even Hinduism is not homogeneous. You can also observe a combination of religious and national in people’s lives, including in matters of cooking. The interpenetration of national and religious led to the originality and uniqueness of peoples and the characteristics of their diet.

Zoroastrianism is considered an ancient religion. From about 1500 to 1200 BC e. lived the prophet Zoroaster (Zaratushtra, or Zarathustra), endowed with the gift of foresight, the founder of this religion. And currently, 130-150 thousand people in Iran, Pakistan, India and some other countries consider themselves adherents of Zoroastrianism.

Even then, much attention was paid to nutrition issues: religion prescribed not to eat meat without first removing the blood from it. Regulated holiday menu- when celebrating the New Year (Nouruz), there must be seven dishes on the festive table (composing the so-called lorca) of almonds, pistachios, walnuts, persimmons, figs, grapes and pomegranates.

The sage Lao Tzu is considered the founder of Taoism, although almost nothing is reliably known about him. The doctrine arose in centuries BC. e. in China, and to this day many Chinese profess Taoism, although there is no exact data on how many followers of this religion currently live in modern China. Taoism is not a world religion and is widespread only in China. Modern Chinese medicine uses the principles of the Taoist diet for therapeutic and preventive purposes, as well as to improve the health of the body. The most important place in this is fasting (zhai). A distinctive feature of Taoism fasting is the absence of uniform, strictly defined rules. Fasting is a system of a wide variety of prescriptions and restrictions relating not only to food; this is strict adherence to rituals, restraint of emotions and passions (“restrictions of the heart”) and abstinence from many thoughts, desires, words, and actions.

The method of “nine forms of food fasting” is extremely unique. In general, the method is a path of improvement for a Taoist (professing Taoism), consisting of 9 stages. General rule nutrition, related to its quantity - non-overeating, not being fully satiated, following the “golden mean”.

Confucianism is also one of the religions of China. Confucius (in Chinese pronunciation sounds like Kunzi, or Kungfuzi - the sage Kun), the founder of the religion, lived from 551 to 479. BC e., i.e. approximately 25 centuries ago. The teachings of Confucius are multifaceted, it represents a set of spiritual and social norms, which have been passed down from generation to generation for almost 2.5 thousand years. In addition to China, Confucianism is also practiced in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore (although it is not as widespread there). Until 1913, the teachings of Confucius in China remained official ideology. Confucius preached the principle of moderation, the “golden mean” in everything, and he himself adhered to these principles in practice.

Buddha translated from Sanskrit means “Enlightened One”, “Awakened One”. Currently, the majority of Buddhist adherents live in South, Southeast and East Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand and Laos. Buddha lived from 624 to 544. BC e.

Chinese cuisine, from a confessional point of view, is a synthesis of the prescriptions of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. On the one hand, according to the famous Chinese proverb “Life requires seven items: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soybeans, vinegar and tea,” the Chinese cuisine is simple, on the other hand, the Chinese use a wide variety of dishes, including exotic ones, to prepare dishes. , products. Along with cereals, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry, Chinese chefs prepare dishes from marine invertebrates, algae, and bamboo shoots. But milk and dairy products are not traditionally consumed in China. The main food product is rice; Almost no meal is complete without it. Rice porridge is prepared everywhere and in a variety of ways, essentially replacing bread. There are two main types of rice porridge: dry crumbly and very liquid, which forms the basis of the Chinese breakfast. Porridges made from corn and millet are also popular. The main source of protein is legumes and products made from them; Soybean oil, soymilk, soybean curd (there are hundreds of recipes), sauces and soybean paste are common. Popular in China flour products- noodles, flatbreads of various types, so-called pampushki - steamed bread, dumplings, cookies. Vegetables play a big role in Chinese cuisine: cabbage, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, many varieties of radish, green beans. Among vegetables, cabbage is the most popular. Young bamboo shoots are eaten boiled. Meat is not the most popular food item in China; majority meat dishes It is made from pork, while beef and lamb are less popular. More widely, Chinese cooking uses poultry, primarily ducks and chickens, their eggs, as well as fish and various seafood - crabs, shrimp, various shellfish - squid, octopus, cuttlefish, sea cucumbers. The most common drink in China is tea, which is drunk everywhere.

Shintoism is the national religion of Japan, formed on the basis of local beliefs of antiquity. Shinto, as the Japanese themselves call it, coexists peacefully with Buddhism, which came to the islands from the south. In Japan average duration life is one of the highest, so interest in the eating habits of the Japanese is not just educational in nature. The products used for cooking are diverse: primarily plant and seafood, various vegetables, herbs, sea and river fish, poultry, caviar, eggs, and sweets. As in China, rice is the Japanese's favorite and most common product. At the same time, the Japanese consume more meat dishes from beef and pork. Cabbage, including sea cabbage, and various vegetables - cucumbers, eggplants, turnips, radishes - are widely used on the islands. Soybeans and other legumes, including sprouted ones, are popular. The first dish is usually prepared on the basis of specially prepared soybeans. This soup is eaten with noodles, meat and herbs. The basis of the Japanese second course is most often fish, which is prepared in an extremely varied way or eaten raw, cut into slices. Feature national cuisine The Japanese widely use various spicy seasonings, which are prepared from radishes, radishes and herbs. Salted and pickled vegetables, pickled garlic, and pickled cucumbers are also constant on the Japanese table. Vegetable oil and fish oil are used to prepare Japanese cuisine. In Japan, it is common to drink green tea.

The leading feature of Hinduism regarding nutrition is its attitude towards animals. Hinduism is not homogeneous (experts distinguish Brahmanism, Bhagavatism, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, etc.), but the idea of ​​​​rebirth in Hinduism is one of the central ones, it determines the relationship of man to animals. It is believed that in one of the subsequent rebirths a person can appear on earth in the guise of a cow, goat, monkey, buffalo or other animal or bird, i.e. a Hindu treats animals as sacred beings, and under no circumstances can harm them harm, except for ritual. Therefore, Hindus are strict vegetarians. Ayurveda (means "knowledge of life" or, more commonly, full translation, "knowledge of duration human life") is a system of medical prevention and health care that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. In the teachings of Ayurveda, the issues of rational nutrition are given exceptional importance; It is believed that the main cause of disease is poor digestion. Here is the main thesis of the teaching: the ability to effectively digest food allows you to benefit even from poison, while a healing balm in case of impaired digestion can cause irreparable harm (and even lead to death). Therefore, no food is good or bad; it all depends on the body’s ability to digest food and extract the necessary substances from it. This ability to assimilate and extract is determined by the intensity of digestion.

The Ayurveda nutrition system is unusual; it does not consider concepts that are familiar to us, for example, it does not talk at all about fats, carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins. It is believed that to build a proper diet, only information about food is needed; the body itself has the necessary tools to obtain this information: The primary information about food is contained in its taste. Ayurveda distinguishes six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. The combination and presentation of flavors determines the nutritional value of food. A balanced dish, according to the Ayurvedic principle, must contain all six tastes, then optimal breakdown of food components and their absorption by the body occurs.

In addition, the diet is based on harmony with the surrounding nature; She's practically vegetarian. Modern experts consider its disadvantage to be an insufficiently diverse list of products that is not able to fully satisfy all the needs of an adult body.

The yogic system, also known in India, promotes internal cleansing through clean food. Yogis recommend minimizing or eliminating all animal products (meat, fish, eggs, poultry and all products made from them), with the exception of milk and honey. Meat food causes rotting in the intestines. Eating meat, in their opinion, contributes to premature puberty, but the ability to have sexual activity also disappears in meat eaters earlier than it should be. However, yogis do not believe they have the right to impose their rules on other people, in particular Europeans.

Yogis recommend natural foods, primarily plant foods - all vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, berries, herbs, legumes, cereals, nuts, seeds, honey, decoctions and herbal infusions. It is also recommended that foods be processed as little as possible (gently), ideally a raw food diet, although the use of baked and boiled, but not fried and smoked foods is allowed. Utensils for both cooking and eating should ideally be clay, porcelain or glass. Yogis do not recommend eating more than 2-3 times a day, last time- at 18 o'clock (6 o'clock in the evening). You should have a light breakfast in the morning, after physical exercise, following general rule- eat when you feel hungry. It is wrong to drink food with liquid; you need to chew well. A yogi’s motto could be: “Drink solid food and chew liquid food.” Overeating is considered very harmful; it is better to undereat, and you need to get up from the table feeling slightly hungry. It is important to know the right combination of foods.

The basis of the Indian diet is plant food, since a person who is convinced of the transmigration of souls cannot not only kill an animal, but also harm it. Milk (mostly sour) is quite widespread. The most commonly used plant foods are rice, corn, peas and other legumes, as well as vegetables, including potatoes. The most popular dish is pilaf, which is cooked with vegetables and legumes and a small amount of vegetable oil. In India, various seasonings and spices are common, which, as you know, flocked from all over the world (red and black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, mustard, mint, parsley, dill, saffron and others); All national dishes are invariably prepared with a lot of pepper. The source of protein for Indians is nuts, legumes and milk. Fruits (apples, apricots), berries and melons also play a significant role in the diet of Indians.

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with a corresponding number of believers. The founder of Judaism is the prophet Moses, born in Egyptian captivity. Moses himself, like Jesus Christ later, fasted for 40 days. The regulations concerning the diet of the Jews are determined primarily by the corresponding chapters of the Old Testament

All food among Jews is divided into lawful (kosher) and unlawful (trefna). Kashrut (permissibility or suitability) is a concept most often associated with the question of eating a particular food. Legal, “clean” mammals include ruminant artiodactyls - both wild and domestic; while an animal endowed with only one of these characteristics (for example, a pig is an artiodactyl, but not a ruminant), is “unclean,” that is, prohibited. On the other hand, a pig is considered an “unclean” animal, because it has been possessed by the devil. It is forbidden to eat the meat of camel, jerboa, hare, pig, reptiles, and some birds. You should not eat the meat of birds of prey, as well as swamp and waterfowl (except goose and duck). Of the fish, it is allowed to eat those that have at least one fin and easily detachable scales.

If the food regulations of many religions divide foods into “clean” and “unclean,” then in Orthodox Christianity there are no absolute prohibitions on the consumption of certain foods. Dietary regulations are associated with fasting and are temporary, which is a fundamental difference between Christianity and other religions.

The Christian religion traces the rational principle of moderation with the rejection of extremes. Saint Maximus the Reserve emphasized: “It is not food that is evil, but gluttony”: This position is consistent with modern medical ideas about nutrition and health.

In Orthodox church calendar About 200 days are allocated for fasting. Every believer is required to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. In addition, there are four multi-day fasts - Great, Petrov, Uspensky and Rozhdestvensky. The peculiarity of fasting is that it gradually prepares a person for a strict vegetarian diet. So, in the first preparatory week of Lent, one does not fast on Wednesday and Friday; in the last week, the cheese week, meat is excluded, but milk, cheese, and eggs are allowed.

Each fast precedes a major Christian holiday: Great Lent - Easter, Nativity - Christmas, Petrov - the day of Saints Peter and Paul, Dormition is dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

If we consider the fasts from the point of view of nutrition, it turns out that during these periods the believer is ordered to adhere to a vegetarian diet with varying degrees of strict vegetarianism. During any fast you can eat vegetables and fruits in any form, potatoes, fish dishes (some fasts do not allow fish), mushrooms, bread, pancakes, pies, pasta, porridge. All dishes in fast days prepared in vegetable oil. Meat and dairy products, eggs, animal fats (butter, lard) are excluded from food.

Orthodox fasts according to food regulations are divided into five main categories, which contain elements rational nutrition.

1. Strict fasting - any food is prohibited, only water is allowed. In dietetics, this corresponds to short-term.

2. Fasting with a “dry diet” - uncooked plant foods are allowed, which partially corresponds to the theory of a raw food diet.

3. Fasting with “cooked food” - it is allowed to eat plant foods that have been subjected to heat treatment, but without vegetable oil. This type of fasting is fully consistent with strict vegetarianism.

4. Fasting with “eating boiled oil” - the use of vegetable oil for preparing vegetarian food is allowed.

5. Fasting with “eating fish” - consumption of fish and fish products along with plant foods and vegetable oil is allowed.

The church charter also stipulates the days of a single meal. During fasting, you cannot eat meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, animal fats, eggs, and confectionery products containing butter and eggs.

It must be said that strict fasting is not for everyone. The attitude towards fasting by children should be the same as towards vegetarianism. This completely coincides with the institutions of the church. The Orthodox Church “does not impose the rules of fasting in its entirety on children and the sick, the infirm and the elderly.” The fasts established by the Christian Church as a means of promoting the elevation of the spirit over the flesh deserve attention and should be encouraged.

According to nutritionists, fasting, although it causes deviations from a balanced diet, is not harmful to health and is even advisable given modern views on the meaning of periodic imbalances in nutrition.

On the days of great holidays, varied and high-calorie foods are provided.

Fasting is observed not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Muslims and Jews. The conditions of Muslim fasting are more severe and strict than those of the Orthodox: fasting is prescribed for Muslims for the entire month of Ramadan. Throughout this month in daytime, from dawn to dusk, you cannot drink, eat, swim, smoke, or take medications.

In the largest Protestant religions - Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Methodism - there is no regulation of nutrition. And Seventh-day Adventists prohibit the consumption of pork, coffee, tea and alcoholic beverages.