ArticleEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2020
The significant effect on musculoskeletal metabolism and bone density of the Eastern Mediterranean Christian Orthodox Church fasting.
Article in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adipocyte Size, Overweight, and Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Impact of Weight Loss: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of Christian Orthodox Church Fasting on Metabolic Syndrome Components in Adults Aged 18-49 Years.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Vitamin D and Calcium in Osteoporosis, and the Role of Bone Turnover Markers: A Narrative Review of Recent Data from RCTs.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effects of Periodic Religious Fasting for Decades on Nutrient Intakes and the Blood Biochemical Profile.Nutrients · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveNutritional disorders cause secondary osteoporosis as well as musculoskeletal metabolism dysfunction. The Christian Orthodox Church's fasting in Mediterranean countries such Greece and Cyprus, or M.C.O.C. diet consists of self-restraint from food and/or food categories for 180 ± 19 days of total, especially of animal protein and dairy products. This case-control study attempts to investigate the effect of this fasting pattern on musculoskeletal metabolism and bone density.
designOne hundred fasters (or M.C.O.C. diet followers; 68 women and 32 men, mean 59 ± 6.5) with 32 years average fasting time and 100 non-fasters (66 females and 34 males, mean 58.1 ± 6.8; the control group of Mediterranean diet followers) over the age of 50, including menopausal women, were interviewed, as well as physically and laboratory examined along with DEXA measurements of the L2-4 vertebrae and hips. Nutrition data gathered through a 3-day food record during a non-fasting period, while energy intakes calculated on a daily food consumption basis.
resultsGiven the overall low incidence of osteoporosis in the Mediterranean diet, it appears to be more than three times higher than that of M.C.O.C. diet despite the periodic restriction of food intake of animal origin into a slightly hypothermic pattern, which in turn is characterized by increased consumption of multicolored vegetable foods.
conclusionsAbstinence from dairy products and meat does not adversely affect musculoskeletal metabolism or bone density. M.C.O.C. diet seems to be "healthy" eating habit for the musculoskeletal system, as future studies expected to confirm.
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Registered trials
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