A nutritionist has warned of the dangers of combining sweet pancakes and certain drinks

Pancake Day precedes Lent and in 2025 falls between February 24 and March 2. Sometimes people eat more pancakes in a week than in the whole coming year. Tatyana Meshcheriakova, a nutritionist and expert in the field of healthy eating of Level Kitchen service, told Izvestia on February 22.

Pancakes with different fillings, from classic dessert pancakes (with sour cream, honey, condensed milk, jams and berries) to all possible variations of hearty fillings (cottage cheese, fish, meat, cheese) are a full-fledged nourishing meal. Despite the fact that such a dish is not a harmful product, it is important to adhere to certain restrictions in their consumption.

"Depending on the recipe for cooking the dough and filling, the calorie values of the dish vary greatly: on average, the calorie content of a pancake without filling is from 200 kcal per 100 g, with filling - from 300 kcal and higher per 100 g of product. Due to the fact that this is quite a caloric and hearty dish, I recommend limiting yourself to one intake of pancakes a day: at breakfast or at lunchtime. Dinner is not the most suitable time for pancakes", - noted Meshcheryakova.

According to her, within the framework of the holiday week it will be optimal to consume pancakes as a separate meal no more than three or four times a week, that is, approximately every other day, the portion - no more than three to five homemade pancakes with fillings, depending on the person's sex, age and state of health.

"Note, we are talking specifically about homemade pancakes, which are cooked on a frying pan with a diameter of 20 to 28 cm. Thus, the total weight of pancakes with stuffing within one meal should be no more than 400-500 g," - added the expert.

At the same time, the nutritionist stressed that eating only pancakes during the whole holiday week is not worth it: this way the necessary balance in the intake of important nutrients, namely vitamins, minerals and fiber is broken. In addition, you can provoke problems with the stomach and pancreas. At the same time, a fondness for sweet fillings significantly exceeds the norms of sugar consumption, which leads to uncontrolled appetite, disruption of metabolic processes and a sharp spike in blood sugar.

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"Pancakes combine well with almost all fillings, the most popular of which are cottage cheese with the addition of raisins, herbs or spices, minced chicken, red salted fish. If there are no health restrictions at the festive table, you can try the most different variants of the dish. However, do not combine pancakes with heavy fatty meat cuts and fresh fruit: this can lead to heaviness in the stomach, fermentation processes and increased gas formation", - explained Meshcheryakova.

When adding pancakes to the diet, it is important to take into account individual characteristics and health status. The nutritionist specified that dessert fillings, which are most often with added sugar, should definitely be excluded for people with diabetes and insulin resistance. From fatty meat fillings will be right to refuse if you have problems with the pancreas, liver or irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, pancakes, as a high-carbohydrate product, exclude from the diet if you are overweight or obese.

The dough for pancakes can be on water, milk, whey, fermented milk products, ayran, on aquafaba - decoction after legumes. All these products have nutritional value, affect the composition of pancakes, are acceptable and give a good variety of flavors, said the doctor.

"Thanks to different types of flour, you can not only diversify the flavor of pancakes, but also add valuable components to the composition of the dish. For example, take as a basis for the first grade flour or whole-grain flour. In this case, the pancakes will turn out darker, but will contain more useful nutrients (amino acids, minerals, fiber). Higher grade flour is good to dilute with green buckwheat flour, almond flour, chickpea flour or other types. Thus, we can reduce the amount of gluten in the product, increase the amino acid composition, add the necessary minerals and vitamins," - advised the expert.

She added that in case of problems with digestion of products containing gluten (celiac disease), wheat flour should be replaced with gluten-free: corn flour, rice flour or green buckwheat.

According to her, sugar in the composition of pancakes is best to minimize or eliminate - this is especially important for people who adhere to a healthy diet. This will help not to exceed the daily intake of simple carbohydrates and sugar, which is up to 25 g.

"The varied compositions of doughs, fillings and toppings can constitute a significant nutritional load on the body's enzyme systems. For comfortable digestion, it is recommended to consume pancakes with hot drinks: black, green or herbal tea. The combination of pancakes with cold milk and, moreover, with sweet carbonated drinks is better to exclude: it can lead to pain, rashes, heaviness in the stomach, reduces peristalsis and provokes constipation, "- concluded Meshcheryakova.

On January 29, Natia Chekhoeva, a gastroenterologist and endoscopist at Gastro Clinic, told Izvestia that systematic consumption of excessive calories inevitably overloads the body. This not only increases body weight, but also puts a strain on internal organs, including the heart, liver, and pancreas.