Long before established religions, pre-historic man, as well as animals, instinctively refrained from eating when sick, thereby clearing the system of poisonous toxins. Man also fasted to appease the gods, to seek pardons from his sins, or to mourn the dead.
Long before Muslims practised the fast of Ramadan, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucianists, Taoists, and other Eastern religions had voluntarily adapted the fast as a form of penance — a spiritual healing process of purification and a communion with God.
Perhaps the most famous fast is the fast of Ramadan that singularly underlines its empathy with the less fortunate. Despite its rigorous regimen of abstinence from food and drink from dawn to dusk, it is the most joyous month which Muslims cheerfully await. Non-Muslims, surprised at the seemingly strict measures, wonder at the happiness Ramadan brings.
“O ye who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn self-restraint.”
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, one of the major acts of worship. Abstaining from food and drink is not all — it is mandatory to abstain from all evils, falsehoods and indecency.
Christians fast during the Lenten season, for 40 days to represent the 40 days that Jesus spent, fasting and praying in the desert. Catholics abstain from meat, to be observed on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays of Lent. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes abstinence from all animal products, wines and spirits during Lent and Advent, so does the Church of England and most Protestants.
The Jewish calendar reserves seven days for fasting. Tisha B’Av is a major 25 hour fast that mourns the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temple, the Jewish expulsion from Spain and other tragedies that have befallen them. During that fast, Jews refrain from eating, drinking, listening to music, studying Torah, sitting on chairs, and wearing leather shoes.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Jews abstain from all food and drink from before sunset until after sunset on Yom Kippur.
Hindus observe the fast of Ekadashi, the 11th day of each lunar fortnight, abstaining from food and water, from the previous day’s sunset to 48 minutes after the following sunrise. Fasting on Ekadashi allows the body to undergo a process of detoxification and cleansing.
Everyone at one time or another seeks to fast, to abstain, to cleanse, to be whole again, to make penance, to get nearer to God, or even simply for health benefits.
Philosophers, scientists, and physicians have all resorted to fasting as a healing process.
Fasting is a multi-dimensional experience in which total body transformation occurs.
Every fasting process, be it liquid, broth, teas, fruit, and vegetable juices, or total abstinence, cleanses toxins from our bodies, producing a wide range of metabolic changes and experiences. “Our body breathes naturally and cleanses itself.”
All past pains are abandoned and a positive attitude towards the future develops. It is hard to describe its cool, crisp, healthy effects, unless you experience it personally. Only then will you learn its many merits and marvels, its sense of peace and tranquility.
Fasting is considered “the single greatest healing therapy”. It releases toxins from the colon, kidney, bladder, lungs, and sinuses and can be successful in treating colds, diabetes, flu, fever, bronchitis, fatigue, headaches, skin problems, back pain, constipation, mental illness, allergies, asthma, obesity, insomnia, and even cancer.
It is nature’s universal remedy for many problems caused by our food intake. It is the missing link in a healthy diet.
Quod me nutrit me destruit is Latin for “what nourishes me, destroys me”. It suggests not simply that one is sustained and diminishes by the same force, but that the forces themselves of nourishment and destruction are in essence the same.
Detoxification in an ideal recommendation for treatments of mild to moderate non-insulin dependent diabetes and essential hypertension.
“The effectiveness of fasting as a lifetime extension measure is fairly well backed by experimental evidence,” writes John Mann in his book Secrets of Life Extension (1980). This would be a bonus for mankind if you believe in rats. In an experiment, rats made to fast one day out of three, throughout their lives, while eating normally on other days, achieved a 20 per cent increase in lifespan, compared to non-fasting rats.
Since we mimic rats in reaction, why hesitate to follow their example? We have nothing to lose.
The Essenes, an early Christian sect, believed that our body is a temple that needs purification for God to reside there. The ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates all used to believe in fasting therapy. Proponents believe we can turn our energies inwards where we can use them for healing, clarity and change.
Where do we go wrong? The bulk of mankind continue to indulge. Most people eat too often, too much and usually eat the wrong things. Food is an addiction which produces toxicity.
As we need a vacation to relax and recharge, why not a vacation from excessive food?
Above all, do not destroy the benefits of the fast, by healing the body and the mind.
“Ramadan is a month for fasting, not feasting.”
Bilal Phillips (1947-)
* A version of this article appears in print in the 20 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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