Today, I am going to explore the benefits of fasting. And no, I am not going to focus solely on spiritual benefits like washing away sins. Because modern minds often rebel against such concepts, even though they may hold deeper truths than we realize.
In Hinduism, fasting was given tremendous importance. The Puranas mention specific fasting practices for different purposes. For example, if you are going through chronic health issues, anxiety, depression, or diabetes, it is suggested to fast on Ekadashi (the eleventh day of the lunar cycle) or Saptami (the seventh day) as these tithis carry healing powers. Different tithis were prescribed for different ailments: Ekadashi for ending internal conflicts and dualities, Saptami for stubborn diseases, Chaturthi for reducing anxieties and quieting fears.
But today, let’s try to understand the science behind fasting. It’s not merely related to physical health or washing away sins. There’s a fascinating bridge between ancient practice and modern cellular biology.
The Food-Emotion Connection: What Science Says
Religions around the world have always maintained that sin, or negative energy, is somehow connected to food. For a modern mind, it’s hard to grasp how emotions or experiences can be stored in what we eat. But consider the story of Adam and Eve. How did humanity’s troubles begin? Through eating the forbidden fruit. If we track down our subconscious behaviors, many of them do indeed lead us back to food.
Modern science has now confirmed that food can actually alter gene expression through a process called epigenetics. Nutrients can reverse or change DNA methylation and histone modifications, thereby modifying the expression of genes associated with both healthy and disease processes. Certain foods can turn genes on or off without changing the DNA structure itself, influencing how we function at the cellular level. So what the ancients called sin stored in food, science now recognizes as epigenetic information that literally changes which genes get expressed in your body.
Think about it. You eat your comfort food, and your mind suddenly relaxes. It’s almost like a drug has numbed your senses. That’s what gives you temporary relief. These foods create biochemical changes in your brain that alter your emotional state. When you fast and skip the food entirely, you’re not allowing those emotional patterns encoded in food to enter your system. You will feel uneasy at times. Your body doesn’t find the comfort it’s used to, and it’s during this discomfort that you become truly aware of your surroundings. You are no longer numbed by food. Your brain is in uncertain territory and can perceive things more clearly.
The Cellular Repair Revolution: Autophagy
Secondly, when you skip food, something remarkable happens at the cellular level. Your body’s digestive system gets much-needed rest. Instead of constantly processing food, your cells can focus on an ancient healing process called autophagy.
Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system where cells disassemble their junk parts and repurpose the salvageable bits into new, usable components. It removes toxic proteins, recycles damaged cell parts, and destroys pathogens that can harm cells. The word autophagy literally means “self-eating” in Greek.
Recent research from Columbia University has shown that a fasting-refeeding cycle can rejuvenate old stem cells by activating autophagy. The study demonstrated that old stem cells became almost as proficient as young stem cells at regenerating the blood system and creating new blood cells.
This process involves metabolic switching, where fasting triggers the body to switch from using glucose for energy to using ketones stored in fat, which initiates autophagy and cellular repair mechanisms.
This is why approaches like ketogenic diets and specific cancer diets have become so popular. The body can be trained to heal itself internally merely by controlling what you eat and when you eat.
Research on Fasting Benefits
The scientific evidence for fasting benefits has grown tremendously in recent years. Here are some key research findings:
A 2024 comprehensive review published in eClinicalMedicine analyzed multiple studies and found that intermittent fasting decreased waist circumference, fat mass, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol, fasting insulin, and blood pressure, while increasing HDL cholesterol and fat-free mass.
Research shows that intermittent fasting has health benefits including extended longevity, weight loss, and counteracting various disease conditions. These procedures positively influence tissue-specific microbiomes and minimize consequences of cellular damage.
According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, intermittent fasting can lead to improvements in conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and neurological disorders. Autophagy helps reduce inflammation by removing damaged cells that cause chronic health issues, provides potential neuroprotection, and may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases and cancer
Studies suggest that autophagy begins to increase after 24 hours of fasting, with more significant increases after 48 hours, though individual responses vary.
Fasting and Environmental Impact
There’s another dimension to fasting that’s rarely discussed: its impact on nature. Constantly growing food to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population has severely burdened our planet. We can already see the consequences worldwide through climate change, soil depletion, and environmental degradation. If people decided to fast completely for just one day per week, we would save enormous amounts of resources and reduce the environmental burden significantly.
And fasting doesn’t have to be only from food. You can fast from many things in your life: your work, your phones, social media, watching movies, shopping. The more you let your systems rest, whether your digestive system, your nervous system, or your mental energy, the faster you will heal. Rest is not laziness. Rest is repair.
The Lunar Connection: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Research
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Hinduism was remarkably ahead of its time in recognizing that fasting on certain days aligned with lunar cycles could heal specific imbalances in your body. This wasn’t superstition. There’s growing scientific evidence that the moon does influence biological processes.
Research has shown that the lunar cycle has an impact on human reproduction, fertility, menstruation, and birth rates. Melatonin levels appear to correlate with menstrual cycles, and hospital admissions for various causes including cardiovascular events have shown correlation with moon phases
A 2017 study tracked patients with bipolar disorder and found that many patients’ mood swings synchronized with the lunar cycle. Some researchers believe humans might be able to sense changes in gravity or Earth’s magnetic field during different moon phases.
Recent longitudinal observations show that human menstrual cycles, sleep-wake cycles, and mood cycles can become synchronized with lunar cycles, though in uniquely complex ways that vary between individuals.
The moon exerts gravitational pull on Earth, affecting ocean tides. Our bodies are approximately 60% water. Is it so unreasonable to think that lunar gravitational forces might affect the water and electromagnetic fields in our bodies? Some research suggests that gravitational and electromagnetic fluctuations during different lunar phases may influence hormonal balance, neurotransmitter activity, and overall brain function, potentially mediated by the pineal gland and melatonin secretion.
When you fast in tune with lunar cycles, you are working with natural rhythms rather than against them. Ekadashi fasting, practiced during the eleventh lunar day, is said to balance dualities within you. Saptami fasting helps heal from stubborn diseases. Chaturthi fasting reduces anxieties. These aren’t just religious rituals. They are practices aligned with natural cycles that our ancestors understood intuitively and that modern science is only beginning to validate.
Making It Practical
You don’t need to do extreme fasting to experience benefits. Time-restricted eating, such as the 16:8 method where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window, is effective and sustainable for most people.
Start small. Skip dinner once a week. Try eating only between noon and 8 pm. Listen to your body.
The key is consistency and awareness. When you fast, pay attention to what you feel. Notice the discomfort, but also notice the clarity that comes after. Your ancestors fasted not just for spiritual reasons, but because they understood something fundamental: sometimes the most healing thing you can do is to stop consuming and allow your body to focus on repair.
It’s not superstition to say that aligning with natural cycles matters. The moon affects tides, affects animals, affects plant growth. We are not separate from nature. When you go in tune with lunar cycles and practice periodic fasting, you are not fighting against your biology. You are working with it. And you can be rest assured, you will live a far healthier, happier, and more contented life than those who try to constantly override natural rhythms with artificial schedules and constant consumption.
