{"id":47166,"date":"2019-03-01T06:26:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T14:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/?p=47166"},"modified":"2020-09-23T13:59:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T20:59:46","slug":"lifelong-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/lifelong-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lifelong Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, for the 19 days before the vernal equinox, Baha\u2019is don\u2019t eat or drink anything during the daylight hours. That essentially spiritual practice\u2014called the Baha\u2019i<\/a> Fast\u2014has enormous benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baha\u2019is fast once a year for primarily spiritual reasons\u2014but the benefits of fasting aren\u2019t restricted to solely spiritual ones. Scientists have only recently begun to discover the positive, lifelong physical effects of intermittent fasting\u2014of consciously depriving the body of nutrients for a short period of time. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, intermittent fasting has become a major health and dietary trend over the past few years, because it has so many bodily benefits: not only weight loss, but the prevention of heart disease and cancer, reducing inflammation, promoting brain health, guarding against Alzheimer\u2019s, and even extending your lifespan. <\/span><\/p>\n

Multiple research studies on human and animal populations that intermittently fast have shown they live longer, healthier lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

But those studies only prove the known physical benefits\u2014the spiritual benefits have changed the lives of millions of Baha\u2019is, including mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019ve become more conscious of my inner reality, gotten in much closer touch with my soul, and enlarged my sense of empathy by feeling a greater connection to those who go hungry every day around the world. Fasting has helped me become more connected to the spiritual plane by transcending the physical one.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I first became a Baha\u2019i and began fasting once a year, some people I knew wondered if I had lost my mind. They didn\u2019t understand why anyone would voluntarily choose to not eat or drink while the sun shone, and saw the practice as somehow strange or foreign. Some asked me \u201cWhy would anyone voluntarily go hungry?\u201d But today, as knowledge and awareness of the benefits of fasting have grown, I now get asked by friends: \u201cIf I wanted to take part in the Baha\u2019i fast, could I do it?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes you can.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given this increasing level of interest in fasting along with the Baha\u2019is, I thought it might be helpful to outline what the Baha\u2019i fast entails, and let everyone know what it takes to fast with the Baha\u2019is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start out by looking at the basics: the Baha\u2019i teachings recommend abstaining from food and drink during the daylight hours for 19 days prior to the first day of spring every year (if you live in the Earth\u2019s southern hemisphere, that would of course be the first day of fall). Why? Baha\u2019is make this annual Fast\u2014instituted by Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/a>, the prophet and founder of their Faith\u2014a prominent part of their overall spiritual practice:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 as the sun and moon constitute the brightest and most prominent luminaries in the heavens, similarly in the heaven of the religion of God two shining orbs have been ordained\u2014fasting and prayer. – Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/a>, The Book of Certitude<\/em>, p. 39.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 this material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God. – Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/a>, Selections from the Writings of Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/em>, p. 69.<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So for that one 19-day Baha\u2019i month each year, Baha\u2019is all over the world abstain from food and drink during the daylight hours. Children and the elderly, travelers, pregnant or nursing women and those who are ill or engaged in heavy physical labor are exempt from fasting. Of course, like all Baha\u2019i<\/a> laws, fasting is voluntary\u2014it depends entirely on the individual who observes the Fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baha\u2019is have long experience with this practice, because they\u2019ve fasted this way since the Faith\u2019s beginnings in the 1800s.<\/span> Many generations of Baha\u2019is have learned that their annual Fast symbolizes detachment from the physical world, develops empathy for the poor and hungry, and engenders the development and growth of the soul.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the next essay in this series, we\u2019ll explore the physical benefits of fasting by examining the genetic legacy we\u2019ve all inherited.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, for the 19 days before the vernal equinox, Baha\u2019is don\u2019t eat or drink anything during the daylight hours. That essentially spiritual practice\u2014called the Baha\u2019i Fast\u2014has enormous benefits. Baha\u2019is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":47172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[3210],"series":[2232],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47166"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=47166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}