Fasting is an act of willingly abstaining from some or all food or drink (or both) for a certain period of time. Some religious fasting may also include abstinence from sexual activity.
Fasting means cleansing. To those who practice it, and to those who propagate it to all mankind as the cure to all ills and as the salvation from all sins.
Cleansing of the body. Cleansing of the soul. As a nutritionist, I can only comment on the former.
TYPES OF FASTS
Fasting can be total or partial. It may begin from abstinence from one particular food to total exclusion of all food and even water.
Different fasts may follow one or more of the following restrictions:
· Abstaining from meat or all non-vegetarian foods
· Exclusion of cereals such as rice and chapatti, or any other staple foods
· Reducing total food intake to only one full meal per day
