Scientific benefits of Fasting for Ekadasi & Some Festivals!
Why should one starve and put the body through hardship just for the sake of God? Does the Lord really derive happiness if we abstain from food on Ekadashi?
This is a question often asked mockingly by today’s modern generation.
(How to fast for Ekadasi if Parents object Ekadasi fasting? READ HERE!)
But, behind this ‘Ekadashi fasting’ practice — established by our ancestors in the name of God, lies a monumental scientific secret that recently won the Nobel Prize, the highest honor in the medical world?
Yes! It is true!
In 2016, the Nobel Prize was awarded to a Japanese scientist named Yoshinori Ohsumi.
The groundbreaking medical discovery he made is called “Autophagy.” The term literally means “self-eating.”
Here is how it works:
When a person goes without food, ie, fasting for a continuous period of 14 to 16 hours, the body is deprived of its usual energy supply.
In a survival response, healthy cells within the body begin to consume damaged, aged, and toxic cells (including those capable of causing cancer) as a source of nutrition!
Consequently, all waste products within the body are naturally cleared away without any medical cost, leading to complete bodily rejuvenation.
This is the very discovery that won the Nobel Prize.
Yet, this is precisely what our ancestors taught us thousands of years ago through the practice of ‘Ekadashi fasting’!
(Will Ekadasi fasting reduce the doshas and karma? READ HERE!)
But why specifically fast on Ekadashi?
Couldn’t it be done on any other day?
This is where the profound astronomical knowledge inherent in Hinduism comes into play.
On Ekadashi, the eleventh day following the new moon or the full moon, the atmospheric pressure on Earth drops to its lowest level.
Ancient observers accurately determined that consuming food on this day could lead to digestive issues, while fasting on this day was ideal for sharpening brain function.
Since the average person would not grasp scientific concepts like “autophagy” or “cellular cycling,” our ancestors integrated this profound medical science into daily life through the practice of Vrat* (fasting), linking it to the divine.
We are currently discarding as “outdated” practices that we followed ages ago—practices that people abroad are now “discovering” at the cost of crores of rupees.
Do not dismiss the Ekadashi fast as foolishness. it is a superior medical practice worthy of a Nobel Prize!
(How to observe Ekadasi Fasting (Vrat) properly? A-Z Tips! READ HERE!)