BIBLICAL HEALTH: FOOD AND FASTING

This page is about what the Bible says on food and fasting and how people apply it today. For the science behind the Old Testament laws (handwashing, quarantine, fasting and autophagy, the Sabbath), see The Biblical Health Code. We keep Scripture and our own commentary separate, and we say when Christians disagree.

The first diet described in Scripture is seeds, vegetables and fruit. Permission to eat animals comes later, after the Flood (Genesis 9:3). Some people read Genesis 1:29 as the ideal and a mostly plant-based diet as a return to it. Others say it only describes the world before the Fall. Either way, plants are at the center of the Bible's food picture.

Two stories feed the modern Daniel Fast. In chapter 1, Daniel and three friends refuse the king's rich food and ask for "pulse" (vegetables, seeds, legumes) and water for ten days. At the end, "their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh" than the others (Daniel 1:15). In chapter 10, Daniel mourns for three weeks and eats no "pleasant bread," meat or wine.

How churches usually practice it today (typically 10 to 21 days): fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, plain oils, and water. Left out: meat, dairy, sugar and sweeteners, white flour, leavened bread, processed foods, caffeine and alcohol. Note that this exact list is a modern convention built from those two chapters. The Bible does not give one official Daniel Fast menu.

What it can do: it removes the most processed food, sugar and caffeine in one go, which is why many people report feeling better. It is also a spiritual practice, a way to put prayer ahead of appetite.

Cautions: if you take diabetes medicine or blood pressure medicine, have an eating disorder history, are pregnant or nursing, or have a health condition, talk to your doctor first. A big change in diet can change how much medicine you need. Stop and get help if you feel faint or unwell.

This verse is the source of the sprouted-grain "Ezekiel" breads in grocery stores. Be honest about the context: in the chapter, God has Ezekiel make this bread as a sign of the hunger of a besieged Jerusalem, eaten in small measured amounts over 390 days. It is not presented as a health recipe.

That said, a bread mixing several grains and legumes (wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, spelt) gives you a broader mix of protein and minerals than plain white bread. Sprouting the grains may make some nutrients easier to absorb and can lower the starch a bit, but the effects are modest. It is still bread, it still contains gluten, and it is not a cure for anything. For more on wheat, see What happened to wheat?

Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 list animals Israel could and could not eat. In short: land animals that chew the cud and have a split hoof (cattle, sheep, goats, deer) were clean; pigs were not. Sea creatures with fins and scales were clean; shellfish and catfish-type fish without scales were not. Many birds of prey and scavengers were listed as unclean.

Where people land today:

• Still binding: Some Christians and Messianic believers keep these laws, pointing to God's character not changing and the health logic behind them (see the biblical health code page for the bioaccumulation argument on pork and shellfish).
• Fulfilled in Christ: Most Christian traditions hold that the dietary laws were for Israel under the old covenant. They point to Mark 7:19 ("purging all meats"), Peter's vision in Acts 10, and Paul in Romans 14 and Colossians 2:16, which tell believers not to judge each other over food.

K8E's note: faithful people read these passages differently. Paul's own advice is that each person be "fully persuaded in his own mind" (Romans 14:5) and not despise or condemn one another over it. Whatever you decide, do not use it as a stick against other believers.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). Scripture also warns against gluttony (Proverbs 23:20-21) and says honey is good in measure (Proverbs 25:16). The common thread is not a particular menu but self-control, thankfulness and treating the body as something entrusted to you.