27 Sep Does Fasting Work?

If you’re looking for a way to bring together believers and scientists, here’s a tip that could remind them of their commonality and save money, too: no food!

Fasting may be the one activity these days that unites the religious and the secular, the left and the right, Deepak Chopra and Glenn Beck.

As Muslims look back on a month of daytime fasts, Jews observe a 24-hour fast to observe the Day of Atonement, and Glenn Beck initiates a daylong fast to honor the founding fathers, the time seems ripe to ask: Does fasting work? Can it, as the prophets suggest, expiate our sins and bring us closer to God? Can it, as the yogis propose, purge our toxins and improve our sex lives? Can it, as researchers hypothesize, cure our jet lag and help us get pregnant?

In short, can fasting save the world?

Read my take in The Daily Beast.