The Fast
The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without
Book •
John Oakes's The Fast investigates fasting across history, religions, and contemporary science, combining reporting, interviews, and personal experience.
The book traces fasting's role in major faiths, its uses in political protest and activism, and biological mechanisms like metabolic switching.
Oakes discusses research suggesting potential benefits for conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, cancer treatment adjuncts, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease.
He also examines ethical and social dimensions, including ascetic practices, commercialization of fasting, and the risks of extreme fasting.
Framed by his own fasts and conversations with experts, the book argues fasting offers opportunities for bodily renewal and meaningful resistance to a culture of consumption.
The book traces fasting's role in major faiths, its uses in political protest and activism, and biological mechanisms like metabolic switching.
Oakes discusses research suggesting potential benefits for conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, cancer treatment adjuncts, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease.
He also examines ethical and social dimensions, including ascetic practices, commercialization of fasting, and the risks of extreme fasting.
Framed by his own fasts and conversations with experts, the book argues fasting offers opportunities for bodily renewal and meaningful resistance to a culture of consumption.
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John Oakes
John Oakes, "The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without" (Avid Reader, 2024)
