Why Do People Fast?
Fasting has existed in human society since the ancient times of pre-history. People have fasted for a multitude of reasons over the centuries, for religion and health most often. Fasting is, in most circumstances, the abstinence from food and drink, sometimes precluding water, sometimes not. Religious fasting is done in different teachings worldwide, and generally follows prescribed rules and observations. Fasting for medical reasons can be advised by a doctor or healer, and other reasons for fasting, like protest, are carried out around the globe in a variety of ways. In the form of hunger strikes, fasting has evolved as a type of non-violent protest in which participants refuse to eat as a means of achieving political change. Famous fasting protesters include India’s Mohandas Gandhi, the Tibetan freedom fighters of the 21st century, Guantanamo Bay detainees, and Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican paramilitary prisoner who fasted for 66 days before dying in the 1981 Provisional IRA Hun
