The Daniel Fast: An Overview and My Experience

The Daniel Fast is a fasting program that is based on the first chapter of the book Daniel in the Bible. Some Christians today use the Daniel Fast as a way to get closer to God and lose weight.

Biblical Basis

Daniel and three of his comrades, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were chosen to train for service to King Nebuchadnezzar.

As part of their training, the young men were to be provided with food and wine from the King's table. This, however, posed a problem for the young Jews as some of the foods were offered in sacrifice to pagan gods and some of the foods were considered unclean by Jewish standards.

With his faith in mind, Daniel asked a guard to let him and his companions eat nothing but vegetables and drink nothing but water for 10 days. The guard was worried about how the men would look when compared to the other men in training. At the end of the 10 days, however, the guard found that Daniel and his friends were just as healthy, if not healthier, than the rest of the men. They were allowed to continue their special diet throughout their service.

Diet Components

Daniel and his companions ate only fresh vegetables and drank only water. They didn't use any seasonings and they didn't eat any foods from any other food groups. Today, many churches choose to include fruits and unsweetened fruit juices as part of the fast. While on the fast, it is important to drink at least 64 ounces of plain water each day, even if you drink juice.

While participating in the Daniel Fast, which lasts 10, 14, 21 or 28 days, meat, dairy products, grains and caffeinated drinks aren't permitted. Sugar and sugar products are also outlawed.

Health and Lifestyle Concerns

The Daniel Fast isn't based on the food pyramid, which makes it unhealthy by nutritional standards in place today. Because of this, it is often recommended that vitamins, minerals and protein supplements be used while on the fast.

Children and anyone who has a medical condition should use caution when considering the Daniel Fast. For these individuals, seeking the advice of a pastor or religious leader, as well as seeking the advice of a doctor is in order.

For the first few days on the Daniel Fast, your body will have to adjust to the lack of sugar and caffeine. This may cause headaches and you may notice that some decrease in functionality is present. This can affect your work performance, as well as daily tasks, such as driving or exercising.

My Experience

When my pastor called for the church to do the Daniel Fast in order to lift up a family with a child who had cancer, I was skeptical. The fast sounded like torture. I must say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised about how good I felt when I was on the diet. The one challenge that I had was adding back foods to my diet that were forbidden on the fast.

After eating the foods allowed on the Daniel Fast, my body rebelled with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea when I added proteins and other foods back into my diet. I quickly learned that I could only add one new food into my diet every two to three days. I started out with adding fish to diet. Then, I added whole grain bread and then white meat chicken. By taking my time adding the foods to my diet, I was able to minimize the effects of adding these foods back to my diet.

Conclusion

Christians who embark upon the Daniel Fast trust that God will keep them strong and healthy during the fast. In fact, once off the fast, many Christians will add healthy foods from the remaining food groups as part of a healthy and well rounded diet.

Sources:

http://www.newbirth.org/download/Daniel_Fast.pdf
http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/