What is Breatharianism?

Breatharianism is a philosophy that states that eating is not necessary for humans to live. Breatharians believe that humans can receive all of the nutrition that they need from light and oxygen. Breatharian philosophy seems to vary among practitioners as to how exactly nourishment is derived without food. Some people feel that sound is essential or meditation or other esoteric practices. Through the practice of abstaining from food and water, breatharians believe that they will be able to reach a state of higher consciousness eventually leading to immortality.

Renowned breatharians often offer workshops purportedly teaching others how to be nourished by light. These workshops are typically expensive with the Breatharian Institute of America charging $10,000,000 for pre-approved individuals to attend their workshops. Participants are taught to remove blockages in their auras that prevent them from receiving nourishment from light. These blockages are suppose to come from the individuals' desires which they are told they need to learn to let go of in order to continue in their studies. They are also taught to access their DNA. By being conscious of their DNA and which cells in their body need nourishment and repair, the workshop participants are said to be able to pull in energy from light for their bodies to use as they need to.

The actual practice of breatharianism varies. Some breatharians only claim to never eat. Some claim to never eat or drink. Some admit to eating occasionally to connect to the culture, but claim that it is a very rare occurrence and for cultural reasons only, not nourishment. Some abstain only from food and water, but drink fruit and vegetable juices. Some admit that they occasionally eat and drink but only because they have not yet perfected breatharianism. Others blame pollution on their failure to live as pure breatharians. The theory is that polluted air does not provide enough nourishment. It is common for breatharians to greatly reduce the amount of time that they sleep in addition to no longer consuming food and drink. Some breatharians also abstain from sex.

Scientists are understandably skeptical that breatharianism is possible. The functioning of the human digestive system including the process that transfers energy from food and oxygen to cells is well understood in the scientific community. Breatharians in general refuse to allow medical testing or controlled scientific studies of their behavior. In a few cases where testing was allowed, the breatharian became extremely dehydrated resulting in the testing ending early. In other cases, the study participants lost large amounts of weight. This would not be the case if abstaining from food was their typical lifestyle pattern.

Breatharianism is a dangerous philosophy. Some breatharians have died of dehydration. Others have succumbed to anorexia. There is no evidence that anyone has lived for a long period of time without eating food, and going for more than a few days without water is likely to result in death.