Fasting has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons-from weight loss to detoxing, to the faithful who fast in prayer, to seekers pursuing mindfulness, to activists using hunger strikes as protest. Based on extensive historical, scientific, and cultural research and reporting, The Fast illuminates the numerous facets of this act of self-deprivation.

It looks at the complex science behind the jaw-dropping biological changes that occur inside the body when we fast. Metabolic switching can prompt repair and renewal down to the molecular level, providing benefits for those suffering from obesity and diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and more. Beyond the physical experience, fasting can be a great collective unifier, and it has been adopted by religions and political movements all over the world. Fasting is central to holy seasons and days such as Lent (Christianity), Ramadan (Islam), Uposatha (Buddhism), and Ekadashi (Hinduism).

John Oakes interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists, and others who guide him through this practice-and embarks on fasts of his own-to deliver a book that supplies anyone curious about fasting with profound new understanding, appreciation, and inspiration.