In the broadest sense, fasting is the act of voluntarily abstaining from some or all food, drink, or behavior, over a specific period of time for spiritual, health, or political reasons. In the common era, the definition of fasting has become distorted to such an extent that much of its original meaning has been lost. For example, the twenty-first century ushered in the chocolate fast, during which the individual ate only chocolate for a day.

Although water-only fasting (or water…