What religion eats one meal daily?

Eating just one meal a day, known as OMAD (one meal a day), is a type of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It has become increasingly popular for its potential health benefits.

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Which religions practice intermittent fasting or OMAD?

Several major religions incorporate some form of fasting, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. However, the specific guidelines and purposes of fasting can vary between religions. Here is an overview of fasting practices in major religions:

Islam

Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. For one lunar month each year, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. The fast includes refraining from eating, drinking, and sexual relations. The timing allows for one meal after sunset and a light meal before dawn. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for all healthy adult Muslims as an exercise in self-restraint and empathy for the poor.

Christianity

Fasting traditions vary across the different Christian denominations. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant groups observe certain days of fasting, especially before major festivals like Christmas and Easter. Common fasting practices include abstaining from meat, limiting food to one full meal per day, and giving up certain types of food. The purpose is spiritual purification and penance. Some Christian monastic orders practice more frequent and severe fasting.

Judaism

In Judaism, fasting is primarily undertaken on six major fast days including Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the year. On fast days, healthy Jewish adults abstain from eating and drinking from sundown to sundown. There are additional minor fast days where eating is permitted but restricted in some way. The purpose of Jewish fasting is repentance, mourning, and supplication.

Hinduism

Fasting is commonly practiced in Hinduism. Many Hindus fast on New Moon days and during festivals like Shivaratri and Navratri. Fasting usually entails avoiding grains, lentils, and spices and only drinking water. Hindu fasting aims to purify body and mind while controlling desires. However, strict fasting is not mandatory and is tailored to an individual’s physical capability.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, fasting is practiced during retreats and on Uposatha days. Monks and nuns adhere to strict fasts, while lay practitioners often refrain from eating after noon or limit food intake. Fasting is thought to discipline the body, purify the mind, and develop compassion by experiencing hunger. However, fasting is not compulsory for Buddhists.

Do all Muslims practice intermittent fasting?

While fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for all able-bodied adult Muslims, intermittent fasting during other times is encouraged but not required. Here are some key points about Islamic fasting practices:

Ramadan fasting from dawn to sunset with 1-2 meals per day is required for one month annually.
Voluntary fasting like the Prophet Muhammad’s fasting on Mondays and Thursdays is encouraged but not compulsory.
Making up missed Ramadan fasts later in the year is required.

Those with legitimate health issues are exempt from fasting but may feed a poor person instead.
Children begin intermittent fasting during Ramadan from age 7-15 years, depending on physical maturity.

So while all observant Muslims fast during daylight hours in Ramadan, intermittent fasting during other months is practiced voluntarily by some Muslims for added spiritual and potential health benefits.

Do Hindus have to fast?

Here are some key points on fasting practices in Hinduism:

Fasting is commonly practiced but typically voluntary rather than compulsory.
Fasting frequency and intensity varies based on personal devotion, local traditions, and health considerations.

Complete or partial fasting is undertaken on festivals, new moon days, and special days like Karva Chauth.
Common fasts involve abstaining from grains, spices, meat, and lentils; drinking only water.
Fast lengths range from sunrise to sunset or an entire 24 hours or more.

Ill, elderly, pregnant, and menstruating women are often exempt from fasting.

So while fasting is very common in Hinduism for spiritual discipline and austerity, it is ultimately up to an individual’s personal practice. Strict fasting is not compulsory or uniformly enforced across Hindus.

Do Christians have to eat one meal a day?

There are no universal Christian laws that require eating just one meal a day. However, some Christian groups like Catholics and Orthodox Christians do practice one-meal fasting:

Catholics age 18-59 fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, limiting themselves to one full meal.
Orthodox Christians fast for multiple days before major holidays, often eating just one vegan meal per day.
Monks and nuns in some Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant orders follow strict fasts with one meal daily.

The Catholic practice of abstinence prohibits meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Fridays in Lent. This effectively limits meals to one non-meat meal.

So while one-meal-a-day fasting is observed on certain religious days and by some monastic adherents, it’s not a daily requirement for all Christians. Fasting practices vary across denominations and individual devotion.

Do Jews fast by eating one meal?

On major Jewish fast days, fasting is required from sundown to sundown, essentially missing meals for one 24-hour cycle. Here are some key points:

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews abstain from eating and drinking for 25 hours.
Jewish fast days involve complete abstinence from food and drink, rather than just limiting intake.
The practice reflects repenting and self-denial more than limiting calories or meals.

Beyond major fast days, Jews do not have daily meal number restrictions.

So while the 25-hour fasts of Yom Kippur and other holy days are an important part of Jewish tradition, limiting everyday meals is not. The intent is complete abstinence for spiritual reflection rather than regulating daily caloric intake.

Do Buddhists have to eat one meal per day?

Daily one-meal eating is not mandated universally across Buddhism. However, some Buddhist monks and nuns adhere to an ascetic one meal per day regimen:

Theravada monks and nuns in Southeast Asia eat one meal before noon, without snacking.
Mahayana monks in China, Japan and Korea typically eat one vegan meal a day.
Some Tibetan Vajrayana monks eat one meal at dawn and fast for the rest of the day.

Lay Buddhists are not required to limit meals. Uposatha fasting may involve not eating after noon.

So while Buddhist monastics often keep an austere single daily meal routine, it’s not compulsory for lay Buddhists. But it is practiced during some Uposatha fasts or personal retreats for its meditative benefits.

Conclusion

While intermittent fasting and one meal a day regimens are undertaken for spiritual devotion by some practitioners of major religions, it is not uniformly mandated across any faith. Fasting practices tend to vary based on individual adherence and local customs. Periodic fasting around holy days and festivals is more common than daily one-meal eating in most religions. But the strict ascetic discipline of fasting on just one meal continues to be followed by monks, nuns, and the devout of several religious traditions.