View source for Inedia

{{Short description|Belief that a person can live without food}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:J. Reynolds, A discourse upon prodigious abstinence... Wellcome L0022587.jpg|right|thumb|250px|1669 report that claims a woman fasted for 12 months]]
{{Paranormal}}
'''Inedia''' (Latin for '[[fasting]]') or '''breatharianism''' ({{IPAc-en|b|r|ɛ|ˈ|θ|ɛər|i|ə|n|ɪ|z|əm}} {{respell|breth|AIR|ee|ən|iz|əm}}) is the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food, and in some cases water. It is a [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] practice, and several adherents of these practices have died from starvation or dehydration.<ref name="BDA2014" /><ref name="BBC">{{Cite news |date=21 September 1999 |title=UK: Scotland Woman 'starved herself to death' |publisher=BBC |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/453661.stm |access-date=10 March 2008 |archive-date=23 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123151809/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/453661.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SundayTimes">{{Cite news|last1=Walker |first1=Tom |last2=O'Reilly |first2=Judith |date=26 September 1999 |title=Three deaths linked to 'living on air' cult |work=Sunday Times (London)}}</ref><ref name="NYDailyNews1">{{Cite web |date=25 April 2012 |title=Swiss woman dies after attempting to live on sunlight; Woman gave up food and water on spiritual journey |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/swiss-women-dies-giving-water-food-thought-live-sunlight-article-1.1067359 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428052455/http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/swiss-women-dies-giving-water-food-thought-live-sunlight-article-1.1067359 |archive-date=28 April 2012 |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

==Scientific assessment==
Documented studies on the physiological effects of food restriction clearly show that [[fasting]] for extended periods leads to [[starvation]], [[dehydration]], and eventual death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnstone |first=A. M. |date=2007 |title=Fasting – the ultimate diet? |journal=Obesity Reviews |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=211–222 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00266.x |issn=1467-789X |pmid=17444963 |doi-access= |s2cid=675246}}</ref> In the absence of food intake, the body normally burns its own reserves of [[glycogen]], body fat, and muscle. Breatharians claim that their bodies do not consume these reserves while fasting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambert |first=Katie |title=Can humans survive on air alone? |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/breatharian1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226084504/http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/breatharian1.htm |archive-date=26 February 2013 |access-date=30 July 2009 |publisher=HowStuffWorks, Inc.}}</ref>

Some breatharians have submitted themselves to medical testing, including a hospital's observation of Indian mystic [[Prahlad Jani]] appearing to survive without food or water for 15 days. However, the hospital Jani attended has not published official documentation about the event.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 2010 |title=Rationalists doubt claims made for 'Mataji' Prahalad Jani |work=DNA India |publisher=Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_rationalists-doubt-claims-made-for-mataji-prahalad-jani_1383648 |url-status=live |access-date=19 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520060516/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_rationalists-doubt-claims-made-for-mataji-prahalad-jani_1383648 |archive-date=20 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 April 2010 |title=Hermit Claims 70 Years Survival Without Food |work=WUSA 9 |url=http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=100671&catid=148 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505053322/http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=100671&catid=148 |archive-date=5 May 2010}}</ref> In other cases, people have attempted to survive on sunlight alone, only to abandon the effort after losing a large percentage of their body weight.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lacitis |first=Erik |date=17 June 2013 |title=Fasting woman to end attempt to 'live on light' |work=Seattle Times |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021211809_experimentendsxml.html |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618222438/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021211809_experimentendsxml.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a handful of documented cases, individuals attempting breatharian fasting have died.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="SundayTimes" /><ref name="NYDailyNews1" /> Scientific societies such as the [[British Dietetic Association]] strongly disadvise the breatharian diet, qualifying it as "dangerous", and stating that "the basic fact is we all need food and liquid in our diet to live."<ref name="BDA2014">{{Cite web |date=22 March 2014 |title=Top 5 Worst Celebrity Diets to Avoid in 2014 |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/news/131125BadDiets.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322130340/https://www.bda.uk.com/news/131125BadDiets.html |archive-date=22 March 2014 |website=bda.uk.com}}</ref>

==Alleged practitioners==

===Rosicrucianism===
The 1670 [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucian]] text ''[[Comte de Gabalis]]'' attributed the practice to the physician and occultist [[Paracelsus]] (1493–1541) who was described as having lived "several years by taking only one-half scrupule of Solar Quintessence". In this book, it is also stated that "Paracelsus affirms that He has seen many of the Sages fast twenty years without eating anything whatsoever."<ref>{{Cite book |last=abbé de Nicolas-Pierre-Henri |first=Villars |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957467 |title=Comte de Gabalis |publisher=The Brothers |year=1914 |edition=1914 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957467/page/n101 63]–64}}</ref>

===Ram Bahadur Bomjon ("Bakji")===
[[Ram Bahadur Bomjon]] is a [[Buddhism in Nepal|Nepalese Buddhist]] monk who lives as an [[Asceticism|ascetic]] in a remote area of [[Nepal]].  Bomjon appears to go for long periods of time without ingesting either food or water.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 2006 |title=Nepalese Buddha Boy 'reappears' |work=[[BBC News]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=paldendorje.com |url=http://paldendorje.com/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917203905/http://paldendorje.com/en/ |archive-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> One such period was chronicled in a 2006 Discovery Channel documentary titled ''The Boy With Divine Powers'', which reported that Bomjon neither moved, ate, nor drank anything during 96 hours of filming.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Boy With Divine Powers |url=https://archive.org/details/TheBoyWithDivinePowers}}</ref> The documentary makers were, however, prevented from filming Bomjon continuously for that period of time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2008 |title=The Boy With Divine Powers (3/5) |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6bcxi |access-date=21 May 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419123745/https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6bcxi |url-status=live }}</ref> His claims have never been empirically verified.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 January 2019 |title=Police raid 'Buddha boy' ashram in Nepal |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/asia/buddha-boy-ashram-intl |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=21 May 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521154800/https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/asia/buddha-boy-ashram-intl |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Prahlad Jani ("Mataji")===
[[Prahlad Jani]] was an Indian [[sadhu]] who claimed to have lived without food and water for more than 70 years. Doctors at Sterling Hospital investigated his claims in [[Ahmedabad]], Gujarat, in 2003 and 2010.<ref name="Dasgupta-Hindu">{{Cite news |last=Dasgupta |first=Manas |date=9 May 2010 |title=The Hindu – DIPAS concludes observational study on 'Mataji' |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article425184.ece |url-status=live |access-date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231214130/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article425184.ece |archive-date=31 December 2015}}</ref> The study concluded that Prahlad Jani was able to survive under observation for ten days without food and water, and had passed no [[urine]] or [[feces|stool]],<ref name="Khanna-bbc">{{Cite news |last=Rajeev Khanna |date=25 November 2003 |title=Fasting fakir flummoxes physicians |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3236118.stm |url-status=live |access-date=7 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328154126/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3236118.stm |archive-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> with no need for [[Kidney dialysis|dialysis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scientists Baffled by Prahlad Jani, Man Who Doesn't Eat or Drink |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/International/man-eat-drink/story?id=10787036 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173223/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/International/man-eat-drink/story?id=10787036 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref> Interviews with the researchers speak of strict observation and relate that round-the-clock observation was ensured by multiple [[Closed-circuit television|CCTV]] cameras. Jani was subjected to multiple medical tests.<ref name="DNAIndia">{{Cite web |date=7 May 2010 |title=Experts baffled as Mataji's medical reports are normal |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_experts-baffled-as-mataji-s-medical-reports-are-normal_1380169 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128132105/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_experts-baffled-as-mataji-s-medical-reports-are-normal_1380169 |archive-date=28 January 2013}}</ref> The research team could not comment on his claim of having been able to survive in this way for decades.

The case has attracted criticism, both after the 2003 tests and the 2010 tests. [[Sanal Edamaruku]], president of the [[Indian Rationalist Association]], criticized the 2010 experiment for allowing Jani to move out of a certain CCTV camera's field of view, meet devotees, and leave the sealed test room to sunbathe. Edamaruku stated that the regular gargling and bathing activities were not sufficiently monitored and accused Jani of having had some "influential protectors" who denied Edamaruku permission to inspect the project during its operation.<ref name="rationalistinternational1">{{Cite web |last=Edamaruku |first=Sanal |date=18 May 2010 |title=Prahlad Jani and his powerful protectors |url=http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2010/20100518/en_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165946/http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2010/20100518/en_1.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=14 June 2010 |publisher=Rationalistinternational.net}}</ref>

===Jasmuheen===
[[Jasmuheen]] (born Ellen Greve) was a prominent advocate of breatharianism in the 1990s. She said, "I can go for months and months without having anything at all other than a cup of tea. My body runs on a different kind of nourishment."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keith |first=L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=\_KGWcPH41qYC |title=The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability |publisher=PM Press |year=2009 |isbn=9781604861822}}{{dead link|date=July 2017}}</ref> Interviewers found her house stocked with food; Jasmuheen claimed the food was for her husband and daughter. In 1999, she volunteered to be monitored closely by the Australian television program ''[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]'' for one week without eating to demonstrate her methods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Living on air: Breatharian put to the test |url=http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/60/stories/1999_10_24/story_57.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051102085047/http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/60/stories/1999_10_24/story_57.asp |archive-date=2 November 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jasmuheen |url=http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/jasmuheen.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001044/http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/jasmuheen.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=7 June 2008}}</ref> 

Jasmuheen stated that she found it difficult on the third day of the test because the hotel room in which she was confined was located near a busy road, causing [[stress (medicine)|stress]] and [[pollution]] that prevented absorption of required nutrients from the air. "I asked for fresh air. Seventy per cent of my nutrients come from fresh air. I couldn’t even breathe," she said. On the third day, the test was moved to a mountainside retreat, where her condition continued to deteriorate. After Jasmuheen had fasted for four days, Berris Wink, president of the Queensland branch of the [[Australian Medical Association]], urged her to stop the test.<ref name="Yahoo 1999">{{Cite news |date=25 October 1999 |title=Fresh-air dietician fails TV show's challenge |publisher=[[Yahoo News]] |url=http://www.caic.org.au/miscult/breatharians/Fresh-air%20dietician%20fails%20TV%20show%27s%20challenge.htm |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-date=13 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013013712/http://www.caic.org.au/miscult/breatharians/Fresh-air%20dietician%20fails%20TV%20show%27s%20challenge.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to Wink, Jasmuheen's pupils were dilated, her speech was slow, and she was "quite dehydrated, probably over 10%, getting up to 11%". Towards the end of the test, she said, "Her pulse is about double what it was when she started. The risks if she goes any further are kidney failure. ''60 Minutes'' would be culpable if they encouraged her to continue. She should stop now." The test was stopped. Wink said, "Unfortunately there are a few people who may believe what she says, and I'm sure it's only a few, but I think it's quite irresponsible for somebody to be trying to encourage others to do something that is so detrimental to their health."<ref name="Yahoo 1999" /> Jasmuheen challenged the results of the program, saying, "Look, 6,000 people have done this around the world without any problem."<ref name="Bergman2006">{{Cite book |last=Bergman |first=Gregory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUVuSNM5QUQC&pg=PA32 |title=Isms: From Autoeroticism to Zoroastrianism – an Irreverent Reference |publisher=Adams Media |year=2006 |isbn=1440517886 |page=32}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Gillian |date=6 April 2000 |title=Starvation guru given hostile reception |work=The Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mysticism |url=http://liberatapublishers.com/mysticism.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209101343/http://liberatapublishers.com/mysticism.htm |archive-date=9 February 2012 |access-date=7 June 2008}}</ref>

Jasmuheen was awarded the [[Bent Spoon Award]] by [[Australian Skeptics]] in 2000 ("presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bent Spoon 2000 – Winner (Jasmuheen) |url=http://www.skeptics.com.au/spoon/2000winners.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616014356/http://skeptics.com.au/spoon/2000winners.htm |archive-date=16 June 2005 |access-date=7 June 2008}}</ref> She also won the 2000 [[Ig Nobel Prize]] for Literature for ''Living on Light''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 October 2000 |title=The 2000 Ig Nobel Prize Winners |url=https://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225074430/http://improb.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2000 |archive-date=25 February 2011 |access-date=28 October 2019 |website=improbable.com}}</ref> Jasmuheen claims that their beliefs are based on the writings and "more recent [[channelling (mediumistic)|channelled]] material" from [[St. Germain (Theosophy)|St. Germain]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 September 1999 |title=All they need is the air |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/454313.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305092336/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/454313.stm |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=11 January 2010 |website=[[BBC News]] }}</ref> She stated that some people's [[DNA]] has expanded from 2 to 12 strands, to "absorb more hydrogen". When offered $30,000 to prove her claim with a blood test, she said that she did not understand the relevance as she was not referring to herself.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1997 |title=Correx Archives&nbsp;– Jasmuheen |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/correx/archives/jasmuheen.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980423153006/http://www.abc.net.au/science/correx/archives/jasmuheen.htm |archive-date=23 April 1998 |access-date=7 June 2008 |website=Corex |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

{{asof|2017}}, five deaths had been directly linked to breatharianism as a result of Jasmuheen's publications.<ref name="3Deaths">{{Cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Tom |last2=Judith O'Reilly |date=26 September 1999 |title=Three deaths linked to 'living on air' cult |work=[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]] |publisher=(London)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 April 2012 |title=Swiss woman starves to death on daylight diet |work=[[Herald Sun]] |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/swiss-woman-starved-to-death-on-daylight-diet/story-e6frf7lf-1226339082591 |access-date=26 April 2012}} "This was the fourth known death linked to breatharianism and Jasmuheen's books since the practice emerged in the early 90s."</ref><ref name="contactmuziek">{{Cite web |title=Contact & Muziek: Lichtvoeding |url=http://www.contactmuziek.nl/lichtvoeding.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612223030/http://www.contactmuziek.nl/lichtvoeding.html |archive-date=12 June 2017 |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="NRC">{{Cite news |last=van der Veen |first=Casper |date=12 June 2017 |title=OM onderzoekt sterfgeval in woongroep die voeding afzweert |work=NRC Handelsblad |location=Amsterdam |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/06/12/om-onderzoekt-sterfgeval-in-woongroep-die-voeding-afzweert-a1562695 |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422165119/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/06/12/om-onderzoekt-sterfgeval-in-woongroep-die-voeding-afzweert-a1562695 |url-status=live }}</ref> Jasmuheen has denied any responsibility for three of the deaths.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collie |first1=Jason |title=No-food guru in deaths inquiry |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/no-food-guru-in-deaths-inquiry/LIGZDWYQBAGJPB2T3A2CAKRL4M/ |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=29 June 2000 |access-date=20 June 2023 |archive-date=20 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620092859/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/no-food-guru-in-deaths-inquiry/LIGZDWYQBAGJPB2T3A2CAKRL4M/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Wiley Brooks===
Wiley Brooks (1936–2016)<ref name="Quacks!: Dodgy Doctors and Foolish Fads Throughout History">{{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=S.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9q-IDwAAQBAJ&q=%22The%20Legend%20of%20Atlantis%3A%20Return%20of%20the%20Lightmasters%22&pg=PT476 |title=Quacks!: Dodgy Doctors and Foolish Fads Throughout History |date=2018 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=9781445671826}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bote |first=Joshua |date=2022-03-09 |title=The strange, sad Bay Area cult that fell apart over a pot pie |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/breatharianism-diet-cult-has-bay-area-roots-16986511.php |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310055611/https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/breatharianism-diet-cult-has-bay-area-roots-16986511.php |url-status=live }}</ref> was the founder of the Breatharian Institute of America. He was first introduced to the public in 1980 when he appeared on the TV show ''[[That's Incredible!]]''<ref name="SeattleTimes">{{Cite news |last=Broom |first=Jack |date=5 October 1993 |title=Living on Light, Air – 'Breatharian' Says Food Is Poison But Pops An Occasional Twinkie |work=Seattle Times |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19931005/1724507/living-on-light-air----breatharian-says-food-is-poison-but-pops-an-occasional-twinkie |url-status=live |access-date=12 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181311/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19931005&slug=1724507 |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> Brooks stopped teaching shortly before his death in 2016 to "devote 100% of his time on solving the problem as to why he needed to eat some type of food to keep his [[physical body]] alive and allow his [[Subtle body|light body]] to manifest completely".<ref name="altinate">{{Cite web |date=11 February 2006 |title=Wiley Brooks website through Internet Archive |url=http://www.breatharian.com/WileyBrooks-altinate.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211031744/http://www.breatharian.com/WileyBrooks-altinate.htm |archive-date=11 February 2006 |access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref> Brooks claims to have found "four major deterrents" which prevented him from living without food: "people pollution", "food pollution", "air pollution", and "electro pollution".<ref name="altinate" />

In 1983, he was reportedly observed leaving a [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] [[7-Eleven]] with a [[Slurpee]], a [[hot dog]], and [[Twinkie]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |editor-last=Yewell |title=A Year of Nüz |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/01.05.00/nuzjunkies-0001.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001003042829/http://metroactive.com/papers/cruz/01.05.00/nuzjunkies-0001.html |archive-date=3 October 2000 |access-date=7 June 2008 |website=MetroActive News & Issues |editor-first=John}}</ref> He told ''[[Colors (magazine)|Colors]]'' magazine in 2003 that he periodically breaks his fasting with a [[cheeseburger]] and a [[cola]], explaining that when he's surrounded by junk culture and [[junk food]], consuming them adds balance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sonoma papers |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/02.13.03/diets-0307.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030306103945/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/02.13.03/diets-0307.html |archive-date=6 March 2003 |access-date=30 July 2009 |publisher=Metroactive.com}}</ref>

Brooks later claimed that "All McDonalds are constructed on properties that are protected by 5th Dimensional high energy/spiritual portals", encouraging the consumption of [[Diet Coke]] and [[McDonald's]] Double-Quarter-Pounder/with cheese meal ("It is also acceptable to combine 2 [[Quarter Pounder|quarter-pounder]] with cheese burgers to make one double-quarter pounder if you can't get the double-quarter-pounder with cheese where you live"), and discouraging the consumption of "water of any kind".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Five Sacred Names |url=https://www.breatharian.com/fivemagicnames/ |access-date=31 July 2023 |website=www.breatharian.com |archive-date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731051446/https://www.breatharian.com/fivemagicnames/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The idea of separate but interconnected 5D and 3D worlds was a major part of Brooks' ideology, and Brooks encouraged his followers to only eat these special 5D foods, as well as to meditate on a set of magical 5D words.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breatharian Institute of America |url=http://www.breatharian.com/5wordsqa.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522195834/http://www.breatharian.com/5wordsqa.html |archive-date=22 May 2014 |access-date=11 January 2022 |website=www.breatharian.com}}</ref>

Brooks's institute has set various prices for prospective clients wishing to learn how to live without food, ranging from US$100,000 with an initial deposit of $10,000,<ref name="Initiation workshops">{{Cite web |title=Wiley Brooks website: Initiation workshops |url=http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107030359/http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |archive-date=7 November 2015 |access-date=30 July 2009 |publisher=Breatharian.com}}</ref> to fifty billion dollars, to be paid via bank [[wire transfer]] with a preliminary deposit of $100,000, for a session called an "Immortality workshop".<ref name="Immortality workshop">{{Cite web |title=Immortality workshop |url=http://www.breatharian.com/immortalityworkshop.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062436/http://www.breatharian.com/immortalityworkshop.html |archive-date=4 March 2016}} Retrieved 21 November 2010</ref> A payment plan was also offered.<ref name="Initiation workshops Internet Archive">{{Cite web |date=13 February 2008 |title=Initiation workshops from the Internet Archive |url=http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213070205/http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |archive-date=13 February 2008 |access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref> These charges were typically presented as limited time offers exclusively for billionaires.<ref name="Fees via Internet archive">{{Cite web |title=Fees via Internet archive |url=http://www.breatharian.com/WileyBrooks-altinate.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718084609/http://www.breatharian.com/WileyBrooks-altinate.htm |archive-date=18 July 2006 |access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref><ref name="Initiation workshops through Internet Archive">{{Cite web |title=Initiation workshops through Internet Archive |url=http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213070205/http://www.breatharian.com/initiationworkshops.html |archive-date=13 February 2008}}. Retrieved January 2008.</ref>

===Hira Ratan Manek===
Hira Ratan Manek (1937–2022)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hira ratan manek: Hira Ratan Manek Who Lived on Water and Sunlight No More &#124; Ahmedabad News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/hira-ratan-manek-who-lived-on-water-and-sunlight-no-more/articleshow/90328855.cms |website=[[The Times of India]] |date=20 March 2022 |access-date=22 April 2024 |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128034821/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/hira-ratan-manek-who-lived-on-water-and-sunlight-no-more/articleshow/90328855.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/article65219937.ece |title=The man who consumed the sun is no more |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=13 March 2022 |access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref> claimed that since 18 June 1995, he lived on water and occasionally tea, coffee, and [[buttermilk]]. Manek stated that [[sungazing]] was the key to his health,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solar Healing Center |url=http://solarhealing.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305070142/http://solarhealing.com/ |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=6 February 2012}}</ref> citing [[yogi]]s, ancient [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], [[Aztec]]s, [[Maya peoples|Mayas]], and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] as practitioners of the art.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Timoshik |first=Alexander |date=28 August 2006 |title=Man lives for 11 years eating only sunlight |url=http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/28-08-2006/84110-sunlight-0/ |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224171023/http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/28-08-2006/84110-sunlight-0/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While he and his proponents stated that medical experts confirmed his ability to draw sustenance by gazing at the Sun,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Santhosh |first=K. |date=2005-12-10 |title=Sharing their love for food, water, sunlight |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/2005/12/10/stories/2005121011610400.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903213334/http://www.thehindu.com/2005/12/10/stories/2005121011610400.htm |archive-date=3 September 2015}}</ref> a method which came to be known as "HRM phenomenon" (by his initials), he was caught on camera eating a big meal in a San Francisco restaurant in the 2011 documentary ''Eat the Sun''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 2011 |title=Eat the Sun |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424769/ |access-date=24 February 2015 |website=IMDb |archive-date=17 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150117052056/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424769/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Storr |first=Will |date=6 May 2013 |title=The man who lives without food |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/10032594/The-man-who-lives-without-food.html |url-status=dead |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508202818/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/10032594/The-man-who-lives-without-food.html |archive-date=8 May 2013}}</ref>

===Ray Maor===
In a television documentary produced by the Israeli television [[Investigative journalism|investigative show]] ''The Real Face'' (פנים אמיתיות), hosted by Amnon Levy, Israeli practitioner of inedia Ray Maor (ריי מאור) appeared to survive without food or water for eight days and eight nights. According to the documentary, he was restricted to a small villa and placed under constant video surveillance, with medical supervision that included daily blood testing. The documentary claimed Maor was in good spirits throughout the experiment; that he lost {{convert|17|lb|kg|order=flip|round=0.5}} after eight days; that blood tests showed no change before, during or after the experiment; and that [[cardiologist]] Ilan Kitsis from [[Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center]] was "baffled".<ref name="panim.nana10.co.il">{{Cite news |date=11 October 2013 |title=הפנים האמיתיות של משחקי הרעב – חלק א' [The true face of The Hunger Games – Part I |language=he |work=Real Faces – Full Episodes |publisher=Nana10 Ltd. |format=[[Adobe Flash|Flash]] required |url=http://panim.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1012415 |url-status=dead |access-date=27 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193411/http://panim.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1012415 |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite news |date=11 October 2013 |title=הפנים האמיתיות של משחקי הרעב – חלק א' [The true face of The Hunger Games – Part II |language=he |work=Real Faces – Full Episodes |publisher=Nana10 Ltd. |format=[[Adobe Flash|Flash]] required |url=http://panim.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1013939&sid=267 |url-status=dead |access-date=27 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194402/http://panim.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1013939&sid=267 |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="glz.co.il">{{Cite news |date=20 October 2013 |title=האדם שלא אכל ולא שתה במשך 8 ימים [Man did not eat or drink for 8 days] |language=he |work=IDF Radio |publisher=Israel Defense Forces |url=http://glz.co.il/1363-28288-HE/Galatz.aspx |access-date=27 October 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190624/http://glz.co.il/1363-28288-HE/Galatz.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Mythology and religion==

===Hinduism===
Some Hindu religious texts contain accounts of saints and hermits practising what would be called inedia, breatharianism or Sustenance through Light in modern terms. In Valmiki's ''[[Ramayana]]'', Book III, Canto VI, an account of anchorites and holy men is given, who flocked around [[Rama]] when he came to [[Śarabhanga]]'s hermitage. These included, among others, the "...saints who live on rays which moon and daystar give" and "those ... whose food the wave of air supplies". In Canto XI of the same book, a hermit named [[Māṇḍakarṇi]] is mentioned: "For he, great votarist, intent – On strictest rule his stern life spent – ... – Ten thousand years on air he fed..."  (English quotations are from [[Ralph T. H. Griffith]]'s translation).

[[Paramahansa Yogananda]]'s 1946 book ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]'' details two alleged historical examples of breatharianism, Hari Giri Bala and [[Therese Neumann]].

There are claims that [[Devraha Baba]] lived without food.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Some breatharians claim that humans can be sustained solely by ''[[prana]]'', the vital life force in [[Hinduism]]. According to [[Ayurveda]], [[sunlight]] is one of the main sources of prana, and some practitioners believe that it is possible for a person to survive on sunlight alone.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

===Taoism===
[[Bigu (grain avoidance)]] is a fasting technique with various different interpretations, from simply avoiding eating specific grains, to avoiding all grains, to eating no food at all, and drawing sustenance from gulps of air.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maspero |first=Henri |url=https://archive.org/details/taoismchineserel00henr |title=Taoism and Chinese Religion |date=1981 |publisher=[[University of Massachusetts Press]] |isbn=9780870233081 |translator-last=Kierman Jr. |translator-first=Frank A. |url-access=registration}}</ref>

=== Jainism ===
{{main|Fasting in Jainism}}
There are varying types of fasts practised by followers of [[Jainism]]. Some Jain monks and laities continuously fast for months. These fasts last six months or even longer. A Jain monk, Sahaj Muni Maharaj, is said to have completed his 365-day fast on 1 May 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jainism: Fasting |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/customs/fasting_1.shtml |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=www.bbc.co.uk – BBC – Religions |language=en-GB |archive-date=7 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707200636/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/customs/fasting_1.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Another Jain monk Hansaratna Vijayji was said to have completed 423-day fast in 494 days in 2015. He had previously claimed to have fasted for 108 days in 2013 and for 180 days in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jain |first=Bhavika |date=2015-11-01 |title=Jain monk completes 423 days of fasting |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Jain-monk-completes-423-days-of-fasting/articleshow/49616061.cms |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=The Times of India – Mumbai |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108104823/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Jain-monk-completes-423-days-of-fasting/articleshow/49616061.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> Several others have claimed to have fasted for six months.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shukla |first=Ashutosh M. |date=2014-02-22 |title=Jain Sadhu's 180-day fasting to be celebrated |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-jain-sadhu-s-180-day-fasting-to-be-celebrated-1964119 |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=DNA India |language=en |archive-date=6 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506212920/https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-jain-sadhu-s-180-day-fasting-to-be-celebrated-1964119 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-04 |title=Bhavnagar woman fasts for 180 days, CM attends parna |url=https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/bhavnagar-woman-fasts-for-180-days-cm-attends-parna/articleshow/70967777.cms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926193018/https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/bhavnagar-woman-fasts-for-180-days-cm-attends-parna/articleshow/70967777.cms |archive-date=2020-09-26 |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=[[Ahmedabad Mirror]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shukla |first=Ashutosh M. |date=2014-03-02 |title=Family pours Rs 21 crore on water used to break Jain muni's fast |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-family-pours-rs-21-crore-on-water-used-to-break-jain-muni-s-fast-1966099 |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=DNA India |language=en |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111202926/https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-family-pours-rs-21-crore-on-water-used-to-break-jain-muni-s-fast-1966099 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Works ==
* ''[[In the Beginning There Was Light]]'', a 2010 Austrian documentary on breatharianism
* ''[[Inedia (film)|Inedia]]'', a 2024 drama film directed by [[Liz Cairns]]

== See also ==
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order and add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col}}
* [[Angus Barbieri's fast]], longest medically documented fast
* [[Anorexia mirabilis]], Middle Ages
* [[Fasting girls]], Victorian Era
* [[Kumbhaka]], Yoga
* [[List of diets]]
* [[Scientific skepticism]]
* [[Sungazing]]
* [[Starvation diet]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/health/breatharianslinks.htm A list of historical and contemporary breatharians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126114046/http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/health/breatharianslinks.htm |date=26 January 2021 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100531132144/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8060648983626971848 ''Living on Light''] at [[Google Videos]] – episode of ''[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]'' (Jasmuheen's aborted experiment)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040304204021/http://rationalistinternational.net/article/20031201_en.htm Past Breatharian hoaxes in India]
* [http://skepdic.com/inedia.html Skeptic's Dictionary article on Breatharianism]

{{Fad diets}}
{{Pseudoscience}}

[[Category:Inedia| ]]