What Ekadashi can teach us about intermittent fasting
10 November 2026
An old fast and a modern one, and what the research says so far.
Twice in every lunar month, on the eleventh day of the waxing moon and the eleventh day of the waning moon, many Hindu households fast. The day is called Ekadashi, which simply means "the eleventh". How strict the fast is varies from family to family. Some take no food or water at all, some take fruit and milk, and many simply leave out grains and pulses such as rice, wheat, lentils and beans. The fast is broken the next morning, after sunrise.
The modern cousin
Intermittent fasting is the name for eating patterns that set regular periods without food. The most common is a daily window: eat within eight hours, for example, and fast for the other sixteen. Ekadashi is not the same thing. It comes twice a month, not every day, and it is kept for religious reasons, not for health. What the two share is the idea of a planned, regular rest from eating.
What the research says
In 2019 two researchers, Rafael de Cabo and Mark Mattson, reviewed the evidence in the New England Journal of Medicine. In animals, intermittent fasting improved blood sugar control and lowered blood pressure and inflammation. In people, studies showed better blood sugar regulation and improvements in risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. The authors pointed out a limit: most human studies lasted only a few months.
Later trials are more sober about weight loss. In a 2022 trial of 139 people with obesity, one group ate only between 8 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon while cutting calories, and the other group cut calories with no time limit. After a year the first group had lost 8.0 kg and the second 6.3 kg, a difference too small to count as proven. A 2023 trial of 90 adults found that an eating window worked better than no diet at all, but no better than counting calories.
What to take from it
An eating window is one workable way to eat less, and it suits people who find a clock easier to follow than a calorie count. It is not a shortcut. The 2019 review advises starting gently and lengthening the fast over several months.
Who should not fast
Fasting is not advised for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, for children and teenagers, or for anyone who has had an eating disorder. People with diabetes, and people who take medicine for blood sugar or blood pressure, should speak to their doctor first, because fasting can change how much medicine they need. This article is general information, not medical advice.
Sources
de Cabo R, Mattson MP. Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1905136
Liu D and others. Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35443107/
Lin S and others. Time-Restricted Eating Without Calorie Counting for Weight Loss. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37364268/
Ekadashi. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekadashi
Bastyr University. 5 Times You Should Avoid Intermittent Fasting. https://bastyr.edu/about/news/5-times-you-should-avoid-intermittent-fasting