Daniel Fast

The Daniel Fast is a spiritual fast intended to honor God, which in recent years has gained some popularity among Christians. The fast is modeled on an incident recounted in biblical the Book of Daniel as having occurred in the late sixth century B.C. The Daniel Fast is based on a restricted diet, much different than another diet called Lent by standard Christians, often at a different time of the year (usually in January).
Chapter 1 records Daniel rejecting the 'royal food and wine' to avoid "defilement" in accordance with strict Mosaic dietary restrictions. Therefore, Daniel requested that he and his companions eat only vegetables and water. This resulted in Daniel and the others prospering physically and spiritually above all others in the king’s quarters. Strictly speaking this was not a fast but a desire to please God by observing the law of Moses.
Chapter 9 records once when Daniel practiced a "true" or "complete" fast, which is no food and only water. This occurred around the time of the accession of Cyrus I, probably in 537 B.C. The Israelites (specifically those of the House of Judah) had been in bondage to the Babylonians for 70 years by this time, and their exile had been prophesied by Jeremiah. Yet, rather than Daniel sitting idle and waiting for the final breakthrough and the changed governments, he prayed and fasted. This resulted in an appearance from the angel Gabriel who told Daniel of what would happen in the future.
Chapter 10 recounts another incident of Daniel restricting his intake of certain foods. Some have attempted to show this as an example of fasting but was actually a lack of desire to eat certain foods as a result of a dream that caused him to mourn. This caused him to eat no delicacies, eating no meat, and drinking no wine for three weeks. The result of this dietary restriction was Daniel receiving another visitation by an angel and prophecies concerning Persia and Greece, all of which took place.
It is this last recount that serves as the primary model for the most popular version of the Daniel Fast. While many enter into the Daniel Fast throughout the year, the most popular time is in January at which time tens of thousands of Christian men and women consecrate themselves, for three weeks. During these three weeks they adhere to a simple diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and water. They also concentrate on prayer and drawing into a closer relationship with Christ.
In entitled "Effect of a 21 day Daniel Fast on metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk
factors in men and women" in "Lipids in Health and Disease" journal, researchers found that "A 21 day period of modified dietary intake in accordance with the Daniel Fast is 1) well-tolerated by men and women and 2) improves several risk factors for metabolic and cardiovascular disease."

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