True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII (Wattys2025)

Inedia (Breatharianism)

Inedia (Latin for 'fasting') or breatharianism (/brɛˈθɛəriənɪzəm/) is the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food and in some cases water. It is a pseudoscientific practice, and several adherents of these practices have died from starvation or dehydration.

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. In the absence of food intake, the body normally burns its reserves of glycogen, body fat, and muscle. Breatharians claim that their bodies do not consume these reserves while fasting.

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. 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.

In a handful of documented cases, individuals attempting breatharian fasting have died. 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."

Alleged practitioners

Rosicrucianism

The 1670 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."

Ram Bahadur Bomjon ("Bakji")

Ram Bahadur Bomjon is a Nepalese Buddhist monk who lives as an ascetic in a remote area of Nepal. Bomjon appears to go for long periods without ingesting either food or water. 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. The documentary makers were, however, prevented from filming Bomjon continuously for that period of time. His claims have never been objectively verified.

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. 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 stool, with no need for dialysis. Interviews with the researchers speak of strict observation and relate that round-the-clock observation was ensured by multiple CCTV cameras. Jani was subjected to multiple medical tests. 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.

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." 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 for one week without eating to demonstrate her methods. 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 and pollution that prevented the absorption of required nutrients from the air. "I asked for fresh air. Seventy percent 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.