The Derangements

How fasting rewired my brain

An emaciated Bodhisattva seated on a throne flanked by gods and worshippers, second to third century, Gandhara, via the British Museum

By Beau Friedlander

Here’s what happened when I didn’t eat for prescribed periods of time: it affected every cell in my body, and my mind started working better. I can’t prove any of this. There’s science out there that might explain it, but that work is far from settled.