Every major religion discusses your diet’s impact on your connection to God. Though I don’t subscribe to the major religions, I recognize that each contains a certain amount of truth. I consider myself a spiritual person that believes in a higher power (God, aka the Spiritual Oneness) and takes scientific observations into account with my beliefs. In this article, I will lay out evidence from religion and science that indicates your diet impacts your relationship to God (or a higher power), your aura, and your overall spirituality. 

All Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) begin with the Torah (the Old Testament). According to the scripture, Adam and Eve’s diets consisted of “… fruits, grains, [vegetables per Genesis 3:18,] and nuts. The Lord said to them, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed … and every tree … yielding seed.” “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat” (Genesis 1:29; 2:16)… He had given man plants for food.” (1)

When considering the most prominent Eastern religions – Buddhism and Hinduism, strict interpretations of their scriptures and teachings also suggest people should avoid animal consumption, hence the large vegan/vegetarian communities in those belief systems. Fasting is also a significant part of every religion. In Judaism, Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year. On this day, Jews utilize fasting to strengthen their ‘teshuvah’, translated as repentance, but literally means returning to something you’ve strayed away from. Considering the context of fasting being used on the holiest day of the year, one could interpret that as fasting helping you return to your connection with God.

Many Christians practice fasting during Lent, which leads to the Messiah’s return – Easter – when Jesus is said to have risen from the dead (which could also mean he was born again). Mainstream reasoning says this practice is a sign of self-sacrifice and to test their discipline, but if the goal of Christianity is to model your life after Christ, logic also says this practice could indicate fasting helps you become born again. In Islam, fasting during the month of Ramadan is said to fit into the overall practice of “tawhid,” which means unifying with God (2).

Science tells us that fasting starts a process called autophagy – the destruction of damaged or redundant components in our body. It has a long list of benefits, but one of the main ones being it allows the body to replace the weakest white blood cells with brand new, stronger ones. Autophagy destroys free radicals and precancerous cells that create disease. Fasting for extended periods also takes significant discipline, and most people would agree that discipline is needed for spiritual ascension. A spiritual interpretation of that observable scientific process (autophagy) and the self-control required to engage in it could mean fasting helps us rid ourselves of toxins or evil, bringing us closer to God (aka the Spiritual Oneness). 

We know that one’s experiences in life are permanently stored in DNA, and trauma can be passed down intergenerationally through it (3). Though it does not explain all the different possible ways for trauma to transfer, it demonstrates that trauma is not always limited to the being it’s directly inflicted on. We also know that most of the animals we consume now have been tortured their entire lives, and vegan diets have been consistently proven to have an extensive range of positive effects on your gut microbiome (4).

The demonstrable gut-brain connection (5) shows that the gut condition impacts everything from your mood and emotions to the responsiveness and focus of your brain. Though the economic incentives of our allopathic medical system have prevented the further study of the human endocannabinoid system (ECS), it is key to maintaining good health. “The ECS has been recently recognized as an important modulatory system in the function of brain, endocrine, and immune tissues. It appears to play a very important regulatory role in the secretion of hormones related to reproductive functions and response to stress.” (6)

Your gut microbiota significantly impacts the ECS’s efficacy (7), affecting everything from our overall health to our hormones and how we think.

In conclusion:

• Our minds control our actions.
• Our actions and intent behind them affect our connection to God (the Spiritual Oneness).
• Respecting and taking care of our bodies show appreciation for God, which is necessary for a good relationship with it.
• The vegan diet is demonstrably the healthiest diet for humans.
• Our bodies and minds are intricately connected – maximizing health helps our minds perform to the best of their ability. These conditions give us the best chance for spiritual ascension.

Adam and Eve Diet (1)

https://bibleask.org/adam-eve-vegetarian/

Abrahamic Religions on Fasting (2)

https://www.uindy.edu/eip/files/interfaith_conversations-1.pdf

Trauma’s Impact on DNA (3)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127768/

Vegan Diet & The Gut Microbiome (4)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172896/#:~:text=Vegan%20diets%20appear%20to%20affect,23%2C24%2C25%5D.

Gut-Brain Connection (5)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4367209/#:~:text=The%20gut%2Dbrain%20axis%20(GBA,microbiota%20in%20influencing%20these%20interactions.

Role of the Endocannabinoid System (6)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17369778/#:~:text=The%20endocannabinoid%20system%20regulates%20not,glucose%20metabolism%20in%20muscle%20cells.

Gut Microbiome & Endocannabinoid System Connection (7)

https://joe.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/joe/248/2/JOE-20-0444.xml