Frequently Asked
Questions
HOW LONG SHOULD I
FAST?
Daniel started the fast
with a ten day test.
Likewise, many people make a
ten day commitment to the
fast. After Daniel and his
friends passed the test they
were allowed to continue on
the fast indefinitely.
Keeping this in mind, the
duration of your fast is
between you and God.
However, keep your
commitment. If you say you
are going to fast for ten
days, don’t stop at nine.
WHAT DID DANIEL FEEL
WOULD DEFILE HIM?
Well, the king’s food
was against the dietary laws
God had previously
established with the
Israelites. Daniel and his
friends also vowed against
the wine most likely because
it had been offered to
idols. We also know the meat
was offered up to
idols/demons.
WHAT IS PULSE?
In simple terms, pulse
is anything grown up from a
seed. Barnes’ Notes defines
pulse as “what grows up from
seeds - such, probably, as
would be sown in a garden,
or, as we would now express
it, vegetable diet.” The
application of the pulse or
“vegetarian” diet has a
broad spectrum. I have heard
of people who apply this
very liberally to include
processed foods, fast foods
such as French Fries from
McDonald’s and dairy like
butter, cheese, milk, etc.
They basically abstain from
meat. Some food items you
will need to ask yourself,
“Is this a king’s dainty?”
During
a Daniel Fast, I feel this
is a time of spiritual
cleansing as well as a
physical cleansing. It
should cost your flesh
something. The typical
American diet is full
processed foods containing
many chemicals that pollute
our bodies. Therefore,
processed food should be
avoided. I also promote the
use of organic foods. The
closer to the way God
created it the better.
WHAT ABOUT YEAST?
Yeast is not an animal
product nor is it a man made
chemical. In baking and
cooking yeast is used as a
leavening agent, where it
converts the fermentable
sugars present in the dough
into carbon dioxide. This
causes the dough to expand
or rise as the carbon
dioxide forms pockets or
bubbles. When the dough is
baked it “sets” and the
pockets remain, giving the
baked product a soft and
spongy texture. Because of
the fermentation involved,
many people will choose to
avoid yeast during a Daniel
Fast.
SHOULD I AVOID
CAFFEINE?
Caffeine is an addictive
substance. Therefore, it can
become a weight in the walk
of a Christian. It may be a
good idea to detoxify your
body by abstaining. However,
I am aware of people with
medical conditions that
fight EXTREME fatigue. In
such instances, caffeine is
often used for its medicinal
purposes to help energize
the body. If you choose to
use caffeine during a Daniel
Fast you should still
abstain from cow’s milk,
cream, non-dairy creamer,
sugar, artificial sweeteners
and syrups.
WHAT ABOUT GRAPES,
RAISINS, OR GRAPE JUICE?
Some people interpret
“wine” in the Bible as fresh
grape juice. But I have a
hard time believing Noah
got naked on fresh grape
juice; I am pretty sure it
was fermented. The reason
Daniel didn’t want to drink
the king’s wine was because
it was offered to idols. If
we follow this train of
thought, we will be defining
the Daniel Fast as a Kosher
diet (eating all foods that
follow Old Testament dietary
law). In essence, this is
what Daniel was trying to
comply with. In contrast,
however, this is not the
intention of the modified
fast.
As I mentioned before,
this isn’t the exact diet
Daniel ate but based on what
he requested to eat. Pulse.
Food grown from a seed.
Daniel didn’t want to eat
the king’s meat or drink the
king’s wine. Therefore, this
fast avoids all animal
products, fermented
substances, and allows all
things grown from the
ground. In my opinion,
grapes, raisins and
unfermented grape juice are
fine.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TO
EAT?
Two questions you can
use as a general rule of
thumb: Did it grow from a
seed? Has man polluted it?
If you can answer these
questions with any degree of
certainty then you can be
reasonably assured that your
food choices are in line
with The Daniel Fast.
WHAT FOODS ARE ON THE
FAST?
• All fruits and
vegetables- fresh, frozen
dried or canned
• All grains, beans,
legumes, that have not been
bleached stripped and
processed. Grains
should be
whole. Such as whole brown
rice, whole wheat flour etc
• All nuts
• All herbs and seasonings
and spices -salt is fine.
Try and use natural herbs
and seasoning
• Baking soda- all natural
• Guava Nectar
• Stevia
• Bragg Liquid Aminos®
(natural alternative to soy
sauce)
• Water, tea, fruit and
vegetable juices (most teas
contain caffeine)
• Cold pressed oils such as
olive oil, unprocessed
coconut, peanut, sesame,
walnut, almond,
and mustard
seed oil
• Soy Milk (read the
nutritional label)
• Tofu (whole soy beans and
water)
• Pasta (whole-grain flour
and water) NO EGGS or WHITE
flour
WHAT FOODS SHOULD BE
AVOIDED WHILE ON THE DANIELS
FAST?
• All meat product
including sea food, beef and
chicken broths etc
• Imitation meat products
• Dairy products such as
milk, cheese, sour cream,
etc
• All egg products
• Grains that have been
bleached and processed such
as white flour and all
products
containing it
• White sugar and all
products containing it
• White rice
• Artificial Sweeteners (Splenda®
(sucralose), NutraSweet®
(aspartame), Sweet’N Low®
(saccharine), etc.)
• Carbonated beverages
(soda, soft drinks,
carbonated flavored water,
etc)
• Foods containing
additives, chemicals and
dyes
• Soy sauce (fermented)
• Artificial anything
including flavors and colors
• Hydrogenated oils
(margarine, shortening and
all products containing it)
• Fried food should be
avoided (most fried foods
are fried in Hydrogenated
oil)
• Corn Syrup (high fructose
corn syrup)
• Alcohol - Daniel didn’t
drink the king’s wine
• Vinegar - made by a
fermentation process like
wine
• Baking powder - it is
baking soda (natural) and an
acid like cream of tartar
mixed together.
Cream of
tartar is a byproduct of
wine making
• Caffeine*
• Yeast*
• Honey*
• Natural unprocessed sugar
cane*
*See foods for
personal conviction.
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