We tried fasting for 6 days: Andrew & Ed explore the history of fasting

What happens when you stop eating?

In this episode of We Need to Talk About Chocolate, writer and journalist Ed Easton and Melt Chocolates founder Andrew Nason attempt a fast - and immediately discover how differently the human body (and mind) can respond.

Andrew completes a six-day water fast. Ed… doesn’t make it past a missed meal.

But this isn’t about willpower, weight loss, or internet “biohacks.” It’s a deep dive into why fasting has existed for thousands of years - from cavemen and philosophers to monks, prophets, and modern scientists.

We explore feast-and-famine biology, ketosis, brain fuel, and why the modern habit of eating constantly may be more unnatural than we realise. Along the way, they uncover the astonishing true story of the man who fasted for 382 days, and ask why nearly every religion built fasting into its rituals - not for health, but for clarity.

The fast is finally broken with hot chocolate - not as a treat, but as a reminder that cacao has always been a bridge between nourishment, stimulation, and ritual. Because food isn’t just fuel.

And sometimes, not eating tells us more than eating ever could. And yes - once again…

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