A husband and wife live a ‘food-free’ diet and claim they survive by only eating vegetable broth or fruit a handful of times a week. Akahi Ricardo, 36, and Camila Castello, 34, who live between California and Ecuador, said they have forgotten what hunger feels like and believe humans can be sustained solely by the ‘energy that exists in the universe and in themselves’.
Mother-of-two Camila even practised a ‘breatharian’ pregnancy, only eating solids five times during the nine months she was carrying her first child.
‘Humans can easily be without food, as long as they are the connected to the energy that exists in all things and through breathing,’ Camila said.
‘For three years, Akahi and I didn’t eat anything at all and now we only eat occasionally like if we’re in a social situation or if I simply want to taste a fruit.
‘With my first child, I practiced a Breatharian pregnancy. Hunger was a foreign sensation to me so I fully lived on light and ate nothing. My blood tests during all three trimesters were impeccable and I gave birth to a healthy, baby boy.’
‘It’s given us a clear sense of what we want in life. Anyone can live a breatharian lifestyle and feel the benefits. It’s not about never eating food again, it’s about understanding cosmic nourishment, not just physical nourishment, and living without limits.’
Camila and Akahi met in 2005 and were married three years later. Whilst travelling around South America in 2008, they discovered breatharianism through a friend. The pair had been vegetarians for many years and switched to a raw, vegan diet and then to the ingestion of only fruits.
In March of that year, after undertaking the necessary preparation, Akahi and Camila undertook the ’21 day breatharian process’. In this process, during the first seven days nothing is consumed, except air, the next seven days some water and diluted juice, and the last seven days diluted juice and water.
‘I went for regular pregnancy check-ups and my doctor confirmed the above average growth of a very healthy baby boy.’
The couple relaxed slightly after the birth of their son to allow them to enjoy food as a family, but still only ate in tiny quantities. During Camila’s second pregnancy she ate pieces of fruit and vegetable broth but said it was ‘still a lot less than the recommended intake for a pregnant woman. Now the couple eat three or four times a week ‘at the most’ but said they do not force breatharianism on their two children. Akahi said:
‘We would never try to change them and we let them eat whatever they want whether that be juices, vegetables, pizza or ice-cream. We want them to explore the different tastes and have a healthy relationship with food as they grow.’
Camila added:
‘Whenever I eat now, it’s not because I’m hungry. I just don’t remember that sensation.’