Within the Quanzhen tradition, dietary discipline functions as a concrete expression of ascetic intent and inner cultivation. Monastics are generally expected to follow a vegetarian or near‑vegetarian regimen, abstaining from meat, fish, and poultry, and often maintaining a very simple, “plain” style of eating centered on grains, vegetables, and bean products. Many communities also avoid the so‑called “five pungent spices” such as garlic, onions, leeks, chives, and related strong‑smelling alliums, which are regarded as stimulants of desire and as disruptive to meditative stillness and the regulation of qi. Alcohol and other intoxicants are forbidden, and there is a strong emphasis on moderation: rich, oily, heavily spiced, or overly sweet foods are discouraged, and overeating is explicitly criticized. In stricter settings, the number of daily meals is limited, often to one or two taken in the earlier part of the day, with little or no solid food in the evening.

Fasting in Quanzhen practice is not an isolated feat of endurance but is woven into a broader rhythm of ritual and inner work. Monastics commonly observe regular fast days tied to the lunar calendar, during which they simplify the diet even further, reduce the quantity of food, and heighten attention to moral and ritual purity. Before major ceremonies, retreats, or ordinations, practitioners undertake more formal “zhai” fasts, typically lasting from one to several days, marked by the elimination of meat, alcohol, and pungent foods, and by lighter, earlier meals. At certain stages of training, some communities employ bigu‑like methods—significant reductions in solid food, especially grains, relying instead on very simple gruels, vegetable broths, or herbal infusions—to refine the body’s energies and support intensive meditation. Short periods of near‑total fasting, usually limited to a day or a few days and undertaken under guidance, may be used to deepen repentance, clarify intention, and prepare for demanding phases of inner alchemical work.

Underlying these dietary and fasting disciplines is a dual rationale that is both ethical and alchemical. Ethically, abstention from meat and intoxicants, along with the refusal to indulge in sensory excess, is seen as an enactment of non‑harming, restraint, and simplicity, curbing greed and attachment to taste. Alchemically and meditatively, light, bland, and moderate eating is believed to stabilize breath and heartbeat, prevent agitation, and facilitate the circulation and refinement of qi required by inner alchemy. In this way, what might appear outwardly as a set of food rules becomes an integrated method for purifying body and mind, harmonizing conduct with aspiration, and aligning everyday sustenance with the quest for spiritual realization.