This information can be quoted, if you attribute the authorship.
© Adam Atman 2006
For information about the Juice Fast and Healing Seminar see:
Five Stars Seminars
The Juice Fast
- A Powerful and Gentle Way to Detox the Body and Upgrade the Soul
Prior to cleansing: A precautionary note
These notes were written for forty participants who did a ten day fast together in 2006. This cleanse is a powerful and gentle way to detox, and I recommend it with a reminder or warning for newcomers. During this cleanse I personally supervised this process for my patients. .If you are not my patient, please follow the guidance of a health care provider familiar with juice fasting and detoxification protocols. If you are new to fasting, please start with a shorter fast and postpone the 10 day juice fast for a later time. Keep in touch with your health care provider, and learn how your body responds through gentle and gradual practices.
The 10 day Juice Fast
For ages many cultures have used periodic fasting and diets to heal the body. The 10 day juice fast doesn’t interrupt the intake of nutrition. In this cleanse, plentiful and diverse nutrients are taken in daily through juice. The healing potential of fasting is mostly unknown to modern westerners. The juice fast heals the body but our consensus culture and media disdains the practice of fasting, claiming it to be dangerous and of no medical value.. Fortunately there is an unbroken tradition of fasting that has come through disciplined and dedicated individuals including doctors who recorded their findings and adapted practices for the conditions and needs of diverse types of contemporary people. The protocol I have developed synthesizes the best practices from veteran doctors and researchers of fasting methods including: Paavo Airola, Dr. Bernard Jensen, (who supervised more than 50,000 patients on juice fasts), Steve Hurwitz, (the founder of the Ejuva cleansing system). The studies of these veterans and pioneers are represented in this fast, combined with the documented experience of my patients and learning communities, furthered by my personal fasting experience for over twenty-five years.
Quotes from experts on why fasting works
Evart Loomis M.D. -"Fasting is the world's most ancient and natural healing mechanism. Fasting triggers a truly wondrous cleansing process that reaches right down to each and every cell and tissue in the body. Within 24 hours of curtailing food intake, enzymes stop entering the stomach and travel instead into the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they circulate and gobble up all sorts of waste matter, including dead and damaged cells, unwelcome microbes, metabolic wastes, and pollutants. All organs and glands get a much-needed and well-deserved rest, during which their tissues are purified and rejuvenated and their functions balanced and regulated. The entire alimentary canal is swept clean. By rebuilding immunity, health is naturally restored and disease disappears. If health and immunity are thereafter conscientiously maintained, the individual is no longer vulnerable to disease and dieting become unnecessary. Surely one of the most overlooked and yet most valuable modes of healing that will be rediscovered in the future of the new medicine is the fast. This is because of the increasing interest in looking to oneself for healing powers. For the fast is an inward process and cannot be entered upon only from an outer approach with any expectation of a lasting benefit. The person must invariably be involved with the overall results. This therapeutic encounter is in direct contrast to the usual non-involvement in the physician-directed, disease-oriented medical practice of today."
Patricia Bragg Ph.D.- "Proven throughout history for physical, mental and spiritual rejuvenation, fasting promotes cleansing and healing; helps normalize weight, blood pressure, cholesterol; rebuilds the immune system; and helps reverse the aging process. If we are to get these poisons out of our bodies we must fast. By fasting we give our bodies a physiological rest. This rest builds Vital Force. The more Vital Force we have, the more toxins are going to be eliminated from the body to help keep it clean, pure and healthy."
Benjamin Franklin - "The best of all medicines are rest and fasting"
Ron Kennedy MD. “When we overload our bodies with food, even if we are able to burn it up without gaining weight, we create a chronic condition of low grade toxemia. Here resides the problem. The plasma membrane of each cell can somehow sense the concentration of toxic wastes in the circulatory system. If this concentration is above legal limit, the plasma membrane denies an exit visa for toxic wastes inside the cell until conditions outside the cell improve. Each cell becomes a storage unit for unusable, toxic molecules. This is not what a doctor would call "toxemia," because it is not life-threatening. However, if what you are interested in is the most health and vitality possible for you, this is definitely a chronic condition of low grade toxemia. Only children who are on a health supporting diet are immune from a chronic condition of low grade toxemia. All adults are suffering from this condition in some degree. Fasting creates a condition of low concentration of toxic wastes in the circulatory system. This is sensed by the plasma membrane of each cell and each cell will then let go of its load of toxic wastes. Any degree of overloading your body with food results in the intracellular collection of waste products. Fasting allows you to tip the scales in the other direction, so that your body can release itself from this condition of autointoxication.
How to Prepare for the Juice Fast
Two Weeks before the fast, eliminate the following substances and foods:
Your diet will consist of fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts. Eating a ‘lighter’ diet, with a higher percentage of raw food will change the way you feel within a day, and your newly balanced blood sugar will begin to decrease your physical hunger.
Ten days before the Fast
This is experimental. Every ‘body’ is different. Experience how the support products feel in your body. The support products have been selected to synergistically maximize detoxification while minimizing discomfort.
One Week before the Fast
Common misconceptions about fasting
Westerners are conditioned to believe that we must continually consume food no matter what. It is commonly believed that humans starve for protein quickly, and that protein deprivation creates a famished and exhausted physical condition, depriving the body of vital nutrients. We’ve been sold on the falsehood that humans can’t live without supplements, that fasting is dangerous for people who are thin or people who are fat…We have been told that fasting makes people sick. Lets look at these ideas one at a time:
Protein
The support product called Vitamineral Green provides plenty of daily protein. We generally eat far more protein than we need, most of which putrefies in the intestines and acidifies the tissue. Protein malnutrition begins to occur after a long period of starvation. There are ample documents in the historical record of individuals taking on 100 day juice fasts to cure cancer, all the while maintaining their weight, appearing in vibrant health and not suffering from protein malnutrition at all! So you and I can fast for 10 days and not suffer from malnutrition at all – in fact we will have super-nutrition! It is possible to lose weight and muscle mass on a fast, in fact you probably will, but don’t worry, the muscle mass will come right back after the fast if you exercise.
Fatigue, discomfort and symptoms of detoxification
On a 10 day juice fast you may have a day or two where you are in a detoxification phase and you feel more fatigued than usual. You will also pass through phases when you feel really fine, better than fine! Slight discomfort that sometimes occurs in the beginning simply means that your body is shifting gears and dumping toxins. These shifts often occur around day 2-3 and / or day 6-7, but they can appear at anytime during or after a fast, or during the days of altering your diet. Welcome these days!
During these times you may experience transient physical symptoms such as a headache or a body ache. Remember one thing when fasting – Your body is controlled by Nature’s advanced intelligence, so relax and trust a little! When nature decides it is time for you to release you will get the release. You are in good hands and she knows what she is doing.
Healing is returning to nature, and fasting is one of the simplest ways to do this. Every dog or cat knows this. When mammals get sick they eat only grass to heal themselves. . The grass causes vomiting and diarrhea and then the animal fasts until it feels better. In the juice fast the support herbs clean you out, but in a gentle way. Fasting, especially juice fasting, is very safe and will in fact heal you. If you feel fatigued on a juice fast just drink more juice! It will energize you. Also take the ‘ginseng’ powder which I will be sending you, and the ‘Vitamineral Green’ green drink. Let yourself get extra sleep if you can. On a juice fast the body is sometimes busy rebuilding.
In some cases of pain from arthritis, joint injuries, fibromyalgia, the condition may appear to worsen temporarily before improving. This is normal, and it is a good sign that the fast is detoxifying the body. Normally this ‘healing crisis’ resolves itself in a few days. Generally the condition will be better than before the start of the fast.
Sometimes during a fast you can get a cold or a fever. The body likes to discharge toxins, but in normal daily life we are in a state of high ‘compensation’. This means that the normal stress state of life involving adrenal stimulation over activates the sympathetic nervous system at the expense of the parasympathetic nervous system. We are in ‘fight or flight’ mode. We feel engaged in the game of life, but in this state the body holds on tight and doesn’t release toxins. After a few days of fasting and withdrawal from adrenal stimulants like caffeine and sugar the body catches on that we are in ‘release’ mode. Discharges may occur such as a runny nose, sinus drainage, sweating, occasional vomiting. This is all a good sign. So if you are seeking to heal allergies which cause mucous build up, then don’t be surprised if the discharging process sometimes lingers for a while.
Hunger
Pangs of hunger are OK to feel when we relax.. Most of us are on some level terrified of feeling hunger. Yet when you stop and let yourself feel it, it is not such a big deal. One of the surprises of fasting is that after day 2, 3 or 4 the actual physical hunger goes away! Sometimes the mind says it is time to eat just out of habit, but there is not much force behind it. The ‘Perfect seven’ support product is a bulking agent which also reduces the physical aspect of hunger by gently filling the intestines. The ginseng energizing product also reduces hunger.
When juice fasting: adopt the attitude that you are becoming physically one with nature, and the deep power of nature to heal. Thousands of people have healed cancer, heart disease and other very serious conditions with juice fasting. Dr. Bernard Jensen developed prostate cancer in his eighties and just drank carrot juice for four months. He eliminated the cancer and lived in great health for another ten years. Dr. Day reversed very serious breast cancer (see www.drday.com for before and after pictures), and likewise… you can heal whatever illness is latent in the body, but hasn’t yet manifested.
Vitamins
You do not need to take all your vitamins on a juice fast. Individual products are best considered on a case by case basis. Sometimes it is useful to take a certain herb or homeopathic to target a specific organ system. We will discuss this in the phone consultation or visit prior to the start of the fast. I want every participant on a customized detoxification product specific to what they need to heal in their bodies. See the section on support products for this information.
Too thin, too fat, weight loss etc.
Practitioners of juice fasting have consistently noticed that people who are thin will often put on weight after a fast and maintain that increased weight gain. Of course you will probably lose weight during the fast, but often being too thin is a sign that the body needs support in effectively absorbing nutrients. The concentrated nutrients of juices are thus very beneficial. Being overweight is also a non-issue. There are some conditions where rapid weight loss occurs as part of the healing process, but for most of us this is not really the case when juice fasting.
Cynthia Foster MD: “In cases of severe toxicity, the body must break down many toxins before it can get to the task of rebuilding the body. Sometimes we see that cancer patients lose a lot of weight during a juice fast. This is temporary and nothing to be alarmed about, but it can be quite dramatic. Cancer patients typically lose a lot of weight even when they are on a diet full of cheeseburgers, steak and fried chicken. In fact, they usually have cancer because they have eaten these highly toxic foods their whole life. Medical doctors fret over this and usually prescribe a diet of very fatty and unhealthy foods. It usually never works to help the patient gain weight, but usually always succeeds in making the patient constipated and even more toxic.
Cancer patients lose weight because cancer is a degenerative disease. The body is breaking itself down because the metabolism is so deranged that these patients cannot digest or assimilate even the simplest of foods - much less fried foods or hamburgers! The technical term for this is cachexia. Cachexia is sometimes also called "wasting disease," and is a direct result of the severe toxicity that occurs in cancer, NOT from juicing. The DISEASE cancer causes people to lose too much weight even if they never did a juice fast. When the body is cleansed sufficiently, the cachexia reverses, and it will then be possible to put on weight - but it's not possible to do this beforehand. If one DOESN'T do any juicing, it may not be possible to detoxify the body enough to reverse the cancer, and the chemotherapy often fails.”
I know my body - I just can't go without food
If you really knew your own body and were completely in tune with it, you would know that your body wants to fast. Fasting is a natural human reflex and has been part of every wisdom culture on planet earth. A good argument could be made that the spiritual initiatory experiences of fasting are what is being unconsciously replicated in teenage onset anorexia. When we say “I know my body and I can’t fast” one means they know their body of habits, that limits the flow of options.
Won't I feel weak? I'm too weak to do a juice fast!
Cynthia Foster MD:
“Most people don't realize that a juice fast will provide even more energy than they normally have. I've also put people who were bedridden with bodies full of cancer on a juice fast and it helped them tremendously, and got many of them out of bed. I've never found a person who was too weak to do a juice fast. Juice fasting is a time when the mind is stimulated and all sorts of creative ideas flow. It is the perfect method to use to unleash creativity for artists, musicians, actors, writers and any other sort of creative profession. It takes 30% of the body's entire energy to digest food. This is a lot of energy!
When one does not have to digest solid food, one has this much more energy in the body with which to heal. Since the body is always moving towards health, it will use this energy to bring itself back into balance. It will do things such as dissolve calcium deposits in the joints, release toxins stored in the liver, kidneys, muscles, and fat. It will dissolve scar tissue in the body, and begin to regenerate and clean up aging, injured and infected organs. Since juice is so full of enzymes, the body does not need to use up extra energy to create enzymes to digest it. Instead of digestive enzymes, the body will manufacture other types of enzymes that it can use to break up deposits and toxins settled in the tissues.”
I’m too busy to juice fast
Are you too busy to live? Do you really mean you are too busy to be uncomfortable, or too busy to change your unhealthy habits, are you too busy to stop putting poison into your body? Are you too busy killing yourself to live?
How to do a Juice Fast
You need two weeks of commitment
It’s best not to schedule a lot of dinner engagements; family visits by disapproving relatives or extensive flying schedules. Having said that though, you could have all of these things happen and still have a great juice fast!
Running a marathon or other extensive forms of exertion could pose challenges and are not recommended unless you have quite a bit of experience with fasting. (it is with experience perhaps do-able – Peter Ragnar (see www.roaringlionpublishing.com ) ran a mile in four minutes and fifteen seconds on his seventieth birthday. He was on the seventh day of water fast and at the seven mile point of the 10 mile run he decided to increase his speed!
During the juice fast it is fine to exercise but. listen to your body and don’t force yourself.. I like to run on the third day to help accelerate the elimination of toxins through sweating.. Excessive physical exercise can be draining on a juice fast.
You need a Juicer!
The Champion juicer is normally considered the best, but any juicer is better than none. The Champion Juicer has a large motor which lasts. It is also easy to clean. It retails for around $250. Another good brand of juicer is an Omega 4000.
For juicing wheatgrass and delicate stems you need a separate wheatgrass juicer, or a Green Power Juicer or Green Life Juicer which retails from $449 to $550. These machines juice wheatgrass as well as greens and vegetables. If you take a look on the internet you can find discussion on the best kind of juicer. You don’t need these kind of juicers to do your juice fast however!
You can buy a juicer for $60 from any kitchen appliance store which will get the job done just fine! As juicers have hit the mass market the price has come down. The better juicers such as the champion, Omega 4000, Jack Lelanne Power Juicer or Breville juicers do preserve the juice integrity better, but any juicer will do fine for your juice fast.
Remember, a juicer is not a blender. Some people use super-high speed blenders like the vitamix type blenders. A blender liquidizes the fibrous pulp of fruits and vegetables. This is fine for healthy dieting and nutrition, but it is not what we want for the juice fast. We want to extract the liquid from fruits and vegetables – this is what a juicer does, not turn the solids into a liquefied mass, which is what a blender does. The idea is to give your digestive tract a complete rest from solids.
You may also want to get a mechanical citrus juicer, as it is much easier to juice oranges, grapefruits etc with this. They are not very expensive.
When to Juice
Ideally, one should make juices fresh and drink them immediately. Juice contains the most healing nutrients and life-force energy just after juicing. The released enzymes of the plant cells within the juice begin auto-digestion of the nutrients in the juice, so drink quickly. You want these enzymes to be absorbed through your stomach lining to help digest your toxins, rather than the components of the juice itself.
However, if you are setting out for a busy day, make extra juice and bring it along in a cooler. This does not have to be difficult. If you cannot bring juice with you, go by a juice bar, and have them make it for you.
Live non-pasturized juices are definitely what you want to create or buy. If you go to a juice bar remember to ask for juices which are made fresh, rather than from frozen ingredients. Frozen vegetables and fruit have lost much of their life-force. And remember it is juices not smoothies that you are looking for.
You can get great results on your juice fast even if you sometimes buy store-bought bottled juice. If you are buying Odwalla or similar juices you must do the following – do not drink juices containing Mango or banana as these contain too much of the pulp of the fruit and they are in fact purees. Also make sure that any juice you buy is 100% juice so there is no the excuse that you cannot find juice. With a little planning, it is not difficult.
How much to Drink
Really on a juice fast, especially taking all the detoxification products we will be using, it is best to drink as much as you want to. Drink when you are hungry and if you get tired. I recommend that either you dilute your juices 25- 50% with water, or that you also drink plenty of water. Don’t drink tap water. Many fasting authorities recommend steam distilled water for fasting as it has the capacity to also pull toxins out of the body. Expect to drink up to a gallon of juices a day, and more if you want to. In some ways it is better almost to drink too much than too little, as the fluids will greatly assist in flushing out toxins. With this much fluid intake you will often find yourself with a full bladder. This is normal, don’t be alarmed. At some time during your fast, your body may release extra fluids and toxins. You may be voiding even greater quantities of fluid than you are drinking in, and you may lose weight as you shed this excess fluid. This is all part of the normal detoxification.
What to Juice
Locate a source of organically grown fruits and vegetables, normally your local health food store. Try to use organic produce. You will be juicing a lot of produce, it’s important to avoid pesticide residues. You may choose vegetables to combine and fruits to combine according to your own recipes.. The key word here is variety. If you make a variety of juices, you will be less likely to become bored with your juice fast, and much more likely to receive a completely balanced complement of vitamins and minerals. You may be tempted to juice fruits as they taste so yummy, and really they are fine to use unless you are struggling with candida overgrowth, sugar addiction or diabetes. It is however beneficial to also include lots of vegetables. The taste of vegetable juices can be a challenge. Good base juices are carrot (sweet and very good for you), cucumber, celery and tomato. They are more neutral and can balance some of the stronger tastes. Vegetables like cabbage, onion, garlic, parsley and ginger are stronger, delicious and very good for you, they can be used more sparingly. Beets are powerful healers and very sweet. Dandelions, spinach, chard and greens in general are very healing but have to be balanced with sweeter juices to make them palatable.
Green apples, lemons and limes can combine with green and other vegetables, roots of ginger and turmeric to make delicious juices that are easily digestible food combining.
Here are some links for good juice recipes
http://www.freedomyou.com/fasting_book/juice%20recipes.htm
http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/juicerecipes.html
http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Net/juice.html
http://www.healingdaily.com/juicing-for-health/juicing-recipes.htm
for juicing recipe books and books on juicing
http://www.healingdaily.com/juicing-for-health/juicing-books.htm
This juice fast may be inappropriate if the following conditions exist:
1/ Pregnancy or breastfeeding
2/ type I diabetes or insulin dependant diabetes
3/ the weight loss of advanced cancer, AIDS or tuberculosis
4/ anorexia
5/ severe hypoglycemia
6/ kidney failure
7/ severe liver disease
8/ severe anemia
9/ long term steroid medication use
10/ Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (MCAD) Deficiency Syndrome
(trust me, if you’re not sure, you don’t have it!)
You must consult with me if you are on any prescription or over-the-counter medications before embarking on the juice fast. There are certain considerations about medications which make it very important to evaluate your situation individually before you commence a fast, so please bring it up with me during our phone consultation or clinic visit.
Possible effects during the detoxification phase of the Juice- Fast
If you go through a period of more rapid detoxification during the fast you might experience some temporary symptoms of the internal spring cleanse. Such ‘effects' are usually relatively mild and are not threatening to your health at all. Remember that your body is guided by, and is the vehicle of, a great intelligence which is using the fasting opportunity to improve your health by ‘taking out the trash’. These temporary effects can include the following:
It is important to know that you will probably feel great for the majority of the time during this juice fast, and that you may not have any of these reactions at all, just know that if you do it is just a healing to be welcomed.
Normal Physiological changes which may occur while juice fasting
Activities which support the Juice Fast
To perform a coffee enema. Use organic coffee only… see: http://www.ineedcoffee.com/01/01/enema/
Colonics are a high enema performed by a colonic hygiene therapist or colon hydrotherapist. Colonics are often very useful for detoxification, but the Perfect Seven support product will be doing much of this work for you. If you want to know more see: http://colonhealth.net/colon_hydrotherapy/mantell1.htm They also have a search engine for finding a colon hydrotherapist in your area.
The Support Products for the Juice Fast and How to Use them
The Ejuva cleanse
I generally recommend The Ejuva Cleanse products for the Juice fast. You can order them online from www.ejuva.com. The Ejuva protocol os for a four week cleansing process. You are welcome to do this protocol which is available from their website.
For the purposes of doing a two week cleanse you will need to use about 1/2 -3/4 of an ejuva cleanse kit, depending upon your sensitivity, your body size and whether you fast for 7 days or 10 days..
The Ejuva cleanse costs a little more than the do-it-yourself cleanse listed below, but I believe it is worth the extra expense as it is a very well designed cleanse. There are other detox protocols and products available. Some are too harsh and cathartic, some are not as comprehensive as they need to be and some are badly designed, so these two protocols are the ones I recommend.
When using the Ejuva products I recommend taking all the products:
The Ejuva cleanse is a kit with five products in it. They are designed to be taken together as a meal replacement when fasting and detoxing. Just follow the directions which come with the kit. Note however that my protocol is not the same as the Ejuva protocol, in that we are aiming to do 1 week of preparation, 7-10 days of juice fasting and a week of reintegration. THeir cleanse protocol is spaced over a four week period.
The do-it-yourself protocol
This is a protocol if you want to assemble the components of the cleanse yourself:
The Protocol
We will take the support products four times a day. Take them all at the same time.
Repeat this protocol 4 (four) times a day. On the last dose of the day skip the Ginseng Energizing Powder. Read the details on each product to understand the dosing variability.
The Individual Support Products
1. Perfect Seven Intestinal Cleanser – the bulking agent
This bulking agent is a balanced and reasonably priced product. Most bulking agents are made up primarily of psyllium. In the case of Perfect Seven, Blonde Psylllium is a seed which is exceptionally hydrophilic. This means that it soaks up water and this product soaks up fifty times its own weight in water. During the fast you put two teaspoons of Perfect Seven into a glass of 12 -16 oz of water. (This is a large glass). You stir the Perfect Seven vigorously and drink it down within a minute or so. If you wait too long it will turn to a jelly in the glass and be hard to swallow. It should congeal in the stomach and not in the glass. . It is best to follow it with more liquid – a glass of the Vitamineral Green and the other herbs, described below.
What is this product doing? By swelling up, the material mechanically presses into all the folds of the small and large intestine, pressing closely into the mucous membranes of the small and large intestine. This mucosal barrier is a toxic exchange surface by which the toxins mobilized by the fasting process can be excreted out of your body, and by which nutrients can be absorbed. The Perfect Seven contains nine other herbs in lower doses which all help to neutralize these toxins and which themselves pass through the stomach lining to act as detoxification agents within the blood stream.
The package information on Perfect Seven says not to take it with any food, which we won’t do of course, but you are going to take it with the other five support products. In this way the jelly-like substance of The Perfect Seven holds the other products in a suspension in your intestines facilitating further contact between that important mucosal barrier and the detoxification products. The Perfect Seven will produce large rubbery-looking bowel movements even though you are not eating. When you are in detoxification these bowel movements will look and smell pretty weird! That’s the toxins leaving! For some great pictures of these intestinal toxins coming out as weird bowel movements see http://www.ejuva.com/art/photo.gif . Feel free to photograph or otherwise document them if that works for you, but don’t send me any samples!
Traditionally psyllium based products like Perfect Seven are always taken on an empty stomach and you don’t eat for several hours after taking them. The reason is that you don’t want food being mixed with the jelly-like psyllium. However on a juice fast the rules are not as strict, because juice absorbs through the stomach lining more quickly and because it would not be so harmful to you for the juice to be in solution with the psyllium. I would say that you should think of the support products as a meal. Try to take them at least 45 minutes to an hour after drinking juice and try to wait a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour before taking juice again. However, if you are in a hurry and need to get your juicing and pill-popping done faster then sometimes you can make exceptions.
Perfect Seven has an interesting history – The man who formulated this powerful and gentle colon medicine lost his mother and several siblings to colon cancer at a young age. When he discovered his advanced colon cancer as a young man, he was told to ‘get his affairs in order’ – that he would not survive this disease. He prayed and received guidance to mix seven herbs together and take them a few times a day. He did this and his cancer went into complete remission. He is now in his eighties and still running his company. Perfect Seven is those seven herbs plus three others he added over the years. For more information see http://perfect7.org
Dosage: 2 (two) teaspoons four times a day in 12-16 oz of water.
Please note that there are several differences between how we will use the Perfect Seven and how it is recommended to be used on the bottle. These instructions here are the instructions to use. Firstly I recommend more water than is on the bottle. You don’t want the psyllium to start absorbing your digestive fluids in order to hydrate itself. This is counterproductive and causes constipation. Secondly, we are cleansing the system so more water is useful. Thirdly we will take the Perfect Seven with other products to take advantage of its ability to hold substances in a colloidal jelly in the intestines.
Ingredients: Psyllium, Buckthorn, Cascara Sagrada, Alfalfa, Rosehips, Lactobacillus Bifidus Powder, Bentonite Clay, Capsicum, Garlic, Golden Seal.
2. Vitamineral™ Green – the Green Food oxygenator
So take two teaspoons of the Vitamineral Green. Mix it with water – 8-12 oz and drink it. Vitamineral Green is expensive but it is probably the best green drink on the market. For one thing it is all organic. Taking a green drink does a number of things. Firstly it oxygenates the blood which increases the body’s ability to detoxify. The high chlorophyll content of raw green foods stimulates hemoglobin production and increases oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, reducing free radical activity. Secondly it nourishes the body, providing a quickly absorbed range of nutrients. Thirdly it alkalinizes the body tissues, an essential aid to effective detoxification.
Dosage: 2 (two) teaspoons four times a day in 12-16 oz of water with the Ginseng Energizing Powder.
For more information see: http://www.healthforce.com/vitamineral_green.htm
Ingredients:
Whole Leaf Barley Grass, Whole Leaf Wheat Grass, Nettle Leaf, Shavegrass (Horsetail), Alfalfa Leaf Juice, Dandelion Leaf Juice, Kamut Grass Juice, Barley Grass Juice, Oat Grass Juice, Burdock Root, Broccoli Juice, Kale Juice, Spinach Juice, Parsley Juice, Carob Pod, Ginger Root, Nopal Cactus, Amla Berry, Spirulina, Broken Cell Wall Chlorella, Icelandic Kelp, Nova Scotia Dulse, Amylase, Lipase, Protease, Alpha Galactosidase, Cellulase and many probiotic natural soil organisms.
3. Ginseng Energizing Powder
It is useful to energize the body while fasting with ‘adaptogenic’ and ‘King’ herbs. Adaptogenic herbs are herbs which help the body to set its parameters correctly. For example, an adaptogenic herb will raise low blood pressure but lower high blood pressure, and so on across many body systems. Obviously such a marvelous effect is quite rare and helpful. .
In my opinion, the adaptogenic herbs help to reawaken the body’s natural intelligence during a fast. In fasting while engaging in all of our normal daily activities we also stress the body. Adaptogenic herbs all tend to moderate the effect of stress. Basically with these herbs we simply respond better to stress and can resist it more. These herbs generally all have the property of ‘feeding’ the endocrine system. In ancient Chinese herbalism, these unique herbs were named ‘King’ herbs and were very highly prized. It was felt that if low doses of these herbs were taken for long periods of time there would be an overall strengthening of the body and an increase in lifespan. These herbs tend to have stimulating, awakening properties and so we do not take them in the evening. If you find you are over-energized you can lower your dose of these herbs from the ½ teaspoon I recommend. Correspondingly if your body is run down or is in a strong glandular rebuilding phase, you might intuitively feel like you need more.
Dosage 1/3 – 1 tsp three times a day in 12-16 oz of water with the Vitamineral Green. Skip the last dose of the day.
Ingredients: the Ginseng Energizing Powder contains American Ginseng, (Panax Quinquifolia), Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) 28:1 concentrate, Chinese Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) 10:1 concentrate, Jiao Gu Lan (Gynostemma Pentaphylum) 7:1 concentrate, Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) 5:1 concentrate.
Each of these herbs has an amazing history of usage. You may find about them through web research. the histories are detailed and not pertinent to these preparatory notes.
4. Dr. John Christopher’s Red Clover Combination
This formula was designed by Dr. John R. Christopher – a wonderful and committed healer, imprisoned many times and persecuted by the authorities, which had the effect of spreading his work and his message round the world!
See http://www.herbsfirst.com/drbio.html
This formula contains herbs from the Western naturopathic tradition which are ‘alteratives’. This basically means that they can cleanse the blood of toxins. During a fast our body dumps the toxins first into the bloodstream. These herbs increase the energy in the blood which can penetrate into the tissues and pull out toxins. They increase the penetrating power of the blood. It also contains herbs which move the bowels and dredge the liver and break up masses. So it is a good all-round formula to take when fasting.
These capsules are gelatin capsules, I could not find a manufacturer who sells this formula in vegetarian capsules, though they told me they are working on the idea. If you are vegetarian you should open the capsules and add the powdered herbs to the second glass of water. Personally I don’t think it is good to take in animal products on a cleanse. However from a biological point of view gelatin capsules are not known to be toxic.
It is recommended that you start off this product before the fast and work up to the full dosage. I have noticed that this product can cause some itching, due to the stimulating effect of the herbs. Some people do not tolerate this product as well, due to the itching caused by the activation and invigoration of the blood and this is why we have a dosage range. Providing you are experiencing no ill effects from this formula, I recommend you use the higher dose range. This formula can sometimes also cause very smelly bowel movements. Basically Dr. Christopher knew how to ‘kick’ the system. If the kick is too strong take less of the formula for a day or two.
Dosage: The dosage range is from 1-3 (one to three) capsules four times a day. This dosage is different (slightly) than what is on the bottle. Our dosage rules.
Ingredients: Red clover blossoms, Prickly ash bark, Buckthorn bark, Sarsparilla root, Burdock root, Licorice root, Peach bark, Barberry root bark, Echinacea purpurea herb, Cascara sagrada bark, Sheep sorrel herb and Rosemary leaves in preservative-free capsules.
Each capsule contains 460 mg.
5. Rhubarb 17
This is a modern Chinese type formula based on traditional formulas to purge and moisten the intestines. This is a useful strategy in this cleanse because it keeps the peristaltic action of the intestines going. Sometimes in a fast this can get sluggish, even with the Perfect Seven formula. So I find that many people need a little push. The Perfect Seven can also be slightly dehydrating because it absorbs so much water. This formula is considered to moisten the intestines.
Dosage: The dosage varies from 1-3 (one to three) pills each time the support products are taken, and it is adjusted according to how you are reacting to the whole protocol. Some people are quite sensitive to bowel stimulating products and will need to ingest one of these pills per dose only.. Others may need 3 per dose or even more to keep the bowels moving strongly.
Ingredients
Rhubarb, Magnolia bark, Chih shih, Tang kuei, Rehmannia, Persica, Apricot seed, Cassia seed, Sesame, Ho shou wu, Cistanche, Hu chang, Prunus, Peony, Licorice, Cardamon, Saussurea
6. The Homeopathic Support Product
Dosage
Do not take more than 2 pellets at a time.Take at least three times per day, preferably before sun bathing or meditation and before going to bed as it unfolds all night long. One pellet can be taken as often as every hour for those not afraid of psychological/emotional shifts. These pellets also generate a deep inner radiance, kindness and sweetness.
Ingredients
Starlight elixirs:1. Helios (the Sun) 2. Procyon 3. Schedar 4. SargasFlower Essences:1. Jerusalem Artichoke 2. Redwood 3. Rosa Hugonis4. Sunflower 5. Witch Hazel 6. Wooly SunflowerElement / Gem Elixirs:1. Xenon 2. Artinite 3. Cuproscoldowskite4. Quartz (rutilated) 5. Sunstone effects
This remedy connects us to solar energy, which can become a form of very subtle food. It generates connections to the sun on many, many levels:physically, etherically, spiritually, in a feminine way, in a masculine way, as it relates to the earth, as it relates to other stars. This connection is then made to flow down through the layers of a person all the way to the physical level where it can regenerate and rejuvenate the physical form. .Standard vibrational warnings: keep the pellets away from direct sunlight and strong electromagnetic fields such as computers, cell phones, televisions, strong electromagnets, etc.
You can also rub the homeopathic drops into the palms of the hands and the forehead.
Putting a few drops in a bath is also effective.
Cost of the Herbs: (as of 2006) these are an approximation.
$ 25 Perfect 7 - Intestinal Cleanser 600 g (21 oz or 1 lb 5oz) Powder
$ 42 Vitamineral Green v3.55 1 lb (16 oz./453.5 grams) Powder
$ 24 Ginseng Energizing Powder 120 gram bag Powder Concentrates
$10 Red Clover Combination Dr. John Christopher’s 100 caps - 460mg/cap
$15 Rhubarb 17 seven forest / ITM 100 tablets – 700mg/tablet
$22 Homeopathic / Energetic support product 1 oz bottle – 480 drops / bottle
Ordering the Juice- fast products on your own
to order the Vitamineral Green go to: www.performancenutritionals.com
to order Perfect Seven go to: www.perfect7.org
to order the Dr. Christopher's Red Clover Combination go to:
http://store.yahoo.com/smartbomb/084783891024.html
There are many variations of this formula, but this is my favorite one.This product is also known as blood stream formula - as in this case.
to order the Rhubarb 17 go to: http://www.drshen.com/sevenforests/rhubarb17.htm
for information about ginseng adaptogenic products in general the following link is interesting: http://www.raysahelian.com/ginseng.html
To order GInseng Revitalizer, which is equivalent to the ginseng combination powder which I put together for the cleanse go to http://www.physicianformulas.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=260
How to come off the Juice Fast
Hi Everybody!
It has been such a pleasure sharing this juice fast with you all. As we approach Saturday morning, which is the ‘end’ of the 10 days of the juice fast, many of you have been wondering how to break the fast.
Every authority on fasting consistently says that how you break the fast is critical to reaping the rewards of the fast. If you break the fast by sitting down to an extravagant break-fast of fried eggs and bacon you will throw your body and digestive tract into shock.
It is important to acknowledge that you have created a major shift in your body’s energy equilibrium. You have adapted to a process of catabolic detoxification. This means you have adapted to burning through a portion of the toxic load your body carries. We produce toxins naturally through our normal metabolic processes (endotoxins) and we take in far too many toxins from the environment due to pollution. Fasting is a natural methodology to clear these out. I believe that humans are actually designed to periodically fast for optimal physical and spiritual health.
Having completed a 10 day juice fast your body has learnt to economize on energy. If you start eating large amounts of rich food right away apart from shocking your body, you can also easily rob yourself of the opportunity to listen to what will really nourish you.
After a fast listening to what truly nourishes you is easier. It is easier because you will naturally feel so much more sensitive to foods. Here is an interesting fact. Before you put any ANY food in your mouth, you already feel what it will do to you. You already feel exactly what it will do to you. Its just that we cover up that sensitivity with habits, routine and mental noise. During and after a fast this knowing can be heard more strongly, if you let yourself tune into it. If you ask yourself each time, before you eat – what is this going to do for me – you will feel it.
However, after a fast you may be quite hungry. We don’t really experience a lot of physical food hunger in our lives, and the experience can frighten some people into eating too much. Just remember that life is a balance. If you have satiety – the satisfaction of food desire three or four times a day, day in and day out, year in and year out, then where is the balance? It is necessary to feel hunger sometimes, and just get comfortable with it. But here’s the thing. Even if you eat steak after a fast you might still feel hunger for a few days, because the hunger is originating in the body, not the stomach. So the best way to break a fast is to pretend you are still on it! To not make a distinction that says – “thank God that’s over now I can eat again to chase away all feelings of hunger” – I prefer to invite hunger in as a gift for the body, because ythe body needs it as much as it needs satisfaction.
You may also find that by the tenth day of the fast that you are not in the slightest bit hungry and in fact feel on top of the world! In which case on Saturday morning, don’t force yourself to eat. All fasting authorities recommend continuing a fast until your body sends you a distinct hunger message. Until then just continue.
How to break the fast
Most authorities recommend taking half the time you were on the fast to come off of the fast. For a ten day fast we take five days to return from it.
On the first day I recommend taking broths and soups during the day and having a salad at night. Take the herbs twice that day.
On the second day, I recommend fruit in the morning and salads and raw food for lunch. Consider skipping dinner and just taking the Perfect Seven and the Vitamineral Green support products. Remember your digestive tract is still adapting to food intake – do not overload it with food.
On the third to fifth day after the fast consider eating a 70-90% raw food diet. Take the Perfect Seven and the Vitamineral Green twice each day.
Simple vegetable meals, salads, or soups are good. Soaked prunes or figs are helpful. Well-cooked rice, a baked potato or millet work well if you want to introduce cooked food. I would avoid breads, brown rice and too many raw nuts until you feel your digestive function is fully active. Simple cooked starches are actually normally very digestible after a fast. When eating raw food, bear in mind that too many raw nuts and raw fibrous vegetables can be quite a bit of work for the digestion and so don’t overdo it. Do not mix too many foods at a meal.
Try not to eat to fill the void of hunger. Though it is a natural instinct to want to eat to the point of satisfaction, that point will be hard to find immediately after a fast. Here is a story from the prophet Mohammed:
“Once it so happened that Prophet Mohammed had forty followers. One doctor attached himself to them, so that if anyone fell sick, he would give him some medicine. For six months the doctor remained with them but nobody fell ill. Then he came to the Prophet and said, "Well, nobody has fallen sick, so there is no use in my being here." Prophet Mohammed told him, "Well look here, so long as they follow my behests, they will not be ill. I tell them to take one morsel of food less than they really feel like, not to have a full diet, to eat a little less, so that when they leave the table, they are still a little hungry. I tell them to eat twice a day and during the day they should work hard. They should also do their meditations. If they follow these behests, nobody will fall sick." http://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/mt/naturaldiet.htm
Sauerkraut, a fermented cabbage, is a useful food to eat (in moderation) after a fast as it helps to activate the digestion. Grapes or soaked or stewed prunes, can be useful to promote bowel movements.
Eat slowly and chew well. Ghandi said: “Eat your drinks and drink your foods”. The idea here is to sip drinks and savor them and to chew food very thoroughly, so that they are more like liquid.
When reintroducing solid foods it is a great time to study your individual responses and reactions to them.. If you’ve had any chronic health problems prior to the Juice Fast: problems with the digestion, with allergies, sinus conditions, skin breakouts, joint or muscle pain, headaches, energy level, insomnia, etc. It is often useful to keep notes. Pay attention to intestinal function, sleep patterns, food desires and symptoms. One of the easiest ways to do this is to buy a little notebook and draw a line down the middle of each page. Use one page for each day and date the pages. At the end of the day on the left side of the page write down what you ate, when you ate it and how you ate it (e.g. hurried or relaxed, too much or just the right amount etc.). On the right side of the page write down how you felt, your bowel movements, energy level and any physical or mental symptoms. Record reactions to certain foods can occur immediately, soon after eating the food, later on that day, the next day or even a few days later. If you identify a food you respond poorly to, avoid it for a while, perhaps a month. You can always test it again later.
There are certain foods that we can generalize and say – this food doesn’t work well for anyone – Junk food, almost all white flour products, (white breads, white pastas), refined sugar – dairy combinations (e.g. ice cream), white flour dairy combinations (e.g. macaroni and cheese), white flour baked to very high temperatures (e.g. pizza), artificial sweeteners, sodas, candy.
There are some foods which cause problems for some people u but others tolerate them well, these include: dairy products, especially milk, ice cream and processed cheese.
Many people who cannot tolerate these dairy products well,, do fine with butter, goat’s cheese and milk, and aged cheeses or blue cheeses. Nightshade plants: tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and tobacco;
Nuts, Sesame seeds, Soy beans and Soy products
Corn
All wheat products
All sweet foods
All fermented foods
When examining food reactions, bear in mind that in the month or so following a cleanse you may not react to anything negatively, as you have cleared out the toxic stores! Once they get filled up again you may have continued reactions.
Now is also a good time to examine the consequences of what we eat as well as the consequences of how we eat.
There are a number of areas to explore:
The social implications of our diet choices
The environmental impact of what we eat
The health impact of our food choices
The spiritual implications of our food choices
The offering of food as an expression of Love
It is beyond the scope of this email for me to really get into these areas but I recommend exploring these issues.
One of the practices that is very supportive following a fast is to periodically do shorter-fasts to reconnect to the energy of the juice fast and to break the three-meals-a-day hypnotic spell of endless consuming.
A Message about the 10 day Juice Fast from Liz Rymland
From early on in our cleanse we grow aware that we are shifting our dependence from material sustenance to celestial sustenance. As Adam described, the flow of substance in the body begins to receive and circulate universal energy eagerly participating in the digestion and elimination of toxins. In Andean mysticism, the Q’ero of Peru describe their foundation spiritual practice as,the act of digesting hucha (heavy and disorganized energy) and replenishing it with Sami (light and organized celestial energy). This is the foundation of all spiritual work. The metaphor of digestion is especially lively because humans on Earth digest the heavy blows and impacts of experiences in their own time cycles, and as we digest heavy impacts and losses over time, this generates insight and loving energy. The practice of fasting is exceptionally pleasing to our invisible helpers also known as: all buddhas throughout space and time, the deities, the ancient ones who have passed this way before us, divine beings, Sun, Moon and Stars. We will feel their appreciation and love to the extent that we are empty and open to this, and we will grow spacious and open to this while fasting if we are paying attention. During a fast you can feel the love of the Sun and the moonlight, the wind and the stars.
