Fasting Q&A with Modern Hippie

I recently had a friend reach out to me and tell me she was ready to do a fast.  She was excited and full of lots of great questions.  I've decided to share them with you (with her permission of course). For any of you on the fence or those that also have questions, this might be helpful.  To the left is a helpful book by Steve Meyerowitz on Juice Fasting.  Below are her questions and my answers. Her questions are a bit advanced but some are also fundamental for fasting. More updates on her progress will follow. Enjoy!  

"Hi Dez,  Ok, so I read all that I could find on your blog about fasting. I'm so glad that I did because I learned about weaning the certain foods & junk from my diet beforehand. I'm glad to have been doing the Maker's Diet since July so eliminating most of this won't be hard for me.  

Now, for the questions about the actual fast..."

Q 1. During the fast, I should drink appropriate amounts of h2o, right? Half my body weight in ounces?

A 1. Drinking clear liquids is important. I'm not even very good at this one; Drink 50 to 70 ounces of pure water on top of your juicing and herbal infusions and you'll be just fine:)

Q 2. Can I drink herbal teas sans sweeteners & caffeine during the fast?

Q 2. Herbal teas are a wonderful addition; dandelion root, nettle, red raspberry, ginger root, peppermint, you can pretty much drink any herbal you like. As you said sans sweetener; no caffeine at all. 

Q 3. Should I lay off the Kombucha during the fast?

A 3. I don't think the Kombucha is a bad idea during a fast; it's very detoxifying, full of minerals, probiotics, enzymes as you know. You could drink a couple of cups a day as far as I'm concerned.

Q 4. How often should I be drinking my juice? Any time I'm hungry?

A 4. Drink juice, herbal tea, lemon water, anytime your hungry. Have a big juice session in the AM. Making approximately 30oz of juice. This way if you drink the 20oz in the first few hours, you have a back-up stash to take with you if you run errands, are busy in the house and don't have time to juice right then. 

Drinking herbal tea (by day 3 or so) will sustain you pretty well; it's very mineral rich. I never leave the house without at least a quart of something nourishing to drink. This way you never get stranded without a healthy beverage to keep hunger at bay. Keep herbal tea bags like nettle in your purse so if you do get stranded, you can go into a gas station and get hot water for tea. I've done this too many times to count! 

Have a juicing session in the early afternoon too. Around 2pm is usually when I'm ready but everyone is different. Juice again for now and later. I usually try not to drink juice after 7pm. Drink herbal teas then, they really help too if your a pm snacker like me:)

Q 5. Are there certain juice recipes I should be drinking during my fast? I assume that a variety of recipes would be best in order to utilize the best variety of veggies?

A 5. Stick to vegetables for your juices. As I mentioned in class, 1 piece of fruit per session at the most. You can skip it if you want. The apples are so beautifully abundant right now they are hard to resist. 

The dandelion leaves would be excellent in a green drink as they encourage the health of the liver. I would at least 2 times (this is something I need to do myself) do a clove or 2 of garlic in the juicing session. Garlic is great for candida! You could do a tomato, celery, garlic clove and carrot. I haven't made this recipe but it just sounds good doesn't it? Besides that just mix it up girl! 

Carrot, celery, cucumber, beet, dandelion, kale, garlic, ginger, apple, occasional pineapple for a treat perhaps? I once made an amazing smoothie like green juice with a really ripe peach, and a huge handful of lettuce. The peach makes it thick, sweet and very satisfying. 

For your first time fasting just go for it! See what works best for you while keeping a diverse assortment of what we talked about in class. Stay away from oranges, do lemon and lime instead. (alkalizing and low sugar)

Q 6. I've heard that drinking bone broth during a fast is good. Does this type of fast allow broth? 

A 6. Well, bone broth. Hmm. I think for this type of cleanse, probably after it is complete. This would be a wonderful way to help break a fast. When you break the fast begin with vegetable broths. Make a huge pot (like 3 quarts) with purified water and celery, onion, garlic, carrot, green peppers, every color of the rainbow; simmer for 3-5 hours on low with the lid on tight. Start this the morning of your first day (post fast). Juice that morning while your making the broth...the preparation itself is almost ceremonial! The broth will warm you, nourish you and it's a recommended way to break the fast. (especially if your really craving the warm foods). 

The next day you can use the veggie broth from the previous day to cook the bones in. Wow, sounds tasty! Simmer this for an additional 2-3 hours if you like on Low with the lid on.  

**The lid keeps in precious minerals so keep that on while simmering. There are minerals in bone that we don't get anywhere else so this will be a beautiful finish to your fasting and it will taste amazing:) Add a dash of sea salt if you like too- you've earned it!

Breaking the fast should still include juicing and alot of fruit.  This will keep you hydrated, give you fiber and transition you into solid foods.  Once your fully eating regularly again continue to juice in the morning.  It will help keep you on the "health horse".  When I really have a bad day of eating; Like on Halloween or Christmas or something, I just juicing in the morning after and eat fruit and vegetables all day.  It's like a mini-fast as it detoxifies, supplies minerals, and makes you feel lighter after over-indulging at a holiday or party. 

Q 7. I really like beets a lot. Plus the rich color that it gives the juice is visually appealing to me. Do you think that just 1 juiced beet a day is ok? I don't have problems with kidney stones so I'd hope it's not an issue.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll be starting my fast on November 12 (still considered the fall). I'm hoping to do a 10-day fast. Today I'll be planning out my prior week of what foods to eliminate and when. My only big thing will be the meat. I liked your suggestion of eliminating one type each day. I'll start with the beef since it's the hardest on my system. I don't eat pork so it doesn't count here. 

I'm excited to jump-start my body in this way. I'm praying that this will help me to get a grip on my various health issues. Most are minimal, like daily headaches, aches & pains & fatigue. Still a bother, for sure. The big one is the candida. I know the fast won't heal it completely but if I can re-set my body so that it can heal more efficiently, that's what I need to do. Can't wait to get started!

A 7. Absolutely! The beets are so beautiful to me too. I LOVE that color it's like purple and red and pink all combined:) 1 beet a day for someone that has already been eating raw beets is perfectly fine:) Very detoxifying:) 

I'm so excited for you! You are going to feel amazing! The elimination approach prior to the fast will make the transition so much easier- it's unbelievable! I've done it with and without and it is MUCH more difficult without that time to wean off the heavy stuff. 

Be prepared with the candida, the fast may provoke a healing crisis as it did with me. The yeast beast really got out of control and if it starts to, reach out to me. I'd recommend black walnut ( I have the tincture ready) and Pau d'Arco herbal tea. These will help to "exercise the demons" as your body fights to get rid of the yeast. 

I'm still dealing with it but as you know this is a long process and the most important thing here is that we are dealing with it, not suppressing it. You can take tincture herbs during fasting but I personally think that herbal infusions are the best. Pick up some Pau d' Arco in bulk at Foods for Living (pretty sure they have it) Drink at least 2 cups per day before and during the fast. Not my favorite herbal but Nettle makes it much more palatable. 

I think that the fast is really going to help with pain, headaches, aches and pains etc should be minimal after the 3-5 day point. 

Let me know about your experience because this is a beautiful process and the more you share with me and others, the more people will be inspired to do a fast! It's really life changing stuff your about to do!