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Juice Fast

Before starting the fast, attune your body by eating only raw fruit for 1-2 days. A fast for 3 days will give the body a basic cleansing. Consult your healing practitioner if you plan to conduct a lengthy fast as problems can occur. Constipation, emotional upsets, skin irritations and headaches are all signs of the cleansing process at work. However, it is best to seek expert advice.

A 10-day fast will bring relief from most complaints, but you can continue it for up to 3 weeks if necessary. If you are taking homoeopathic drops it is usually advisable to continue the treatment. But you can stop taking vitamins and start again after the fast. Remember - always check with your healing practitioner. It is normal to keep working during a fast, but be careful not to over-reach yourself. You will need time for your assignments (see below), extra sleep and meditation. Winter is a time when the body stores rather than cleanses. Springtime and late summer are ideal for your annual body cleansing.

If you suffer from any severe disease, you need to check with your health practitioner whether a fast or diet would be beneficial for you. People with heart problems are definitely advised not to go on a fast without professional supervision.

Daily schedule

8.00 juice of a whole lemon in a glass of boiled water, hot or cold.

10.00 Orange juice diluted in water.

12.00 Grapefruit juice with 1 tablespoon of psyllium husks added.

14.00 Place 500g of green grapes (the common variety and the cheapest obtainable) in a piece of muslin and squeeze into a tumbler. Pour one third of the resultant juice into a glass of hot or cold boiled water. Drink 3 cups.

16.00 Squeeze the juice from 5-6 tomatoes into a tumbler of hot or cold boiled water.

18.00 Same as 8.00.

20.00 Same as 10.00.

Whenever you break your fast, make a concoction from fresh vegetables such as a scrubbed carrot, a potato, some celery, watercress, a tomato, an onion and any other vegetables that you can find. Place them in I fitre of cold water, then boil down to 500ml. Strain the liquid off and drink very slowly with a piece of dry toast.

Some tips

All fruit juices and vegetables have a cleansing effect due to their high content of minerals and vitamins and the absence of starches and toxins. Read about the specific fruit or vegetable in Part 11, Food as Medicine.

You can drink as much cold boiled water as you require in between the above times and it is also permissible to have a slippery elm malted drink once a day.

While on a juice diet or a fast, relax and do a lot of deep breathing. Deep breathing helps not only to oxygenate the blood, but also to relax the abdominal muscles. Abdominal massages and foot reflex massages for the lungs and colon are also very beneficial during fasting.

If you find your mouth becomes murky and the tongue coated, take some raw lemon juice, place it in an eggcup with approximately 2 teaspoons of warm water and immerse your tongue in the solution for a few seconds. Then scrape the tongue with a spoon. Gargle with the remainder of the solution and spit it out.

Do not chew gum: your body will receive a signal to produce digestive enzymes and will become confused when no food arrives.

it is also important to sip fluids slowly rather than gulping them down. juices and broths should be sipped only. Eat the fluids and drink the solids!

Assignments

1. During the fast, take a long walk of some 3 or 4km.

2. In the morning use a dry brush to stimulate the skin and increase the circulation, always remembering to brush towards the heart.

3. Take a lukewarm bath at night to induce sound sleep.

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