How To Break A Fast
by Stephen Matkin
1. Do not overeat!
2. Eat slowly and chew your food extremely well
3. On the last day of your fast you want to have a probiotic drink in the evening at least one hour before you sleep and at least half an hour after your last herbal supplement. For maximum intestinal absorption it is best to remain in an upright position for one hour after your drink. This drink consist of two probiotic formula capsules dissolved in 280 ml. (10 oz.) of water in a closed container and left in a warm dark place for at least 10 hours up to 24 hours. The following morning immediately after your colonic or enema, drink another probiotc formula drink, the same as the night before. Two hours later you want to do a probiotic formula implant. This consist of four probiotic formula capsules dissolved in 100 ml. (4 oz.) of water in a closed container and left in a warm dark place for 10 to 24 hours. Connect a syringe to an insufflation tube and inject into the colon. Or you can use an enema bulb or an enema bag. Retain this fluid in your colon for at least 10 to 15 minutes or all day if possible.
4. Day 1: Eat only fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables that require a minimum of digestive effort. Excluding hard squashes, yams and sweet potatoes. Also exclude common allergens such as tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, peanuts, soy, eggs, dairy products, wheat, corn, walnuts and supplemental yeast products such as nutritional yeast, bakers yeast and brewers yeast. If you suspect you may have allergies to other foods then stop their use until they can be properly tested starting on day two. Continue with fruit and vegetable juices and vegetable broth, herb teas, and plenty of fresh water. Drink a glass of water with the juice from half a lemon first thing in the morning to help stimulate your digestive system and help clear any excess mucous. This is a good protocol to incorporate into your daily routine after the fast.
5. Day 2: Fresh fruit in the morning. A vegetable salad for lunch. Stay with raw fruits and vegetables as long as you can, if you must have cooked food then have lightly cooked vegetable soup or lightly steamed vegetables without salt for dinner. Eat raw fruits or vegetables for snacks throughout the day if desired. Continue with juices and water. This is a great opportunity to check yourself for food allergies or sensitivities if so desired. An allergy is a condition in which your immune system responds to a food in the same way that your system responds to an infection, your immune system begins to release immunoglobulin to fight off the invader. Food sensitivities cause a similar immune system response but are caused by incomplete digestion developed over a period of time. Food sensitivities can be reversed if the causes of poor digestion are dealt with. Allergic reactions include the same symptoms that you feel when you have an infection, these include: Increased or Rapid Pulse, Shortness of Breath, Heart Palpitations, Rashes or Itchy Skin, Headaches or Migraines, Diarrhea or Nausea, Light-headedness, Fatigue, Stiffness or Achy Joints and Muscles, Sneezing, Stuffiness or Nasal Drainage, Gas and/or Bloating, Mood Swings (irritability, depression, anxiety etc), or other uncomfortable or uncommon symptoms. To check foods for allergies or sensitivities, it is best to ingest the suspected food alone or with foods that you are certain you have no allergies or sensitivity to. Common allergens or foods you suspect you may be sensitive to should not be eaten together. One of the best ways to test your allergic or sensitivity reaction to foods is with your heart rate. Check your pulse rate immediately before ingesting any suspected food while you are relaxed to establish your normal pulse rate. After ingesting the suspected food, take your pulse rate again after 15, 30 and 60-minute intervals. If your pulse rate is elevated by 50% or more, then you most likely have an allergy or sensitivity to this food. It is possible to have an allergy or sensitivity to a food without your heart rate increasing, so be sure to check all the other symptoms listed above. Begin your allergy test by eating an orange or drinking a glass of orange juice. Wait one hour before eating or drinking anything else. There is no need to test a food if it is not part of your diet unless you want to. Your second allergy test food today will be tomatoes.
6. Day 3: Same as day two, but you may slowly add sprouts and seaweeds. For your allergy test today, add potatoes and yogurt. One or two Tbls. is enough for testing purposes. Always drink fruit and vegetable juices and plenty of pure water. Always try to consume at least two liters of liquid a day. This includes water, fresh juices and herb teas. This does not include acid-forming liquids, which you ideally should not be consuming anyway.
7. Day 4: You may add a green powder power drink (see “Before You Begin a Fast” No.1 for recipe). For your allergy test, try walnuts and eggs today.
8. Day 5: You may add dairy, wheat and other grains today, (use only whole grains and whole grain products, never use white or bleached grains or their products). Toasted rye bread or rye crackers (sour-dough if available) are preferable to wheat products. Your allergy test foods today will be wheat and dairy. If you had a reaction to cow yogurt on day 3 then you can forget about all other cow dairy products. Often times people who are allergic to cow dairy products are not allergic to goat dairy products. Raw goat’s milk, cheese and particularly kefir being the best. So you may test one of these goat products instead.
9. Day 6: You may add nuts, seeds and supplemental yeast products today. You may also begin to reintroduce meat, fish and fowl into your diet if you feel you must. If you do, please try to consume a minimal amount of organically raised animal meats and animal products. Your allergy test foods today will be a supplemental yeast product (nutritional yeast, bakers yeast or brewers yeast), and corn. The other test food will be peanuts.
10. Day 7: You may resume a normal diet now. However, this is a great time to learn the joy and satisfaction that eating more raw whole foods can bring. It is also a great time to try new foods as you establish your new healthier diet and lifestyle.
If you fasted for more than two weeks you should add one day break-in (days one and two) for every four days of fasting.
11. In order to receive the greatest possible benefits from your fast it is important that
you maintain a diet of whole natural foods so that the cleansing, regenerative,
rejuvenating and healing processes begun by the fast can be continued. Dr. Otto
H.F. Buchinger, one of the worlds leading authorities on fasting says: “Even a
fool can fast, but only a wise man knows how to break the fast properly and to
build up properly after the fast.”
12. Continue to take one probiotic formula capsule each evening one hour before bed for the next two weeks to one month. If your bowels are not moving, have an enema first thing in the morning for the first day or two, and/or drink a psyllium shake with cayenne and/or a liver flush drink. Or you can just wait for normal bowel movements to return. This can take up to three days or more for some people.