The Wonders Of Juice Fasting! - From A Medical Perspective

[FirstGarden]

For all those who are fasting, or considering fasting, I hoped a thread like this could be a good motivator. There is an awful lot out on the net about fasting. A few juice proponents are fond of extolling of virtues of juice over water fasting. In no way could I share that view. There are too many giants in the history of water fasts (Sheldon, Bragg, Ehret, etc), some of which have conducted tens of thousands of water fasts. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of fasting sanitariums around the world for that very purpose. Plus a huge body of inspiring testimonies from individuals who have walked the less traveled road.

Fasting goes back to the dawn of life on Earth. Fasting is as old as eating. When not eating, the body is fasting, or at least looking forward to it, reveling in the joy of abstinence and longing to rebuild itself after a thorough housecleaning.

Every night we "fast." When we awake, we have break-fast. Fasting is almost as natural as breathing. In the olden days, leaders, people of rank and others would go into places of solitude to fast for several days on water when they had critical decisions to make. The practice appears throughout ancient literature. Water fasting is the ultimate.

Having said that, there are some who are not ready for water fasting due to fear, lack of confidence, unsupportive surroundings, etc. Or in my case, due to too much toxic buildup to withstand water only, and the inability to sustain the rigors of working. Then there's other demands that make it nearly impossible to "get away." Such a move would require lots of planning. I never got past 4-5 days on water. But I know I will one day. The longest I've gone on juice is 19 days.

This is an incredible article... a rather long read, but well worth it!
Enjoy...

[FirstGarden]

JUICE-FASTING

Dr. Richard Schulze, N.D., M.H.

WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL WELL, STOP EATING AND GO TO THE JUICES

The first thing an animal does when it is sick is stop eating. They fast themselves.

Likewise, the first thing we need to do when we don't feel well is: stop food.

There are a lot of reasons for that. Food takes a tremendous amount of energy to digest--and that's blood and energy. Our digestive system, basically the muscles and the tissues, fill with blood. When you stop eating, your digestive system rests, and all that blood and energy can be put somewhere else to heal you.

People have said to me, "What do I do for this particular disease?" Juice fasting. "What do I do for degeneration?" Juice fasting. "What do I do for heart disease?" Juice fasting.

Juice fasting is for the incurables. Juice fasting is the answer, because it allows your body to rest -- and it lets your body choose what it wants to heal.

If you just keep cramming food down your mouth, you'll just get more tired. Your body has to digest large amounts of food, and it's the opposite of what you should do when you're not well.

One of my first patients had lost a tremendous amount of blood from surgery--and doctors wanted to do a transfusion. In 24 hours on juices, I brought her blood levels back up.

Food has nutrition in it, but it takes a lot to break those nutrients down.
Juices are like a blood transfusion.

A glass of fruit and vegetable juice takes very little digestion, if any. It goes right into your body. We look at juices in the same way a doctor would look at an I.V. It's something that can go right into your bloodstream.

One of my first learning experiences was a woman patient who was undergoing a surgery, a female surgery. The doctors nicked an artery, and she had tremendous hemorrhaging and bleeding. By the time they got her patched up, she was in intensive care, and had lost a tremendous amount of blood.

The doctors wanted to do a transfusion. She was scared to do a transfusion and the doctor said, "You're very anemic and your hemoglobin count is at the lowest end for a woman."

She said, "Is there anything you can do?"

And I said, "Sure," and I got the juicer out and juiced some juices. I made some carrot juice and some beet juice. I took it to the hospital and said, "Just let the doctors give you 24 hours." They did, and, in 24 hours on juices, they said that her hemoglobin count was over the top end of the scale for a man, not even a woman, and men's hemoglobin counts are higher.

This was my first realization of the power of what juices can do to build the blood up.

I went to the hospital too. I juiced the juices, put them in quart canning jars. Fresh beet juice, fresh beet greens, fresh carrot juice. I took it right to her hospital room and she drank it.

That's all she had for 24 hours and not only did her blood hemoglobin go up, but it went over the top of the scale for a man. The doctors said they were shocked, they had never seen anything like that.

MAN CURES HIS COLON CANCER BY JUICE-FASTING.
THE CANCER CAME OUT IN THE TOILET

I had a man who had a colon cancer and he basically refused to do anything, but he said he would stop eating and go on juices. This was early on in my practice, too. These were learning experiences. He started on a multitude of fruit and vegetable juices and, I remember it was about a month later into his long juice fast, he pooped his cancer right out. It was 18" long.

It looked like a rope with figs attached to it. I had seen things like that before in pictures and books -- but that was the first time I ever saw one come out. It was like a rope with sacs on it, they were about the size of figs. And, he actually eliminated his cancer just through juice fasting. He wasn't using any herbs or doing anything else.

JIUCES ARE FLUSHING AND CLEANSING TO ORGANS OF THE BODY

Juices are enzyme therapy.
Juices contain gigantic amounts of enzymes. And a lot of people nowadays are taking enzymes because of the benefits, but you don't have to, they're in the juices.

Enzymes are heat sensitive, meaning that when you cook food, you destroy all the enzymes. Your body will produce enzymes in order for you to digest that food. But when your body does that -- it can't do something else. It only has a limited amount of energy.

So, one of the things that juices do, because they are loaded with enzymes, is they give your body a vacation.

Most of us live enzyme-free diets. If all we eat is cooked food, there are no enzymes in it. By supplying your body with high doses of enzymes, it gives many of your organs like your pancreas, your liver, your digestive system a holiday, because they don't have to try to manufacture chemicals that are coming in through your juices.

"Thinning the blood is one the most important things you can do when you are sick, and juices do that."

Most of us who are ill are trying to do something to get blood to the area that is sick. But our body is trying to pump around mud -- and it can't get there. Thinning our blood is one the greatest keys to getting healthy. It increases our circulation because the blood becomes more like water than molasses. The bottom line is, juice fasting thins your blood. That allows your circulation to get deeper in your body into the vital areas, into the capillaries that were filled with fat and all clogged-up.

"Juice-fasting allows your body to balance its hormones and replace chemicals it is deficient in."

Many people are sick because they don't produce enough insulin in their body. Or, they don't produce enough thyrox in their thyroid. Or, they don't produce enough interferon or immunoglobulin for the immune system to be strong. They don't produce enough estrogen or progesterone or testosterone.

Those chemicals are all built from nutrition. One of the things that juice fasting does is, it supplies your body with a tremendous amount of nutrition. So it balances your metabolism, balances your hormones, balances your endocrine system, your thyroid, your pancreas, and your reproductive organs.

And it does one other important thing: It allows you to get more work done.

Juice fasting clears the mind. It's just the opposite of what you think. If you want a gigantic change, stop eating for a couple days. It will feel like the fog is cleared.

You will be amazed at your sense of smell, your sense of taste, your eyesight, your perception, your thoughts.

All through history, from the Greek and Roman writings, to the Egyptians, from Jesus to Shakespeare, people talked about fasting for better mental clarity. One thing I can guarantee you is that if you have a confusing problem, or a stressful issue that you don't know the answer to, stop eating. It enhances mental clarity.

We are drunk on food. Overeating makes you dull. Your blood, instead of going to your brain, is going to your digestive tract.

You read it in the Bible, Jesus going to the woods for his fasting. Everybody, throughout history, would go out of the city and go onto juices and water, and fast. Fasting clears the mind, and so it is a physical and emotional cleanse, and maybe even a spiritual cleanse when you stop your food from coming in.

No-one realizes how powerful juice-fasting is- until they do it. Everybody should do this periodically. I guarantee everybody who is reading this, if they just do a fast, for a couple of days, they will be amazed...

[Stina]

Hey FirstGarden- yeah, fasting is wonderful. You're Oregon bound? I live on the coast there and love it so much.

[FirstGarden]

I had one woman who hadn't worked in a couple of years, a quite famous actress.

She had to go out for four interviews during the week and these were the most interviews she had been to, in a long time. She said, "What should I do?" and I said "Fast." She said, "That sounds horrible. I need all my strength and energy." I said "Believe me, fast."

She fasted and got all four parts that she went out for. I've always seen it happen with all my clients.

I remember as a kid, I used to eat a big meal, thinking it was going to make me feel stronger. I felt more tired. So, I'd eat more and I felt more tired. And I'd eat more, then I felt more tired.

I've done many fasts -- short fasts. I've done two thirty day fasts and one sixty-day juice fast. We can go months without food - - as long as we're getting our nutrients.

In fact, in the last couple days of my thirty-day juice fast, I kick-boxed 17 rounds and I was better than ever before. No one could come near me and touch me. I had better vision, I had better reflexes, I had better timing. And I had endless amounts of strength. This is something we have to get away from -- the idea that fasting weakens you. It's not true.

When you fast, there are some things you need to be aware of. Sometimes when you fast, you have a little less body heat. So take a sweater with you when you go out. Every once in awhile, you may feel a little colder and it's because it is calories from heat units in food that warms up our body. So, since you are reducing your food and you're on juices only, dress a little warmer and have a little blanket in the car or a sweater with you. That's one thing I tell people.

The other thing is, you have energy lows. And what that is, when you're fasting, is all of sudden, you might feel, especially if you're doing a longer fast, like a week or more, you might feel like, oh my gosh, I have no energy at all.

Don't pay any attention to that--because it will be gone in ten minutes. This is very common as your body is used to a solid fuel and now it's on a liquid fuel. And just like a machine, if you change its fuel, it adjusts a little bit. We have to make adjustments and once we make those adjustments, it's fine. So don't pay any attention to that.

Most people think a fast means deprivation. I see it differently. A fast is a flush -- a flush with liquids. Okay? You are only going without solid food -- but you are getting liquid food that does you more good. A fast is a flush and people need to consume a gallon a day of liquids: juices, water, herb tea. Most people make a mistake by not consuming enough -- and if you're hungry drink more.

What juice do you use when you want to detoxify heavily? Wheat grass is great. It can detoxify when some people don't get a detoxification any more from anything. Or, when they've used a few herbs and they think they are clean.

I remember my own story. I thought I was very clean. It was after I spent six months at Dr. Jensen's eating only raw food and juice fasting and years after I had healed my heart. I started drinking wheat grass, an ounce a day, then two ounces a day, then three ounces a day, and then four ounces a day, and I got up to eight ounces one morning and I remember feeling horrible -- and I started vomiting.

It was just too strong of a dose, but at that point, wheat grass started creating all sorts of cleansing in my body -- of old things I remembered I had. It finally cleaned them out and brought them to the surface. I started cleaning out my bowel years earlier, my hemorrhoids went away and I hadn't noticed any hemorrhoids for years. Then - in the middle of this wheat grass purge, the hemorrhoids flared up again -- and it wasn't because I was having diarrhea or straining or anything. I think it was because there were small capillaries there that were still blocked, and that wheat grass was cleaning them out. I started noticing things with my bronchials and my sinuses, and all sorts of problems that I had cleared away. But now they were kind of coming back again.

When you do a really good final cleansing and healing, a lot of your oldest problems come back, but just for a few days -- as you clear them out.

So I noticed some tremendous differences in my skin, and to this day I still drink wheat grass. People always come up to me and say, "Your skin looks so great." I get this comment all the time, so I know that it's really done some good work inside me.

HOW TO MAKE WHEATGRASS JUICE TO DETOXIFY YOURSELF

You might have to grow their own wheat grass, and actually purchase a wheat grass juicer, or something they can juice with. If they don't have a wheat grass juicer, just soak the wheat grass in water and blend it up in your blender and drink it, grass and all.

Anybody can grow wheat. You grow wheat and it just grows into grass. You can grow it yourself. It's very easy to grow yourself. You just buy wheat, and you take organic wheat kernels, and you soak them for a few days until they actually sprout.

You can soak them for about 24 hours and then put them into a damp cotton cloth for another two or three days, until the wheat sprouts, and then you can just make them like other sprouts. Rinse them in water two or three times a day until they have tails on them about an inch long, and then you can go ahead and plant them right in the soil.

Some people plant them right away and then just keep the soil damp the first couple of days, and you grow your own wheat grass. Now you have what looks like your front lawn in a tray in your house.

[Just don't let your dog pee on it.]

You can run it through your juicer. A lot of people think you have to have a wheat grass juicer. A wheat grass juicer just gets more juice out of the wheat grass. There are hand-operated ones and there are electric ones. The hand-operated wheat grass juicers are about $70-80, and the electric ones are usually $300, but you could run the wheat grass right through your Champion juicer.

You can just cut it up and even soak it with water and put it in a blender. I've had many patients in areas just take the wheat grass, cut it up and put it in a blender, fill that blender with water and blend it up and you'll get a greenish water. Or, you can run it through your juicer with other things like carrots.

So wheat grass is something that everybody should consider as a medicinal cleansing and building juice, very bitter tasting. Start out with a little bit. I suggest people start out with an ounce a day and don't take it on its own. I like an ounce of wheat grass with 16 ounces of fresh carrot juice. It just gives the carrot juice a little greenish tint and it's very palatable.

There is also what I consider the wheat grass cocktail, which is a base of apple juice with, say, about 12 ounces of apple juice, a couple of ounces of lemon juice, a thumb size piece of ginger and an ounce of wheat grass.

One thing that is very interesting, is that lemon and lime tend to cover up the taste of wheat grass, which is good because a lot of people find it very strong to eat or drink, and lemon especially seems to cover up the taste...

[FirstGarden]

The watermelon flush for the kidneys. If you need it, you will be urinating fire.

I use two different things, one a vegetable, parsley, and the other, a fruit, watermelon. I tell my patients to sit down for dinner and instead of dinner, crack open and eat a whole watermelon.

QUESTION: Is this one of those wellness things or does it really cure?

Oh, my gosh. I was down at Dr. Jensen's and they had some organic watermelon and I said "Okay, I'm just going to have watermelon tonight." I cracked open one, about the size of a basketball, and I ate that really quick, and I thought I want another one, so I ate one of those red-meated ones, and I basically went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up, and when I urinated it was like urinating fire. It burnt my prostate, my pen_s- it was so painful I was moaning in the bathroom. Watermelon juice, watermelon itself and watermelon seeds are all diuretic and disinfecting. When you're juicing the watermelon, a lot of people just juice the meat, but you want to juice the rind too. The rind has the minerals. You run it through the Champion juicer. You run the watermelon and the rind right through there, and it is delicious. You can taste the salt, the sodium, in the rind, and the minerals in the rind -- very cleansing to the kidneys.

QUESTION: Why do people eat watermelon and not get any kidney cleansing, or kidney cures?

I think because they don't juice the rind, and I think that a lot of the watermelons today are seedless. And I would suggest that people do not buy the seedless. Juice the watermelon, seeds and all.

Make parsley juice - not parsley tea. It's a whole lot more healing.

QUESTION: I thought parsley was just one of these feel good, wellness herbs. Not for heavy curing.

No, it's an intense one. The problem is that people only make tea out of it. When you just pour boiling water over dried parsley you're going to get a little bit of the essential oils. Now, if you use fresh parsley and grind it in a Champion juicer, it's a lot more intense.

It's like the herb plantain. Dr. Christopher talks about plantain for blood poisoning. You can make a little plantain tea, or mash up a plantain leaf. Or, you can take plantain and run it right through the juicer. If you've got blood poisoning, who the heck wants to worry about making plantain teas with a little boiling water over it? Get it through the juicer and get yourself two or three ounces of plantain juice. I've done that.

Juice radishes to cleanse the liver. If you want to add a juice in to stimulate the liver more, all the radishes work real well. Some people talk about the black radishes, or other kinds, but you can use the red radishes and even use wild radishes you have growing wild in the United States. Remember, where you have mustard growing, you also have wild radish growing.

You can even pick the pods off, or use the radish leaves or sprouts, but radishes of all types stimulate the liver and clean it out. As far as bad digestion, I've seen a lot of people helped in their digestion with celery and cabbage juices.

QUESTION: You mean cabbage juice doesn't cause gas?

No. Cabbage is a great cleanser and healer to the digestive tract. I've seen a lot of people with ulcers and digestive problems have great results drinking cabbage and celery juice.

Cabbage juice is excellent and I've had patients drink about 8 ounces of cabbage juice a day in one ounce doses. It can be mixed with other juices too. The celery juice works really nice to cool the system, especially with ulcerative conditions.

It's important with vegetables, but especially fruit, if you're not getting organic, you need to wash it. Use a little bit of soap and water, a good natural soap and even a scrub brush, because most of the sprays and things are put right on the fruit themselves.

Leukemia: A man regenerates his bone marrow with months of juice-fasting.

I had a man with leukemia. He had fairly severe leukemia. He had undergone a couple different treatments and a couple shots of chemotherapy. He felt so horrible, he said that dying would be better than his experience on the chemotherapy. He quit the chemotherapy, and came to me right away. He wanted to do something quite radical and I turned him onto juice fasting. He really got into it.

The first month he didn't get any better. In fact, some of his blood counts were even worse. Then, he ate a little bit of raw foods, took a break for about a week. Then he went back onto a juice fast and the second month he was stabilizing and some of his blood counts were coming up. Then he went back on some raw foods and health building.

Then we went into a third month of juice fasting -- and that's when we really saw the big changes.

His blood chemistry changed dramatically. He didn't start really showing the cancer changing greatly until the end of the second month and into the third month, but, by the fourth to fifth month he was clean.

QUESTION: Why do you think in the first month his blood counts got worse in spite of . .

Well, I think because he was so sick. He had spent 40 years -- he was about 55 years old -- but he spent about 40 of those years basically trying to kill himself...

QUESTION: What do you mean, trying to kill himself?

Well, you know with his food program, no exercise, high cholesterol, family history...

QUESTION: What juices did you use to build his blood?

When people are thinking about building that blood, I like beets and beet greens. So go to your organic market, but make sure you get your greens.

In some studies, I've seen the beets and beet greens analyzed. They have three times the iron in the beet greens than in a beet root, and sometimes, I've seen it the other way around. But greens are loaded with different minerals than the beets have. Together, they are a perfect food.

The beet and the beet greens, added to the carrot juice, is the one that I use with patients that have had either a lot of blood loss due to surgical trauma, or from cancer, where the body won't build blood any more.

When you start getting that beet and beet greens in, along with the carrot juice, you see a big change. Now if you want to build the blood, the extra juices to remember, the fruit ones, are the dark blue, red and purple -- that would be raspberries, blackberries and blueberries or prunes, plums and cherries -- these are all the super blood builders.

They are loaded with iron, and you start getting a blue purple juice, and you start drinking that, and now you have the fruit blood builders.

GETTING CHILDREN TO DRINK HEALTHY JUICES

QUESTION: How do you get kids to get on juices for their health?

The way I got the kids started was making apple juice in the juicer -- and just throwing one carrot through.

You start out with about 90 percent apple and 10 percent carrots and the kids will eventually start drinking that like it's perfect. When they really get used to it, then go up to 20 percent of carrot and 80 percent apple and just work that ratio till you get it about 50-50.

A lot of people might say that is a vegetable and a fruit combination, but every juice specialist seems to agree that the one food combining exception with fruits and vegetables is carrot with apple.

Juices help thin people gain weight.

QUESTION: Wouldn't a juice fast be bad for people who are underweight?

No - it's how I brought people's weight back, even when they had AIDS.

I had a man come to see me that had a complete turn around and he had a T-cell count which would fluctuate between five and twenty-five, depending on when they took it. That's about as low as it gets.

He had loads of opportunistic AIDS infections. We started him on juice fasting right away.

This is one I want to talk about -- because he was quite thin and a lot of people think "I can't juice fast or I'll lose weight." I've had people gain weight on juice fasting and this man was one of them.

He started juice fasting and started gaining weight and people asked, "How is that?" It's very simple. A lot of food that people eat, they can't assimilate. When you are sick, your digestion, your assimilation and elimination doesn't work very well. But, you start putting juices in your body, and you'll see the weight come back. This is why I call juices "the natural healers IV," -- it's like a hospital I.V. naturally. Within a couple of weeks, from juices and the other programs I used, the man's T-cell count was over a thousand.

QUESTION: How much weighs did he gain?

I think he gained about 15 pounds in the first couple months, and he was mainly on a liquid diet.

QUESTION: You would think he'd lose twenty-five pounds.

Absolutely. But now he was getting nutrition that he couldn't get, so I think the main thing I've really come to see is that juice fasting builds blood, and I believe personally that it turns on the bone marrow.

Fresh citrus juices with their rind are great liver cleansers

The bitter oils in citrus are big time liver cleansers. They disinfect and create more bile flow. And you have to get in the rind, which contains pectin. Run that rind through your juicer or your Vita-Mix.

I look at citrus more as kidney and liver cleaning. It's also very effective for cleaning the blood and joints, like with arthritis...

[FirstGarden]

REMOVING PARASITES WITH FRUITS

I remember my first bowel cleanse, because I didn't know about herbs yet. I drank two quarts of apples, fresh squeezed apple juice, and a quart of fresh made prune juice. Not only did I have parasites, but I had casing from my colon. I also had all sorts of dark flecks of things of old come out of my bowel. That was my first bowel cleanse.

QUESTION: Just from fruit?

Just from fruit.

QUESTION: But you took more of it. Most people don't take enough to cause parasites or anything else to come out.

No, they don't. Take two quarts of apple and a quart of prune as your juice for the day on a juice fast and you will notice a dramatic bowel cleanse.

You can also make fig water by just taking figs and putting them in a blender with water. The problem is that a lot of people eat dried prunes and dried figs. They are constipating.

On a juice fast you should only have the juices that come out of the juicer. You should have no pulp at all. The pulp that's in most fruit is fiber that's not digestible. All it does in a juice fast is it might cause your digestive tract to work a little bit more.

QUESTION: Okay, so a juicer would be slightly preferable.

Yes, it would. If you're doing your fast to really shut down your digestive tract and to really put all your body's energy into healing something, yes -- avoid the pulp.

However, if you are using a juice fast to clean your bowel out, you're better off with the pulp, because it activates the digestive system, and, of course, this will give you bowel movements

THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE ON A JUICE FAST

QUESTION: Why do so many people fail to get results on juice-fasting?

It's because they don't cleanse their colon before they do it. Every day, have that bowel flushed out, and a person might want to use herbs for a couple of days and then do it with enemas; see the difference; see what happens and experiment that way.

High enemas are also something to do during a juice fast, to get all the pulp and solid bits out of our system and they work very nice too. But, the main thing is, during a fast you need to have your bowels work every day. They don't have to work necessarily three times a day.

With some people they're bowels will work seven times a day, depending on the person, but those who have a tendency towards slower, sluggish, sleepy bowels, they can go on a fast for a week and not have a bowel movement at all, so they don't want to do that.

[This might be disagreeable for purists, or those on raw-only regimens. It is simply an option, perhaps best for those transitioning into all-raw.]

Use powdered super foods during a fast.

Fasting can be even more powerful when people maximize their nutrition. Super nutrition can cause the body to detoxify more by flushing your body with vitamins and minerals, and it can also build your blood faster. So, I always suggest people add super foods to their juice fast. Some of the best ones are spirulina and chlorella.

If someone can't get fresh wheat grass, you can use wheat grass powder, barley grass powder and alfalfa grass powder or alfalfa herb. They're detoxifying, and they have vitamins and minerals. I usually, once a day during a fast, tell people to add some of these particular foods to their fruit smoothie.

Sea weeds are also good. You can get sea weed powders in the health food stores like Dulse or Kelp. I have many patients that have fasted using the nutritional yeast too. I've really seen the results when people have done a juice fast on just juices and a juice fast using super food powders.

QUESTION: You mean they feel a lot better.

Well, they have a lot more energy when they do it on super foods -- and it can also cause the body to purge and eliminate more. It builds the blood faster.

Heart patients need juice-fasting.

QUESTION: Some people say a heart patient should never do a fast. It would be a strain on the system.

That's the first thing a heart patient should Do - a juice-fast. The first thing is stop eating, because 99 percent of the time the heart patient's blood cells are like mud and their coronary arteries are congested.

When the circulation is that bad, even becoming a vegetarian won't unclog the blood. You have to do a juice fast to thin the blood back to a healthy state.

QUESTION: What does it feel like when the blood is thick?

When you feel very sluggish, you feel -- full, bloated, not only in your digestion, but you run two blocks and you're sweating and you just feel full of fat.

You feel it. You feel like blood doesn't even want to pump around your body. You are breathing heavy. Then you stop eating -- and it's just the greatest cure for anything, just stop eating. Stop eating food and get the juicer going.

How I helped my heart disease with long fasts:

QUESTION: I know from your beginnings that you weren't always such a believer in juice fasts?

Oh no. I took lots of vitamins and mineral pills. I didn't realize that when you thin your blood, you improve your circulation to every capillary in your body.

So, I did my first fast and didn't expect much. But when I finished, I felt so much better, I said, "Wow, this is something that is much more powerful than anyone ever told me."

I remember, I did a fast for about a week. Then one for about ten days. Then I thought, okay, "I'm going to do a thirty-day fast and see what happens."

That was probably the biggest change that I had in my health, and this was early on, when I was living in New York, and I did that thirty-day fast. I think that after the first couple days, I never felt a heart palpitation from that point on. I never felt my heart dysfunctioning. It was like the missing link in my health program that I hadn't seen.

Then, about a year later, I did a two-month fast. That one was really life transforming to me. I have barely had a down day since then.

What I suggest to most of my patients is, two or three days fast in the middle of five days of raw foods, once a season. That's what my five day program is.

But to anybody who came to me dying -- when you're dealing with someone who has a life-threatening situation, stop all food.

Many of my patients walked in the door and they had done just about every program under the sun, and sometimes even all at once or almost at once, but they hadn't really fasted.

Many people are afraid to fast. They are afraid of the one treatment that can cure them. We have this old American idea, that we need to have that bacon and eggs breakfast to get us going, and, of course, that's one of the things that gets us dead. I always called that the heart attack plate.

QUESTION: I thought before I met you that juices were mainly a feel good, wellness kind of thing, but not powerful enough for serious diseases.

Many people feel that way. I myself thought that way -- until I started investigating the classic old healers.

QUESTION: So, this is the therapy that people never do?

That's right. Everybody in America, we have this conveyor belt that's going from the health food store or the herb shop into our mouth, and we think, "Well, it's chromium and kola nut."

Or it's goldenseal. Or it's garlic. Or it's cayenne. Or it's a colonic.

[All which are very good in and of themselves.]

We're all looking for something more, but very few people actually stop eating. The old herbalists didn't have the juicers. Juicers weren't a common household item back then. But nowadays -- everybody should have a juicer.

Food is the foundation of healing.

But doctors are unbelievable. According to them, drugs are the foundation of healing. And according to the healthfood people, vitamin tablets are. They're all wrong. Food is.

[FirstGarden]

Hey FirstGarden- yeah, fasting is wonderful. You're Oregon bound? I live on the coast there and love it so much.

Oh, lucky you! Where, Coos Bay? We're looking at Salem, where we have relatives. Or Medford.

But my motto is: "The NORTHIER the better.

Does that mean Washington is better, M.L.? Lol...

[mercystreet]

Firstgarden - I love that interview, thanks for posting it and giving me the opportunity to read it again :)

[eatyourbroccoli]

wow..thankyou so much for this!

[FirstGarden]

Firstgarden - I love that interview, thanks for posting it and giving me the opportunity to read it again :)

Thanks mercy.. It's not the original version. I edited parts, such as the notion that juice fasting is superior to water. Paavo Airola has a great little book:

How to Keep Slim, Healthy and Young With Juice Fasting

[Stina]

I'm in Florence and occasionally consider moving to Eugene but feel like I got the best of all worlds, living in a woodsy area here near the ocean with a great little city just an hour and a quarter away. The fresh air on the coast is just too wonderful to give up.
Thanks for sharing this info. My system is telling me to do some spring cleaning and lighten up.

[Solace]

Thanx for the great post ! People are so sold on the doctors and worlds propaganda they cant even think clearly. I have people in my family dying of cancer as we speak and THOSE taking care of them don't believe what I tell them. I told them tonight to let our grandmother who is starting radiation monday for oral cancer, I said " just feed her juice all day long" SHE CAN'T EVEN CHEW. They say " Oh no that is not enough she needs whey protein powder and those chocolate ensure drinks and cooked pureed meats TOO. PROPAGANDA !:mad:

[spicyfull]

Wow....Thanks for Sharing............

[FirstGarden]

I said " just feed her juice all day long" SHE CAN'T EVEN CHEW. They say " Oh no that is not enough she needs whey protein powder and those chocolate ensure drinks and cooked pureed meats TOO. PROPAGANDA !:mad:

I know the feeling. My father died of liver cancer in 1999. I remember those Ensure chocolate drinks. I tried to get him to drink raw carrot juices and such. He knew better too, but I think he already gave up inside. He was 80 and had no appetite at all.

The medical/pharmaceutical industry today is a racket. That may seem unkind, but they have done society a huge injustice with their learned ignorance. Life has its ironies. They are well-paid professionals entrusted to serve the public good and care for its well being. The foxes guard the henhouse.

It is refreshing to see doctors like Schulze who aren't afraid to embrace the truth. :-{)

[Solace]

I honestly believe more people need to step forward and help make it MORE public. We have a lot of powerfull people around the media who are raw. For all those who have healed themselves from cancer etc- there should be a groundbreaking film/tv documentary. I know all the raw food films like Raw for 30 days and such - but something bigger and even bolder should be done.;)

[FirstGarden]

We have a lot of powerfull people around the media who are raw. For all those who have healed themselves from cancer etc- there should be a groundbreaking film/tv documentary. I know all the raw food films like Raw for 30 days and such - but something bigger and even bolder should be done.;)

Yet it's the big business controlled media (FDA, Big Food,Pharmaceutical..) that stand in the way. Let's hope for and promote raw living as an emerging interest. Then the big boys will cash in on it. "Til then, there will be resistance. But not forever. :-)

[soulstar]

Dear First Garden,

I really enjoyed the passages you shared with us. It is perfect timing since I am fasting. I may go for 20 days. Tomorrow is Day 14.

All the best to you!:)

Soulstar

[star1919]

First Garden... good article. Thanks for sharing! :D

[Solace]

Yet it's the big business controlled media (FDA, Big Food,Pharmaceutical..) that stand in the way. Let's hope for and promote raw living as an emerging interest. Then the big boys will cash in on it. "Til then, there will be resistance. But not forever. :-)
I don't know but I think Alissa's story about her hubby being givin a year to live because of cirrhosis from hepatitis c and him being completely healed now, blows my mind. That in itself should have been a major news story. I did not believe it was possible to cure that at all !!! 'WE' need to start speaking much much louder ! Even the regular vegans arent hearing us enough.

[LightLover]

Yet it's the big business controlled media (FDA, Big Food,Pharmaceutical..) that stand in the way. Let's hope for and promote raw living as an emerging interest. Then the big boys will cash in on it. "Til then, there will be resistance. But not forever. :-)

very good thread!
The problem is that the big boys will never cash in on beet and beetroot.
So they will always come with other, false, non-healing things

LL

[luna99]

thank you so much for posting that.. I read every single word!

I'm embarking on my first juice fast in about 3 weeks and am so excited!

thanks again!

[Ireland]

Thanks so much FirstGarden. I've got the whole interview printed out now and I'll add it to my ever growing files of great info. :)

[solarliving]

Thanks for sharing this information. I want to make sure. Did you say you can juice watermelon rinds? Does that mean the outer green skin? And Orange peel?

[MaryWalker]

Thanks for all that great info FirstGarden! I enjoyed reading it. I am currently on day 23 of a fast. I take in daily 2 potassium broth drinks that I make, one fruit juice, 2 veggie juices and 2 herbal teas -- all of which is pulp and foam free. I also take a liquit vitimin/minteral suppliment and 2 teaspoons of vit. c powder.

My main reason for this fast is to rid myself of parasites. I took chinese herbal anti-parasite herbs for 2 months prior to staring the fast and boy-o-boy are the parasites flushing out daily! I can't belive how conjested I was! I will continue fasting for another 18 days minimum, or longer if there are still parasites vacating!

Much of what you wrote, I knew. It's good to be reminded of the great reasons that fasting can be good (if done properly and for the right reasons!).

Oh yes, and by the way, I lived for 10+ years in Glendale, OR, which is in between Grants Pass & Canyonville. Oregon is BEAUTIFUL and someday I may return there!

[mercystreet]

Thanks for sharing this information. I want to make sure. Did you say you can juice watermelon rinds? Does that mean the outer green skin? And Orange peel?

Yes! I juice watermelon rinds all the time, just wash them well first. I don't think you can juice orange peel (correct me if I'm wrong), you peel them and leave on as much of the white pith as you can, that's where the bioflavenoids are.

[FirstGarden]

Dear First Garden,

I really enjoyed the passages you shared with us. It is perfect timing since I am fasting. I may go for 20 days. Tomorrow is Day 14.
All the best to you!:)
Soulstar

Keep on, Soulstar!

I want to go for several months, if I can.

[FirstGarden]

Thanks for sharing this information. I want to make sure. Did you say you can juice watermelon rinds? Does that mean the outer green skin? And Orange peel?

The author of this article said you can. I always juice any part of the fruit/veg I can for hidden nutrients. But not orange peels. Your taste buds will be screaming at you, lol. I tried that *once*. :-0

[FirstGarden]

Thanks so much FirstGarden. I've got the whole interview printed out now and I'll add it to my ever growing files of great info. :)

Glad you liked it. My joy is in blessing others.

Hey, you're pulling on my heart strings. I love Ireland, and anything UK'ish.

[FirstGarden]

I'm in Florence and occasionally consider moving to Eugene but feel like I got the best of all worlds, living in a woodsy area here near the ocean with a great little city just an hour and a quarter away. The fresh air on the coast is just too wonderful to give up.


I'm jealous, lol

[FirstGarden]

I don't know but I think Alissa's story about her hubby being givin a year to live because of cirrhosis from hepatitis c and him being completely healed now, blows my mind. That in itself should have been a major news story.

That IS a moving story. The mainstream media won't give it ample coverage because they are, by and large, controlled by *the very interests* that are threatened by such amazing testimony.

Anyone that comes out and openly claims cures for disease are at risk of the FDA coming in with armed forces (yes, armed forces!) and shutting them down! I don't think this is an exaggeration.

The FDA has ruled that only a *drug* can cure a disease. Anyone offering a cure by any other means is selling a "drug," according to their twisted definition. That is their way, in conjuncton with the pharmaceutical industry, of suppressing all competition and securing a multibillion dollar racket.

I know that sounds negative, and sometimes the truth is. To get a drug approved with the FDA costs 800 million dollars. It's a very high stakes game with very few players. There used to be over 100 pharmaceutical companies in business. Now there's only 5.

It's little wonder that knowledge of pure diet is so obscure.

A good (but, warning: heavy) read is "Natural Cures - What THEY Don't Want You To Know," by Kevin Trudeau.

[rozy]

Question from someone who does not have a juicer but has a Vitamix. How do you juice with a Vitamix? I have heard of people straining the juice out, how is that done?

[Stina]

Question from someone who does not have a juicer but has a Vitamix. How do you juice with a Vitamix? I have heard of people straining the juice out, how is that done?

I use an organic cotton bag to strain it through. I've also heard of people on the board using a paint bag- a bag painters use to strain paint through first and probably available at a hardware store. I'm sure cheesecloth would work well too.

[Stina]

I take in daily 2 potassium broth drinks that I make, one fruit juice, 2 veggie juices and 2 herbal teas -- all of which is pulp and foam free. I also take a liquit vitimin/minteral suppliment and 2 teaspoons of vit. c powder.

My main reason for this fast is to rid myself of parasites. I took chinese herbal anti-parasite herbs for 2 months prior to staring the fast and boy-o-boy are the parasites flushing out daily! I can't belive how conjested I was! I will continue fasting for another 18 days minimum, or longer if there are still parasites vacating!

Hey Mary or First Garden- I've wondered about that foam before. Do you just strain it off? Is there a reason it's not desirable?
I'm really curious about the herbal anti-parasite products. Can you tell me more about them? I'm paranoid about parasites!
thanks!

[Stina]

[QUOTE=Stina;252816]I take in daily 2 potassium broth drinks that I make, one fruit juice, 2 veggie juices and 2 herbal teas -- all of which is pulp and foam free. I also take a liquit vitimin/minteral suppliment and 2 teaspoons of vit. c powder.

My main reason for this fast is to rid myself of parasites. I took chinese herbal anti-parasite herbs for 2 months prior to staring the fast and boy-o-boy are the parasites flushing out daily! I can't belive how conjested I was! I will continue fasting for another 18 days minimum, or longer if there are still parasites vacating!

Hey Mary or First Garden- I've wondered about that foam before. Do you just strain it off? Is there a reason it's not desirable?
I'm really curious about the herbal anti-parasite products. Can you tell me more about them? I'm paranoid about parasites!
thanks

[FirstGarden]

[QUOTE=Stina Hey Mary or First Garden- I've wondered about that foam before. Do you just strain it off? Is there a reason it's not desirable?[/QUOTE]

You mean the foam from juice?

YUM! YUM! YUM!

Just drink it quick, as it is more oxygenated and therefore more prone to spoil.

I also like to take the pulp and run it thru the juicer again. Amazing how much more juice you can get!

The old famous Norwalk juicer had a built in compactor to take care of that. But that baby was $400 back in the 70s! Imagine what it runs now, that is, if they still make it.

[Stina]

I'm a little familiar with the Norwalks and priced them at well over two grand new now. I know that one well-known cancer clinic in Mexico says that style is the only one acceptable for cancer treatment protocol and juicers that are centrifigal spinners put an extra ion on the molecule that prevents getting through the cell membrane. Something like that....I don't have a background in science. What do you think of Champion juicers? thumbs up or down?
thanks as I inhale deeply of negative-ion coastal air..............

[levamssg]

What is your feeling on smoothies? rather than running fruits through the juicer, instead put it in a vitamix, add a bit ofwater, and drink that? Would that be as beneficial to you body --- or more taxing because there is more pulp?

thanks

[Stina]

Okay, wait, I'm really stuck on this parasite thing! Lie in bed at night thinking about 'em.......... When it mentions pruce juice, would that be dried prunes with water in a Vitamix blender, with or without being strained?
And it sounds like eating fresh figs would be a really good way to break a fast, huh?
Anyone remember when fresh fig season kicks in? I'm not seeing them in the health food stores yet. When they're good, they're oh so good.

[dreamrawalwz]

http://www.healthrecipes.com/juicefastingdiet.htm

Here's some more fasting info. Wasn't sure which thread to post it in.

[FirstGarden]

I'm a little familiar with the Norwalks and priced them at well over two grand new now. I know that one well-known cancer clinic in Mexico says that style is the only one acceptable for cancer treatment protocol and juicers that are centrifigal spinners put an extra ion on the molecule that prevents getting through the cell membrane. Something like that....I don't have a background in science. What do you think of Champion juicers? thumbs up or down?
thanks as I inhale deeply of negative-ion coastal air..............

Oregonian WannaBe - You got that right! I think I offended Revvell & others by dissing California a bit too much. I've lived here most of my life, and CA does have it's strong points. I especially love the Central Coast and Northern Calif. Just wish it weren't so fricken expensive.

The scientific aspects of the Norwalk sound a bit tweakish to me. (Tweak is an old audio term for "perfectionist," or for making fine tune adjustments on equipment - unlike today's popular usage for amphetamines). But, I'm not a scientist either. However, I doubt if Nature is all that picky about extra ion on a molecule. Just my opinion.

As for champion juicers, I love them! Very rugged, heavy duty. However, I hear great things about the Samson and the Omega.

Here's a nice thread started by MarciaN:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=25157

[Solace]

You mean the foam from juice?

YUM! YUM! YUM!

Just drink it quick, as it is more oxygenated and therefore more prone to spoil.

I also like to take the pulp and run it thru the juicer again. Amazing how much more juice you can get!

The old famous Norwalk juicer had a built in compactor to take care of that. But that baby was $400 back in the 70s! Imagine what it runs now, that is, if they still make it. omg, run the pulp through again !!! I don't know why i didn't think of that before,,,, my Omega's leftovers are soooo wet OMG= thank-you. Sometimes there is something so simple and you just cant see it - seriously:eek: :D ;) THANKS

[FirstGarden]

What is your feeling on smoothies? rather than running fruits through the juicer, instead put it in a vitamix, add a bit of water, and drink that? Would that be as beneficial to you body --- or more taxing because there is more pulp?

Terry- Smoothies are absolutely wonderful. And there are benefits in the pulp, like fiber, that the body needs. But depending on what you're after -- cleansing or faster cleansing (no pun intended) -- the juices without the pulp are less burdonsome on the system. But smoothies alone are still a form of fasting, in my view, though you are dumping in whole fruit. All is good here.

"What good is a free ride if it doesn't take you where you want to go?"

Interesting quote - reminds me of the Moody Blues line from the song,
I'm Just A Singer In A Rock & Roll Band...

A thousand miles can lead so many ways
Just to know who is driving
What a help it would be

[Elizabeth]

Hi...

I have read the stuff about the Norwalk compared to the centrifigal juicers, that spin very quickly, and believe that there might well be a difference in the juices, (oxidation..etc.) due to the speed and aeration, and the little teeth even, that macerate the fruits etc., however, (interestingly) I have not read a comparison/critique of the Norwalk specifically relative to the Omega and other low "rpm" low heat etc., juicers. The "Norwalk" was first designed in the 1910's or 20's, when the the Omega, green power etc., technology did not even exist. I am sure it is a great juicer, but, really...how different is the effect on the juices from that of the Omega, etc. It grinds slowly, which the Omega does and then you press the juice out of the pulp with the hydrolic press, instead of it dropping down from the pressure of the pulp agains the strainer piece. The main difference I can see between the Omega and the Norwalk, would be that the pulp from the Omega is not as dry...

anyhoo...

I think that the important thing is to drink the fresh juices and to get the "best" juicer that you can afford and that you will use...:)


:D

http://www.happyjuicer.com/norwalk-juicer.asp

[FirstGarden]

Okay, wait, I'm really stuck on this parasite thing! Lie in bed at night thinking about 'em.......... When it mentions pruce juice, would that be dried prunes with water in a Vitamix blender, with or without being strained? And it sounds like eating fresh figs would be a really good way to break a fast, huh? Anyone remember when fresh fig season kicks in? I'm not seeing them in the health food stores yet. When they're good, they're oh so good.

Don't let it BUG you too much (pun intended, lol).

Yes on prune juice. Not sure on straining them, tho. Try it.

As for breaking a fast, if you mean juice fast, don't overdo it, as too much eating (of figs or whatever) after a fast, especially a long fast, can cause digestion problems for a while. After a lengthy water fast, even more caution is required.

[FirstGarden]

[QUOTE=dreamrawalwz;Here's some more fasting info. Wasn't sure which thread to post it in.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Dream. What a team we all make!

[FirstGarden]

Hi...

I have read the stuff about the Norwalk compared to the centrifigal juicers, that spin very quickly, and believe that there might well be a difference in the juices, (oxidation..etc.) due to the speed and aeration, and the little teeth even, that macerate the fruits etc., however, (interestingly) I have not read a comparison/critique of the Norwalk specifically relative to the Omega and other low "rpm" low heat etc., juicers. The "Norwalk" was first designed in the 1910's or 20's, when the the Omega, green power etc., technology did not even exist. I am sure it is a great juicer, but, really...how different is the effect on the juices from that of the Omega, etc. It grinds slowly, which the Omega does and then you press the juice out of the pulp with the hydrolic press, instead of it dropping down from the pressure of the pulp agains the strainer piece. The main difference I can see between the Omega and the Norwalk, would be that the pulp from the Omega is not as dry... anyhoo... I think that the important thing is to drink the fresh juices and to get the "best" juicer that you can afford and that you will use...:) :D
http://www.happyjuicer.com/norwalk-juicer.asp

Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth. That was awesome! No doubt the Norwalk is the ultimate - (wish I had 2 grand to drop for one.) But, tho it is better, I wonder if it is $1500 better. :confused: Prob best for commercial needs. :)

[Elizabeth]

As for breaking a fast, if you mean juice fast, don't overdo it, as too much eating (of figs or whatever) after a fast, especially a long fast, can cause digestion problems for a while. After a lengthy water fast, even more caution is required.

Once I broke a lengthy ( 10 plus day )water fast with horrible, cooked junk food. My ankles swelled and I know my kidneys were so mad at me...:(

I am fortunate I did not kill myself..seriously.. I was messed up..and there have neem other times I have not come off a fast very gracefully. :o

I am going to learn how to (and actually do it) come off a fast correctly... yes, I am...:)

[BDraw]

Wonderful information! Absolutely wonderful!

My question -- do you have any experience of people cleaning blood enough to eliminate varicose vein problems? I'm under the impression that once the vein is streched (damaged); it is unrepairable. I'd love to hear otherwise. I've been 95-100% raw for over 3 years, have done numerous fast, one being 30 days of juice, have done liver cleanses (the old fashion -- grapefruit and olive oil way :eek: ) And have yet to see any improvement; unfortunately have seen continued vein problems.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on fasting and any feedback concerning this.

BD

[FirstGarden]

Hi BDraw- I wish I had an answer for you. But you got me thinking about doing some research on it. You see, I had a varicose (very groce) vein ligated from my left leg 14 years ago. Unfortunately with varicose veins, it is a mechanical problem. The valves in the vein become distended, which are supposed to stop the blood from flowing back in the opposite direction. And so you end up with the up and down flow of blood colliding. :eek:
My lower calf above the ankel got so bad, I ended up with a stasis ulcer on my skin that broke thru (involving the accumulation of fluid). Hope it never gets that bad for you. Of course, having worked in retail for so long, I spent a lot of time on my feet those days, but not walking around much, as I was working out of one department.

Today, I still am on my feet all day, but with a different company and walking around most of the time. I got out of sales because after 23+ years of that, i really got tired of selling. Now I am an inventory manager at The Home Depot. Still pretty exhausting, but healthier.

If I find out any more, I'll let ya know shortly! I've had a a natural therapist tell me that the vein ligation was not necessary, but I don't know. A researchin' we shall go...

[BDraw]

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Amazing, just this morning, my sister e-mails me about our mom's leg problems (sound like what you described of yourself 14 years ago). Anyway, she is preparing for a proceedure called "closure". If interested, you can check out the proceedure here:

http://www.vnus.com/navigation/patients.htm

Wondering if some day I may be a canidate for this, though I'd love for my raw diet to magically take care of it. Hey, I can dream! I have had vein stripping 5 or 6 years ago, but wouldn't you know another vein is taking its place in the swollen, itchy areana.

Also considering some essential oils someone suggested on this site a while back, just waiting for the $$$ to cover it. Of course, the oils I need are the high $$$ ones!

Someday. . . .

Thanks! BD

[FirstGarden]

I couldn't resist...

[So Delightedly Raw]

Excellent info! Thanks so much, FirstGarden.