Fasting MC and Nursing....Taboo?

[LightrayMN]

So here is my story. I have a 27 month old child and I'm nursing her during the day on demand. For the last two years I have been plagued with lower intestinal flu viruses, probably due to the fact that I have a toddler. However I am totally tired of them.

So on Wednesday, two days ago I was hit with another virus. The only way for my gut to recover is to fast for four days. So I started fasting right away. So here is my question...and sort of mute point as I already started Master Cleanse. But do you think Master Cleanse is okay when considering a 27 month old who eats normal food throughout the day, nursing 3 times a day, is a problem with this cleanse? Let me also follow that by saying I have received over 20 treatments from ionic foot bath, I rarely drink, I do not smoke, we eat organic, take probiotics daily,have a chemical free home, and have had extremely limited pharmaceuticals throughout my life. (primarily birth control and over the counter anti-histamines)

I was considering 2 days of nothing from flu and potentially 8 days of Master Cleanse. In addition to three foot ionic cleanses. If necessary, I could pump and dump during the day and only nurse once or twice. This year I've already fasted for three day intervals around five times. But I really want to get my gut into a better position where it is not so sensitive to these darn bugs! My belly also appears to be full of gas. One more thing my daughter was a c-section and I've done a lot of work to get my middle working properly, with acupuncture and mayanabdominal massage, but it has definitely been affected by the surgery. And also my motivation has NOTHING TO do with loosing weight, I am soley doing this for health reasons.

[Amii]

So here is my story. I have a 27 month old child and I'm nursing her during the day on demand. For the last two years I have been plagued with lower intestinal flu viruses, probably due to the fact that I have a toddler. However I am totally tired of them.

So on Wednesday, two days ago I was hit with another virus. The only way for my gut to recover is to fast for four days. So I started fasting right away. So here is my question...and sort of mute point as I already started Master Cleanse. But do you think Master Cleanse is okay when considering a 27 month old who eats normal food throughout the day, nursing 3 times a day, is a problem with this cleanse? Let me also follow that by saying I have received over 20 treatments from ionic foot bath, I rarely drink, I do not smoke, we eat organic, take probiotics daily,have a chemical free home, and have had extremely limited pharmaceuticals throughout my life. (primarily birth control and over the counter anti-histamines)

I was considering 2 days of nothing from flu and potentially 8 days of Master Cleanse. In addition to three foot ionic cleanses. If necessary, I could pump and dump during the day and only nurse once or twice. This year I've already fasted for three day intervals around five times. But I really want to get my gut into a better position where it is not so sensitive to these darn bugs! My belly also appears to be full of gas. One more thing my daughter was a c-section and I've done a lot of work to get my middle working properly, with acupuncture and mayanabdominal massage, but it has definitely been affected by the surgery. And also my motivation has NOTHING TO do with loosing weight, I am soley doing this for health reasons.

The reason fasting whilst nursing is controversial is because when you're fasting you're detoxing through your bodily fluids, so if someone is on the receiving end of those fluids, like your baby is, then the toxins are going straight to your baby. He/she is ingesting your toxins through the milk.

So there's a good reason why people who are pregnant or feeding are strongly advised against fasting.

I'd really advise you to stop. Hope you feel better soon.

[Aleesha Sattva]

I'd also advice you to stop fasting. I would do more of a 100% raw diet with easy to digest food choices.

[areilla10]

It would be interesting to see actual studies done on this. From an evolutionary standpoint, what sense would it make for a mother to pass on toxins to her offspring during a time of hardship? There are so many other eliminatory routes the body could use; why would it use the one strictly intended for the nourishment of offspring, which goes toward the perpetuation of one's gene pool? Especially considering that the body recognizes the fasting state as a time of crisis, a time when the genetic line could end with the mother. Would it not make sense to do everything in the body's power to ensure the gene pool survives in the child? Nature makes sense and takes care of her own. It just seems counter-intuitive.

It sounds like you lead a very healthy lifestyle and your toxic load would be minimal. I would be a LOT more concerned if your liver was cirrhotic and you were a pack-a-day smoker and habitual drug user. Three doses of your "toxic" breast milk during a fast are probably better than formula out of a can, on which a huge number of babies subsist. That may not make you feel any better, but it might lend some perspective.

If it still concerns you, avoid nursing altogether. Or cut back to once a day, just to maintain the habit.

[GreginND]

have a chemical free home

You live in a vacuum? (sorry, the scientist in me could not resist)

I would also recommend not to fast. I am not so much concerned about the child since they are already eating regular foods and not relying on milk alone for nutrition. I would be more worried about you. Your body needs a significant amount of nutrients in order to produce the milk. If you fast you may be depleting your body of needed nutrients faster than you think.

[LightrayMN]

I am in the same line of thought as Areilla, in that I really lead a life style with few toxins and my daughter is accepting the idea of nursing less often.

I have been doing a lot of research on the Master Cleanse and the fresh lemon juice provides the body with enzymes as well as create an alkaline situation throughout the body. The grade B maple syrup provides the body with lots of necessary minerals and added unrefined sea salt gives the body electrolytes.

The body eliminates toxins in many ways, what I have experience most in mucus releasing through my lungs, nose and throat. I am also having bowel movements in spite of not eating since last Wednesday evening when I got the flu bug.

My energy level has been lower, but I do have my husband helping. However I will keep educating myself. I plan to check out another book at the library on the master cleanse by Tom Woloshy. Also and many of you may not believe this but I have a crystal child, she is extremely perceptive about food, beverages, and if they are healthy for her just by looking at them. I believe in my heart if she sensed toxins in my milk, she would not drink it. Period. I have witnessed her multiple times turning away food that contained preservatives or artificial sugar, just by looking at it.

[Aleesha Sattva]

It sounds like you came here for validation not advice.

[Eva]

Wow, tough call! I would think the body would use other methods of detox before pumping toxins into breast milk... but I just don't know enough for sure.

I'm mostly just popping on here to reach out an encouraging hand... you are doing your best... I really hope you get through this patch quickly and safely!

[LightrayMN]

So I did go pick up the book at the library called The Complete Guide to the Master Cleanse and the guy who wrote the book did say it was okay to nurse and also do the Master Cleanse. He said his own wife was pregnant and did the master cleanse. And on a different occasion she also did the Master Cleanse while nursing two children. So that gave me more confidence that it was okay for me.

Of course I was looking for feedback and just because I didn't decide to end the cleanse and take the advice of a couple people, doesn't mean I just wanted a pat on the back. I am a very conscientious parent and that is why I was concerned. I also realize there are NO studies available for what comes out of mothers milk while during a MC and surely it would be very different from woman to woman. However I have to question if it is creating a more healthy and alkaline situation in my body, what does it do for my milk? For example a mother who has candida in their body from eating sugar and starch can create the same in their baby by nursing, so what does a cleansing milk do? I wonder if it would be beneficial rather than damaging as many assume.

I did take to heart what people have shared with me and have dropped down to one nurse a day with my daughter and I plan to return to three a day after the cleanse is over. My energy level is doing really well and I am evacuating in many areas, bowels, lungs, nose, and throat.

So thank you everyone for sharing and I just wanted to offer a bit of hope that it is possible for a nursing mom, depending on your personal situation, to follow through with a master cleanse. And isn't mom's health just as important as the child's in the long and short term?

[LightrayMN]

So just checking in again and I just wanted to say, "I am so happy to be doing the Master Cleanse." I have been able to cook my child good food in addition to nursing her just fine, while I have reduced her feedings. I have tons of energy in spite of not eating for nine days and I'm getting rid of so much mucus it's insane!

One amazing thing I've noticed is that my breathing has changed and is so much more open. I am often not pausing in between breathes and going from one breath onto the next with ease. I really think this has a lot to do with my lungs clearing on a deeper level than they ever have before!

I'm so excited for my cells to begin working on my eye injury, my daughter scratched my cornea this year, (I felt it activating this morning) and for my body to focus on healing my c-section from two years ago.

I am seriously considering a vegan diet or one that has more emphasis on raw. My body has already started to tell me it's done with meat.

[Amii]

My energy level has been lower, but I do have my husband helping. However I will keep educating myself. I plan to check out another book at the library on the master cleanse by Tom Woloshy. Also and many of you may not believe this but I have a crystal child, she is extremely perceptive about food, beverages, and if they are healthy for her just by looking at them. I believe in my heart if she sensed toxins in my milk, she would not drink it. Period. I have witnessed her multiple times turning away food that contained preservatives or artificial sugar, just by looking at it.

I have to be honest, I find Tom Woloshyn is very extreme in his advice for some things. In his book he tends to put down physical discomforts (like being in a bad mood on the cleanse) to having had a bad childhood...

You have to remember that you are perfectly aware that toxins are in processed foods yet you, I assume, ate them once upon a time as well. People aren't as perceptive as they think they are. Its generally agreed within the entire raw vegan and fasting community that it's bad to fast whilst pregnant or nursing.

Remember we're just looking out for you, but I'm glad you've had such great benefits so far :)

[LightrayMN]

I actually ended up doing two Master Cleanse series about 8 weeks apart and then I changed my diet to vegetarian. I still eat dairy though. I have to say I am convinced that the Master Cleanse healed my reoccurring stomach ailment and convinced me to move to a vegetarian diet. My health has been dramatically better. My daughter was fine with one nurse a day and suffered no ill effects.

In spite of fasting I was very patient and loving with my daughter and husband and actually had tons of energy. Would I recommend this to all nursing mothers? Well no, but I would recommend it only to a mom who has reoccurring and mild health challenges like me and to moms who are currently nursing toddlers only infrequently, to moms that have fasted before and lead a fairly healthy lifestyle with little Allopathic medicine in their system, who eat primarily organic foods, and are similar to my situation.

It was amazing for me and I'm sorry to hear there is so much judgement about it and concern. I fasted 15 days for both periods and everyone was fine.