Juice Fast--Day 3 Summary

January 7—Day 3

If you are joining my fasting journal for the first time today, you might want to catch up on my introduction (Reboot Now) and previous day’s posts from the archives to your right on this page.

 

7:00 a.m.--Well I wish I could say day 5 instead of just 3. It already feels like I’ve been doing this forever! It sounds better when I say I’m 20% done and have 4 of 5 “two-day” bundles left! I didn’t sleep as well last night, a bit restless from about 1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., but then fell into another good sleep. I’m drinking my spicy lemon tea this morning. After that, I’ll make myself down the green combo. I need that flood of nutrients before teaching two Spin classes later this morning! I vow to actually get out of the house today and to the organic grocery to get fresh greens for juicing. 

12:00 noon--The Spin classes went great. I can’t believe how much energy I have today. My brain is clearer. My mood is definitely up. I couldn’t find what I needed at my little local health food store, so I’m off to a larger coop grocery about an hour away—it’s worth the drive!

Whereas the small local store had no green apples, here I had plenty of selection.

Everything's Organic!

They always have a beautiful selection of vegetables as well.

This only shows one of four large display walls.

I should have enough to juice for a few days.

When you see it laid out before you like that it’s easy to see why juice “fasting” works so well. Perhaps we shouldn’t call it fasting—gives people a bad impression—it’s really juice “feasting.” Just think of your body getting all those nutrients with none of the work of digestion. All the body’s energy can stay directed at healing and repair!

7:30 p.m. I’ve felt really good all day today. My juice was like rocket fuel and kept me energetic all afternoon. I’m not hungry at all—empty sensation in tummy but not the same as “hunger pains.” Of course, the dinner I made for the family smelled and looked WONDERFUL!  And, of course, I spent way too much money at the coop grocery. (You know the rule about never going grocery shopping when hungry? Well, quadruple that no-no when fasting!!) I am feeling a little tired now. My new bedtime for this fast is apparently settling itself as 9:00—no later. Sometimes during fasts, I’ve gone through phases of needing surprisingly little sleep, we’ll see.

Here’s the next email in the series from last year: (Sorry, but I didn't take time to redo all the links. I hope you'll copy and paste and really read--or save--all the research sources.)

Hi Friends,

In this letter I want to follow and uphold (with credible sources) the following line of reasoning that should encourage us to try fasting—or at least a modified cleanse—and clean up our diet for good:

1.       Almost all of us have at some point in our life have experienced (or maybe even chronically experience), whether we know it or not, one or more of the following three conditions, all of which are commonly misdiagnosed and all of which cause persistent inflammation.

a.       Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth-It's not an overstatement to say that the small intestine is the most important segment of the entire digestive tract . . . Nutrients we eat -- carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals -- are absorbed in the small intestine. If anything interferes with the absorption here, nutrient deficiencies can result.
The small intestine normally contains relatively small numbers of bacteria. However, certain factors can cause the growth of excess bacteria.
Through a process called bile acid deconjugation, the unwanted bacteria leads to fat malabsorption. It also blocks carbohydrates from being absorbed. Instead, they're left to ferment in the intestines, resulting in gas, bloating, pain, mucus in stools, foul-smelling gas and stools, and diarrhea. Sweets and starchy foods cause the worst symptoms.
Toxic metabolic substances produced by the bacteria injure intestinal cells and impair absorption, resulting in nutrient deficiencies, food allergies and intolerances, poorly functioning digestive enzymes, and chronic inflammation. Read more at this link. . .http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/overgrowth.htm

b.      Parasitic Infestation- What exactly is a parasite?  When we hear the word, most of us think of some form of worm (yuk!) but microscopic protozoan harm more people than any other parasitic disease. A parasite is an organism that lives off the host, the host being you or me. The parasites live a parallel life inside our bodies, feeding off our own energy, our own cells or the food we eat, and even feeding off the health supplements we use. In recent medical studies, it has been estimated that 85% of the North American adult population has at least one form of parasite living in their bodies. Some authorities feel that this figure may be as high as 95%.
The immediate question that comes to mind when people are informed of this situation is: How can a parasite possibly live in my body and I don't even know it is there? They are highly intelligent organisms. Not intelligent in the same way humans are, but they are intelligent in their ability to survive and reproduce, which is of course, the purpose of any organism on this planet.   If you know how to read the body and interpret its signals, then the presence of a parasite can be determined quite easily. However, if you accept that it is normal to have low energy levels, health challenges, skin rashes, pains, frequent colds, flu and constipation (the list is endless for the things parasites will cause), then you may never question whether you have parasites. Read more . . .http://members.cox.net/llyee/understand_parasites.htm

c.       Candida (yeast) overgrowth- You have it! I do too! (In fact this is one of the main areas I battle—with good, although not complete (yet) success—through fasting. Most people think that yeast is a “female” problem, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Case in point: my overgrowth is in my sinuses and my digestive system, for which I blame early removal of tonsils and adenoids and typical rounds of childhood antibiotics.  The symptoms of Candida are so numerous and varied, I can’t list them all here. You must research this one.   Following is one of the best articles I have ever read on the subject (and also covers a lot on general nutrition and some good items to add to your diet). I hope you take the time to read this link: http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/how-to-overcome-candida-part-1

2.       As mentioned earlier, in addition to causing a myriad of troublesome symptoms and conditions, all three of the above mentioned conditions keep the body in a constant state of irritation and inflammation.

3.       There is an inextricable link between chronic inflammation and cancer. This relationship is a hot research topic right now and new studies are even beginning to explain how the connection works. If you need some “hard core” modern medical proof on the link between cancer and inflammation, here it is:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994795/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070125122719.htm

4.       Fasting is very effective in ridding the body of all three of these conditions and reducing inflammation in general.  Below are a few articles you should read:

http://www.fairoakshealth.com/node/23

http://www.juicefasting.org/candida.htm

This has been a long letter, I know—especially if you take the time to follow the recommended links as I hope you will. . .