High Raw Diet - Pasteurized Juice Fast

High raw diet week 5: I am starting my first week on a juice fast again after a long break in fasting. I fell of the wagon last week on the high raw diet and had a total of three cheat days.... I need to get back on track now quickly and speed up the detox since I'm kind of pedalling in one place - one step forward one step back. So I am starting a juice fast. This may also help with the tough work week ahead.

Notes later in the week:
The fast has definitely helped with the tough work week, apart from some insomnia, which seems apparently to be quite common during juice fast and something that should pass over time. The fast has felt quite easy and some benefits are starting to manifest, although weight loss has still been minimal. But the body cleanses in the order it wants, and weight loss may not be a priority right now, especially since I'm not that far from my ideal weight. Last time I lost too much weight very quickly on a juice fast so in a way it is good that the weight isn't lost that quickly this time.

(Note that this one week juice fast was also the fifth week of the high raw diet diary.)

Day 29 - Juice Fasting/ High Raw Diet

Monday, 22nd April 2013

Woke up at 6am, have to go to work early. I feel quite well this morning although I don't look well. My eyes are very puffy, I think it depends on what I ate yesterday. In the past I noticed salty food giving me eye bags, and now it may be the hard-to-digest foods - dairy and white flour from the pizza and sugar from the ice cream.

Today's breakfast was two glasses of green juice, made from a bunch of lettuce (purple-green), celery, leftover pieces of cucumber and courgette, a lemon, a piece of ginger.

I also feel lots of phlegm stuck in my throat, which seems to come every time I eat cheese (or dairy in general?).

Looking forward to the juice fast though - the last time I did one there were a couple of downsides that I had not understood to correct: Firstly, I was drinking plenty of carrot juice, which I found gave me an allergic reaction, and secondly, I wasn't doing enough enemas from the start. This time I will try to do an enema every day although it may be difficult because I will be very busy at work for the next three weeks.

I will still take the adrenal glandulars during the juice fast (as long as I can stomach them) but will reduce some of the other supplements until I'm eating solids again.

9pm:
Ran home from work, it felt quite hard work. Last time I went running was last autumn, just before the weather got too cold - that was about half a year ago! But although it felt like hard work I found that I ran quicker than ever before - 1 hour 6 minutes! The distance is 5.4 miles/ 8.7km but I alternate between walking an running, so I don't actually run continuously very long - probably not more than couple of blocks of running at a time.

For 'food', today I had a litre of pasteurized pink grapefruit juice, a litre of freshly squeezed live orange juice (from Marks & Spencers), a litre of apple and raspberry juice (pasteurized), and when I got home I had 1tbsp of Vitamineral Greens and 1tbsp of hemp protein powder mixed into live spring water and the juice of 1 lemon.

I've stretched, and now I'm gonna take a salt-water enema followed by a hot bath. Then, if I still have strength (the tiredness after running comes suddenly) I will go to the shop and get some fresh juice ingredients, and make a juice before bed. Or I might just have some herbs in a tea.

Generally I'm feeling very good after the run and on the juice fast. Look forward to tomorrow and feeling fresh :)

I took an adrenal glandular just before bed and it gave me fast heartbeat - either it's not good to take them at night or it is too strong now since I'm on a juice fast. I couldn't sleep for a while, and maybe my body was also on 'overdrive' because of doing so much so late in the evening. I was feeling very hungry as well but didn't have any juices ready so just ignored it. Fell asleep eventually, maybe around midnight or so. [Later note: I seemed to have the same problem of not being able to fall asleep all week even when I didn't take the adrenal glandular supplements in the evening.]

Weight: 60kg.

Juice fasting on pasteurized fruit juices - experiment.

Day 30 - Juice Fasting/ High Raw Diet

Tuesday, 23rd April 2013

Woke up at 7.30am, feeling well, a little sore leg muscles but not too bad. Did some more stretching this morning, and drank some live spring water with one lemon squeezed in. I also drank a mix of Vitamineral Greens, hemp protein powder and live spring water. Cycling to work now in the sunny warm weather, gonna do another long day at work. Juice fast is good for getting a lot done since you don't spend time cooking.

My belly is getting flatter and my face looks fresher today but my chin is still fat.

Drinks during the day:
About 4-5 litres of pasteurized juices: grapefruit juice; vanilla, passionfruit and ? juice; apple and raspberry; as well as two small bottles of freshly squeezed (unpasteurized) mango and orange juice. Some tap water with pink Himalayan salt (solé).

Stayed late at work today, until 10pm.

Dinner at home:
Freshly pressed watermelon juice.
Live spring water.
Bedtime: 11.15pm.

Day 31 - Juice Fasting/ High Raw Diet

Wednesday, 24th April 2013

Weight: 59kg in the morning, 60kg in the evening.

Day 3 on juice fast, woke up at 7.15am, feel good, a little tired as I worked late last night again and didn't get that much sleep. My belly is quite flat, I look like I'm losing weight but it doesn't show much on the scales yet. My face looks very puffy this morning, though, and my mouth is coated. I'm definitely detoxing. But generally my energy is more stable and better than usual. I don't have much muscle ache from the running anymore. I feel a little lighter as well. This morning I grave a big breakfast but that's only because I haven't drank my juice yet. I'm taking less adrenal glandulars per day now during the juice fast, and less supplements. I do really feel like I need a good sleep though. Today I'm coming home early and going straight to bed.

Breakfast:
Green juice made of romaine lettuce, lemon, ginger, celery, green pepper.

Drinks at work:
Blackberry, blackcurrant, and apple juice; pink grapefruit juice; passion fruit etc. juice, mango and apple juice (most from Sainsbury's, all pasteurized).
Tap water
1 teasp of zeolite clay with water.

Worked late again, didn't even have time for a lunch break, got home about 8.30pm. Drank some live spring water at home, no dinner.

Detox symptoms and progress: My tongue is very coated when tongue scraping; I cough more these days than usual, more when cycling but at random times also; my nose is blocked (but then again, it always is). Energy levels are good, but I'm tired from so much working and not enough sleep. I use the grounded mousemat at work now (since Monday) which may help to be less tired. This morning I was tired but cycling woke me up and by the time I got to work I felt completely fresh and awake. My belly keeps making crumbling sounds every once in a while and I was sneezing at work today (sneezing is quite usual for me too, especially at work). Cycling feels very easy, my face is starting to look better.

Bedtime: 10.15pm

Day 32 - Juice Fasting / High Raw Diet

4th Day Juice Fasting, Thursday

Breakfast:
Spinach, lettuce, ginger and lemon juice

Juices at work:
Approximately four litres of pasteurised juice.

Dinner:
Spinach, lettuce, ginger, lemon and orange juice

I took a salt water enema in the evening after getting home quite late from work. I had loose stools before the enema and started feeling a little nauseous while doing the enema. I think I may have put too little salt in the enema water.

Bedtime: 11.30pm but I couldn't sleep straight away - probably fell asleep at about 2am or something...

Friday - Juice Fasting / High Raw Diet

5th Day on a Juice Fast, Friday

Woke up at 7am, got to work early.

Breakfast:
Lemon water
Hemp protein, Vitamineral Greens, live spring water

At work:
I was so busy I didn't have time to buy more juices in the day, so I got through the day with three litres of pasteurised juice only, as well as three redbush teas (made with boiled tap water and white - bleached - teabags). The juices were: pineapple and lime; pink grapefruit; and mango and apple.

Dinner:
Apple and rhubarb juice (pasteurised)
Live spring water

Bedtime: 9pm, couldn't sleep straight away but put angelica essential oil on my forehead and soles of my feet, as well as 'sniffed it' from the bottle, and it seemed to help me fall asleep (it relaxes the central nervous system).

Day 34 - Juice Fasting / High Raw Diet

6th Day on a Juice Fast, Saturday

Weight: 59kg.

Woke up at 9am, feeling rested and well again.

Breakfast:
live spring water
fresh, live black grape juice
pasteurised pineapple juice

Insomnia and Juice Fasting
I have been very busy at work this week, so haven't had time to write updates. I have felt surprisingly good on the juice fast, but I have been working 10-11 hour days at work this week and as a result, been feeling tired. An additional problem has been that when I get home, take a bath, drink juices, and try to go to sleep, I couldn't sleep most of the nights, until quite late. This is unusual for me and only started on Monday, when I started the juice fast. It feels like my body is tired but my mind is wide awake. Some people may think that this is a result of having too much energy from the fasting... but it is not the case here. It is more like my mind being on overdrive and not able to calm down. Perhaps sitting in front of computers in a high electromagnetic/ high wi-fi environment in the middle of the pollution of the city does not go well with juice fasting? Whatever the case is, I'm sure it is temporary and will pass. My best guess is that it has to do with my nervous system rejuvenating. Often the symptoms are said to get better before they get worse - perhaps it is just changes in my body, and minor discomfort while it is readjusting itself to a cleaner, stronger version of itself!

Cravings
Last night I was very tempted to eat the fish soup my boyfriend made, or other foods, such as spicy spinach and feta pie from my local shop. My mind was trying to look for excuses to be able to eat those. Some lady on the bus was talking about Chinese food and that got my appetite for cooked food going as well. So many temptations in the city! Going to my local corner shop to buy juices, I was tempted by chocolates by the counter. But I think all this was just because I let myself to get a little hungry. As soon as I got home and drank some more juice, the temptations went again. I wonder how much the subconscious mind is involved in these cravings and if it can be retrained to crave other things instead? I guess with time it will adjust to not crave chocolate, for example, but a green salad or fruits. But, on the other hand, when you do let the body get hungry, it will give you the signal to eat high-calorie foods, because it needs the energy. Interestingly, however, it seems that this hunger can also be satisfied by low-calorie nutrient-dense foods, such as green drinks, as the body craves nutrients also, and not only calories. That is why you can eat high-calorie foods which are very low in nutrition (such as processed white flour products) and keep cravings more and more. This results in the classic case of being overfed and undernourished. More about this here: Raw Food Weight Loss.

Detoxing from Stimulants/ Rebuilding Adrenal Glands
Generally, however, I have not had a lot of cravings this week, and as long as I keep drinking juices regularly throughout the day, I don't seem to get hungry or cravings, apart from slight hunger at the beginning. I would say that this will vary from person to person, especially if you normally use stimulants or eat stimulant-like foods, because the cravings for these will often be greater and there will be a withdrawal period. Examples of what may cause these: coffee, tea, caffeine, soft-drinks, processed-sugar foods, dairy, meat-products, processed carbohydrates (white rice, pasta), alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Many people in the industrialised world are dependent on daily stimulants of various kinds and stopping these suddenly may cause the over-stimulated adrenal glands to slow down to rest. This will be experienced as unusual fatigue and tiredness, and measures will have to be taken to heal the adrenal glands before high energy can be experienced. A raw food diet or a nutritious, vegan, wholefood diet together with plenty of sleep, rest, and relaxation will go a long way towards healing the adrenal glands. Certain herbs, such as liquorice, maca, ginseng etc. have been said to help, as well as adrenal glandular supplements. Staying away from stimulants is very important as well. I will write a post soon regarding adrenal gland healing but meanwhile you can read the book: "Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome" by Dr. James Wilson meanwhile, or visit his website.

Detox Symptoms
Generally, cycling has felt a lot easier this week, despite the tiredness. I can go faster and pedalling feels lighter. My mouth has been coated a lot and the other day I had quite loose stools - bordering on diarrhea. Apart from that I can't say I've experienced any 'healing crisis', which is good and means that my body can handle the detox. Of course there has also been the slight insomnia described above. I've had some air in my belly and some mornings my eyes looked a little red. I still have one bowel movement each day, which can seem strange because I haven't eaten anything! But it is in fact one of the main ways for the body to detox cellular waste, mucus and even excess fat - as Dr. Robert Morse says - "you poop it out"!

Benefits of Juice Fasting Experienced So Far
Apart from the benefits I've experienced on my previous juice fasts, which are described here: Benefits of Juice Fasting, I have felt that I could handle the lack of sleep and the long work hours better, i.e. I've had more energy than usual. Although the weight loss is still pretty much non-existent, my face looks a lot fresher and less puffy, and I get a few inspiring moments here and there, where nature looks more beautiful or my mind feels balanced and inspired in a different way from normal. These are very minimal at this point, however, and I hope these effects will increase like on my previous juice fasts. But I do feel more composed and confident at work. I can't say that my thinking or memory has got sharper yet because I've been naturally tired all week (meaning, for a good reason), but I'm sure these effects will come as well as before.

Previous 21-Day Juice Fast
To read about my previous juice fasts, start at the link above. Please note that I had some obstacles during the above juice fast which I wasn't aware of at the time and which I have overcome by now. These were: getting a food intolerance reaction (racing heart and anxiety) in relation to carrots and also, taking too few enemas and experiencing detox symptoms as a result. In addition, I was not aware of the adrenal gland weakness I had at the time so I wasn't strengthening those in any way. This time I'm hoping to achieve better detox and increased energy levels as a result of adrenal glands slowly healing and getting back to strength.

Acid Reflux white Juice Fasting
Last night I started feeling acid coming up my windpipe and now (at 11:30am) I have the same feeling again, soon after drinking pasteurised pineapple juice. Yesterday I thought it might just be tiredness and being at work too much, I even thought maybe the environment was somehow 'acidic'. Now, however, I'm starting to be confused since during a juice fast your belly acids are not meant to be secreted at all! At least so I thought. Maybe it is the pasteurised juices and live juices wouldn't cause the same effect, at least if they were ripe, fresh and organic fruits. I will keep an eye on this symptom and see how it goes.

AM 'snacks':
Live spring water with raw apple cider vinegar (with mother) - seemed to help with the acid reflux.

Lunch:
Green juice made of one whole bunch of romaine lettuce, some black grapes and one pink grapefruit.

PM Drinks:
A litre of chaga mushroom tea with 1 teasp liquorice, 1/2 teasp fo-ti, and 1/2 teasp burdock root.

4.50pm: I've just sent my iris photos for Dr. Morse for one of his free iridology analyses on You Tube. Hopefully he'll do an analysis on them...

(Update: I got my free iridology analysis by email a year later (not as a YouTube video). He has now stopped doing the analyses for free but you can view my iridology report here.)

6.50pm: Feeling quite tired again, it must be the tiring work week. Hungry as well, as I haven't been making many juices today. Will go to the shop and buy some pasteurised juices now... Lots of phlegm coming up my throat today, a nice sign of my system clearing.
My pulse was 62 bpm - a nice low pulse, meaning there is no food intolerance reaction.

I have been reading my previous juice fast notes and I think, in conclusion, that this fast is good for ease of digestion, however, I don't think it is very alkalizing.... It seems that pasteurized fruit juices are not alkaline - as I actually tested some during my previous juice fast a year ago - and possibly only fruits which are ripe and freshly picked are alkaline. So, whereas this fast is definitely doing me good because it is easy to digest, I wonder if I should be better off on either a green juice fast or returning to a high-raw diet, including eating lots of steamed vegetables. To get my body energies up and cleansed is the highest priority, as well as rejuvenating my adrenal glands.

Nevertheless, on the last juice fast I did I felt some spiritual benefits, as well as an improvement on my periods, etc. and it felt right. And this week it has helped with my energy levels. So it is definitely a useful thing to do... I just wonder whether something other than a juice fast on pasteurised juices would be the best approach to heal my body the quickest....

A green juice fast will be more difficult, however, because I won't get enough calories - just micronutrients - and because it might be more cleansing, with all the alkalinity as well. Then again, Dr. Morse says that fruits are cleansing, not vegetables. So there are different points of view about this. According to some, an alkaline diet is a high energy diet - and that's what I want, high energy! So in a Northern climate, where you can't pick fruit out of a tree very often or very easily, what are we to do? Fresh berries are a good option but what else? I may try a green juice fast in the summer but for now, should I return to a high raw diet but eat a lot of fruit and easily digested cooked vegetables as well as home-made, live vegetable and fruit juices? I am feeling good on the juice fast as it is, however, so maybe I should just continue for a while and see what happens, despite acidity of the pasteurised juices?

7pm: I feel good again, not tired. I think the powerful herb tea woke me up!

Bedtime: midnight

Later note:
I couldn't sleep again. My heart started pounding. I wonder if this has something to do with my blood sugar levels. It feels like an anxiety symptom but very physical.

Day 35 - Juice Fasting / High Raw Diet

7th Day on a Juice Fast, Sunday

Woke up: 9.30am

Breakfast:
Juice of two organic oranges
Juice of 1 lemon with live spring water
Pasteurised grapefruit juice

2.30pm:
Ok, I tested the pasteurised grapefruit juice and it is acidic. I also tested the live spring water we get delivered and it came out alkaline, about 8.5pH. I used a liquid one can get from a gardeners store to test the pH levels, you put three drops of the liquid in a small vial and see what colour it turns, then compare it against a colour chart.

Then searching online brought up sites claiming that all pasteurized products are acidic. Apparently pasteurization actually turns alkaline liquids acidic! If this is true, which it probably is, I'm not sure it is good for me to fast primarily on acidic juices! A fresh, live juice fast is definitely good for you, but I wonder whether this one is. I know it does achieve good results, however, my goal is to achieve optimum results in a minimum amount of time.

On the other hand, it is not always so straightforward with acid/ alkaline. For example, lemons are acidic when tested but their juice has an alkalising effect on the body! This is the main confusion I have about acid/ alkaline at the moment - how do you know what has an alkalizing effect and why?!? Is it possible that pasteurised juices have an alkalising effect, too?

Only way to know, really, will be to test my saliva and urine pH. So just after I wrote the previous sentence, I went and ordered a saliva and urine pH test kit from Amazon.

Ok, so I've delved deep into the alkaline/ acid research here and I think will have to write a separate article about it. Will provide a link here and decide what to do about my juice fast afterwards. Whether I should tweak it or stop it. [Update: Alkaline/ Acid Foods: Clearing Out Confusion.]

One thing I should mention, though, 'for the record', is that I have had some emotions come up, mainly irritability, which hit at random times. Luckily, they are short-lasting and go away quickly. This feels different from usual, as there are no clear triggers and as these moods dissipate quickly. I think it has either to do with a release of emotions due to the juice fast, or it has to do with acidity. Another option is unstable blood sugar levels, in case my body doesn't deal with the sugars from juices properly. Oh yeah, just remembered, that was another topic I was going study today, and also order the blood sugar testing kit. Another interesting experiment.

[Later update: I suspect the irritability was due to too much sugar from the juices. Read my later articles here: Sugar Addiction and How and Why to Balance Blood Sugar. Fasting on live green juices would have been better.]

PM drinks:
Live juice of one large cucumber and a bunch of red grapes (amazing taste!)
Chaga mushroom tea with liquorice root, fo-ti root, burdock root
Lemon water

Evening:
Live juice of pink grapefruits
More chaga mushroom tea

00:30am:
I have now finished my research about acid and alkaline foods! The resulting explanation is here:
The Truth About Alkaline and Acid Foods - Clearing Out Confusion

I have learned so much, now all I need to do is to wait for my litmus paper pH test strips and see whether I am acidic or not. As a result of the research I assume I will have to stop my juice fast since it requires pasteurized juices but will wait to see first what the saliva and urine pH levels are and also to test my blood sugar.

1am: Bedtime. I fell asleep straight away but woke up around 4am and couldn't sleep much more after that. Felt tired but not sleepy.

Books on Water and Juice Fasting

How to Keep Slim, Healthy and Young with Juice Fasting: The Age-old Way to New You! by Dr. Paavo Airola

View on Amazon USA

The Transformational Power of Fasting: The Way to Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Rejuvenation by Stephen Harrod Buhner

View on Amazon USA

More life-changing natural health books here.

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