Fasting and Elimination Diets

Aesculapius of ancient Greece advised, “Instead of using medicine, fast”. Hippocrates routinely recommended prolonged fasting. Animals and babies retain their natural instincts and refuse food when ill. Most people remain uninformed of the beneficial effects of fasting when sick and continue to advise their loved ones to “Eat and keep your strength.” Nothing worse could be done to lower vitality in illness than eating.

During fasting there is an increase in the amount of energy available for the eliminative process due to absence of large amounts of food requiring digestion and  assimilation, both of which require energy. The initial elimination begins as soon as the first meal is missed.  During this process the body is able to eliminate a large amount of deep-seated toxins.

It is essential that the fast be terminated with extreme care, especially in more prolonged regimes. In general, the longer the period of fasting, the longer the time needed before a full diet can be resumed. The food to be eaten during this building-up period must be of the best quality since the body will be building tissue from these materials. All the beneficial effects of fasting may be undone in a very short time by adding too much food too soon, of the wrong type or quality.

Fasting by definition is the elimination of solid food. The strictest fast is the water fast, where you drink only water whenever desired. Fresh fruit juice or fresh vegetable juice fast are also used, depending on the case and desired result. The order of fast in degree of eliminative power is:

1. Water fast
2. Citrus juice fast
3. Subacid fruit juice fast
4. Vegetable juice fast

The various fasts are, in reality only members of the order of elimination diets. Many regimes are employed to effect an elimination of greater or lesser strength. The following is a list in order of eliminative effects:

• Citrus fruit mono diet (a diet of only on type of fruit, plus its juice)
• Subacid fruit mono diet (e.g. apple mono diet)
• Mixed fruit diet (only one fruit per meal; no bananas are allowed)
• Raw fruit and vegetable diet
• Raw vegetable mono diet (e.g. raw carrot and raw carrot juice)
• Raw fruit, raw vegetables, and some cooked vegetables
• Raw and cooked fruit and vegetables plus carbohydrates
• Raw and cooked fruit and vegetables with carbohydrates and vegetarian proteins

Reasons for fasting are:

• During any acute disease
• In any case of lowered vitality
• During any healing crisis
• To clear the mind

The following juice or mono diets are frequently used:

• Lemon juice: in dilute form, lemon juice and water are highly eliminative.
• Carrot juice or mono diet: especially useful in digestive problems such as colitis or ulcers.
• Cabbage juice: this is most effective with ulcers.
• Onion juice and mono diet: excellent for any condition with excess mucus, lung complaints, sinus congestion, colds.
• Grapefruit juice or mono diet: this is especially useful in liver conditions, for general elimination, and with colds.
• Apple juice or mono diet: this is a good alkaline diet for acid conditions such as gout or other inflammatory conditions.