Fasting is believed to hold great promise for better human health. Research studies conclude that  fasting remains one of the most effective means of detoxifying your body and resetting your system for better overall health.

I recently went on a 5 day liquid fast to see if I could reset my immune system and get rid of my seasonal hay fever.

Fresh vegetable juice.

Four Main  Types of fasting

Dry Fast

Dry fasting involves not eating or drinking anything during the fasting period. This type of fast can make you feel depleted of energy and dehydrate the body.

Liquid Fast or Water Fast

On the Liquid fast you only drink fluids and avoid eating solid foods. Liquid fasts can include broth, freshly made vegetable juice, water, or smoothies. Water fasts only permit water during the fasting period. Both of these fasts can last from a day to several days.

Partial Fast

There are two kinds of partial fasting. The first type is similar to liquid fasting except you may eat small amounts of solid food for the duration of the fast. The second type excludes certain foods for an extended period. People give up carbohydrates, alcohol, red meat or all meats during this fast.

Intermittent Fast

Intermittent fasting is  alternating periods of fasting and eating during the same day. I chose to adopt this style of fasting into my everyday life for an extended period during healing from cancer which I describe in my book “Cancer Healed Naturally“.

“I would only  start eating  at around 10.30 after my morning exercise and stop eating at about 19h00. These short periods ( that is, approximately 15 hours between supper and breakfast ) of intermittent fasting have certain long-term health benefits. Dr Mercola sums this up in his article Everything You Need to Know about Intermittent Fasting:

  • “Fasting helps promote insulin sensitivity; optimal insulin sensitivity is crucial for your health, as insulin resistance or poor insulin sensitivity contributes to nearly all chronic diseases.
  • It normalizes ghrelin (known as the hunger hormone) levels.
  • It increases the rate of HGH production, which has an important role in health, fitness and slowing the aging process.
  • Fasting lowers triglyceride levels.
  • Fasting helps suppress inflammation and fights free radical damage.
  • In addition, exercising in a fasted state can help counteract muscle aging and wasting, and can boost fat-burning”.

I recently did a  Liquid fast of Juice, Smoothies and broths for 5 days to see if I could improve and heal  my seasonal allergies and decrease inflammation in my body.

My daily Liquid intake for 5 days

  • Started the morning with a glass of warm water with the juice of 1/2 lemon in it.
  • After that I had a cup of herbal tea made from : 1 t/s elderberries, 1 t/s marshmallow root, 1 t/s lemon balm, 1 t/s pantain, 1 t/s peppermint and 2 t/s calendula.
  • Breakfast: 3 glasses of liquidised  watermelon juice

    Watermelon Juice

  • Lunch: Vegetable juice made from :

10 carrots 6 kale leaves
6 Kale leaves
5 thin celery stalks
1/2 beetroot
ginger root
turmeric root
1/2 orange
1/3 pineapple (makes 700ml)

I added a little water to each glass to make the juice more palatable.

  • Supper: Vegetable and bone broth made from:

Vegetable and Bone Broth

4 carrots chopped
1 beetroot chopped
bunch celery
2 cloves garlic
turmeric root
ginger root
2 onions
1 ts salt
1 ts cumin
1/2 chile
1/2 ts clove
500ml organic bone broth
500 ml water
boil it for 30 minutes and scoop out the vegetables. 

I found the broth very satisfying and would have between 2- 3 bowls of it. The bone broth is full of gelatine that can help the intestinal lining of the gut to repair. I also tried to keep as much of the fruit and vegetables as possible, organic, in order to lower the pesticide load in my body. I avoided all GMO vegetables.

The next few days were very similar except that I varied the fruit in the breakfast juice. I alternated freshly made melon juice, papino juice and pineapple juice. Papaya and pineapple have the digestive enzymes of papain and bromelain.

Results from the 5 day liquid fast

  • The most noticeable is my skin that became more soft and radiant
  • My energy increased after day 3
  • My sinuses cleared up 80 % and I don’t have a constantly running nose now
  • I felt more compassionate and peaceful and in touch with myself, others and God
  • I am sleeping very well
  • Lost quite a bit of weight even though this wasn’t at all my purpose for the fast