How To Break Your Fast Without Negative Effects

BREAK YOUR FAST RESPONSIBLY Follow your instinct as you would know your own body best. Should you feel severe discomfort while juice fasting and feel that your body cannot take it, break your fast slowly using the guidelines below. Act responsibly regarding your health when juice fasting. After a fast, don’t be tempted to go all out and eat everything you’ve been craving when fasting. This is dangerous as your stomach had shrunk considerably during fasting. You will have to take more precaution if you had done an extended fast, to prevent a shock to your system. It is very important to reintroduce food to your body in small amounts and very gradually. Gorging on food after a fast can be fatal. Remember, the longer you fast, the more days you will have to take to break your fast. As a general rule, for every four days you fast, you’ll take one day to break fast. For example, if you had juice fasted for 40 days, you will need about 10 days to gradually break your fast. But … always listen to how your body responds with the food and the amount of food you consume. Coconut oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil etc. are fine to be taken as supplements while you’re juice fasting/feasting. However, avoid oily deep-fried foods when breaking fast. Rich foods with fats, starch, processed sugar and salt can cause nausea and headaches. See below for some suggestions on what you can eat during this period. The first few “solid” meals will just move through your digestive system and sweep out the old encrustation wastes that have loosen from the juice fast/feast. It may cause some discomfort but will pass in a few hours. Wait till you are hungry before you take your next meal. Resist the temptation to eat just because it’s “lunch time”. Continue to take fresh fruits and vegetables, including the juices, slowly increasing the amount over the duration of your breaking fast period. . SOME SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO EAT Introduce soft and light foods in small amounts, gradually increasing the amount. Here are some suggestions on what you may eat: Vegetable (clear) broth, gradually move to thicker soups like home-made pumpkin, tomato, or mushroom soups made with unflavored yogurt. Avoid canned soups as they are too high in sodium. Any soft fruits but avoid fibrous fruits like pineapple, and acidic citrus fruits. Suggestion: apple, avocado, banana, berries, honey melon, mango, papaya, pear, peach, watermelon, etc. Any leafy vegetables like lettuce, endive, purple cabbage, rocket leaves, spinach, gradually moving to “harder” vegetables like bell peppers, cucumber, celery, jicama, etc. You may also lightly steam asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, sweet potato, fresh peas, etc. I like to lightly sprinkle my steamed vegetables with a little sea salt for taste. You can make fresh salads from the fruits and vegetables but never use those store-bought dressings as they have very high content of sodium, sugar and artificial food additives. Make your own dressings from olive, flaxseed or balsamic oil, apple cider vinegar, raw honey, etc. You can find many home-made dressing recipes online. Cook beans in pressure cooker or slow cooker till beans are soft, make bean paste mixed with yogurt flavored with a little raw honey or stevia. Grind oats till powdered form, soak in yogurt overnight in fridge and have it for breakfast. It is very rich and filling, start with a little gradually increasing the amount by the days as you can comfortably take. Soft boiled eggs, gradually move to hard boiled eggs as hard-boiled are a little more difficult to digest. Towards the end of breaking fast phase—congee with eggs, mushroom, fish fillets, etc. You may like to sprinkle some sesame oil on the congee.