Going on a two day juice fast can really help your body focus energy on repair. However, you need to make certain that you are getting the proper nutrients required to keep you from getting sick with toxic overload.
As you fast, your body will break down fat cells. These fat cells, however, can have toxins bound up in them which will be released into the body as the fat is utilized. Environmental toxins always go through the liver. The liver will wrap them up in fat if it can't eliminate it. We can help the body to eliminate these toxins by giving it what it needs to eliminate them while we fast.
The fast that I'm using is a juice/ bone broth fast. These items will provide all the necessary nutrients without taking forever for the stomach to breakdown and digest the ingredients.
Fasting generally takes your body through 3 phases, if you fast long enough.
During phase 1, your body will take the fat and convert it to a metabolite. This metabolite will contain the fat soluble toxin in a rather toxic form. This is why we only want to fast for 2 days at a time, to give our body the chance to remove all the released toxins without getting sick from toxic overload.
So, this metabolite is full of free radicals, which can be damaging to the tissues. However, you can help your body by getting plenty of antioxidants during this period. Antioxidants are like scavengers that round up free radicals; the most potent of which is beta carotene.
Another antioxidant to include is Vitamin C (if you take a supplement you want the Vitamin C with bioflavonoids). And, Vitamin E is another one you'll want to include during this phase, along with a good Vitamin B supplement.
A good juice to use during this phase is 80% carrot, 10% celery, and 10% apple. You could add in some ginger if you like. However, you need to make certain all your vegetables are organic so you aren't introducing more toxins to the body.
You're trying to nutritionally support the liver the entire time you fast, so you'll drink your juices at 8AM, 10AM, 12PM, 2PM, and 4PM and then you'll let the body rest and drink filtered water with a grain of Celtic salt the rest of the time.
In phase 2, which kicks in at about 36 hours into your fast, the liver takes the volatile, toxic metabolite and joins it together with amino acids. This converts the substance into a water soluble state so that it can be released out of the body through sweat and urination.
Minerals are needed by the body during this phase. A great place to get a variety of natural minerals is Celtic Salt or Baja Gold Salt.
You also need amino acids, which you get from protein, for the metabolite to bind with, which is why I suggest some bone broth with Celtic salt in it. You can make your own mineral rich broth by placing bones and different vegetables and spices in a crock pot and cooking on low for at least 24 hours and then strain everything out so that what you're left with is just liquid.
You could use a pea protein shake that's been pre-digested mixed with water to drink during this time, but whichever you use you want to keep taking your Vitamin C and E supplements, and keep drinking the carrot/apple juice just add a little coconut cream to it to give yourself some good fat it. You definitely want something that will only take your body about 10 minutes to digest.
Ideally, you would drink your bone broth along with your juice (not mixed together) at 8AM, 10Am, 12PM, 2PM, and 4PM.
Finally, in phase 3, which happens almost simultaneously with phase 2, the body kicks the water soluble toxin out through sweat, urine, or feces.
Should you need help with elimination during this, you can brew some Colon Tea. The Barbara O'Neill colon tea recipe is a blend of three parts buckthorn bark, two parts licorice root, and one part cascara. To prepare it, mix one teaspoon of the herb mixture per cup of water and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. It is recommended to start with one cup at night and adjust the amount based on your body's response.
This fast is a good way to give the stomach and digestive system a rest while also freeing the system from built up fat-soluble toxins. It's better to do about 2 days of this type of fasting once every week, or every two weeks, than to fast for multiple days in a row on nothing but water, which will create a lot of metabolites, which will make you very sick since your body won't be able to remove them.
If you find that you are feeling sick when you do this fast, then take some extra bone broth with Celtic salt in it. It means your body is pretty toxic and is releasing a lot of metabolites. Drinking extra protein will help the body to convert and expel them faster.
