Water fasts
Like the name says, a water fast is where you only drink water with a bit of salt. It’s the most extreme kind of fast and not recommended for long-term unless you’re under the care of a healer or not too ill to begin with.
Juice fasts
Fasts that allow freshly-squeezed veggie juices and fresh or organic bottled fruit juices, even snacking on fruits and veggies occasionally. Fruit juices should be diluted about 50%.
The 3-day fast
1st day: nothing but fruit juice, preferably prune and green grape or cranberry, and veggie juice.
2nd day: nothing but potassium broth and teas.
3rd day: nothing but veggie juices and teas. Repeat cycle for longer fast.
Vegetable juice
The Dry Fast
The simplest fast, you simply don’t eat and only drink a quart of water so as to not flush out your electrolytes. Only do this for 1-3 days.
Teas
Herbal teas are a great way to pinpoint the fasts to heal certain ailments and reach certain goals. For instance, parsley tea flushes the kidneys and gets rid of edema. Dandelion tea cleanses the liver and lymphs, purifying the blood. Nettle tea cleanses the lymphs.
Mono-diets
Eating nothing but Kichadi can preserve your strength and energy and still allows the body to detox and rest somewhat.
Limited Diets
My recommendation is for everyone is to get to the point where you can enjoy a diet of 80% healthy foods, 20% fun foods. But after a holiday season where it’s more like 50/50, it’s a good idea to switch to 100% healthy for a week or so.
Weight loss
I don’t recommend water fasts for weight loss, the loss is usually muscle mass and the weight returns right away. People who lose fat with extreme fasting often lose it too fast, and are left with unsightly pouches of skin at the arms and tummy that only surgery can remove. It’s great to start a weight-loss campaign with 3 days of fasting just to get in touch with the body, but after that, the basic diet should be maintained.
The Master Cleanse
The Master Cleanse was created by William Burroughs and includes laxative tea, salt water flushes, and a lemonade drink made with maple syrup and cayenne. It’s a great drink but the fast has problems, including overdosing on laxatives. Burroughs didn’t like enemas for some reason, and daily salt water flushing can be hard on the digestive system or urinary system. Another problem is that you really shouldn’t have more than 6 lemons a day for extended periods of time, as it is hard on the liver/gallbladder because of its contraction/cleansing effect. Over time, it will weaken the liver and spleen, so if you have a weak liver or gallbladder problems, this is not the fast for you. Adjust it to lessen the # of MC drinks you have and include teas, potassium broth.
Master Cleanse