
HOW TO BREAK YOUR FAST
The word BREAKFAST means to break your fast. We do it each morning after our bodies have undergone a mini-fast during the night.
BREAKING A FAST PROPERLY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE PRE-FAST PROGRAM AND WHAT YOU DO ON THE FAST!!!
Two of the greatest mistakes of the uninformed are eating a huge, hard to digest meal before they fast, and eating a huge, hard to digest meal when they break a fast.
I have heard many people say, "I am preparing to go on a fast, so I am going to go out and eat a big steak dinner as my last meal." That big improperly combined steak, bread and potato dinner sits and rots in the digestive system during the entire fast.
The next statement is, "I have just finished fasting for seven days, I'm going out to the same restaurant where I had the big steak dinner as my last meal and get another one as my first meal."
Eating the wrong meal after a fast can literally turn a first meal into a last meal. When on a long fast, five days or more, the digestive system shuts down partially or completely. All energy is redirected. If you have cleaned out well, the stomach and the intestines are clean.
The system is not only cleaned of toxins, but it also cleans out the intestinal flora. Certain "good" bacteria live in your digestive tract (the intestinal flora). A thorough fast cleans out everything. You must allow time for the digestive system to prepare itself for food again.
How you should break your fast depends upon how long you have fasted. A good rule to follow is one day of a special diet for each five days that you fast and your first meal after any fast should not be a heavy full meal.
The special diet should only consist of dead fruit juices or herbal teas. When I say "dead fruit juices," I mean juices that are bottled or either fresh juices that you have heated to kill the enzymes. The reason for this is to prevent the active enzymes in the fresh juices from becoming a shock to the system. Bottled fruit juice is usually pasteurized, therefore, the enzymes in them are deactivated. Buy only non-sugared fruit juice that is pure fruit juice. Do not buy fruit drinks with sugar or other sweeteners.
It is best to squeeze and heat your own juices. Simmer the juices for 5 to 10 minutes, then allow them to cool to room temperature. It is best to eat everything during the BREAK FAST period at room temperature, nothing cold and nothing hot.
Acid fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits are best. Grapes are also good. Natural bottled apple juice and grape juice are easy to find at any grocery store.
This only applies to fasts of five days or longer. A shorter fast will generally not destroy the bacteria or shut down the digestive system.
A good rule of thumb for a short fast is to eat ONE FRESH FRUIT MEAL FOR EACH DAY OF YOUR FAST. If you fast for three days, then your first three meals should be fresh fruit. Even a one day fast should be broken with only fresh fruit. Many toxins and solid wastes will be loosened during a short fast. Fresh fruit is the best way to get them out of the body.
If you eat solid food after a long fast, the first thing that will occur is constipation. Your digestive system will not move that solid food until it starts functioning again. It has been busy cleaning, not digesting.
How you break your fast has a major effect on the benefits that you receive from your fast.
If you eat dairy products, plain yogurt is also good after the fruit juices. Yogurt contains "good" bacteria that help to restore the intestinal flora.
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