The pre-fast detox

The pre-fast detox

The pre-fast detox is a very impotant part of the process of carrying out a juice fast. For at least 5 days before the fast - especially so if it is your first fast - you should cut dairy, meat, refined carbohydrates, animal fats alcohol and all other recreational drugs from your diet.

This may sound harsh, but if you decide to skip the pre-detox, and go from your normal diet into one consisting of purely juice, you will run into some problems. The detox you will experience and the symtpoms of it, could be at best hard to bear and at worse very bad for your health.

Why you need to do one ...

Your liver and kidneys, which cleanse your blood and fluids, and indeed all of your eliminatory organs, would be put under too much pessure if you did not stagger the detoxification system slightly. Cutting out the worst culprits from your diet for a period before you start juice fasting will make your fasting experience a far happier and less painfull one.

My first 16 day juice fast

I did my first planned two week juice fast in the summer and dedicated myself to the 7 day pe-detox and the experience of actually juice fasting gave me everything a fast should; mental clarity, greatly enhanced energy levels, and yes, I achieved that holy grail; a heightened spiritual experience. Even though the juice fast was planned for two weeks, I enjoyed it so much I carried on for 16 days, and only stopped then, because I was going on abroad on holiday.

My second 14 day juice fast

A couple months later I went into another mid length juice fast - this time, bolstered by teh success of my last juice fast, I aimed for 3 weeks - but this time ditched the pre-detox. I can only say that what ensued was the most miserable, cold, uninspired two weeks of my life. Feeling hungry most of the time, and so grouchy that even Isaac kept out of my way. The day he came home and found me eating a bowl of peas and humous on the sofa he seemed relieved to find I had ended my juice fast a week early!