Question:
I have been eating rather healthy throughout my macro journey and my
cooking is improving exponentially. Even while dining out I order
healthy (unlike some who like biscuits and gravy - ew!) I just started
reading "The Macrobiotic Way" and it's a much easier book to read and
understand the standard Macrobiotic Diet.
I figured that with all the sickness going around, the non-stop
partying and the lack of sleep I have gotten in the last month, I would
give my body a little rest and rejuvenation and try out a Brown Rice
Fasting.
I am sure some of the more experienced players could offer me some
guidance in this process. For instance, Luis had mentioned eating the
brown rice with umeboshi plums or ginger. Are there medicinal benefits
to adding these or is it just for flavoring? What is the average
length in time that is healthy to fast/detox?
Answer:
the umeboshi plum and ginger are totally flavoring...but also they
have medicinal benefits. when i brown rice fasted it was for 3 days.
i flew to phili, stayed one night, then drove back with my friend. i
ate nothing but rice balls. some had umeboshi plum paste and ginger
juice mixed in. some didn't. like i told you on im. i felt spent
and weak after the fast, but it was a good feeling. like i had a
clean slate to start with. i don't know about it's detoxing benefits.
i was very toxicated in those days. l.a. has changed all that
though!
if you're going to do any sort of br fast it is essential that you chew
really well. but the most important thing is to just take messages
from your body and listen to them! don't try to push yourself. also
don't overeat on the br, and if you feel the urge to then you probaby
need to add in some veg. and def no more than three days. ohsawa
speaks of the 7 day br fast but that is never recommended anymore. in
fact the only reason he ever recommended 7 was because he was writing
to a french audience and he considered them lazy and weak willed so he
thought if he said 7 then they'd actually do about 3. when he came to
america he was shocked that people were so determined and actually
followed the 7.
i'm really not an advocate of the br fast though, not for people who
are transitioning. i think it's too big a shock to the system. that's
why i say make sure you listen to your body and don't try to take it
too far. the best way to detox is just to eat a wide variety of grains
and veg. miso and ume are medicinal foods that well help as well, in
moderation. and of course the flip side is to take a serious look at
those factors that are highly toxifying like "the non-stop partying and
the lack of sleep". be patient, the toxicity that most of us carry
around has been accumulating for decades. it takes time to draw it
out.
