The Miracle of Juice Fasting for Crohn’s Disease, Colitis, Celiac and IBS

I enjoy a good meal and a glass of red wine as much as the next person – so forgoing those two things has never been very high on my to-do list!  But when you get sick with ulcerative colitis (like I did), you get so desperate, you’ll try anything.

I was born in Russia, and I knew that, for hundreds of years, supervised fasting has been used with great success as part of European medical treatments. The first time I personally tried fasting was in 1989. Twenty-one days of juice fasting together with medicinal enemas, nutritional supplements and herbs healed my supposedly “incurable” Pancolitis.  My intestinal bleeding, chronic diarrhea, and joint pain vanished. I felt energetic and excited about being alive. Juice fasting saved my life and healed my soul.

I realized Hippocrates, the father of Western Medicine was right: fasting allows the body to heal itself.

Why Does Fasting Work?

When we stop eating our usual 3 meals a day, and start consuming live, raw juices our bodies spend all that extra energy (used to digest food) on detoxification, including purging from drugs, chemicals from personal care products, mucus, bacteria, parasites in our intestines, and food additives and preservatives.

The Benefits of Fasting

Fasting allows our major organs (e.g. colon, liver, kidney, lungs, and skin) to release and eliminate toxins. Fasting promotes the formation of new, healthy cells. It can be used as a method of healing from acute and chronic illness or as a disease prevention tool for healthy people. Fasting can reverse the aging process for the middle-aged and elderly. Your body has a built-in mechanism of breaking down and digesting diseased tissues and damaged cells. After all the garbage in our system is disposed of, the body starts building new, healthy organs and tissues. The raw power of juice also purifies the blood, removes the waste from large intestine, and rejuvenates the endocrine system.

Fasting is highly effective for the following conditions:

• Food allergies/Sensitivities
• Asthma
• Arthritis
• IBS/Celiac Disease/IBD
• Flus/Colds/Fever
• Constipation
• Migraine Headaches
• Skin problems (eczema, psoriasis)
• Back problems (sciatica, low back pain)

How Often Should You Do Juice Fasting?

Juice fast 1x/week for one month, then expand to 2 days/week, once a month. Seven day fasts can be done 4 times/year, at the beginning of each season: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

How to Juice Fast

To prepare for a fast longer than 24 hours, eat vegetables and some low-sugar fruits for at least 3 days before embarking on 3-14 days fast. While fasting, consume hot herbal teas and hot vegetable broths, in addition to fresh vegetable juice. To improve the absorption of the juice, I would recommend diluting fresh juice with some water in a ration of 75% juice and 25% water.

Juice Fasting vs. Water Fasting

Juice fasting is much easier than water fasting. A water fast puts more stress on your vital organs (kidney, liver, heart and intestines) by promoting a faster release of acids (eg. uric acids) and toxins.  This process itself could be overwhelming for a person who is doing fasting for the first time. Raw juices supply much needed vitamins, minerals and enzymes, improves cell oxygenation and promotes recovery from sickness.

Side Effects of a Juice Fast

Be aware that during a fast, as a part of the body’s tissue cleansing process, you may experience any of the following symptoms:

• Coated tongue
• Metallic taste in the mouth
• Headaches/Dizziness
• Mucus discharge from sinuses and bowel
• Diarrhea/Fever/Fatigue
• Dark, foul smelling urine and feces
• Joint aches and pain

Do not be alarmed – this is a part of the internal detoxification process. Those symptoms are not dangerous and should go away after couple of days. Using colon therapy for the first 3-5 days will help you to minimize all those unpleasant physical symptoms. Stop fasting if your experience vomiting and diarrhea for more than a day! The possibility of dehydration is too high and might become dangerous for the faster.

Who Should Avoid Fasting?

Individuals with the following health conditions should avoid juice fasting:

• Anorexia
• Malnutrition
• Peptic Ulcers
• Tuberculosis
• After Surgery
• HIV an Chronic Infections
• Type I Diabetes
• Advanced Stage of Cancer
• Pregnant and Lactating Women
• Acute or Chronic Kidney Disease
• Patients taking prescription medications should consult their doctor

Galina’s Patient Case Study

Patient: M.L. 8-year-old girl

Condition: Asthma

The Case Study: This lovely 8-year-old girl suffered from a serious asthmatic condition. She was regularly using inhalers, and sleeping in a sitting position to prevent asthma attacks. As a last resort, her pediatrician recommended steroids (corticosteroids) to control her asthma.

I suggested a 2-day juice fast using diluted vegetable juices, followed by a special diet (no gluten, dairy, sugar, eggs, or peanuts). Plus, I prescribed special supplements to heal the lung tissue and to strengthen the immunity. After 30 days, she was able to be taken off all medication, and she slept peacefully lying down in her bed. She was rollerblading and skating for hours with her friends. Her parents were so happy to see their daughter enjoying her childhood to the fullest.

Galina’s Conclusion

It is prudent for a person with chronic, debilitating disease to undertake FIRST TIME juice fasting therapy while under the care of a medical professional experienced in fasting. Detoxification can be overwhelming, and may temporarily increase various symptoms of the disease.