I am embarking on a series of short dry fast as part of practicing my regular Christian fast. Since relatively few people do dry fast, I will share my experience.
I just finished a 59-hour dry fast. I felt fine physically, with a few fleeting minutes of hunger, until the last few hours when I felt thirst and weakness and increased heart rate.
The primary thing was to fill my day with meaningful spiritual activities so that I felt nourished within. I slept very well.
I will come back soon for my second dry fast.
Following is some advice on breaking a longer dry fast.
According to every Russian dry fasting specialist it is very dangerous to exercise while you dry fast. They recommend walking but only as long as your heart rate is not going up too much and you feel comfortable. Some stretching is ok too.
You have to remember the longer you dry fast the thicker your blood becomes. Thus if you raise your heart rate you create an undue stress on your heart. This can potentially lead to serious complications, including heart attack and stroke.
72 hours dry fast falls into category of the long fast hence needs to be treated accordingly. Here's what you do. You drink your first glass very slowly, no less than 10 minutes to 15 minutes and mix each sip with your own saliva. The best water to use for breaking the fast is melted water. What you do is you put spring water in the freezer, let it freeze completely then take it out and let it melt. Melted water improved metabolism, helps further detoxication and rejuvenates the body. You can combine your drinking with taking a cool shower. After the shower you can take a warm bath but for no more than 8 minutes. You can drink more water while taking your bath. After that your transition to water fast is officially over.
It is important to break dry fast with water, not juice. You are supposed to drink one glass of water during the period of 20 - 30 minutes with slow sips, only two hours later can you have something else.
But a little bit of juice after a short fast is ok too, as long as it's not citrus.
Dr. Filonov, a Russian specialist on dry fast, gives the following advice regarding the best way to break a long dry fast
1. Nothing raw on day one.
You could boil some apricots (raw or dry), prunes or raisins and drink that. The fruit becomes very soft when cooked so you may eat some too. Dr. F. says eating raw fruit too fast after a long dry fast will damage pancreas.
You can also make veggie soup with all kinds of veggies and eat that. No salt though.
Be sure to have plenty of carbohydrates before eating protein.
2. On Day 2 and 3 you may reintroduce raw veggie and fish broth.
3. On Day 3 you renintroduce raw fruits.
4. You can start eating your regular diet on day 4 or 5.
One of the reasons people get edema after longer fasting in their low extremities (feet and ankles) is low levels of protein in their blood. Protein serves as a protective layer on the blood vessels for fluids to not sip out through their walls. If you don't have enough, the fluid will sip through and end up causing edema. Also kidney problems can be a major factor in having edema. So you need to stay away from salty foods for a long while after breaking your fast, whether dry fast or water fast.
I just finished a 59-hour dry fast. I felt fine physically, with a few fleeting minutes of hunger, until the last few hours when I felt thirst and weakness and increased heart rate.
The primary thing was to fill my day with meaningful spiritual activities so that I felt nourished within. I slept very well.
I will come back soon for my second dry fast.
Following is some advice on breaking a longer dry fast.
According to every Russian dry fasting specialist it is very dangerous to exercise while you dry fast. They recommend walking but only as long as your heart rate is not going up too much and you feel comfortable. Some stretching is ok too.
You have to remember the longer you dry fast the thicker your blood becomes. Thus if you raise your heart rate you create an undue stress on your heart. This can potentially lead to serious complications, including heart attack and stroke.
72 hours dry fast falls into category of the long fast hence needs to be treated accordingly. Here's what you do. You drink your first glass very slowly, no less than 10 minutes to 15 minutes and mix each sip with your own saliva. The best water to use for breaking the fast is melted water. What you do is you put spring water in the freezer, let it freeze completely then take it out and let it melt. Melted water improved metabolism, helps further detoxication and rejuvenates the body. You can combine your drinking with taking a cool shower. After the shower you can take a warm bath but for no more than 8 minutes. You can drink more water while taking your bath. After that your transition to water fast is officially over.
It is important to break dry fast with water, not juice. You are supposed to drink one glass of water during the period of 20 - 30 minutes with slow sips, only two hours later can you have something else.
But a little bit of juice after a short fast is ok too, as long as it's not citrus.
Dr. Filonov, a Russian specialist on dry fast, gives the following advice regarding the best way to break a long dry fast
1. Nothing raw on day one.
You could boil some apricots (raw or dry), prunes or raisins and drink that. The fruit becomes very soft when cooked so you may eat some too. Dr. F. says eating raw fruit too fast after a long dry fast will damage pancreas.
You can also make veggie soup with all kinds of veggies and eat that. No salt though.
Be sure to have plenty of carbohydrates before eating protein.
2. On Day 2 and 3 you may reintroduce raw veggie and fish broth.
3. On Day 3 you renintroduce raw fruits.
4. You can start eating your regular diet on day 4 or 5.
One of the reasons people get edema after longer fasting in their low extremities (feet and ankles) is low levels of protein in their blood. Protein serves as a protective layer on the blood vessels for fluids to not sip out through their walls. If you don't have enough, the fluid will sip through and end up causing edema. Also kidney problems can be a major factor in having edema. So you need to stay away from salty foods for a long while after breaking your fast, whether dry fast or water fast.
