Closing the Juice Feast: Skillfully

Closing Your Juice Feast: Skillfully

Any fool can fast—only a wise person can break a fast properly.
—Otto Buschinger

Congratulations! Wow! Due to your perseverance and study, you are just about ready to Close out the Feast and dive into a health-promoting diet.

(You can download the Closing Skillfully file here.)

At the point of Feast-Closing a celebratory sense fills one’s being. While celebration is appropriate, out of necessity for well-being a degree of prudence and conscious restraint is in order. Returning to the eating of solid food wakes a sleeping giant, and a watchful eye must be maintained to ensure that the giant wakes slowly so as not to bring down the house.

During the Feast-Closing period, it is necessary to continue drinking freshly made vegetable and fruit juices (with an emphasis on chlorophyll-rich juices) to maintain a proper daily nutrient and caloric intake.

When you Close your Feast, consider choosing a significant place to do so, and whether you want to Close the Feast with someone close to you, or in contemplative silence with yourself. This is a meaningful time, and a point at which a memory will be stored that can provide you solace and happiness in the future.

Some good places to Close the Feast are parks bird sanctuaries, or any place of spiritual practice; your own quiet place at home—perhaps a backyard. A good place in time to Close the Feast, if possible, is on a day off from work. You may want to consider taking that day off to do a life review with written goals for the future, and to contemplate the love and health you have cultivated in yourself. The benefits will far exceed your own well-being, as you no doubt have already discovered.

When to Close a Juice Feast

So let’s talk about how you know when to Close a Juice Feast. We will give you some general guidelines, but most important is to consult a health professional for guidance, as is advisable on any health program.

That being said, here are some common indications that it is time for you to Close a Juice Feast:

You have reached the end of your scheduled time to Feast. You had a certain schedule on your calendar, and you are sticking to it.
If your heart is not in it, has not been for 3-5 days or more, and you are definitely about to eat something.
You have no guidance from a health professional, and/or are Feasting with feelings of fear.
You are not drinking enough juice or the right juice to provide your body with all the calories it requires, and do not feel that you can maintain the discipline of doing so.
Your weight hit 10% below your ideal, and by virtue of drinking 5-8 quarts of juice per day with increased superfoods, has risen back steadily over at least 4-10 days.
Your weight has hit 10% below your ideal, and has continued to trend downwards. You are feeling hungry, and are not feeling compelled (which is totally cool) to drink 5-8 quarts of juice per day to increase bodyweight.
You have reached the end of the time you or your coach suggested for your Juice Feast (could be anywhere from a few Days to 92 Days), and are ready to move back into eating, to Juice Feast more at a later date, once you have had a chance to regroup from this significant life event.

Whether you are at Day 92 now, or Day 1 for a one-day Juice Feast, it is important to feel that you have had a successful Feast, that it is something you will be proud of yourself for accomplishing, and a health tool (a Life Practice) that you will use again in the future with confidence.

John Rose, my mentor in Juice Feasting, suggests drinking juices for up to 2-3 months, and I made this Program 92 Days because this is the approximate length of time that many people in Western societies can potentially need to reverse their health challenges, significantly transform the desire for processed foods, and develop a craving and discipline of seeking Nutrient Dense, Living Foods.

If you have not Juice Feasted for such a length of time, please remember that not everyone who does this Program Feasts to completion on their first, or even second time.

Some of us have no need to Juice Feast for 92 Days, depending on our starting weight, health challenges, experience with cleansing, etc. This is a major life event and project that is new to many of us. Please be patient with yourself, and honor the great capacity in yourself that is moving in the direction of health and peace in a significant and loving way.

We salute you, and you should be very proud of yourself for establishing Juice Feasting as a Life Practice no matter how many days your Feast has been, be it 1 Day or 92 Days.

The Juice Feast Closing Protocol

The Juice Feast Closing Protocol download will explain the simple process back to a life-affirming cuisine. Recall that Juice Feasting has been upgraded to an Integrated Nutritional Approach, so whether you will be eating a Whole Foods, Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw/Live Vegan, or Integrated diet, this Feast Closing Protocol is for YOU.

Depending on the length of your Juice Feast, you can take up to 6 days to close your Feast based on the protocol below.

MAKE SURE to take the first 1/3rd of the days for a Green Smoothie in place of one of your juices, the second 1/3rd of the days for Green Smoothie and Low Glycemic Juicy Fruits (think berries… if you have blood sugar issues, stick with Low-Glycemic Green Smoothies during this time) in addition to 2-3 Green Juices, and the third 1/3rd of the days for Green Smoothies, Juicy Fruits, and Salad or Live Green Soup.

In other words, this is the order of your Feast-breaking items for each Part or Third of your Juice Feast Closing:

First-Third: Green Juice; Green Juice; Green Smoothie; Green Juice

Second-Third: Green Juice; Green Smoothie or Green Juice; Bowl of Juicy Fruit (berries); Green Smoothie or Green Juice

Third-Third: Green Juice; Green Smoothie or Green Juice; Green Salad or Green Soup; Bowl of Juicy Fruit or Green Smoothie or Green Juice; Green Salad or Green Soup for Dinner

Those parts will take either one or two days each, depending on the length of your Juice Feast.

Refer to the details below and in the Feast-Closing file to go easy on your body and Close the Juice Feast Skillfully.

How This Protocol Was Developed

For many years it was thought that the longer you cleansed, the longer – by far – that you had to take to reintroduce foods back into your system. It was also the conventional wisdom that you needed to begin eating small amounts of food slowly. Both of these ideas about breaking a cleanse have been modified.

When I learned about closing the Juice Feast from John Rose, John’s original formula was to take the total number of days that you cleansed, and divide by four. This number would be how many days you took to Close the Feast. For a three month cleanse this would be over 20 days of closing out, which was a long time.

John and I discussed the possibility of doing in a shorter period of time, and I contacted Gabriel Cousens, M.D., my professor in the Masters Program in Vegan and Live Food Nutrition at the Tree of Life. Dr. Cousens said that we could modify the Closing Period significantly to less than a week even if people had juiced for three months. That was good news.

So, the Feast Closing Protocol as you see it now is based on:

+ John Rose’s original formula
+ Gabriel Cousens’ helpful amendment to the length of Closing
+ The white oak bark and ginger root practice of Dr. Richard Anderson
+ The Green Smoothie Revolution of Victoria Boutenko and Family

With that said, here is how to do it!

The Feast-Closing period for Juice Feasts of Different Lengths

For Juice Feasts of 1 Day, you can return to eating your maintenance diet the following day. You may enjoy having a Green Smoothie or Green Vegetable Juice for breakfast the following morning.
For Juice Feasts of up to 7 Days, you can Close your Juice Feast during 1 Day.
For Juice Feasts of 8-30 Days, allow 3 Days to close your Juice Feast, which you can divide into the three parts, or thirds below.
For Juice Feasts of 31-92 Days, allow 6 Days to close your Juice Feast, which you can divide into the three parts, or thirds below. You will do 2 days of each “third” or part….

The Three “Thirds” or Parts of Juice Feast Closing

The First-Third

Close the Juice Feast with a 1-Quart Green Smoothie. We used to use soaked prunes, but they are not that exciting, and are high on the glycemic index for folks with blood sugar challenges. Green Smoothies are tasty and sexy. They can be made high or low on the glycemic index, depending on the fruit you use.This 1 Quart of Green Smoothie is the only solid meal you will eat on the first day. A bowel movement should come within 3-12 hours. If a movement does not come, you can employ the use of the herb Cascara Sagrada to prompt the peristaltic wave to induce a bowel movement. You can also eat 5-10 soaked organic prunes.Your 1 Quart of Green Smoothie should be your second or third drink of the day, in place of one of your juices. You will drink your other juices as you have throughout your Juice Feast.

“Hold on a second! How do I make Green Smoothies?” This is the file on Green Smoothies to introduce them. We recommend using blueberries, strawberries, or mangoes as your fruit in the Smoothies for this first third. Bananas will be constipating. This is a NON-DAIRY smoothie without fat. Just leafy greens, celery, fruit. That’s it. Simple. You have been juicing for a little while. Keep it simple. If you require a low-glycemic Green Smoothie because of a history of diabetes or other blood sugar challenges, the Green Smoothies file will have suggestions for you.

The Second-Third

During this phase and beyond, you may continue to drink Green Smoothies. You will now add in juicy fruits. By juicy fruits we mean watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, mangoes, pineapple, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers with the seeds removed, and so on. For your digestive health, avoid fruits that are not water-rich such as avocados, bananas, and the like. You may eat juicy fruits as an afternoon meal in place of one of your juices, while cutting back to about ½ the appropriate fresh juice amount you were consuming during the Juice Feast. As greens are vitally important to our overall health, it is wise to consider making Green Vegetable Juices your primary juice of choice at this point in the Feast-Closing process and in your life.

The Third-Third

You will now add Green Salads or Green Soups into your diet, consisting of tender greens: spinach, arugula, sprouts, and microgreens.

VERY IMPORTANT: Add in Sauerkraut. Click here for your Sauerkraut file from the 92-Day Juice Feasting Program on Kraut and Cultured Vegetables. Get Raw Sauerkraut and have up to a cup a day during this Third-Third. It will resupply your intestinal tract and colon with amazing probiotics and greatly help increase your digestive fire. You can also add in probiotics as a supplement at this time.

Check the bottom of this page for David Rainoshek’s file on Probiotics from The 92-Day Juice Feasting Program.

An appropriate salad dressing at this stage can be made from avocados and lemon—please refrain from using other creamy dressings (such as with nuts, seeds, or dairy) of any kind until you are finished with this final phase of Feast-Closing. Excellent fatty foods to add in at this time are avocados and kalamata olives. You may continue to drink Green Smoothies and eat juicy fruits! On this third-third you will having a Morning Green Juice, a Mid-Morning Smoothie, a Green Salad or Green Soup for Lunch, and another Green Smoothie, Green Salad, or Green Soup for Dinner.

What you are NOT doing yet during your Feast Closing Days are nuts and seeds and any dairy or meat products. If those are part of your diet, refrain from integrating them at least until you have completed the Juice Feast Closing practice.

Helping Your Bowel Tone with Herbs

Finally, you may want to employ the use of White Oak Bark and Ginger to help shrink your colon and repair any prolapse that may have resulted from years of weighty impacted fecal matter pulling the colon down and out of position. This is more important for Feasts longer than 12 Days. See the directions below, and use the White Oak and Ginger for the duration of your Feast-Closing period.

What does White Oak Bark do?

White oak bark has been an important herb used by Native American cultures for hundreds of years as a medicine to treat wounds and intestinal problems. White oak bark is one of the strongest natural astringent herbs available. It provides not only great astringent properties, but anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties as well.

Rich in tannins, white oak bark also provides minerals like calcium, iron and zinc. White oak bark’s astringent properties tighten tissues and strengthen blood vessels, making it ideal for treating diarrhea, hemorrhoids and varicose veins. The blood-clotting agents active in white oak bark are also helpful to cease nosebleeds.

White oak bark has also been used to treat inflammation and irritations caused by poor digestion, ulcers, strep throat and skin problems.

This tree‘s bark of this tree is used medicinally. It has calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iodine, sulfur, iron, sodium, cobalt, tin, lead and strontium.

What does Ginger Root do?

A lot, but most importantly during the Juice Feast Closing, it potentiates, or makes more effective, the action of the White Oak Bark. We have David Rainoshek’s massive file on Ginger for you at the bottom of this page.

How to Shrink the Abdomen, Repair Prolapsus
**(Cleanse and Purify Thyself by Richard Anderson)**

A thick and dangerous mucoid buildup in the intestinal tract, as seen in the famous “beer belly,” causes damage to surrounding tissues. Once the mucoid layers are removed, the seriously stretched intestines are still soft and flabby. But there is hope for a normal and healthy look blessed are herbs!

After cleansing, white oak bark and ginger root, when used together, can help to draw the flesh back to its original position. Take three (3) capsules of white oak bark with three (3) capsules of ginger root three (3) times daily on an empty stomach. Those with a prolapsus should use a slant board along with these herbs after completing the Cleanse. While on the slant board, gently massage the intestines upwards. Do this two or three times daily or as needed. Follow your intuition.

The same herbs are also suggested for those with prolapsus of the transverse colon along with the use of a slant board. Lie on the slant board with the head down, and gently stroke the abdomen, especially the transverse colon, towards the head. Reach as deep as you can and draw your intestinal tubes upwards. Visualize them staying in place. Remember, your mind is the controlling factor in your life. Once your subconscious mind accepts your suggestion as true, it will become a reality.

What About My Morning Practices?

Tongue Scraping, Oral Care, Morning Water, Oil Swishing, Skin Brushing, Enema, Hot/Cool Shower. You can continue to do them ALL every Day for the rest of your life, except the Enemas.

Do an enema each morning for the duration of your Juice Feast Closing, and then you are done with enemas until another Juice Feast. The rest of the Morning Practices are excellent, and you would do well to integrate them into your life!

Transitioning Into an Evolutionary Diet

Once you have completed a disciplined and successful Feast-Closing, you may enjoy eating the wide array of nutrient-dense foods available to you with plenty of fresh, organic, local foods when possible. Specific dietary guidance is outside the scope of our conversation here, but we recommend using David Rainoshek’s Four Means to Get Your Greens approach seen on Day 84 of the Juice Feasting Nutrition Program as a foundation for your diet, no matter what kind of approach it is on the Spectrum of Diet. In short, you are eating three out of these four each day:

Green Salad, Green Soup, Green Smoothie, Green Juice

And you integrate into that foundation anything else you are eating in your dietary approach.

Your “clock” has been reset—even at the cellular level. You have achieved a health reality that is most aptly maintained through the use of fresh organic foods—these are the foods that your body now recognizes—that you now recognize—as real, deep food.

Please mindfully consider the efforts that you have made, and what good health means to yourself and to those you love. At this time it is as if you were given a new automobile, and you don’t want to do anything to it—such as allowing messy kids—into your new car. Your body is your new car—and it can get better with age. Who gets to ride in it? You know the best fuel for its optimum performance now and far into the future.

At this time of transition to an appropriate diet of whole, fresh foods, it is important to provide yourself the support you need to maintain what you have achieved and improve upon it.

Many of the files you can download on the 92-Day Juice Feasting Nutrition Program have been important in planting seeds of knowledge in your mind. It has been more than you can consciously remember, but as you read and experience more, the seeds of raw/live food knowledge in you will grow stronger, enabling you to enhance the life experience not only of yourself, but of the many people you meet.

You have within your hands a powerful and transformative vehicle for good, out of which will bloom gratitude and deep happiness. It has been an honor to have the opportunity to help introduce you to raw food nutrition—the benefits of which you give as a gift to yourself and those you love through your greater well-being.

Congratulations on a Great Juice Feast!

To your constant and never-ending improvement!