Breaking a long fast requires understanding what foods to reintroduce and when. Eating too much too soon can cause abdominal cramping, which can be painful. If coming off an all-water fast, you must use caution when returning sugars to you diet. If coming off a juice fast, you may introduce soft solids foods into your diet sooner. Always get your doctor's advice on what is best for you when ending your fast.
Fresh Fruit
After fasting your body needs to build up healthy digestive bacteria that are lost during the fast. This bacteria break down your foods, and a lack of them can cause abdominal cramping. Jeremy Safron, author of "The Fasting Handbook," recommends fruit as a first-food choice after fasting. Fruit will help replenish some of your digestive bacteria and enzymes. Fruit is mostly water, easy to digest and contains vital nutrients, good bacteria and enzymes to help replenish your intestines. Apples, grapes, pears and pineapple are nutrient-rich fruits that you can consume easily after a fast.
Vegetable Soup
Vegetable soup is easy to digest and is high in nutrients that help support the liver. Your soup should be prepared fresh, not store bought and should be a mixture of vegetables. When picking the vegetables for your soup, choose a variety of colors for the most nutrients. Make sure that it contains at least on cruciferous vegetable, such as broccoli or cabbage and one vegetable deep in color, such as beets. To ensure the most nutrients, warm your soup rather than boiling it. Boiling will destroy the vegetables' natural enzymes, which are important for replenishing the intestines.
Salad
After your system has adjusted to fruits and vegetable soups, you can put steamed and raw vegetables back into your diet. Start with simple salads that emphasize high-water-content veggies, such as lettuce, cucumber, tomato and spinach. Introduce higher-gas-content foods such as broccoli only after you adjust to salads, or blanch or steam them for easier digestion.
Complex Carbohydrates
Once your system is digesting fruits and vegetables easily, you can begin to put complex carbohydrates back into your diet. Potatoes are an excellent first carbohydrate choice after a fast. They are nutrient rich and easy to digest, notes Dr. Don Colbert, author of "Toxic Relief." Choose carbohydrates that are not refined or processed, such as brown rice, whole-grain pasta and whole-grain breads.
Meat and Dairy
It usually takes four to five days for your body to comfortably digest complex carbs, fruits and veggies. After this period you may begin eating lean meats and dairy. Colbert recommends organic, free-range chicken, turkey, fish or beef in small quantities. The key to adjusting to meat properly after a fast is to eat and chew slowly. If you are returning dairy back to your diet, stick to low-fat, minimally processed products. Choose yogurts that are low-fat and high in probiotics and do not have added sugars. Avoid yogurts with high-fructose corn syrup and additives.
References
- Juice Fasting: How to Eat After a Juice Fast
- "The Fasting Handbook, Dining From an Empty Bowl"; Jeremy Safron; 1999
- "Toxic Relief"; Don Colbert, M.D.; 2001
- Healthy: Nutritional Program for Fasting - Breaking a Fast
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