Chapter 9
The Wheatgrass Fast: For Cleansing, Healing, and Super Nutrition

When freshly made into a drink, chlorophyll contains synthesized sunshine, plus the electric current necessary for the revitalization of the body - and it will open up areas of the brain that man as yet knows nothing about. - Rev. J.L. Moran

Over the years many books and articles have been written on the benefits of fasting as a means of eliminating toxins from the body and allowing the digestive system to rest and repair itself. What the writers don't mention, however, is that extended fasts, despite the rewards they offer, can be dangerous. My own opinion is that long periods of abstaining from all nutrition are unnecessary and too harsh for the average person.

An ideal compromise is the wheatgrass fast. It offers the satisfaction of fasting and cleansing the body in one of the quickest ways possible, and does so with complete safety. During the three-day fast, you will drink not only wheatgrass juice, but highly nourishing and palatable green drinks extracted from sprouts, baby greens, and some vegetables, as well. Sweetened lemon water and Rejuvelac, a fermented wheat- berry drink I developed over twenty years ago, can also be used.

Whereas water fasting may leave you feeling weak, tired, and disoriented at times, on the wheatgrass fast most people feel good enough to perform their normal activities.

One of the main advantages of the wheatgrass fast is that it combines perhaps the most nutritious liquids known, wheatgrass juice and green drinks. In fact, I estimate that three Bounce green drinks and two 4-ounce servings of wheatgrass juice contain about sixty grams of vitamins, minerals, and protein, more than adequate for an active adult, based on the Recommended Daily Allowances established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The only thing the wheatgrass fast may be short on is calories. As long as you end the fast after three days, the reduced calorie intake will probably do you good because your body will be forced to burn waste and excess weight as fuel for energy. In fact, the average weight loss on the three-day wheatgrass fast is between four and ten pounds.

PREPARING FOR THE WHEATGRASS FAST

The wheatgrass fast is not for everyone. If you are at all apprehensive about doing it, for any reason whatsoever, you're probably not ready for it—and you may never be. You can, however, cleanse and repair your body in the same way, only more slowly, merely by following the Hippocrates Diet and using wheatgrass juice. For most people, especially those with health problems, and older folks, it is probably best to add wheatgrass and raw foods to the regular diet before attempting a fast.
Also, if you are squeamish about enemas or implants, the fast may not be for you. More than any other precaution, I feel that daily enemas are essential during the fast. So much sticky mucus and toxic matter can be dumped into the colon, that its efficient removal can make the difference between feeling terrible and having more energy than you ever had before.

Finally, for maximum benefit from the three-day fast, you must have the opportunity to rest. Set aside a time without any appointments or other scheduling demands. You may find a holiday weekend ideal for this.

PHYSICAL CHANGES DURING THE FAST

When I first began my work in the health field more than thirty years ago, I was terrified of what many alternative health educators called the "healing crisis"—a dismal period of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, boils, low energy, and enforced bed rest, which—if you survived—would end your health problems forever. Since then my fear has been replaced by confidence and common sense. If you take meat, potatoes, white bread, vegetables, eggs, cheese, fruit, ice cream, junk foods, coffee, alcohol, sodas, and milk away from a person, and give him only water to drink for a month, a healing crisis is inevitable. I have had to nurse many well-intentioned individuals back to health after they tried this cold plunge route. Once their healing crises abated, usually after a few days, the super energy and dynamism they had been promised as a result of their suffering never came about. Some of them would have been happy just to get back the amount of energy they had before the fast, such was the draining effect the crisis had on their bodies.

Fortunately, a healing crisis isn't inevitable or even desirable. Even if you could suffer your way to better health, it would hardly be worth the effort since you can achieve the same results while being good to your body. Why did the idea of the beneficial healing crisis arise? Deep down inside we tell ourselves that we must suffer to redeem ourselves from the wrong foods and lack of exercise in our past. Rubbish.

Many people have benefited from the wheatgrass fast, but, in all my years in the health field, I have never seen the so- called healing crisis occur as long as my instructions were followed in a common-sense way. For example, I recommend one to four ounces of wheatgrass juice, three times per day for three days. More than once, individuals attending the Institute have exceeded this amount. One person I remember drank nearly a quart of wheatgrass over a two-hour period; for the next two days he couldn't touch his food, slept nearly half the day, and stayed close to the bathroom at all times. Since wheatgrass is a medicine as well as a food, common sense dictates that you shouldn't take a quart in two hours, or even ten ounces four times a day for a week! Wheatgrass is non-toxic in any amount, but more isn't necessarily better.

The important point is that you needn't journey to hell and back again to be well. The "inevitable" healing crisis will probably never get a foothold in your body if you use common sense and follow my recommendations.

PERFORMING THE FAST

Try not to push yourself too hard during the three days of the fast. Keep the days totally empty of appointments or errands and instead read, do light exercise, work in the yard, go for a stroll, bask on the beach, or whatever—but relax. You may feel the urge to sleep a lot. As long as you drink the recommended three quarts of liquid each day, extra sleep will do your body good.

Every morning of the fast, and again in the evening if you wish, perform a simple water enema to cleanse the colon. Follow the morning enema with a wheatgrass implant. You can take four or more implants throughout the day, using up to six ounces of wheatgrass juice for each one.

Drink one to four ounces of wheatgrass juice straight, three times per day. Alternatively, you can dilute the juice with water or even add it to a green drink. However, drinking it straight is probably the best ideas in terms of digestibility. Space the wheatgrass drinks out well during the day. You may want to take one in the morning, another at noon, and the last • one at dinnertime. Follow all the wheatgrass drinks with an eight-to twelve-ounce green drink about half an hour later.

When you are thirsty between the three meals of wheat- grass and green drinks, drink lemon water, lightly sweetened with raw honey, or Rejuvelac (with a little honey in it if you like). Drink a total of three quarts of liquid each day.

BREAKING THE FAST

Following the fast, it is important for you to let your body adjust to solid foods slowly. There is a tendency for fasters to wake up on the morning of the fourth day and eat everything in sight! Unfortunately, if you give in to that urge, you will probably undo all the good you have just done—and you may become sick to your stomach. It is much better to break the fast with a breakfast (or dinner, if you are breaking it at night) of fresh fruits.

Choose one or two fruits and eat a moderate amount. For example, a couple of apples and a handful of grapes, or a pear and some cherries. For the rest of the day, or the next two or three meals, you may eat salads with all kinds of sprouts, greens, and raw vegetables. Use dressings made from vegetables, seeds, or avocados, rather than from oil, vinegar, garlic, and the like. You can have the first salad about three or four hours after the fruit meal, and after a day or so of fruits and raw salads you may begin to eat other foods as well.

I recommend, however, that you continue to make fresh fruits and raw salads, along with green juices, a part of your diet. Gradually add more of them to your daily fare, or, even better, adopt the Hippocrates living foods diet. Whatever you do, don't begin to eat heavy cooked meals with animal foods immediately following the fast, as they will drain your energy level tremendously and may cause constipation and cravings for more and different foods—especially the ones that I urge you never to eat again.

FASTING DO'S AND DON'TS

You may have to adjust the wheatgrass fast to your own needs and desires. This section will give you some guidelines on how to do so. The recommendation to drink three quarts of liquid per day, for example, is vital to the fasting process and should not be ignored. The way of breaking the fast is also important, along with daily enemas, and preferably implants as well. On the other hand, one thing you may choose to vary is the number of days you fast. If you want, you can fast for one day, two days, or the full three days.

If halfway through the first day you feel terrible and think that it will be too stressful for you to continue at this time, simply break the fast with a piece of fresh fruit. Nobody is going to point a finger at you and tell you that you failed. Just the fact that you began the fast in the first place makes you anything but a failure.

In the same way, if you just can't manage to get down all the wheatgrass or green drinks each day of the fast, don't despair. You can substitute other kinds of fresh juices. A modified wheatgrass fast, using most or some but not all of the recommended green juices, will also be beneficial. If the fasting process is going to be one long punishment for you, it's better to change it to suit your needs, or to abandon it altogether.

To some degree, during any type of fast, the blood pools in the abdominal region of the body. There is nothing bad about having more blood in this area, but it does mean that there is less blood in the head. This could cause a little dizziness if you attempt too many quick starts. So exercise care in your activities while you are fasting.

Many people experience surges of energy during one or all of the days. They have an urge to set new records for the number of miles they can walk or hours they can work. Try not to overdo it. Instead be moderate and channel your energy into the internal housecleaning that is occurring. Some mild exercise will be beneficial, but hours of walking or working will not.

Also, if possible, stay close to home. Traveling during fasting isn't advised, especially driving long distances. In certain ways the mind and reflexes may not be as sharp during the fast. Caution should be your guide. If you can, spend lots of time outdoors in the sun, tinkering in your garden, and so on. Sunlight will stimulate various body cleansing processes. For this reason, I suggest that you begin the fast in warmer weather.

Don't drink more of the wheatgrass or green drinks than you feel you can handle at any one time. Their cleansing activity can cause you to lose your appetite for them after a day or so. If this happens, it is better not to force them down. Try coming back to them a couple of hours later and in the meantime sip Rejuvelac, lemon water, or carrot juice.

Because of the need for rest and freedom from schedules during the wheatgrass fast, I don't allow it to be performed by guests at the Institute any more. After years of observation I have learned that the Hippocrates Diet is ideal for the kind of activities and the busy schedule at the Institute. If your job or lifestyle makes it difficult to set aside three undemanding days, concentrate on improving your diet from day to day instead of attempting the wheatgrass fast.

A TYPICAL DAY ON THE WHEATGRASS FAST

The following summary of a typical day on the wheatgrass fast may serve as a handy reference guide.

• Begin each day of the fast with an enema, followed by an implant or two, using up to 6 ounces of fresh wheatgrass juice in each one.

• Take one 8-ounce glass of lemon water or Rejuvelac, with a little honey if desired. Follow this with wheatgrass juice a half hour later, and a green drink another half hour after that (see recipes for green drinks on page 108).

• In between breakfast and lunchtime, you may take another wheatgrass implant and drink another glass of Rejuvelac or lemon water if desired. Follow with a lunch of wheatgrass juice and another green drink. Have the same for dinner.

• Up to four wheatgrass implants can be used throughout the day. One before bed is especially helpful for sound sleep.

• Get plenty of rest and relaxation. Do some light stretching and walking, spend some time out of doors, and don't force yourself to follow a schedule or meet any deadlines.

• Break the fast after one, two, or three days with a meal of fresh fruit followed several hours later with a salad made of sprouts, greens, and fresh vegetables, with an oil-free dressing.

MAKING GREEN DRINKS AND REJUVELAC

Making Rejuvelac and green drinks for use during the fast or at any other time is simple. Using a wheatgrass juicer, juice several cups of sprouts, sunflower and buckwheat greens, and other vegetables, such as peppers, cucumbers, celery, and carrots. Recipes for a few of my favorite green drinks, particularly suited for use on the wheatgrass fast, arc included at the end of this chapter. Each of them will make approximately eight ounces of juice.

Rejuvelac

To make Rejuvelac, you will need a clean quart-sized jar and a piece of screening or netting (made of a non-toxic material such as nylon) to cover it with, a couple of handfuls of whole wheatberries, some spring or filtered water, and patience. The starter batch will need to ferment for about forty-eight hours.

Soft pastry wheatberries are best, but other varieties will do as long as they are organically grown. The soft pastry wheat- berries are frequently lighter in color than the hard winter varieties which are recommended for home growing, but otherwise closely resemble them. If you wish, you may use day-old sprouted wheat to make Rejuvelac.

Start by washing a cup of whole wheatberries in a jar of cool water. Discard any berries that float to the surface. Place the washed berries in a quart-sized jar. If you use sprouted berries, simply rinse them before placing them in the jar. Fill the jar with water, cover, and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for forty- eight hours. Then strain out the liquid Rejuvelac, leaving the berries and sediment in the jar.

Refill the same jar with water and set aside once more, this time for only twenty-four hours. Pour off the Rejuvelac, again saving the berries, and refill the jar for the third and last time with water. Allow it to ferment for another twenty-four hours, pour off the Rejuvelac, and this time discard the original wheatberries. That's all there is to it. Start one or two batches on different days so that you will always have some Rejuvelac ready to use. It should taste tart, not too sour, and may be enjoyed with a little lemon juice or honey for variety. Unused Rejuvelac will keep in the refrigerator for two to three days.

Recipes

When making green drinks, cut the vegetables in the largest- size pieces that will fit in your juicer. The only exception to this is if a recipe calls for a small quantity of a hard vegetable, such as one carrot or half a beet, and you are going to juice it in a wheatgrass juicer. In this case it is best to cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces before juicing them. Where larger volumes of juice are needed, for instance, if you are making drinks for ten People, juicing hard vegetables in a high-speed juicer will save time.

Like wheatgrass juice, green drinks should be used as soon as possible after they are prepared. However, they can be kept refrigerated for about twelve hours if it is not possible for you to use them immediately. After twelve hours they should be discarded.

Basic Green Drink

4 cups alfalfa and/or other sprouts
4 cups sunflower and buckwheat greens 1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup sweet red pepper
1/4 cup parsley
1 cup cucumber

Juice ingredients in wheatgrass juicer and serve immediately.


Garden Green Drink

4 cups sprouts
4 cups greens
2 cups kale or collard greens 1 cup celery
1/2 cup sauerkraut

Juice ingredients (sauerkraut last) in wheatgrass juicer and serve.


Green Power Cocktail

4 cups sprouts
4 cups greens
1 cup celery
1 cup kale
1 cup beets
1/2 cup wheatgrass

Juice ingredients (wheatgrass last) in wheatgrass juicer and serve.


Spring Green Drink

4 cups sprouts
4 cups greens
1 cup lamb's-quarters
1/2 cup dandelion greens
1/4 cup scallion
1 cup carrots

Juice ingredients in wheatgrass juicer and serve.


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