Day three of my juice fast at Moinhos Velhos. 'It's perfectly normal to feel totally pants today,' says Janni, one of the owners and, comfortingly, an ex-nurse.I don't feel too grim although a vague headache floats around for most of the day.
So, as I've said (if I recall - one's brain goes a bit mushy doing this stuff), we get three juices a day, plus a clear vegetable broth in the evening. As far as I'm concerned, this is riches indeed - my early fasts were water-only.
In between juices we take a selection of pills - four times a day. For those who are interested in these things, they are:
Co-ton - a mix of herbs (fennel; barberry; cascara; ginger; turkey rhubarb; cayenne; goldenseal; lobelia; raspberry) which dissolves and breaks up mucoid matter and expels it from the body; reduces gas in the stomach and intestines, purifies the blood and stimulates and strengthens all the organs (in particular the heart, liver and eliminatitve organs). Anything else? Oh yup, it strengthens, heals and re-builds peristaltic action. Not bad for one pill.
Pancreatin - a mix of enzymes amylase, protease and lipase - helping to break up old deposits of undigested proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Niacin (vitamin B3) - used to dilate the blood vessels to increase blood flow and so speed up the elimination of toxins from the bloodstream. It also pushes blood deep into underactive tissue so vital nutrients can get through. Only downside? It can produce a hot red flush. I was stunned to look down and see big red patches on my legs and arms. My face also turned bright red and I thought, at first, that I'd overdone the sun. It doesn't last long though and apparently some men actually take it to find out what a menopausal hot flush feels like. Why on earth would you do that???
Finally Spirulina which provides essential trace minerals and elements, plus a good dose of iodine, helping the body maintain its energy during the fast.
Daily yoga is grounding and balancing - today it's Dru yoga with Richard Brook.
I also had a pretty amazing session with Janni - but that needs a post all of its own.
A daily sauna is part of the healing - once again helping eliminate garbage, this time via the skin (our largest organ, remember).
Evenings end with a meditation session. By now I'm not feeling so great. The evening broth seems to have done peculiar things to my innards which are conducting their own form of noisy meditation. My head decides it needs some of the action too and joins in with a bass thud, thud, thud. It's hard to focus so I just limp through and stagger down the hill. I'm in bed and fast asleep by 9.30pm.
For reviews of other detoxes see Queen of Retreats
