So, I have a confession to make.
I quit before the 7 day mark.
It was Memorial Day, people! We were having a BBQ with family! I made chocolate mousse for dessert! I felt great, and didn’t feel the need to stop, but simply decided to finish a day early so I could fully embrace the time with family.
But I will totally do it again, because:
- I felt great the entire time. Wow. I know my body loved it.
- It was so easy. No food prep for this special diet – just pour yourself a glass of milk!
- It was effective. One way I could tell my body had enjoyed a great rest was during my visit to the chiropractor this week. When she adjusted my jaw for my chronic TMJ, it wasn’t painful like it usually is! There was not the usual inflammation and tenderness at the joint. How cool is that?
So now I can say I’ve done it, and recommend the Milk Cure to you personally. But before you dive in, I do have some advice:
Prepare. Plan to do it in a week or 10 days when you don’t have any special food occasions going on. Plan your family’s menu in advance so you don’t have to focus on food as much. Make as many meals ahead as you can. Go shopping BEFORE you start.
Be cautious. If you don’t already eat a healthy, nourishing diet, I’d enter into any type of cleanse with more caution. My detox symptoms were VERY mild, as I usually eat very healthy and had just come off a month on the very cleansing GAPS diet. Myself, my friend Claire, and the people who shared this idea with us all eat well to begin with, thus it was a positive experience. I have no idea how your body would respond if you have a lot of toxins built up. I wouldn’t look at the Milk Cure as a quick, easy fix if what you really need is a complete lifestyle change, you know what I mean? If you have significant health issues, I would get the advice of a naturopath before trying any sort of a cleansing diet.
OK, got that off my chest.I just had to put that out there ’cause I don’t want you to take lightly the power and the effects of a cleanse.
And now for your questions.
Can you use goat milk? Goat’s milk is even easier to digest than cows milk, so go for it! Sarah actually did her diet on half cow and half goat milk.
What if I can’t drink milk/am lactose intolerant? You can try the GAPS diet for awhile to heal your gut, and then begin adding in cultured dairy until you overcome your sensitivity. Or you can do the Milk Cure with Kefir, which has most of the lactose cultured out of it.
Can I do this while nursing? Well, that really will have to be up to you. If your baby is entirely breastfed it may not be wise to mess with your milk supply. But if your baby is eating table food and not nursing as frequently, and you aren’t terribly toxic, it would probably be fine? My friend Claire is still nursing her 16 month old twice a day, and she said her little girl actually had an increased appetite for breast milk and her supply held up fine!
How did the diet affect your elimination? Do you really wanna know? Do I have to post about this publicly? Yes, you asked, and I promised to answer.
My stools continued to be regular though after two days on the diet they had changed to a very light brown. I had a small amount of constipation, but an enema would help with that. I simply upped my intake of milk and drank the occasional glass of water through the day, as well. And yes, I peed like a pregnant woman. And it was very light and almost greenish. OK, TMI enough? I think quite.
How much milk did you drink, or should I drink? Your build will determine how many calories you need to take in to feel good on this diet. I am 5’8″ about 145 Lbs and drank usually a gallon and a pint each day. The other gals who did this fast were also tall and they drank just over a gallon. If you are shorter, you could probably on around a gallon a day for the duration of the fast.
How were your energy levels? I repeat: I felt GREAT. I gardened, walked, square danced, cared and cooked for my family, and maintained my usual level of activity. The milk kept me satisfied and fueled.
Did you have cravings? Was it hard to cook for your family? Well, when I made the chocolate mousse, I was kinda salivating. But I promised to make myself another batch when I was done with the fast. It really wasn’t that hard, but it helped that I’d done the preparations I recommended above.
Did you lose your appetite for milk? This is what my Amish Farmer asked me the other night. I told him there was no possibility he would lose my business. I love milk more than ever, and have been drinking more milk since the fast as I have now experienced what a complete, nourishing, whole food it is and found for certain that my body loves milk.
My conclusion on the milk fast was that I will be doing this again. It was an excellent experience. I was actually kinda sad when I finished, and probably drank a half gallon the day I started to eat food again because I missed it.Yup. Totally doing this again.
A few of you said you were going to try the Milk Cure. Have you started? How’s it going? Did you have any more questions? Wanna find your own source for raw milk?
What were your toxin release symptoms? What were your cleansing effects?
Elisha
Elisha, TMI alert! The best evidence that I was cleansing was in my stools. Although I was only drinking milk (and thus should have only one color and texture of poo) I had lots various styles of stools which was evidence to me that some deep colon cleansing was happening. Toward the end of the cleanse my stools were completely ‘milk’, completing the cleanse.
I also felt a complete lack of inflammation–in my joints, in my mind–just utter peace with no toxins or foods that irritate coming into my system.
Some also say they have a metallic taste in their mouth when they do this cleanse, and that can be another sign of toxins releasing.
I know you eat really well in general, but did you experience any symptoms arising (like a return of joint inflammation) any time after stopping the Milk Cure?
Aileen, the milk cure did not prove to be a permanent fix for the joint pain, but did show me that there’s probably something in my normal diet that’s exacerbating inflammation.
Loved reading this!
I did the milk cure for five days and it. was. wonderful. Like, beyond wonderful.
I had a lot more toxins built up, I’m sure, than you did- and the only issue I had was a very nasty taste in my mouth (I’ve gotten this with every fast I’ve done- just toxins coming out) but it did make it hard to drink milk the second day. So, I cheated the tiniest littlest bit: I put about a teaspoon of maple syrup into 1/2 gallon of milk. Turned it into a milkshake (you can really taste sugar after a day without it) and it was NO problem AT ALL to drink! lol.
The taste only lasted about 24 hours so then I was good to go!
I was able to do all my chores (milking cows, actually. 🙂 ) without any trouble at all. No fatigue. I am about 5’4 and I only drank about 3/4 a gallon a day. I used a water-bottle that had a straw and a cooling pack in it so there was no trouble taking it with me through-out the day.
The only day that I noticed being STARVING was when I accidentally filled my water-bottle with milk that had the cream skimmed off (my husband had it to put in his coffee) by the time I got back to the house I was extremely hungry.
I read somewhere that to keep your body as toxin-free as possible you should fast 1 meal a week, 1 day a month and 1 week a year. I’ve always thought, “That would be good for me but I just don’t think I could pull it off.”
THIS, however, I think is totally do-able. (makes it way easy that I live on a farm and milk cows for a living, of course). So! That’s my hope.
Thanks, Trina, for introducing me to this! 🙂
You are so welcome, dear. And thank you for sharing this update! Sounds great.