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Last year, Paula Jager, owner of Crossfit Jaguar in Tampa Florida, wrote a series of riveting posts about her 15 day raw milk fast. This series on The Milk Cure sparked much interest from readers from around the world who became interested in reviving this age-old remedy for improving vitality, bodily cleansing and even reversal of serious illness as practiced in the early 1900s by the Mayo Foundation, a forerunner of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
At the end of Paula’s raw milk fast last year, she said that she was so pleased with the results (she had the best bloodwork of her life at the conclusion of the fast) that she vowed to do a raw milk fast every year around the beginning of Spring.
A few days ago, Paula told me that she planned to start her annual raw milk fast very soon. What’s more, this year she asked me to do it with her.
My immediate and knee jerk response was, “Uh, fasts don’t really work for me. I don’t want to lose any weight either, so I think I’ll pass.”
Paula, being her persistent and tenacious self, continued to work to convince me.
Yeah, you guys think I’m such a hard nose, but the truth is, on most things I’m very much “go with the flow”. That cooperative middle child thing, you know?
Paula assured me that I needn’t lose any weight on the fast unless I tried to. One of the benefits of raw milk from pastured cows is that it is a complete food, a perfectly balanced elixir of highly digestible, nutrient-dense fats, protein, and carbohydrates. If you consume an adequate amount of ounces and calories for your body weight each day, no weight loss should occur.
She also assured me that she experienced no hunger or cravings during her fast last year, once again, a strong testament to the complete nature of pastured raw milk, known as “white blood” to physicians that have used it therapeutically.
Still unconvinced, I talked to my husband about it hoping to get a bit of moral support for my decision not to do the raw milk fast with Paula this year.
Sigh.
I got no help from hubby.
As soon as I told him the story, he says, “Hey, what a great idea! I’ll do it too!”
At that point, I started to get a teeny weeny bit excited about the fast. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if hubby joined in too. My biggest concern was cooking all this delicious, traditional food day in and day out for the kids and not eating any myself.
Talk about torture!
But, if what Paula told me is true, I shouldn’t feel hungry at all.
At that point, I was willing to give it a go.
Then, it hit me. Why don’t we do this together as a group for anyone who wants to join in? I know that a bunch of readers would like to do a raw milk fast based on emails I’ve received about it over the past year, so let’s do it as a 10 day raw milk challenge!
The Milk Cure (aka Raw Milk Fast)
Here’s how The Milk Cure 2012 will work …
Paula and I will start our raw milk fast on March 1, 2012.
Any of you who wish to join us should plan to start on that date as well.
The fast will go for 10 days and will conclude at midnight on March 10, 2012.
The only thing you are to consume on this fast is pastured raw milk. Water of course is fine too, but no other food or liquids but raw milk.
The reason I’m putting this post up a full week before the fast starts is to give those of you who are going to join us a chance to prepare and stock up on your raw milk. You may even need to freeze some if necessary if you don’t have access to weekly pickups.
You will need anywhere from 2-5 quarts of raw milk per day per person depending on your current height and weight. If you are trying to lose weight, then drink less. If you don’t want to lose any weight, drink as much as you need to stay satisfied at all times.
Paula drank 3 – 3 1/2 quarts per day last year. She is 5’3″ and 117 lbs.
Please read her 15-day Milk Cure diary from last year to prepare if you plan to join the challenge.
If you’re considering something less rigorous, this journal of a 3-day raw milk fast may prove helpful to your decision.
What worked for Paula was a pint of raw milk every 2 hours or so which translates to approximately 2,000 calories per day (if your raw milk comes from Jersey cows with tons of cream). If you drink raw milk from Holstein cows, you probably should think about adding some additional raw cream to each glass. A cup or so every hour or even a few ounces every 30 minutes works fine too – just adjust the amount and timeframe as it works best for you.
Also, please read about The Milk Cure and how it was used to cure very sick patients at the Mayo Foundation by clicking here.
I plan to drink closer to a gallon a day. I am just shy of 5’7″ and 124 lbs. I do not want to lose any weight so am shooting for 2,500-3,000 calories per day.
Feel free to stop the fast at any time if you choose to join in and discover that it isn’t working for you. I told Paula that if I start to lose weight after a few days, I plan to drop out. I lost 8 lbs on GAPS 2 years ago and although GAPS did me a world of good, I don’t want to go there again. My digestion is really good right now and I don’t have any health issues that I am addressing at the moment, so if this rocks the boat for me too much, I plan to drop out.
Why You Might Want to Fast With Us
I am attempting this raw milk fast primarily as a seasonal cleansing.
You might choose to join in to lose some weight. Perhaps you have some digestive or other health issues you want to turn the corner on and start to heal from.
Perhaps you might want to do it for spiritual reasons. Fasting is encouraged by many spiritual disciplines and that may appeal to you.
Whatever reasons you choose to join in are yours and yours alone. You can choose to share them with the rest of us or not.
Each day during the fast, I will post an update on how Paula, my husband, and I are doing. My hope is that any of you who are joining in will update all of us with your progress in the comments section.
The goal for this 10-day journey is to have available to the world a written diary of the experiences and observations of hundreds of people of various backgrounds and health challenges while on a raw milk fast.
Will this happen? I don’t know.
Maybe it will just be Paula and me and my husband.
I do hope at least a few of you will join us though!
If you do join in, please be sure to check with your doctor first before undertaking this fast particularly if you are doing it to help resolve any health issues.
Also, do not attempt this milk cure fast with pasteurized or even low temp pasteurized “cream top” milk.
Milk becomes a completely different food once it’s pasteurized and many vital nutrients and enzymes are either totally lost or significantly reduced. Pasteurized milk is not a complete food like raw milk is.
Please indicate in the comments section below if you plan to join us! If you want to add your reasons for joining in, that would be cool too but is not necessary.
10-Day Milk Cure Series
Below are links to each day of the Milk Cure 10 day raw milk fast so you can follow along and track our progress!
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Breaking the Fast
How do you find raw milk in GA?
Go to this link: http://realmilk.com/where02.html#ga
What part of GA? I’ve found many suppliers aren’t on that website. If you can’t find any, don’t give up. Find people that live around you with the same mindset. Local WAPF chapter?
If you’re in North GA I can give you recommendations.
I have suggestions for farms east of Atlanta, west of Atlanta, and in Coweta County GA if you need them. All the raw milk in GA is listed as for pet consumtion.
Do you know of any farmers near Columbus, Georgia by chance, Tina (or anyone)?
Okay…Count us in! My husband and I will start on March 1st. I may even get my 16yo to join us. I’d like to share this on my blog…may I copy some content from your post here and link to it as long as proper credit is given? Also, we use our raw milk to make kefir, yogurt, etc. Can we include those or is it only milk?
YES, spread the word! I would like this series to become a real testimony to the wonders of pastured raw milk with many, many people participating. Take THAT, data manipulating, stat fudging CDC!
LOL, Sarah! You’re so funny. 😀
But I suppose it’s because you just say what we’re all thinking! 😉
Great! I’ll blog about it this weekend. It’s on my Facebook page @ The Woodwife’s Journal. I wondered about the yogurt etc. we make from the raw milk.
LOL, that’s what I love about you!
If we do the fast should we go off our other supplements like: FCLO/BO, or other herbs, etc…?
I am not going to take any supplements during the fast. If you would like to, that is your choice based on observation of your own personal situation and what you best need.
FYI, I took out all supplements last year during the fast and plan to do so again this year.
How funny, I just read all of Paula’s posts from last year on the milk fast and was planning to ask you about it today. I am currently breastfeeding my 11 month old daughter and I’m curious if that means I shouldn’t do the milk fast until after I’m not breastfeeding anymore. My daughter does eat foods other than breastmilk, but she gets a majority of her nutrition from breastfeeding and not from eating. I also am doing the fermented cod liver, skate liver and butter oil supplements from Green Pastures (in case that matters). Thanks so much Sarah, I greatly enjoy your blog and recipes!
Not sure I would do this if you are breastfeeding 🙁
Sounds like a good precursor to starting GAPS (I’ve been making excuses to avoid intro for months, but I know I need to just do it…) and a great excuse to actually drive out to the farm that produces my milk (thanks to my milk man, it’s not cost effective for a normal week). I’d considered the CO fast, but… ick. Milk seems much more doable 🙂 Now… where to put a dozen gallons of milk?
I have been giving excuses to starting GAPS as well. I think this could be a good way to start too and get off the eating of sweets that started with the holidays. OK I’m in!
I would, but i am trying to lose weight and am currently in the middle of the hCG diet (my 4th round). But i have heard good things about this. Best wishes.
Just curious…How do you stay so thin eating so many healthy fats and foods?
We eat traditionally…soaked/sprouted, grass-fed, coconut oils/milks, raw milk, etc. but i find it very difficult to lose weight…if anything, I’ve gained eating this way (although, eating healthier).
I guess portion control and eating in moderation, right?
Fats keep you thin!!!! This is the secret so few get it seems. I never worry about what I eat .. I eat exactly what I want when i want to eat and and eat as much or as little as I want. If I feel like stuffing myself, I do. If I’m not that hungry, I don’t eat much or at all. I think a big key is that what I eat is whole and nutritious and little to no calories are empty. I do have my treats from time to time though 🙂 I am a big subscriber to the philosophy that food is to be enjoyed.
Jennifer -I’d check for hormone issues. I used to be very thin (5’8″ 130 lbs) and ate whatever I wanted including refined carbs and sugars. After my second child, I was 145 -150 lbs and could not lose the weight, despite moderate exercise and doing a low carb, high fat WAP diet with moderate calorie restriction. If I eat when I’m hungry and include carbs, I get up past 150. I recently found out I have adrenal fatigue and high cortisol which makes it nearly impossible for me to lose weight. I’m trying to fix my issues now, but progress is quite slow and I am a bit depressed being 20 pounds above the weight I have always been while eating healthier than I ever have )-: Thyroid and adrenal issues are usually the root of a slow metabolism so maybe get tested at your local chiro or naturopath,
Have you tried Phosphatidyl serine (PS) http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ps/ ?
It is supposed to be great for lowering high cortisol levels (and thus promoting weight loss) and actually has been been useful in regulating Cortisol Levels; whether too high or too low. This is from the Stop The Thyroid Madness Website. Might be worth a shot!
Take care,
Joyce
Thanks Joyce! I’ve tried seriphos and it helped me sleep, but didn’t help with the root issue. I know high cortisol is from inflammation, so I need to find the cause of that and keep working!
This message is for A.B. below. I hope she sees it. Joyce, if you see it first, perhaps you can PM it to her.
The solution to a sluggish thyroid and overactive cortisol is oxytocin. Order it in its nasal spray version and spray one blast up each nostril at the start of your day. Stress vanishes, cortisol production stops, cravings fade, and weight goes down. I’ve been taking it since the last week of May 2013. It’s September 2013 as I type this, and I lost 36 pounds and counting.
Also very useful at road rage 🙂
You smile and let bad drivers slide right on by.
HI AB.–I hate to ask; have you tried eliminating gluten from your diet? I have a friend who is a firm believer that almost everyone with Adrenal Fatigue has gluten issues. I have been gluten-free to the best of my ability (excluding hidden causes) for 10 months, but it hasn’t helped my Adrenal Fatigue. However, I do have Asthma and mild Sleep Apnea and am going to pursue the sleep apnea issue now as a root cause, because if you never sleep properly your body can never heal itself. It’s a shot in the dark, so who knows.
Also, the Janie, the blogger from Stop The Thyroid Madness used Cortisol to treat her HIGH cortisol levels as it helped her adrenals to rest and stop producing Cortisol surges. What have you tried already?
Thanks,
Joyce
Could it be that you are eating the wrong kinds of carbs like from grains? That is becoming a huge issue to many people.
Sarah also has a good metabolism. She is a fireball, burning energy standing still–although I don’t think she does that very much:)
Curious what your treats are 🙂
Homemade treats made with natural and whole sweeteners. I’ve posted many of them as recipes if you click on recipes tab in the header above and click on the sweets and treats in the pulldown menu.
Sounds like fun. And perfect for Lent. BUT should I wait this one out? I’m 7 months pregnant.
Definitely do not do this if you are pregnant.
I am nursing a 10-month-old, although she eats a fair amount of solids as well. She’s a big night nurser, though. What do you think?
Never mind, I just saw that Angel below and I are in the same boat and saw your recommendation.
This could be good! 🙂
Last year, I did a coconut oil fast for 6 days. It was a bit intense. (The taste started to get to me, so toward the end, I mixed coconut oil with a bit of chicken broth when I took it to make it a bit more palatable). I did this instead of a juice cleanse to kick off a bigger cleanse I was doing.
I need to make sure I am eating enough carbs and I’m sure that raw milk would give me enough carbs each day. Do you know offhand if the carb amounts for raw milk is the same as pasteurized milk?
Thank you!
It’s about the same, though in my experience, it can sometimes taste even sweeter! But anyhoo, it is definately NOT a low-carb food. In fact, I can’t even eat more than a little bit of unfermented cow’s milk without gaining weight! (I’m VERY sensitive to things with disacherides.)
Speaking of which: could I do this fast with raw yogurt? If I did unfermented milk, I would probably gain weight, rather than lose it, unless I really cut back on the ammount I was drinking to about 1200 calories a day.
Whoops, missed a c and an a in “disccharides.” I swear, I really am an intelligent person! 😀
Thanks Ariel! 🙂 I looked and raw milk can vary a bit more with carbs because the fat ratio can vary (much more than pasteurized milk that has an “industry standard” for the amount of fat it has). The fat-carb-protein ratio depends on the cow (and maybe some other things, I suppose), although it may not be a huge difference. I have to check again on what cows our local raw dairy has.
I do have to eat carbs, a very good amount of them. I have done too much low carb dieting/low-cal dieting and I’m working to get my body on track. I have no problem eating fat though. 😉 I might have to sit it out.
Good luck on the diet!
Thank you, Beth!
I don’t suppose we could have unsweetened coffee with that first serving of milk every morning?
I need to lose quite a bit of weight and I’m wondering if this could give me a good kickstart.
If I do it, I’d have to start and end a day earlier than you, as my hubby’s birthday and a fundraiser dinner are both on the 10th.
And my hubby will think I’ve gone wackadoo.
So far, the closest I’ve found is organic, pastured whole milk – but unfortunately it’s pasturized.
You can drink coffee if you like. It’s your fast 🙂 Might be good to see if you could do without though?