Edited 25 October 2010: Note that, since this article was published, and most of this discussion took place, we have discovered that rice not only has its own gluten that can be harmful, it also contains lectins to which many people are sensitive. We no longer recommend eating rice, brown or polished.
_________________________________________________________________________
From: http://www.allaboutfasting.com/rice-fasting.html
A Brown Rice Fast
Yes, you can fast on rice! A brown rice fast is actually an ancient practice dating back thousands of years. While it is a milder form of fasting, it offers the same benefits all fasting methods offer and has its own unique advantages.
I first heard of it during a stay at the Kripalu Center for Holistic Health back in 1985. I was taking a month-long course that was offered as an overview to a variety of holistic and spiritual practices. Among those was the practice of fasting as an adjunct to Conscious Eating as a life choice and spiritual discipline. But they didn't just talk about fasting, this was a hands-on course. So, we fasted for three days.
We (a class of about 25) were given the choice between a brown rice fast and a fruit fast, specifically, on oranges. We could have 1-2 cups of rice per meal, 3 meals per day. Or we could eat 1-2 fresh oranges per meal, for 3 meals per day. Though in both cases we were admonished to try to only eat the smaller portion if possible.
To help us with this decision we were told that if we typically felt very grounded in our lives, more heavy and analytical, found it difficult to dream dreams of fancy, to allow our feet to come up off the ground, we should do the orange fast, as a fruit fast would aid in lightening us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Alternatively, if we generally felt light and spacey, ungrounded, felt unconnected, lost and confused, that a brown rice fast would be more grounding and warming.
Otherwise, we were told, the two fasting styles would deliver the same benefits. The cleansing and detoxing of accumulated wastes stored in our bodies would begin. The clarity in our meditations would improve. Our flexibility in our yoga sessions would improve. All of that proved to be true.
While I chose the orange fruit fast that day, many in our class chose the brown rice fast. Their experiences were just as wonderful and expansive as those of us on fruit. Actually, those of us on fruit envied the rice fasters their warm bowls of "solid food" at mealtime, especially on the colder days.
A brown rice fast can alleviate many digestive troubles
My more recent experience with rice fasting comes from a girlfriend who had a lot of digestive upset. Irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, diverticulitis, and ulcers were all considered possible culprits, but she never allowed the doctor to do all the testing necessary to identify and label, diagnose, the problem. She felt certain that would become a lengthy, expensive process possibly ending with a still unclear prognosis, while she knew too, that whatever it was could likely be managed through diet.
What she found helpful instead, was a one-day brown rice fast. When her symptoms were most acting up, she would eat nothing but brown rice all day on a Saturday. Just that little bit of effort, just that much rest for her digestive system, was enough to rebalance her; it was enough to alleviate her most acute symptoms. She always said she felt better and wished she would rice fast more often.
A brown rice fast is a gentler method of fasting and can be very soothing
A brown rice fast can be more stabilizing than other types of fasts. Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate, metabolizing and delivering energy-giving sugars slowly, over time. Fruit, on the other hand, is comprised of simple sugars, more quickly metabolized, and can lead to highs and lows in some people. But a brown rice fast can feel very calming and soothing.
Fasting in cold climates or in the winter can be made easier and more comfortable if done with brown rice, as it is more warming than other types of fasts.
In contrast to a water fast which can cause extreme symptoms of discomfort due to its intense detoxifying, a brown rice fast is milder and much more gentle. While you will detox, it will be much more comfortable. There are some professionals who feel it is better to fast in a way that does not produce extreme symptoms--that the extreme symptoms can indicate a too quick release of toxins into the bloodstream, creating an intense burden on the body. These professionals suggest using mild fasting methods and/or cleansing diets to detox more slowly and gradually. This would most specifically apply to older and more frail individuals.
The many proponents of a brown rice fast
Annemarie Colbin, in her book Food and Healing, reports good results from a brown rice fast in those coming off of sugar and recreational drugs. She suggests, however, balancing the more acidic rice with alkaline foods, such as seaweed or miso. This may only be an issue on fasts of longer duration--more than 5 days.
Also, if one is concerned about acid foods, you can fast on other grains. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), millet, and buckwheat groats (not a wheat product) are all considered alkaline foods. It is best not to use wheat due to the prevalence of undiagnosed wheat and/or gluten allergies, not to mention, Westerners already consume a disproportionate amount of wheat.
The founder of the macrobiotic diet system, George Ohsawa, proposed a strict brown rice diet as a cleansing regimen for the sick. A later proponent of the macrobiotic diet, Michio Kushi, claimed that a strict brown rice diet conferred spiritual enlightenment on the adherent. It is interesting to note that brown rice is considered by many Asians to be the "perfect" food, as they believe it to have a perfect balance of yin and yang energies.
Traditional Ayurveda (the 5,000 year-old art of health and healing) is a proponent of the brown rice fast in the form of the dish called Kitchari. This type of fast is sometimes called a "kitchari cleanse", and may also be considered a cleansing diet. It combines mung beans with the most balanced of the rice types: basmati. There are as many recipes for kitchari as there are cooks--think of the number of recipes for "chili" in America--but for fasting, use a basic kitchari recipe (Learn more about kitchari, including some recipes, here).
According to Vasant Lad, in The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, you can fast on kitchari for up to 5 days. It is said to be nourishing and balanced, easily digested, and cleansing in nature. Kitchari can also be used in the process of breaking other fasts, like water, juice or fruit fasts, due to its mild nature.
Soaking grains for the best nutritional value
Our modern methods of cooking grains are insufficient at making the nutrients bioavailable to us. The newest research is showing that most grains really should be soaked or fermented before cooking. This is very similar to the process we use in soaking beans overnight before cooking.
In grains, this soak is shown to improve nutritional value and benefits. When you're fasting, and therefore cleansing, on one food, it becomes all the more important to maintain the highest quality possible in that one food.
Notes on a brown rice fast:
* Plan on 3-6 cups of rice per day, keeping to moderation as much as possible.
* Only use a whole grain! Ayurveda recommends brown basmati rice as the most balanced rice, as it is deemed acceptable for all three doshas.
* Be sure it is cooked thoroughly. And for easier digestibility and greater nutrients, soak brown rice for at least 7 hours before cooking. See here for information on soaking rice.
* A bit of sea salt on your rice is ok. The higher the quality of your sea salt, the more this is acceptable. At Kripalu we were allowed a bit of gomasio--salted sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are full of calcium, and thus alkalizing. You can also add a strip of sea vegetable to your cooking rice or a small amount of miso to the cooked rice for the same effect.
* A bit of cayenne pepper on your rice can be warming.
* You can make a big pot of brown rice or other grain in the morning from which to eat all day. Resist the temptation to reheat it in the microwave (see here for why), but instead, steam it with a vegetable steamer on the stovetop, or in a lidded skillet on low with a little added water, or covered, in a toaster oven.
* As a special treat, use a piece of your best fine china (the stuff you hardly ever get to enjoy) during your fast.
For all fasts:
* Prepare for a fast by eating fewer and lighter meals for a couple days prior. The length of preparation is based on the intensity and length of your planned fast. The longer and/or more intense the fast, the more days of preparation you should make. For a one day fast, you can just eat a light dinner the night before.
* If you're a coffee drinker, wean yourself off and you'll avoid the withdrawal headache. This goes for other caffeinated beverages, as well.
* Drink at least 2 quarts of water. Fresh squeezed lemon may be added to your water, as it not only imparts a bit of flavor, but will contribute living beneficial enzymes.
* Plan for a light workload during a fast. Don't overdo. Moderate exercise is ok, even helpful, but save the more strenuous workouts for another time. Walking and yoga are particularly well-suited to fasting.
* Get plenty of rest--allow yourself naps during the day whenever you feel the need.
* Coming off a fast requires special attention as well. Do so slowly, easing back into regular foods (but making better choices about which foods!). Again, the length and intensity of the fast performed will dictate how many days you take to re-acclimate your body to regular eating. For a 10-day fast, three days of easing back in is often recommended, eating normal foods on the fourth day. Start with juice or vegetable broth, then add raw fruit and vegies, then properly cooked whole grains, etc.
* Many recommend enemas during any kind of fast, but it isn't necessary. If the bowels don't move for the duration of your fast, that's ok. The bowels will move when you resume intake of regular foods. You can add the psyllium cleanse to your routine by adding 1-2 tablespoons of psyllium husks (available in most pharmacies, in the laxative section) to a glass of water. Do this one or two times per day. Psyllium is a natural fiber laxative that is excellent for cleansing the intestines. Be sure to drink plenty of water with psyllium as the package will tell you. If you can get organically-grown psyllium from your health food store, that would be best.
To prepare basic soaked brown rice:
2 cups rice
4 cups warm water
4 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Place all in your cooking vessel. Let soak at least 7 hours, and up to 24 hours. Bring to a boil and remove any scum. Add 1 teaspoon sea salt and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Cover tightly and cook for 45 minutes without removing the lid.
Fallon's recipe calls for the addition of 2-4 tablespoons of butter at the same time as adding the salt. She says the vitamins A and D in butter help us absorb the vitamins and minerals found in grains. When fasting, it's your choice as to whether you want to use the butter or not, but there are theories that the body needs a fat to get rid of fat-soluble toxins. You might use ghee, aka clarified butter, from which the milk solids have been removed.
This will create a slightly softer finished grain, but not mushy. People with sensitive digestive systems will notice the gentler feel of this grain. It is much easier on the system.
_________________________________________________________________________
From: http://www.allaboutfasting.com/rice-fasting.html
A Brown Rice Fast
Yes, you can fast on rice! A brown rice fast is actually an ancient practice dating back thousands of years. While it is a milder form of fasting, it offers the same benefits all fasting methods offer and has its own unique advantages.
I first heard of it during a stay at the Kripalu Center for Holistic Health back in 1985. I was taking a month-long course that was offered as an overview to a variety of holistic and spiritual practices. Among those was the practice of fasting as an adjunct to Conscious Eating as a life choice and spiritual discipline. But they didn't just talk about fasting, this was a hands-on course. So, we fasted for three days.
We (a class of about 25) were given the choice between a brown rice fast and a fruit fast, specifically, on oranges. We could have 1-2 cups of rice per meal, 3 meals per day. Or we could eat 1-2 fresh oranges per meal, for 3 meals per day. Though in both cases we were admonished to try to only eat the smaller portion if possible.
To help us with this decision we were told that if we typically felt very grounded in our lives, more heavy and analytical, found it difficult to dream dreams of fancy, to allow our feet to come up off the ground, we should do the orange fast, as a fruit fast would aid in lightening us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Alternatively, if we generally felt light and spacey, ungrounded, felt unconnected, lost and confused, that a brown rice fast would be more grounding and warming.
Otherwise, we were told, the two fasting styles would deliver the same benefits. The cleansing and detoxing of accumulated wastes stored in our bodies would begin. The clarity in our meditations would improve. Our flexibility in our yoga sessions would improve. All of that proved to be true.
While I chose the orange fruit fast that day, many in our class chose the brown rice fast. Their experiences were just as wonderful and expansive as those of us on fruit. Actually, those of us on fruit envied the rice fasters their warm bowls of "solid food" at mealtime, especially on the colder days.
A brown rice fast can alleviate many digestive troubles
My more recent experience with rice fasting comes from a girlfriend who had a lot of digestive upset. Irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, diverticulitis, and ulcers were all considered possible culprits, but she never allowed the doctor to do all the testing necessary to identify and label, diagnose, the problem. She felt certain that would become a lengthy, expensive process possibly ending with a still unclear prognosis, while she knew too, that whatever it was could likely be managed through diet.
What she found helpful instead, was a one-day brown rice fast. When her symptoms were most acting up, she would eat nothing but brown rice all day on a Saturday. Just that little bit of effort, just that much rest for her digestive system, was enough to rebalance her; it was enough to alleviate her most acute symptoms. She always said she felt better and wished she would rice fast more often.
A brown rice fast is a gentler method of fasting and can be very soothing
A brown rice fast can be more stabilizing than other types of fasts. Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate, metabolizing and delivering energy-giving sugars slowly, over time. Fruit, on the other hand, is comprised of simple sugars, more quickly metabolized, and can lead to highs and lows in some people. But a brown rice fast can feel very calming and soothing.
Fasting in cold climates or in the winter can be made easier and more comfortable if done with brown rice, as it is more warming than other types of fasts.
In contrast to a water fast which can cause extreme symptoms of discomfort due to its intense detoxifying, a brown rice fast is milder and much more gentle. While you will detox, it will be much more comfortable. There are some professionals who feel it is better to fast in a way that does not produce extreme symptoms--that the extreme symptoms can indicate a too quick release of toxins into the bloodstream, creating an intense burden on the body. These professionals suggest using mild fasting methods and/or cleansing diets to detox more slowly and gradually. This would most specifically apply to older and more frail individuals.
The many proponents of a brown rice fast
Annemarie Colbin, in her book Food and Healing, reports good results from a brown rice fast in those coming off of sugar and recreational drugs. She suggests, however, balancing the more acidic rice with alkaline foods, such as seaweed or miso. This may only be an issue on fasts of longer duration--more than 5 days.
Also, if one is concerned about acid foods, you can fast on other grains. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), millet, and buckwheat groats (not a wheat product) are all considered alkaline foods. It is best not to use wheat due to the prevalence of undiagnosed wheat and/or gluten allergies, not to mention, Westerners already consume a disproportionate amount of wheat.
The founder of the macrobiotic diet system, George Ohsawa, proposed a strict brown rice diet as a cleansing regimen for the sick. A later proponent of the macrobiotic diet, Michio Kushi, claimed that a strict brown rice diet conferred spiritual enlightenment on the adherent. It is interesting to note that brown rice is considered by many Asians to be the "perfect" food, as they believe it to have a perfect balance of yin and yang energies.
Traditional Ayurveda (the 5,000 year-old art of health and healing) is a proponent of the brown rice fast in the form of the dish called Kitchari. This type of fast is sometimes called a "kitchari cleanse", and may also be considered a cleansing diet. It combines mung beans with the most balanced of the rice types: basmati. There are as many recipes for kitchari as there are cooks--think of the number of recipes for "chili" in America--but for fasting, use a basic kitchari recipe (Learn more about kitchari, including some recipes, here).
According to Vasant Lad, in The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, you can fast on kitchari for up to 5 days. It is said to be nourishing and balanced, easily digested, and cleansing in nature. Kitchari can also be used in the process of breaking other fasts, like water, juice or fruit fasts, due to its mild nature.
Soaking grains for the best nutritional value
Our modern methods of cooking grains are insufficient at making the nutrients bioavailable to us. The newest research is showing that most grains really should be soaked or fermented before cooking. This is very similar to the process we use in soaking beans overnight before cooking.
In grains, this soak is shown to improve nutritional value and benefits. When you're fasting, and therefore cleansing, on one food, it becomes all the more important to maintain the highest quality possible in that one food.
Notes on a brown rice fast:
* Plan on 3-6 cups of rice per day, keeping to moderation as much as possible.
* Only use a whole grain! Ayurveda recommends brown basmati rice as the most balanced rice, as it is deemed acceptable for all three doshas.
* Be sure it is cooked thoroughly. And for easier digestibility and greater nutrients, soak brown rice for at least 7 hours before cooking. See here for information on soaking rice.
* A bit of sea salt on your rice is ok. The higher the quality of your sea salt, the more this is acceptable. At Kripalu we were allowed a bit of gomasio--salted sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are full of calcium, and thus alkalizing. You can also add a strip of sea vegetable to your cooking rice or a small amount of miso to the cooked rice for the same effect.
* A bit of cayenne pepper on your rice can be warming.
* You can make a big pot of brown rice or other grain in the morning from which to eat all day. Resist the temptation to reheat it in the microwave (see here for why), but instead, steam it with a vegetable steamer on the stovetop, or in a lidded skillet on low with a little added water, or covered, in a toaster oven.
* As a special treat, use a piece of your best fine china (the stuff you hardly ever get to enjoy) during your fast.
For all fasts:
* Prepare for a fast by eating fewer and lighter meals for a couple days prior. The length of preparation is based on the intensity and length of your planned fast. The longer and/or more intense the fast, the more days of preparation you should make. For a one day fast, you can just eat a light dinner the night before.
* If you're a coffee drinker, wean yourself off and you'll avoid the withdrawal headache. This goes for other caffeinated beverages, as well.
* Drink at least 2 quarts of water. Fresh squeezed lemon may be added to your water, as it not only imparts a bit of flavor, but will contribute living beneficial enzymes.
* Plan for a light workload during a fast. Don't overdo. Moderate exercise is ok, even helpful, but save the more strenuous workouts for another time. Walking and yoga are particularly well-suited to fasting.
* Get plenty of rest--allow yourself naps during the day whenever you feel the need.
* Coming off a fast requires special attention as well. Do so slowly, easing back into regular foods (but making better choices about which foods!). Again, the length and intensity of the fast performed will dictate how many days you take to re-acclimate your body to regular eating. For a 10-day fast, three days of easing back in is often recommended, eating normal foods on the fourth day. Start with juice or vegetable broth, then add raw fruit and vegies, then properly cooked whole grains, etc.
* Many recommend enemas during any kind of fast, but it isn't necessary. If the bowels don't move for the duration of your fast, that's ok. The bowels will move when you resume intake of regular foods. You can add the psyllium cleanse to your routine by adding 1-2 tablespoons of psyllium husks (available in most pharmacies, in the laxative section) to a glass of water. Do this one or two times per day. Psyllium is a natural fiber laxative that is excellent for cleansing the intestines. Be sure to drink plenty of water with psyllium as the package will tell you. If you can get organically-grown psyllium from your health food store, that would be best.
To prepare basic soaked brown rice:
2 cups rice
4 cups warm water
4 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Place all in your cooking vessel. Let soak at least 7 hours, and up to 24 hours. Bring to a boil and remove any scum. Add 1 teaspoon sea salt and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Cover tightly and cook for 45 minutes without removing the lid.
Fallon's recipe calls for the addition of 2-4 tablespoons of butter at the same time as adding the salt. She says the vitamins A and D in butter help us absorb the vitamins and minerals found in grains. When fasting, it's your choice as to whether you want to use the butter or not, but there are theories that the body needs a fat to get rid of fat-soluble toxins. You might use ghee, aka clarified butter, from which the milk solids have been removed.
This will create a slightly softer finished grain, but not mushy. People with sensitive digestive systems will notice the gentler feel of this grain. It is much easier on the system.
but probably not. To be honest, microwaves are pretty darn nifty! :D
