When the fast is over and you eat meals
that are well-balanced in bulk, moi sture, lubrication and drink
8 glasses of distilled water daily, your bowels will move better
than ever! Try to eat 60% to 70% raw foods in the form of
organic salads, sprouts, fruits, veggies and their fresh juices. Living The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle will promote a
healthier colon and regular elimination. You can also add
1 to 2 Tbsps of psyllium husk powder daily – hour after
dinner – stir in juices, pep drinks, herbal teas and eventhe Bragg Vinegar Drink. This mixture works wonders! Other miracles for regularity are 1–2 Tbsps crude
blackstrap molasses in cup of hot distilled water ( it’s also a
healthy coffee substitute ). Also a nother miracle are flax seeds. I introduced them years ago and millions have benefitted.Soak 
2 Tbsps flax seeds in cup distilled water for 3 hours
(gets gel-like ). Drink hour after dinner. Use as hot or cold
drink, add honey or molasses if desired. Great also to grind
2 – 3 Tbsps flax seeds and sprinkle over foods. Flax seeds are
nature’s richest source of Omega-3 essentia l oils fo r your
heart’s health. They help repair ce lls and tissues, transport
oxygen, satisfy hunger and help burn up excess body flab. Healthy, organic foods have a wonderful abundance of potential life energy!80
Good Elimination is Important
It is natural to squat to have bowel
movements. It opens up anal area moredirectly. When on toilet, putting feet up 
6
to 8 inches on waste basket or footstool
gives the same squatting effect. Now raiseand stretch your hands above your headso that the transverse colon can emptycompletely with ease. It’s important todrink 
8-10 glasses of pure water daily! Read pages  138, 155-157, and take psyllium in drink daily. Some fasting books recomm end that you should have
an enema or colonic daily during a fast. I feel enemas andcolonics during fasts are optional and usually not needed– but if desired then try them and then decide. The onlytime I suggest them is during extreme constipation, in anemergency or on advice of your health practitioner. Whenthe bowel refuses to evacuate, or in illness, extreme gas orbloating; an enema of warm, distilled or purified waterwith 
3 Tbsp of fresh lemon or aloe juice is strictly a
temporary means to cleanse and move the bowels. In comparing the enema to a powerful laxative, we
would say that the enema is superior to the drug laxative– but it certainly has its own faults. If you continue touse enemas, laxatives or colonics over a long period oftime, it will irritate your bowel and wash out importantinternal secretions (
healthy intestinal flora or “friendly
bacteria” ) necessary for good bowel function. To replace
the flora lost due to antibiotics, drugs, yeast infections,candidiasis or colon abuse, a 
40 to 60 minute retention
enema can be helpful. Use warm, distilled purified water,add 
2–3 tsps acidophilus liquid or powder to enema bag. During a fast, your body is having a rest! Since no
food is being eaten, there might be only 1 or 2 or even
no bowel movements during the fast. Your eliminationsystem is having a rest. It’s best not to disturb it. Thebody has its own sanitation and antiseptic system withinthe bowel. Don’t worry, in most situations you don’tneed enemas. When you have finished your fast andbegin eating  raw, healthy foods and living The BraggHealthy Lifestyle, your eliminations will be more regular.81I Fast 7 to 10 Days, 4 Times a Year
Here’s the Path to Perfect Health! My daughter
Patricia and I are
very sincere and
faithful to our
fasting program. We know what it
has done for us,
our family, friends
and for millions of Bragg health followers worldwide. Our Bragg fasting program calls for 4 longer fasts a
year, along with a weekly 24 to 36 hour fast. Fasting helps
cleanse and keep your body healthy. These cleansingfasts will help you live a longer, healthier and more vital
life! So, my calendar calls for an early January fast. Sometimes this fast only lasts
 7 days, it may run 8 days,
it may run  9 days, and it may extend the full  10 days. At the beginning of each year I mark the days I am
going to fast for 7 to 10 days. You may wonder why Isay 7 to 10 days. Sometimes I fast only 7 days because I
feel that in that time I have accomplished the necessary
body house cleansing. Be flexible on dates if you feel acold coming on. For colds call for an earlier start to your
fast to help cleanse out the mucus toxins. Colds indicate
your body needs detoxifying and a good cleansing.A cold is Mother Nature and God forcing you to fast! Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, Plato, Socrates and other great
philosophers, scientists and physicians for centuries have used fasting as
a method of cleansing, healing and renewing the body, mind and soul. Knowing and following these teachings will mean
true life and good health for you. – Proverbs 4:22Fasts are vitally important for they give the body a break from the
digestive process, and allow it to release stored toxins and get them out. Chapter 982Fasting Balances Your Thermostat Naturally
I have fasted for so many years that I am perceptive
to what a fast is doing for me. My inner voice seems to
tell me when it’s time to break each fast. Remember, letyour body and inner voice guide you, for your body
wants you healthy, alive and the toxins removed! I always mark on my calendar a fast for my spring
“house cleaning.” My spring fast always runs the full 10
days because that is when I truly want to clean house
after a long winter. During our Bragg Health Crusades, Iam often forced to talk in over-heated halls and
auditoriums. I am sorry to say that most humans cannot
take the cold weather, nor can they stand a fresh, healthy,well-ventilated hall. So I must forget my feelings and
lecture in these over-heated halls to the hot-house plants
of modern civilization that most people have become. Fasting so greatly purifies the body and so exhilarates
the body’s functions that the thermostatic system of the
body works with more efficiency. For instance, I can leavemy desert home near Palm Springs, California, in January– when the heat averages in the 
80s during the day and
the nights in the 60s – board an airplane to Midwestern
cities such as Duluth or Minneapolis, Minnesota or to aCanadian city such as Toronto – where the temperature
will be as low as
 10 to 30 degrees below zero and, because
of fasting and natural living, my body will adjust easilyto this bitterly cold winter weather. I find I can take the most frigid weather better than
most of the inhabitants who are supposedly acclimatedto their own climate. This ability to adjust to climate is
only one of the many fasting miracles that happen to
the body. Fasting gives the body a chance to flush outthe toxic poisons and build up its Vital Nerve Force. But, as I have stated earlier, when I go to the cities
that are locked in freezing weather, I find that their hallsand auditoriums are overheated. There is so little oxygen
in the air that my body will naturally absorb some of
the carbon dioxide that people expel from their lungs
during their breathing process. That is why my spring83
Health is the most natural thing in the world. It is natural to be healthy
because we are a part of Mother Nature – we are nature. Nature is trying hardto keep us well, because she needs us in her business. – Elbert Hubbardfasting is so valuable. I want that  10 day fast to flush out
of my body any accumulated toxins, plus any other toxic
poisons that are found in those artificially heated halls. That’s why my springtime fast is always 7 to 10 days. Then when summer rolls around, I take a  7 day fast
in late July or August. This is the easiest of all my fasts
because I have been eating large amounts of luscious,fresh fruits and garden-fresh organically grown
vegetables. I believe I enjoy my summer fast more than
any other. In fact, this fast is so easy that I never stopeither my heavy physical exercise or mental activities. My autumn fast can be anytime in late October or during
November. It also extends from
 7 to 10 days. Fasting truly has many cumulative miracle effects. I
fast about  75 days a year. It is a great physiological rest I
give my body and digestive organs. This includes myliver, gallbladder, and all other faithful organs, including
the ones producing hormones, that are running my body
and keeping me healthy! The physiological rest that Igive my pancreas allows it to produce ample insulin.This also goes for the stomach, where so many digestive
juices are needed to handle and digest my food intake. Mother Nature Intended the Body and
Breath to Be Sweet and Free from Odors
You will find after a fast that you’ll have more saliva
which contains the important enzyme amylase. You will
discover that your mouth will taste sweeter and yourbreath will be clean. The more you fast, the less mouth
and body odor you will have! I never need deodorants. Several years ago I supervised a fasting program for a
student who came to California from New York. His
problem was a terrifically bad body odor that exuded
from every part of his body, particularly from under hisarms, the palms of his hands and his feet. The odor can
only be described as putrid. It wasn’t that the man didn’t
take baths – because he told me that he took as many as843 and 4 hot, soapy showers or baths daily and would use
all kinds of deodorants or antiperspirants. But it was all
to no avail, for that horrible body odor persisted. He
was becoming a nervous wreck because he felt like asocial outcast. He not only had a bad body odor, but he
had such heavy halitosis his breath could knock you
over! He used gargles, lozenges, chewed mint gum, butstill that rancid, bad breath persisted. Unhealthy Lifestyle Causes Unhealthy Life
When questioning this man before putting him on
his first fast, I found that he had been enervated byterrible lifestyle habits, overwork, marital difficulties and
heavy financial responsibilities. When you enervate
yourself, over-expend your nervous energy and exhaustyour Vital Force, the elimination organs can’t do their
job effectively and efficiently. This man was plainly
suffering from chronic nervous fatigue! His eating habitswere unhealthy. His working day was so busy that he
would gobble a sandwich and wash it down with coffee. He simply didn’t take time to prepare healthy meals. Hewas constipated and his elimination was off it’s rhythm. I told him it had taken years to get his body into this
decaying condition and that a program of fasting andnatural living would take time to accomplish its mission. But he was an intelligent and logically thinking man
and fully cooperated with our Bragg Healthy LifestyleProgram. I started him on a series of
 36 hour fasts and
between the fasts, I gradually added more raw fruit and
vegetables to his heavily concentrated diet of refinedsugars, fats and meat. I believe there must be a transition
period between changing from a unhealthy diet to a
healthy diet. It’s best not to force the body to changequickly. You must take things slowly. Instead of eating
meat
 3 times a day, he now ate meat only once a day. He
had been a great eater of white bread, so I substituted
100%  whole grain breads. It’s best oven dry toasted. Use your feet as Mother Nature intended. Give them every possible freedom. Go barefoot every chance you get. I do! For more info read Bragg Foot Book! Famous Dr. Scholl said, “The Bragg Foot Program is the best”.85Fasting Pulls Out Toxins and Poisons
In time I put him on a 7 day fast. The first three days
were rough because he was now eliminating largeamounts of toxic poisons. He vomited some mucus andyellowish-green bile during the first 
4 days. When
nauseated it’s best to drink water, then vomit toxins outthat have collected in your stomach. You will feel betterright away. The 
5th day he broke out in a cleansing rash
that lasted a few days, then vanished. The odor that camefrom his body and breath was almost unbearable! Hegave me a specimen of his first urine  every morning.He sealed it tightly, dated it and stored it on a shelf tosettle. Be sure and do this. Fasting is a cleansing-healingmiracle! The proof is the foul urine that comes out! I am well-acquainted with the sickening odor of
putrid urine, being a health practitioner. In my manyyears in the health field, I’ve spent time in hospitalsand health spas inspiring patients to cleanse; recovertheir health; be strong; always live a healthy lifestyle;and treasure and protect their life! After his 
7 day fast, I eliminated more refined foods
and gave him more raw fruits and  raw vegetables. Afterseveral more weeks, I put him on a
 10 day fast. This was
a much easier fast for him, but he still eliminated heavyamounts of toxins. This is called the “latent poison” thatbecomes concentrated in the cells of the body. It takestime with regular fasting and a cleansing diet of freshorganic fruits and salads and the Bragg Vinegar Drink(page 
230) to slowly dislodge these deeply stored toxins. Often people will say to me, “Well, with all due
respect to your philosophy of living, I am a perfectlyhealthy person. I eat what agrees with me, drink all thecoffee I want and eat what normal people eat.” But Iknow better, I know poisons are accumulating in theirtissues. I know some day it will break loose and theywill become deathly ill with a variety of illnesses – aches,pains, headaches, colds, flu, rashes, etc. – as this healingcrisis is trying to clean out the toxins. That’s what diseaseand sickness are – Mother Nature trying to cleanse andpurify the burdened body of toxins, accumulated since
childhood, by pushing these toxins out!86
No man can violate Nature’s Laws and escape her penalties! – Julian JohnsonYou Pay For Your Sins Sooner or Later
Many people inherit constitutions of steel through
heredity. They can laugh and flaunt at God and Mother
Nature’s Laws and seem to get away with it! Inevitably
the day of reckoning always arrives, the day whenMother Nature starts a purification by some form of
elimination. I have seen so-called healthy people who
thought they could eat and drink anything, smoke, losesleep and work
 long hours – suddenly collapse with a
heart attack, stroke or illness. Sadly, I have seen many
of these powerful people go to an early grave due totheir disregard of common sense health laws! So I knew that my student had to be handled very
carefully. It pleased me that he kept up his programpersistently and faithfully. It took almost a year of weekly
24 to 36 hour fasts and strong adherence to The Bragg
Healthy Lifestyle to defeat his annoying body odors.Today that man has a sweet, clean breath. There is no
longer any putrid odor exuding from his body. He is an
entirely different man. He not only defeated the enemieswithin his body, but he looks and feels
 20 years younger. He’s now handsome, youthful and vigorous, with
personal magnetism. He’s more relaxed because he has
a healthy body and a healthy, peaceful mind. Now itmust be very plain and obvious to you why I use fasting
as an effective, safe method of detoxifying the body. Most
people wait until something happens to their healthbefore they take action – and sadly it’s often too late! An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Ton of Cures! Those of you who are reading this book should not
wait until Mother Nature shocks you into detoxification. Isn’t it far more logical and sensible to give your body a
physiological rest every week for
 24 to 36 hours? Isn’t it
good, sound reasoning for you to take a  7 to 10 day fast
from time to time and give your body a chance to purify
itself? Give your body a chance to get rid of anyaccumulated toxins! In our modern, complex civilization
we are absolutely bound to pick up poisons and toxins.87Fasting Promotes Healthy Elimination
I have explained to you very thoroughly that this is
a world filled with toxins and poisons. Our only salvation
is to be faithful with a regular program of fasting. This
fasting strongly promotes a healthier colon and goodelimination. It helps keep the body cleaner and healthier
by regularly purging out the vicious toxins. It can mean
a whole new, cleaner  life, because when you are healthy,you have more joy, peace and energy in your life. .Colon in spastic constipation.Proper position in relation to organs:
 1) stomach 2) appendix 3) cecum 4) ascending colon  5) transverse colon 6) descending colon 7) sigmoid flexure 8) rectumB. The Spastic Colon
Normal Colon  S ick Colon
 A. The Normal Colon
   D. The Sagging Colon
 Colon in engorged constipation.Ptosis, or sagging, of transverse
colon, accompanied by
displacement of stomach. 1
34
876 5
2
Good elimination is vitally important for your health and longevity!C. The Engorged Colon88How to Conduct a 3 Day, 7 Day & 10 Day Fast
To Detox, Repair, Rebuild and Restore Health
A fast of 3 days or longer should be conducted under
ideal conditions. You should be able to rest any time you feel
the toxins passing out of your body. During this time youmight feel some discomfort. You should rest and relax quietly
until the toxins have passed out of your body. It’s best to be
at peace and alone when possible. This brief period ofdiscomfort will leave as soon as the loosened toxins have
passed out through your kidneys, lungs, skin, etc. During longer fasts don’t tell others you’re fasting. Why
not? During a fast you must keep in mind only positive
thoughts of the cleansing and the renewing miracles
happening in your body. Often others are ignorant anduninformed about fasting and project negative thoughts. Our fasting is such a very personal and quiet time that
many years ago I went into the Santa Monica Mountains inCalifornia and bought a tract of land in the wilderness of the
Topanga Canyon near Malibu. There I built a retreat cabin,
identical to Thoreau’s at Walden Pond. In that naturalseclusion, Patricia and I enjoy the quiet and peace for our
fasting time. If it’s possible for you to get away to some
secluded place and do your fast in Mother Nature’s splendorwith fresh air and solitude, you will enjoy better results! There are also some very fine health spas throughout
the world where all the conditions are perfect for a restfulfast. Inquire at health stores for any located in your area. Many of the Bragg students who fast regularly tell us that
they use their vacation as a period of fasting and purificationof body, mind and soul. Often they will go to some beautiful
spot to rent accommodations and take their fast in seclusion. I am not saying it’s necessary to go away to fast. Your homeis your castle and hopefully you will be cozy and peaceful
there. The Bragg family all regularly fast. When any one is
fasting, we have great consideration for them. We have anagreement not to ask each other how we feel during the
fast. Fasting is so personal that no one can do anything for
you during the fast, so it’s best not to discuss it with others.Relax and be thankful for your miracle cleansing. When you are on a fast of 3 days or more, you are really on
Mother Nature’s and God’s miracle operating table. Nature is ridding you of the waste, mucus, toxins
and other foreign substances in your body.89How to Break Long Fasts
How to Break a 7 Day Fast
Remember that when you have been on a 7 day fast
your stomach and the  30 feet of intestinal tract have
contracted. When you are ready to break the fast, don’t
overeat, please eat and chew your food slowly as directed:
Around 5 to 6 pm at the end of your 7th day fast, peel
and cut up  4 or 5 organic tomatoes (or canned, salt-free
tomatoes), add cup distilled water, and garlic (mashed) ifdesired, bring to boil and turn off heat. When cool enough
to eat, serve in bowl with liquid. Spray some Bragg Aminos
over top and a dash of Bragg Vinegar and Bragg Olive Oil.Eat as much as desired. Around mid-morning of the 
8th
day, have a medium salad of chopped cabbage, grated beets
and carrots, with half an orange or lemon squeezed overit. After your salad, if desired have a bowl of steamedgreens (
kale, Swiss chard, collard, mustard or beet greens )  and
peeled tomatoes, season with garlic, Bragg Olive Oil and
Aminos. Bring greens to  boil, then turn off heat. Withgreens, you may eat 
1–2 slices 100% whole grain bread
that’s been oven–dry–toasted into melba toast. See recipe
below for delicious garlic toast. During the day have threeBragg Vinegar drinks and all the distilled water you wish. For dinner you may have another salad of grated
cabbage, carrots, chopped celery and avocado, with freshorange or lemon juice for dressing. Often you may not
require or desire any more food. But, if so, you may have 
1
to 2 cooked vegetables; such as broccoli, stringbeans,
carrots, peas, okra, squash, etc. You may also have  1-2 pieces
delicious  whole grain garlic toast. Lightly dry–toast bread
slices in oven. Rub raw garlic cloves on both sides, spreadwith Bragg Organic Olive Oil, then spray with Bragg Liquid
Aminos and sprinkle on nutritional yeast (
large) flakes. Prayer is the mortar that holds our house together. – Sister TeresaChapter 1 090On the morning of the 9th day, you may have a
variety of fresh organic fruits such as banana, pineapple,
papaya, grapes, orange, grapefruit and apples. Or you
may have a Bragg Pep Drink (page 230). At noon you
may have a salad of grated carrots, cabbage and celery
and some  garlic toast. At dinner you may have the Bragg
Health Salad and, if desired, steamed veggies or soup. How to Break a 10 Day Fast
There is little difference between the  7 and the  10
day fast. On the 10th day around dinner time  you will
have stewed tomatoes; from then you will follow thesame schedule as given in the
 7 day fast. IMPORTANT – It’s Harmful to Your Body to Overeat! Don’t eat more than you need or desire! Remember
that you have been without food for  7 to 10 days. By
this time, you have lost the strong craving for food.Because you eat, does not mean that you are going toimmediately feel a surge of energy. It takes the body
time to adjust from a detoxifying mode to eating again. Remember – Don’t Worry About Evacuation
It may take the body a day or two to adjust to eating
again, so don’t be concerned if your bowels are sluggish.In many instances some people will have a bowelevacuation shortly after eating their first meal after afast. Elimination is different for each person, so wecannot set a standard when the bowels will move. I urgeyou to be patient with Mother Nature and don’t try toforce your bowels to move. Mother Nature has giventhe bowels their own sanitation and antiseptic system.This system will promote natural bowel movements. Youare now eating healthy foods that stimulate theperistaltic or wavelike motion of the bowels. When theydo begin evacuation, if you follow our instructions andalways eat healthy foods, you will establish healthyregular eliminations that will naturally flush the toxins
and waste matter from your body on a regular basis. Behind every successful person is themselves. – American Proverb91The Ideal Elimination Program
In my own life, by living on a diet which is rich in
bulk, moisture, water and lubrication, I have established
the following good eliminati on habits. I have a bowel
movement shortly after arising. I encourage this by a few
waist twists and leg kicks ( pg. 118) to help give me good
elimination. I told you, I don’t eat breakfast because Ibelieve the No Heavy B reakfast Plan is health ier. Several
hours after arising I then eat delicious organic fresh fruits
or a dish of fresh sliced pineapple, banana, orange,
papaya, etc., or Bragg Pep Drink or dish of prunes or
sundried apricots soaked in pineapple juice. At noon I have
my first real meal of the day, usually Bragg Raw VegetableSalad page 
231. I often add avocado to my salad – veggies
and avocados are excellent lubricant s in promoting
healthy elimination for  the gastrointestinal tract. I make it a hard and fast rule to always eat my salad
first. I do this for several reasons. First I think we musteducate our 
260 taste buds to accept only natural foods. Therefore when you have raw foods, either a raw vegetable
salad or a fruit salad to start the meal, you educate your
taste buds to enjoy and want clean, live, healthy foods! Most people start a meal with a broth or soup with
sandwiches or bread. This is wrong in my opinion! Tomake the taste buds keen, sharp and alive – having yourraw health salad or fresh fruits first starts the digestivejuices flowing for raw foods are rich in natural healthyenzymes. All this contributes to good nutrition. I urgeyou to always eat something raw at the beginning ofeach meal. You will find in time your taste buds willbegin to reject devitalized, unhealthy foods that you maybe tempted to eat. As you re-educate the taste buds toenjoy more fruits and salads, you will find that you canand should increase the daily amount of raw, live foodsyou eat to 
60% to 70%  of your total intake – it’s the healthiest! Healthy, healing dietary fibers are organic fresh vegetables, fruits, salads
and whole grains and their products. These health builders help normalizeyour blood pressure, cholesterol and also promotes healthy elimination.92The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle
Promotes Super Health & Longevity
Remember that raw foods are the live, vital foods. They are as Mother Nature made them. They’re whole,natural, live foods – vibrating with enzymes and solar
energy! Most people want food that stimulates them –
the sugars, fats, salt, heavy, overcooked and refined foods
that have little food value. They want fast foods and
most of them have been stripped of their goodness. The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle consists of eating a diet
of 
60% to 70% fresh, live, organically grown foods; raw
vegetables, salads, fresh fruits and juices; sprouts, rawseeds and nuts; all-natural 
100%  whole grained breads,
pastas, cereals and nutritious beans and legumes. These
are the no cholesterol, no fat, no salt, “live foods” thatproduce the body fuel that helps produce healthy, lively
people. Healthy “live foods” and fasting are the main
reasons people become revitalized and reborn into a freshnew life filled with youthfulness, health, vitality, joy andlongevity! There are millions of healthy Bragg followers
worldwide proving this lifestyle works miracles! Vegetarianism Versus Meat Eating
Over the  long years that I have been a Nutritionist,
the controversy of “Vegetarianism versus Meat Eating”
has raged furiously. Both sides present the most scientificreasons for their side of the story. I am not going to try
to persuade you to be either a vegetarian or a meat eater. There are hundreds of books written on both subjects. Cabbage (raw) has amazing properties. It stimulates the immune system, kills
bacteria and viruses, heals ulcers, and according to Dr. James Balch in Prescription
for Cooking and Dietary Wellness, your chances of contracting colon cancer can bereduced by up to 60% by eating cabbage weekly. Dr. Saxon-Graham states that
those who never consumed cabbage were three times more likely to develop colon
cancer. A Japanese study shows that people who ate cabbage had the lowestfatality rate from any cancer. Therapeutic benefits have also been attributed to
cabbage in relation to scurvy, gout, rheumatism (arthritis), eye diseases, asthma,
pyorrhea, and gangrene. See our Bragg Salad Recipe (page
 231). Cooking destroys
the cabbages healing  properties. We love cabbage and also we make a variety of
sandwiches wrapped in cabbage leaves instead of bread. Try this – so delicious!! !Eat Plenty of Cabbage – The Miracle Cleanser and Healer93I Prefer the Healthier Vegetarian Diet
Over the years of following a program of fasting and
eating a diet containing an abundance of raw organic
fruit and vegetables, my body has become so keen that
it practically tells me what to eat at every meal. Afteryears on this healthy vegetarian diet, my body has lost
the desire for meat, fowl and fish. My diet is composed
of organic raw fruits and vegetables, cooked vegetables,beans, legumes, brown rice, etc. with raw nuts and seeds
and their butters, raw wheat germ and Brewer’s yeast. This is what my body seems to thrive on. But
occasionally there were times when my body told me to
eat a piece of meat or a piece of fish, or to have some
natural cheese or a few fertile eggs. In other words, mybody developed an instinct for the selection of foods. Sometimes I go 4 or
 5 years without tasting eggs, etc.,
then my body will telegraph that I need some. Listeningto my inner voice has helped me enormously. Basically I have been a vegetarian by nature most of
my life. I was reared on a large farm in Virginia wherehundreds of hogs and cattle were slaughtered regularly,so killing has always been repulsive to me! I have never
been a hunter or a fisherman because I do not like to
take another life. I have made
 13 expeditions to distant
lands and I have found many robust, healthy people
living on a vegetarian diet. On the other hand, I have
found people in other cultures who also enjoyed higherhealth and yet included animal products in their diets. I roamed the South Seas for over a year at one time and
in those far flung islands I found supermen and wonderwomen. They not only lived on an abundance of fresh
fruit and vegetables, but they included fish, fowl and
some meat in their diet. So you see I have tried to be asfair as I could about this question of Vegetarianism versus
Meat Eating. I feel that as we cleanse and purify our
bodies we develop a keen sense of what is healthiest
and best for us to eat. Keep a daily journal and see. Nutrition directly affects growth, development, reproduction, well-being
and an individual’s physical and mental condition. Health depends uponnutrition more than on any other single factor. –  Dr. Wm. H. Sebrell, Jr.94Eliminating Meat is Safer and Healthier
Most uninformed nutritionists call meat the #1 source
of protein. Those proteins coming from the vegetable
kingdom are referred to as the #2 proteins. This is a sad
and terrible mistake. It should be the other way around! In this day and age, almost all meat is laden with
herbicides, fungicides, pesticides and other chemicals
that are sprayed on or poured into the feed which theseanimals consume. They are also pumped full of
hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulators and all kinds
of drugs to fatten them up and keep them from dyingfrom the extremely unhealthy conditions most of them
live in! This is not to mention the admitted fact that
many of them are fed the dead, ground up carcasses ofother feed lot animals who, for a variety of reasons, didn’t
make it to the slaughterhouse. Speaking of the slaughterhouse, what kind of
chemical reaction do you suppose would occur in your
body if somebody put a choke chain around your neck
to keep you in line, shoved you onto a conveyor belt,and made you watch in horror as all of those in line infront of you were beheaded one by one? Well, your body
would be pumped so full of adrenaline from all that fear
you wouldn’t know what hit you! Unused adrenaline isextremely toxic. If you think for a minute that most of
the meat that you consume is not packed with this toxic
substance, you’re sadly mistaken! Also, consider the fact that cattle, sheep, chickens,
etc., are all vegetarians. When you eat them, you are
just eating polluted vegetables. Why not skip all thewaste and toxins and just eat healthy, organic vegetables? And what about that myth that you have to eat  meat
to get your protein? If that were so true, where do yousuppose farm animals, especially horses, get all their
protein? They are vegetarians! They get their protein
from the grains and grasses that they eat. You are nodifferent. You can get the proteins you need from the
large variety of whole grains, tofu, raw nuts, seeds, beans,
fruits and vegetables that God put on this planet for
your health. See Vegetable Protein 
% Chart, page 233.95Meat Has Toxic Uric Acid and Cholesterol
Meat is the major source of toxic uric acid and
cholesterol, both harmful to your health. If you insiston eating meat, it should be an organically fed sourceand not eaten more than 2 to 3 times weekly. Fresh fishcan be the least toxic of the flesh proteins, but bewareof fish from polluted waters. They can be loaded withmercury, lead, cadmium, 
DDT  and other toxic
substances. If you are unsure of the waters the fish comefrom, don’t risk eating it. Avoid shellfish – shrimp, lobsterand crayfish. They are garbage-eating bottom-feeders(the rats and flies of the water world). They eat decayingscum and refuse off the bottoms of the oceans, lakesand rivers. Chickens and turkeys are a sick bunch andcommercially mass fed and heavily drugged withantibiotics and hormones. Be selective and cautious inyour eating; seek only the healthiest food choices. It’s best people should not eat pork or pork products. The pig is the only animal besides man that developsarteriosclerosis. This animal is so loaded with cholesterolthat in cold weather, unprotected pigs will become stiff,as though frozen solid. Pigs are often infected with adangerous parasite which causes the disease trichinosis. Patricia and I enjoy being healthy vegetarians and
not polluting our bodies with unhealthy meat, fowl andfish proteins. It’s safer and healthier getting our proteinsfrom organic vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, etc. Please
refer often to the Vegetable Protein 
% Chart, page 233. My Beloved Health Teachers and Mentors
One of the greatest teachers and physicians in the
science of body purification and nutrition was Dr. JohnTilden, 
M.D.,  of Denver. This great scientist will surely
go down in history as one of the finest physicians. Hisprogram included fasting and an abundance of freshfruits and vegetables. He lived into his 
90s and was active
to the end of his life keeping his patients healthy. Another of the finest doctors who specialized in
nutrition was the famed Dr. John Harvey Kellogg,  M.D. He was the director for 60 years of the famous Battle
Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan.96Dedicated Great Health Healers
Dr. Kellogg’s Sanitarium specialized in a vegetarian
diet and people from around the world were restored to
radiant health by following his health program. I hadthe privilege of studying under Dr. Kellogg and it was
one of the outstanding experiences of my early career. In my early career, I was associated with Bernarr
Macfadden, Father and Founder of the Physical Culture
Movement 
(pg 145) . Macfadden tried vegetarianism for
a time, but gradually went back to a mixed diet whichincluded meat and fish. He lived healthy and active to
nearly
 88 years of age and he believed in mixing proteins. Over my many years in the health field, I have met
many famous men and women who restored thousands
of people to health through natural methods. In the
1920s I worked with Dr. St. Louis Estes, D.D.S. , who was
a pioneer and strict believer in the raw food diet. I saw
many broken, weak, sick people restored to health by
changing to his raw food diet. (I feel it’s best to have ahealthy balance of 
60% to 70% raw foods. – P.B.) Dr. Benedict Lust, M.D., N.D.,  was Father and Founder
of Naturopathy in America. He established in New York a
great school of Naturopathy which educated and
graduated thousands of Natur opathic Doctors who have
used and spread his health teachings around the world. Dr. Henry Lindlahr, M.D., was a famous drugless
physician who lobbied for the return to natural methods
in the modern treatment and prevention of disease. Professor Arnold Ehret was one of the world’s greatest
food scientists. He was the discoverer and creator of “The
Mucusless Diet Healing System,” which is a strictly vegetarian
regime. I knew many of Professor Ehret’s students who,in their 
80s and 90s, were still enjoying vigorous, robust
health by following his vegetarian health program. Fasting Credo of the famous Buchinger Clinics in Germany and Spain:
     We must restore fasting to the place it occupied in an ancient hierarchy of
values “above medicine”. We must rediscover it and restore it to honor becauseit is a necessity. A beneficial fast of several weeks, as practised in the earliest daysof the Church, was to give strength, life and health to the body and soul of allChristians who had the faith, dedication and courage to practice fasting.9797Your Tongue Never Lies –
It’s Your Inside Magic Mirror
Your tongue – your inside magic mirror – reveals how
much toxic material is stored in the cells and vital organsof your body. The tongue ( a spongy organ ) is mirror of
the stomach and the entire mucos membrane system. In your body there is a hose-like tube that averages
30 feet long, extending from the mouth to the anus. It
has the body heat of 98.6 °, plus body moisture. Through
this tube passes all the food you eat. Now, different foodstake different times to pass through the tube. Sad facts –
most people eat an unhealthy, refined, concentrated,
acid-forming diet. They eat large amounts of refinedwhite flour, white sugar, salt and saturated fats. Most ofthese commercial foods lack sufficient bulk, moisture
and lubrication to pass quickly through the 
30 foot tube. I believe that there is a common factor that precedes
or is coexistent with most body ills that afflict us. This
common denominator is constipation. Definitions may
differ but it is logical that if outgo does not equal intake– either in terms of quantity or in frequency – then
constipation will occur and it can be the beginning
of more serious physical problems. Most people are brainwashed to believe there is no
harm in eating almost anything, as often as they desire
it. We are told to eat big breakfasts to furnish plenty ofenergy to last all morning. Soon after breakfast  they
consume more food, donuts, etc. at mid-morning coffee
breaks. Then comes lunch, then a mid-afternoon coffeebreak followed by the usual heavy evening meal, later
TV snacks and a bedtime snack before retiring. On top
of all this food, many people will gorge on snacks ofcandy, salted nuts, cakes, pies, cookies and ice cream,
etc. This means that food is ingested six or more times a
day, literally stuffing and overworking your stomach!Chapter 1 198The Body Can Take a Lot of Abuse! The average person believes that if they have one
good bowel movement a day, usually in the morning,that they are free of constipation. Not so – one full
bowel movement is not sufficient to remove all foodmaterial the average person stuffs into his intestinal
tract. As a consequence this rotten, putrefying, morbidwaste lies in the intestine, where it undergoesenzymatic and bacteriological changes that can cause
severe health pr oblems and maybe even colon cancer. The human body is basically strong and can take a
lot of abuse from over-stuffing, plus eating unhealthymeals. It is most difficult to tell these people who eatincorrectly and have only one bowel movement a daythat they are constipated and thus are inviting serioustroubles later. But there is one warning signal – anunhealthy tongue – that can tell these people that theyare carrying a nasty cesspool within their bodies. If these people fasted for 
2 or 3 days on distilled water,
their “Magic Mirror” tongue would tell them plainly that
they are carrying a horrible mass of fermenting poison insideof their intestines. A few days of fasting will coat the tonguewith a thick, white, toxic material that has a strong odor.This whitish coating can be scraped off and examined. In
fact, you can spoon-scrape and brush the tongue clean but,in a few hours, the coating usually returns. This is anindication of the amount of putrefying toxic filth, mucusand poisons that are accumulated in the body’s cells thatare now being eliminated from the inside surface of thestomach, intestines, organs and from all parts the entirebody. This is one of the cleansing miracles of fasting. The actual amount of toxic material the average
person carries around with them is almost unbelievable!In my opinion, many physical problems are the resultof this clogging of the 
30 foot intestinal tube, the cells
and the entire circulation and pipe system of the human
body. I believe that these poisons cause a constitutionalclogging of the entire human pipe system, especiallyplugging up the microscopically tiny blood capillaries.99
Open your mind, for the doors of wisdom are never shut. – Ben FranklinLearn to Read Your Tongue’s Message
Mother Nature shows the faster by coating the tongue
that his body contains toxic poisons. The characteristics of
tissue construction especially
of the powerful internalorgans –  the kidneys, liver
and all the glands – are like a
sponge. Imagine a spongefilled with a thick putrefying
paste. I have supervised
thousands of fasts and seenhuge amounts of toxins
people store in their body
trying to survive on theStandard American Diet 
(SAD) . During a cold, have you
ever stopped to think howmuch mucus and phlegm
passes out of the body through
the nose and throat? This is alsohow the vital organs such as thelungs, kidneys and bladder are passing out poisons during
this cleansing (mucus, phlegm, rashes, fevers, etc.) crisis. Start now to learn more about yourself by fasting and
closely watching your tongue, the spongy organ whose
surface accurately mirrors the health or ill health of every
other part of your body. The “Magic Mirror” can be aguiding star in your journey to Super Health. The more
faithfully you follow a good fasting and a natural eating
program, the cleaner your tongue will become during afast. Also when you brush your teeth, brush or spoon
scrape your tongue from the back to the tip. This is a definite signpost that you are on your New
Bragg Healthy Lifestyle Road – a life free of physical
problems and misery. This road will lead to your greatest
achievement – an Ageless, Painless and Tireless Body! So,as you go on your 
24 to 36 hour or  7 to 10 day fast, note
how much cleaner your tongue becomes with each fast. This will reveal the amazing Miracles of Fasting  to you!100
Pure Water is Essential for Health and Longevity
Pure, distilled water (8-10 glasses daily) is i mportant for health. It is free of inorganic minerals and harmful chemicals. Read Bragg Book, Water – The Shocking Truth Can Save Your Life
If you truly love Nature, you will find Beauty everywhere. – Vincent van Gogh
Earth laughs and smiles in flowers. – Ralph Waldo EmersonDream big, think big, but enjoy the small
miracles of your daily life! – Patricia Bragg         TIME
I have just a little minute,
Only sixty seconds in it,Just a tiny little minute,Give account if I abuse it;Forced upon me; can't refuse it.Didn't seek it, didn't choose it.But it's up to me to use it.I must suffer if I lose it;But eternity is in it. – Unknown
“A fast with distilled water can help you heal with greater speed; cleanse yourliver, kidneys and colon; purify your blood; help you lose excess weight andbloating; flush out toxins; clear the eyes, tongue, and cleanse the breath.”
“Bragg Books were my conversion to the healthy way.”
– James F. Balch, M.D., Prescription for Nutritional HealingMan does not die of old age! It’s been proven there
are no special diseases due simply to old age. Most
diseases kill both young and old. Many diseases start
from a body loaded with toxic poisons. Keep the bodyclean by following your regular fasting program plus
eating only healthy foods. Your tongue and urine can
be your guideposts to internal purity. Watch bothcarefully with respect when you do a cleansing fast.101Chapter 12
Just Grin and Bear It
“I want to fast because I believe it would do wonders
for me, but how can I fast and yet escape the great feelingof hunger that the first 
3 days of fasting produces?” That
is the question that is put to us many, many times whenI discuss the Miracle of Fasting at our Bragg HealthCrusade lectures all over the world. We can give onlyone answer “Just Grin and Bear It.”
“I tried a fast once, but I got weak and felt miserable,
I just had to start eating.” We often hear this excuse. Nowhere in this book have I stated that fasting is
easy. Eating regularly has become such an ingrained partof people’s lives that, if you take food away from them,they experience many mental and physical reactions.That is the very reason why fasting is not popular.Humans are creatures of strong habits. Most peopleautomatically eat 
3 or more meals every day and not
because they have earned their food with physical activity.They have been brainwashed to believe everyone shouldeat at certain hours for three regular mealtimes. Patricia and I had the pleasure of being invited to the
grand opening of the fabulous Mauna Kea Hotel, on theIsland of Hawaii. It was an American-plan hotel, whichmeans the cost includes meals. Breakfast started at 
7:30
am, luncheon began at 12:30  pm and dinner at  7 pm. We passed the dining room at these hours, the guests
were all eagerly waiting for the doors to open so theycould get at the expansive buffet. Were they hungry at exactly these hours? How could
they be? Most of the guests did nothing but relax onthe beach, socialize, drive golf carts, play cards or read! It’s a mistake to think the more a man eats, the stronger he becomes. Lack of will power and drive cause more failures,
than a lack of intelligence and ability. – Harry Banks102Don’t Live to Eat – Eat to Live & Be Healthy
The hotel guests did absolutely nothing to earn all
these meals, but they paid for them and felt they shouldbe there to eat them. The same thing happens on cruise
ships. There is always a crowd waiting for the dining
room to open so they can eat what they paid for. Food! It can be a blessing to man, but also a curse! The body can take a lot of abuse from wrong food andoverfeeding. But there comes a day when the body’s
digestive system becomes over-stuffed, overworked and
overwhelmed –  it’s then that health problems begin! Digestive troubles plague modern man. Constipation
heads the list of his miseries. Tons upon tons of pills,
powders and liquids are sold to try and flush out thewaste packed into people’s intestines and colon. Modern
man packs food into himself faster than the functions
of digestion and elimination can handle it! This is verymuch like trying to race your car with the brakes on. There is scientific reasoning that constipation is the
foundation of many other body ailments. The reasoningbehind this conclusion is sound. If constipation meansretention of waste, here’s a simple test you can take. Prepare your next meal, made up of everything you
would ordinarily eat, but don’t eat a mouthful of it.Instead, put it in a pot; then place the container with
the food in a temperature around
 100 degrees, the same
as inside the body. See that there is a liberal quantity ofmoisture. Now watch what occurs over the next
 8 hours. The very first things you will notice are the bad odors
and rancidity. Then the food will mold, ferment andbubble with gas. This gas pressure causes many miseries
in the body. If the gas presses upward against the
diaphragm you may even have stimulated a heart attack.As it presses against the back muscles, it can cause terrible
backaches. This fermenting mass of putrefaction is
always throwing off toxins which can cause poundingheadaches, mysterious aches and pains all over the body. Dine with little, sup with less: do better still, sleep supperless. – Ben Franklin
Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings. – P. Syrus103Elementary microbiology tells us that, to produce
germs in quantity, keep food fermenting in the colonand the bacteria will obligingly multiply. So, right inour bodies, we breed all kinds of “bugs” that can causetrouble. If you are prone to viruses such as colds, chronicsinusitis and other ailments, a constipated conditioncreates a favorable environment for the presence andgrowth of unfriendly “bugs” involved in such ailments. The toxic poisons generated by overeating or  too
much of the wrong foods,  can damage one of the body’s
most important organs – the liver. Few people realizehow important their liver is to life. It’s a great chemicallaboratory with many functions. It not only gives forthbile, but it is the body’s greatest garbage disposal. The liver and intestines are partners in the w hole entire
digestive process! If one is sick, the other tries to come toits aid until it too, breaks down. When the liver and thedigestive systems break down you are in serious trouble!This is why you often find a swollen sensitive liver, a pastycomplexion and many times, jaundice and chronic
fatigue in conjunction with ongoing constipation. Give Your Vital Force a Chance to Clean House! So it’s plain that when you stop eating to give your
body’s Vital Force a chance to clean house . . . you will
miss the food habit the first few days of your fast! Itcould be uncomfortable if you allow it! Think positive! When you fast, your Vital Force loosens the waste in
your body and gathers it up to be discarded. As long asthis goes on you might feel some discomfort. But once
the waste is discarded through the kidneys, you will
begin to feel better. As you fast, conditions change fromday to day. When your body is eliminating heavy
amounts of toxic poisons through the kidneys and other
organs of elimination, you could feel some discomfort.But it should also be clear why you may feel better on
the 
7th day of a 10 day fast than you did on the 3rd day. Many of the toxic poisons that gave you trouble havebeen flushed out of the body! Many people who fast
under my supervision felt far better and stronger on the
10th day of the fast than they did on the 1st day.104Ponce de Leon
Searched for the
“Fountain of Youth.”
If he had only known
It’s within us . . . Created by the
Food we eat! Food can make or
Break your Health! Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing
ordinary things extraordinarily well. Neglect nothing; the most
trivial action may be performed with joy. – Angelique Arnauld
The word “vegetarian” is not derived from “vegetable,”
but from the Latin, homo vegetus, meaning among the
Romans a strong, robust, thoroughly healthy man. The juicer, food processor and the blender are great for
preparing foods, drinks, gentle (bland) diets and baby foods,
etc. Fibers of juiced fresh fruits and vegetables can be tolerated
on most gentle diets. Any raw or cooked fruit or vegetablecan be liquefied and added to broth, soups and non-dairy
(soy, rice or nut) milks. Fresh juices supercharge your energy
level and boost your immune system to maximize your body’shealth power. You may fortify your liquid meal or Bragg Pep
Drinks with any of these green powders for extra nutrition:
alfalfa, chlorella, barley green, spirulina, rice bran or wheat grass. Liquefy or Juice Fresh Organic Fruits and VegetablesThis always happens when I take a  7 or 10 day fast. I
always feel stronger at the end of my fast than I did at
the beginning. The cleaner you are inside, the more Vital
Power you have! So at the beginning of the fast, just
grin and bear the discomforts that may occur as youpurify the body. You know that as you get cleaner, you
are going to feel stronger. Again I say, to be a good faster,
you must, “ Just Grin and Bear It! ”. Whatever brief
discomforts you may experience during a fast are well
worth the great rewards you are going to receive!105Fasting Fights and Removes Mucus
In my opinion most of man’s problems stem from a
clogging of the entire pipe system of the human body. Most of this clogging takes the form of a thick mucus. How free are you of mucus at this minute? Do you
have a postnasal drip? That is, is there a slow dripping
of mucus from your sinus cavities into the back of your
mouth and down your throat? What about your nose?How much mucus are you carrying in your nasal
passages? How many times a day do you use tissues? How many times a day do you clear your throat? Howoften do you cough or spit up mucus and phlegm? Every person living on the average American diet has,
more or less, a sticky mucus-clogged pipe system. Thisstored up toxic mucus results from the undigested and
uneliminated, unnatural food substances and toxins that
start accumulating from birth. This mucus not only clogsthe nose, throat and lungs, but this mucus is also found
all along the 30 feet of the gastrointestinal tract that
starts at the mouth and extends to the anus. Somehumans suffer great distress from heavy mucus-clogging
in their sinus cavities. It’s found in the ears, not only in
a soft form, but also in a hardened wax that can causehearing problems. The greatest amount of mucus is most
often lodged in the lungs. Pneumonia is one of the most deadly diseases. Mucus
fills up the lungs so you can’t get enough air in to purify
the
 5 to 8 quarts of blood which flow to the lungs for
vital purification. Pneumonia kills more older people;they literally drown from the mucus in their lungs. Important – Your Daily Habits Form Your Future
Habits can be wrong, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, rewarding or unrewarding. The right or wrong habits, decisions, actions, words or deeds . . . are up to you! Wisely choose your habits, as they can make or break your life! – Patricia BraggChapter 1 3106American Diet Forms Mucus and Illness
Our bodies are equipped with an elastic pipe system. The modern diet that we eat is never entirely digested
and the accumulated waste never entirely eliminated. Our entire pipe system is slowly becoming clogged,especially the digestive tract. This is the foundation of
many physical problems. The body becomes overloaded
with mucus which the avenues of elimination cannotexpel. It slowly concentrates into a huge decayed mass. The American diet is a mucus-forming, heavily
refined, high sugar, salt, fried foods, dairy, meats andfats diet. All dairy products are especially mucus-
forming. No animal in the world except man drinks milk
after being weaned. The modern diet includes butter andbutter substitutes, margarines, processed shortenings and
hydrogenated oils and fats which are the plugging
saturated fats. These are unhealthy for the body. Ourbodies have a normal temperature of 
98.6 °. To digest
and assimilate these solid, hardened, saturated fats, we
would have to have a heat of 300 degrees in our bodies. Our American diet contains a great deal of processedand synthetic cheese, as well as natural cheeses which
are heavily preserved with salt. I have discussed the
dangers of salt quite fully in this book. Don’t use salt! Most Americans love eggs, yet egg yolks carry large
amounts of cholesterol, a saturated fat. If you eat eggs
(limit 
3–4 weekly) they should be fresh, fertile and from
free range, organically fed chickens. Most Americans eat
a lot of meat, most of it fried in heavy grease, either lard
or hydrogenated commercial oils. Meat also carries itsown heavy load of fat, visible and invisible. Today, most
American cooking is done by the deep-frying method,
including their deadly favorite – french fries. This isa devitalized, mucus-forming, unhealthy S.A.D. diet. The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of
the body to heal itself – but that force is not independent ofthe belief system. Everything begins with believing. What webelieve is the most powerful option of all. – Norman Cousins107Mucus Shows Up in the Urine when Fasting
The urine test shows the amount of mucus the
average human carries within their bloodstream. Take a
3 day fast. Eat absolutely
nothing and drink onlylarge amounts of distilled
water – from
 2 to 3 quarts
a day. Every morning ofthe fast, take a sample of
the first urine you pass
on awakening, put it ina labeled bottle and place
it on a shelf to cool and
settle. In a few days thisurine will show a heavy
cloud of mucus. The
longer you keep theurine, the more toxins
and mucus are revealed. A regular weekly 
24 hour fast will help rid your body of
large amounts of mucus and toxins. Some of these toxinshave been circulating in your body for years. In winter, most people eat more heavy, concentrated
foods – such as refined flour products: pancakes, waffles,sugared cereals, doughnuts, rolls, breads, flour gravies,
biscuits, cakes, pies and refined pastas – the body then
becomes so loaded with mucus that it forces the VitalForce to create a cleansing crisis – a cold, flu, etc. A fever
is produced by your Vital Force to help burn up and
flush out the heavy concentrations of mucus. The lungs,nose and throat pour out the mucus through coughing,
sneezing, spitting and nose-blowing. Few humans realize
what a cleansing holocaust the body goes through! The body is a miracle self-purifying instrument! As
long as the body has enough Vital Force to eliminate
toxins such as mucus, it will work with all its energy torid and purify the body. What do humans think about
this crisis? They get feverish. A fever is your body’s
cleaner, a true natural phenomenon of Mother Natureand acts as her incinerator to burn up the toxins. The Urinary System108Winter Miseries? Or Body Cleansing? The uninformed man will tell you that he is suffering
this winter misery because he got his feet wet! Or he
will say that a draft blew on him and he didn’t get hiscoat on in time. These are unscientific and weak excuses. Winter miseries, colds, flu, etc. are Mother Nature’s
internal self cleansing and purification blessings to helpyou get the mucus and toxins out and get healthy! I have proven over and over that you can’t catch
colds. In the early years I was associated with BernarrMacfadden, the father and founder of the Physical
Culture Movement. He organized a group of people
known as the Polar Bears. Every weekend and holidayin the frigid winter, we would meet at the Coney Island
Beach in New York to frolic and exercise. Then we
would all plunge into the icy water of the Atlantic Ocean. Did I ever see one of the winter bathers ever have
the sniffles? Never! People would come to Coney Island
bundled up in heavy overcoats, mufflers, sweaters and
flannel underwear to stand on the boardwalk, staring at
us swimming and splashing around in the icy water.They were the people who had the sniffles, not the Polar
Bears – who believed in eating a healthy mucusless
diet, exercising outdoors and swimming in icy waters. Today I belong to two fine organizations who swim
all year long at Coney Island, New York – the Polar Bears
and the Icebergs. These two clubs are made up of menand women who are cold water swimmers. I also belong
to the Winter Bathers Club (The Boston Brownies) who
are headquartered at the “L” Street Bath House. Here isanother group of people who prove that you can swim
and expose yourself to the most frigid weather and still
never have a sniffle, a chill, a fever or other reactionsfrom exposure to cold weather. I live in California where
the Pacific Ocean drops down to 
50 degrees in winter. If
I am not away on a lecture tour, you can count on me totake my cold water swims at the beach not far away. Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in
the open air and eat and sleep with Mother Earth. – Walt Whitman109Take the Mucus Test
I feel that fasting has done a great deal to eliminate
the mucus from my body. I faithfully live on a mucuslessdiet and always take my weekly 
24 hour fast to help keep
any mucus and toxins that I may have accumulated in
my body flowing out. I want to keep my machinery clean. Take the test yourself! Eliminate all of the mucus-
forming foods from your diet for several months. Fast 1
day a week and, if possible, take a 7 day fast. Watch your
urine closely. See for yourself the amount of mucus you
have concentrated in your body. After a fast, make 60% to
70% of your diet raw salads, vegetables and fruits and the
balance in cooked vegetables, beans, legumes and brown
rice. This is a mucusless diet that’s rich in enzymes and
nutrients. Also the raw, unsalted nuts and nut butters andseeds (almond, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.) are not
mucus-forming, so add them to your diet of organic fruits
and vegetables. While on this test don’t eat any dairy, eggs,meats and only a few whole grains or none at all. I can tell you all the great health benefits that fasting, a
mucusless and meatless diet will do for you. But it’s best
you simply try it yourself, then you be the judge. Noticehow seldom you have mucus and have to use a tissue. A
7 day fast is a great mucus eliminator. I make it a practice
to fast 7 to 10 days in late Oct. or Nov. so that, as thewinter comes on, I have relieved my body of any mucus
that it has accumulated. I try to live on a mucusless diet. When traveling the world lecturing, Patricia and I find at
times we can’t get all the organic fruits and vegetables we
normally eat, so we put our faith in fasting for purification. The treatment of diseases should go to the root cause, and most
 often it is found in severe dehydration from lack of sufficient
 pure, distilled water, plus an unhealthy diet and lifestyle! A good book goes around the world offering itself to reasonable men, who
read it with joy and carry it to their neighbors. – Ralph Waldo EmersonTrue wisdom is to know what is best worth knowing,
and to do what is best worth doing. –  Edward Humphrey110Break the Tobacco, Alcohol, Cola
And Coffee Habit Through Fasting
It seems today most humans are addicted to some
kind of poisonous drug habit – such as tobacco, alcohol,
cola and coffee. Every one of these substances contain
dangerous toxic poisons. The spotlight of science is stillon the dangers of tobacco. Every cigarette package has
this warning, “ Tobacco smoking may be hazardous to your
health. ” Scientists worldwide have studied the effects of
tobacco on humans. The conclusion: smoking should
be stopped! But it’s not. Sad truth, “Flesh is dumb and
will accept anything.” Your mind must be a strong and
faithful health captain to keep you healthy and fit! The flesh will accept the carbon monoxide and
nicotine of tobacco. It will accept alcohol. It will acceptthe caffeine tars found in coffee, tea and even chocolate. The body has no mechanism to process these vicious
drugs and poisons. Millions are destroying their livesusing these killers, it’s like a slow, deliberate self-suicide! Now, if a person wishes to release himself from the
bondage of these irritating and poisonous drugs that act
first to stimulate and then to depress the central nervous
system, they must fast. The fast is a salvation for thosewho wish to break free of the shackles of these poisonous
habits. In my years of supervising fasts, I have seen these
wretched habits repeatedly defeated by fasting! I remember years ago when a woman came to me who
was a chain smoker. D aily she smo ked 4 packages of
cigarettes and drank a fifth of whisky (
aa.com offers help ). She was a heavy user of coffee and colas. She told me her
nerves were shattered. If she picked up a pencil to write,
she trembled. She couldn’t sleep. Her appetite was gone.Her eyes were blurred. Her skin tone was pasty and flabby. She was miserable and even had thoughts of suicide! Her
physician suggested she see me, that I might help herwith nutrition and exercise therapies. She had reached
the end of her rope and was willing to try anything. We love helping people who want to live and follow
The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle! We want to help you now!111The Body Rebels Against Poisons! The first thing I did with this smoking addict was to
put her on a fast. I didn’t take her poisons away fromher. She continued to smoke and drink a small amount
of alcohol and coffee. But on the third morning of her
fast, her body rebelled and these stored poisons andtoxins in her body began to nauseate her. The body
wanted them out! When nauseated it’s best to force it
out by drinking
 2-3 glasses of water, put your finger on
the back of your tongue, lean over a bowl and get it out! You’ll feel better right away! Every time she would light
a cigarette or take any alcohol, tea or coffee she hadheavy attacks of vomiting, nature’s wise purge to get
the toxins out. I supervised the fast for 
10 days. Those
last 7 days of that fast were the first in years that she
had not polluted her body with these deadly poisons. I
broke her fast the tenth day and the urine she passed
that morning was a thick ugly mass. Do you know whatthis mass was? – her poison residues. I then put her on a
mucusless diet for 
10 days and then fasted her again for
10 days. Every day of the second 10 day fast, large
amounts of toxic poisons showed up in her urine. I had her photographed at the start of her fast and at
the end of 10 months. You would hardly know it was
the same woman! Her skin and muscle tone were perfect.Her hands were firm and steady. Instead of a miserable,
depressed human, she was now happy and carefree! She
never again had desires for tobacco, alcohol, coffee orblack tea. She became one of the best writers in the
Hollywood TV and movie world. Her income doubled
and tripled. Her personal magnetism increased and sheattracted a handsome, wholesome man for a husband. The list is long of people who had hit rock bottom
with their addictions who then turned to fasting as alast resort – and fasting did the trick! Any person who is
addicted to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, colas or coffee, etc. will find an answer to their problems by fasting. Whenthe body becomes clean, it will no longer allow poisons
to enter.
The_Miracle_of_Fasting_by_Paul_Bragg.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        When the fast is over and you eat meals
that are well-balanced in bulk, moi sture, lubrication and drink
8 glasses of distilled water daily, your bowels will move better
than ever. Try to eat 60% to 70% raw foods in the form of
organic salads, sprouts, fruits, veggies and their fresh juices. Living The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle will promote a
healthier colon and regular elimination. You can also add
1 to 2 Tbsps of psyllium husk powder daily – hour after
dinner – stir in juices, pep drinks, herbal teas and eventhe Bragg Vinegar Drink. This mixture works wonders. Other miracles for regularity are 1–2 Tbsps crude
blackstrap molasses in cup of hot distilled water ( it’s also a
healthy coffee substitute ). Also a nother miracle are flax seeds. I introduced them years ago and millions have benefitted. Soak 
2 Tbsps flax seeds in cup distilled water for 3 hours
(gets gel-like ). Drink hour after dinner. Use as hot or cold
drink, add honey or molasses if desired. Great also to grind
2 – 3 Tbsps flax seeds and sprinkle over foods. Flax seeds are
nature’s richest source of Omega-3 essentia l oils fo r your
heart’s health. They help repair ce lls and tissues, transport
oxygen, satisfy hunger and help burn up excess body flab. Healthy, organic foods have a wonderful abundance of potential life energy. 80
Good Elimination is Important
It is natural to squat to have bowel
movements. It opens up anal area moredirectly. When on toilet, putting feet up 
6
to 8 inches on waste basket or footstool
gives the same squatting effect. Now raiseand stretch your hands above your headso that the transverse colon can emptycompletely with ease. It’s important todrink 
8-10 glasses of pure water daily. Read pages  138, 155-157, and take psyllium in drink daily. Some fasting books recomm end that you should have
an enema or colonic daily during a fast. I feel enemas andcolonics during fasts are optional and usually not needed– but if desired then try them and then decide. The onlytime I suggest them is during extreme constipation, in anemergency or on advice of your health practitioner. Whenthe bowel refuses to evacuate, or in illness, extreme gas orbloating; an enema of warm, distilled or purified waterwith 
3 Tbsp of fresh lemon or aloe juice is strictly a
temporary means to cleanse and move the bowels. In comparing the enema to a powerful laxative, we
would say that the enema is superior to the drug laxative– but it certainly has its own faults. If you continue touse enemas, laxatives or colonics over a long period oftime, it will irritate your bowel and wash out importantinternal secretions (
healthy intestinal flora or “friendly
bacteria” ) necessary for good bowel function. To replace
the flora lost due to antibiotics, drugs, yeast infections,candidiasis or colon abuse, a 
40 to 60 minute retention
enema can be helpful. Use warm, distilled purified water,add 
2–3 tsps acidophilus liquid or powder to enema bag. During a fast, your body is having a rest. Since no
food is being eaten, there might be only 1 or 2 or even
no bowel movements during the fast. Your eliminationsystem is having a rest. It’s best not to disturb it. Thebody has its own sanitation and antiseptic system withinthe bowel. Don’t worry, in most situations you don’tneed enemas. When you have finished your fast andbegin eating  raw, healthy foods and living The BraggHealthy Lifestyle, your eliminations will be more regular. 81I Fast 7 to 10 Days, 4 Times a Year
Here’s the Path to Perfect Health. My daughter
Patricia and I are
very sincere and
faithful to our
fasting program. We know what it
has done for us,
our family, friends
and for millions of Bragg health followers worldwide. Our Bragg fasting program calls for 4 longer fasts a
year, along with a weekly 24 to 36 hour fast. Fasting helps
cleanse and keep your body healthy. These cleansingfasts will help you live a longer, healthier and more vital
life. So, my calendar calls for an early January fast. Sometimes this fast only lasts
 7 days, it may run 8 days,
it may run  9 days, and it may extend the full  10 days. At the beginning of each year I mark the days I am
going to fast for 7 to 10 days. You may wonder why Isay 7 to 10 days. Sometimes I fast only 7 days because I
feel that in that time I have accomplished the necessary
body house cleansing. Be flexible on dates if you feel acold coming on. For colds call for an earlier start to your
fast to help cleanse out the mucus toxins. Colds indicate
your body needs detoxifying and a good cleansing. A cold is Mother Nature and God forcing you to fast. Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, Plato, Socrates and other great
philosophers, scientists and physicians for centuries have used fasting as
a method of cleansing, healing and renewing the body, mind and soul. Knowing and following these teachings will mean
true life and good health for you. – Proverbs 4:22Fasts are vitally important for they give the body a break from the
digestive process, and allow it to release stored toxins and get them out. Chapter 982Fasting Balances Your Thermostat Naturally
I have fasted for so many years that I am perceptive
to what a fast is doing for me. My inner voice seems to
tell me when it’s time to break each fast. Remember, letyour body and inner voice guide you, for your body
wants you healthy, alive and the toxins removed. I always mark on my calendar a fast for my spring
“house cleaning. ” My spring fast always runs the full 10
days because that is when I truly want to clean house
after a long winter. During our Bragg Health Crusades, Iam often forced to talk in over-heated halls and
auditoriums. I am sorry to say that most humans cannot
take the cold weather, nor can they stand a fresh, healthy,well-ventilated hall. So I must forget my feelings and
lecture in these over-heated halls to the hot-house plants
of modern civilization that most people have become. Fasting so greatly purifies the body and so exhilarates
the body’s functions that the thermostatic system of the
body works with more efficiency. For instance, I can leavemy desert home near Palm Springs, California, in January– when the heat averages in the 
80s during the day and
the nights in the 60s – board an airplane to Midwestern
cities such as Duluth or Minneapolis, Minnesota or to aCanadian city such as Toronto – where the temperature
will be as low as
 10 to 30 degrees below zero and, because
of fasting and natural living, my body will adjust easilyto this bitterly cold winter weather. I find I can take the most frigid weather better than
most of the inhabitants who are supposedly acclimatedto their own climate. This ability to adjust to climate is
only one of the many fasting miracles that happen to
the body. Fasting gives the body a chance to flush outthe toxic poisons and build up its Vital Nerve Force. But, as I have stated earlier, when I go to the cities
that are locked in freezing weather, I find that their hallsand auditoriums are overheated. There is so little oxygen
in the air that my body will naturally absorb some of
the carbon dioxide that people expel from their lungs
during their breathing process. That is why my spring83
Health is the most natural thing in the world. It is natural to be healthy
because we are a part of Mother Nature – we are nature. Nature is trying hardto keep us well, because she needs us in her business. – Elbert Hubbardfasting is so valuable. I want that  10 day fast to flush out
of my body any accumulated toxins, plus any other toxic
poisons that are found in those artificially heated halls. That’s why my springtime fast is always 7 to 10 days. Then when summer rolls around, I take a  7 day fast
in late July or August. This is the easiest of all my fasts
because I have been eating large amounts of luscious,fresh fruits and garden-fresh organically grown
vegetables. I believe I enjoy my summer fast more than
any other. In fact, this fast is so easy that I never stopeither my heavy physical exercise or mental activities. My autumn fast can be anytime in late October or during
November. It also extends from
 7 to 10 days. Fasting truly has many cumulative miracle effects. I
fast about  75 days a year. It is a great physiological rest I
give my body and digestive organs. This includes myliver, gallbladder, and all other faithful organs, including
the ones producing hormones, that are running my body
and keeping me healthy. The physiological rest that Igive my pancreas allows it to produce ample insulin. This also goes for the stomach, where so many digestive
juices are needed to handle and digest my food intake. Mother Nature Intended the Body and
Breath to Be Sweet and Free from Odors
You will find after a fast that you’ll have more saliva
which contains the important enzyme amylase. You will
discover that your mouth will taste sweeter and yourbreath will be clean. The more you fast, the less mouth
and body odor you will have. I never need deodorants. Several years ago I supervised a fasting program for a
student who came to California from New York. His
problem was a terrifically bad body odor that exuded
from every part of his body, particularly from under hisarms, the palms of his hands and his feet. The odor can
only be described as putrid. It wasn’t that the man didn’t
take baths – because he told me that he took as many as843 and 4 hot, soapy showers or baths daily and would use
all kinds of deodorants or antiperspirants. But it was all
to no avail, for that horrible body odor persisted. He
was becoming a nervous wreck because he felt like asocial outcast. He not only had a bad body odor, but he
had such heavy halitosis his breath could knock you
over. He used gargles, lozenges, chewed mint gum, butstill that rancid, bad breath persisted. Unhealthy Lifestyle Causes Unhealthy Life
When questioning this man before putting him on
his first fast, I found that he had been enervated byterrible lifestyle habits, overwork, marital difficulties and
heavy financial responsibilities. When you enervate
yourself, over-expend your nervous energy and exhaustyour Vital Force, the elimination organs can’t do their
job effectively and efficiently. This man was plainly
suffering from chronic nervous fatigue. His eating habitswere unhealthy. His working day was so busy that he
would gobble a sandwich and wash it down with coffee. He simply didn’t take time to prepare healthy meals. Hewas constipated and his elimination was off it’s rhythm. I told him it had taken years to get his body into this
decaying condition and that a program of fasting andnatural living would take time to accomplish its mission. But he was an intelligent and logically thinking man
and fully cooperated with our Bragg Healthy LifestyleProgram. I started him on a series of
 36 hour fasts and
between the fasts, I gradually added more raw fruit and
vegetables to his heavily concentrated diet of refinedsugars, fats and meat. I believe there must be a transition
period between changing from a unhealthy diet to a
healthy diet. It’s best not to force the body to changequickly. You must take things slowly. Instead of eating
meat
 3 times a day, he now ate meat only once a day. He
had been a great eater of white bread, so I substituted
100%  whole grain breads. It’s best oven dry toasted. Use your feet as Mother Nature intended. Give them every possible freedom. Go barefoot every chance you get. I do. For more info read Bragg Foot Book. Famous Dr. Scholl said, “The Bragg Foot Program is the best”. 85Fasting Pulls Out Toxins and Poisons
In time I put him on a 7 day fast. The first three days
were rough because he was now eliminating largeamounts of toxic poisons. He vomited some mucus andyellowish-green bile during the first 
4 days. When
nauseated it’s best to drink water, then vomit toxins outthat have collected in your stomach. You will feel betterright away. The 
5th day he broke out in a cleansing rash
that lasted a few days, then vanished. The odor that camefrom his body and breath was almost unbearable. Hegave me a specimen of his first urine  every morning. He sealed it tightly, dated it and stored it on a shelf tosettle. Be sure and do this. Fasting is a cleansing-healingmiracle. The proof is the foul urine that comes out. I am well-acquainted with the sickening odor of
putrid urine, being a health practitioner. In my manyyears in the health field, I’ve spent time in hospitalsand health spas inspiring patients to cleanse; recovertheir health; be strong; always live a healthy lifestyle;and treasure and protect their life. After his 
7 day fast, I eliminated more refined foods
and gave him more raw fruits and  raw vegetables. Afterseveral more weeks, I put him on a
 10 day fast. This was
a much easier fast for him, but he still eliminated heavyamounts of toxins. This is called the “latent poison” thatbecomes concentrated in the cells of the body. It takestime with regular fasting and a cleansing diet of freshorganic fruits and salads and the Bragg Vinegar Drink(page 
230) to slowly dislodge these deeply stored toxins. Often people will say to me, “Well, with all due
respect to your philosophy of living, I am a perfectlyhealthy person. I eat what agrees with me, drink all thecoffee I want and eat what normal people eat. ” But Iknow better, I know poisons are accumulating in theirtissues. I know some day it will break loose and theywill become deathly ill with a variety of illnesses – aches,pains, headaches, colds, flu, rashes, etc. – as this healingcrisis is trying to clean out the toxins. That’s what diseaseand sickness are – Mother Nature trying to cleanse andpurify the burdened body of toxins, accumulated since
childhood, by pushing these toxins out. 86
No man can violate Nature’s Laws and escape her penalties. – Julian JohnsonYou Pay For Your Sins Sooner or Later
Many people inherit constitutions of steel through
heredity. They can laugh and flaunt at God and Mother
Nature’s Laws and seem to get away with it. Inevitably
the day of reckoning always arrives, the day whenMother Nature starts a purification by some form of
elimination. I have seen so-called healthy people who
thought they could eat and drink anything, smoke, losesleep and work
 long hours – suddenly collapse with a
heart attack, stroke or illness. Sadly, I have seen many
of these powerful people go to an early grave due totheir disregard of common sense health laws. So I knew that my student had to be handled very
carefully. It pleased me that he kept up his programpersistently and faithfully. It took almost a year of weekly
24 to 36 hour fasts and strong adherence to The Bragg
Healthy Lifestyle to defeat his annoying body odors. Today that man has a sweet, clean breath. There is no
longer any putrid odor exuding from his body. He is an
entirely different man. He not only defeated the enemieswithin his body, but he looks and feels
 20 years younger. He’s now handsome, youthful and vigorous, with
personal magnetism. He’s more relaxed because he has
a healthy body and a healthy, peaceful mind. Now itmust be very plain and obvious to you why I use fasting
as an effective, safe method of detoxifying the body. Most
people wait until something happens to their healthbefore they take action – and sadly it’s often too late. An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Ton of Cures. Those of you who are reading this book should not
wait until Mother Nature shocks you into detoxification. Isn’t it far more logical and sensible to give your body a
physiological rest every week for
 24 to 36 hours. Isn’t it
good, sound reasoning for you to take a  7 to 10 day fast
from time to time and give your body a chance to purify
itself. Give your body a chance to get rid of anyaccumulated toxins. In our modern, complex civilization
we are absolutely bound to pick up poisons and toxins. 87Fasting Promotes Healthy Elimination
I have explained to you very thoroughly that this is
a world filled with toxins and poisons. Our only salvation
is to be faithful with a regular program of fasting. This
fasting strongly promotes a healthier colon and goodelimination. It helps keep the body cleaner and healthier
by regularly purging out the vicious toxins. It can mean
a whole new, cleaner  life, because when you are healthy,you have more joy, peace and energy in your life. Colon in spastic constipation. Proper position in relation to organs:
 1) stomach 2) appendix 3) cecum 4) ascending colon  5) transverse colon 6) descending colon 7) sigmoid flexure 8) rectumB. The Spastic Colon
Normal Colon  S ick Colon
 A. The Normal Colon
   D. The Sagging Colon
 Colon in engorged constipation. Ptosis, or sagging, of transverse
colon, accompanied by
displacement of stomach. 1
34
876 5
2
Good elimination is vitally important for your health and longevity. C. The Engorged Colon88How to Conduct a 3 Day, 7 Day & 10 Day Fast
To Detox, Repair, Rebuild and Restore Health
A fast of 3 days or longer should be conducted under
ideal conditions. You should be able to rest any time you feel
the toxins passing out of your body. During this time youmight feel some discomfort. You should rest and relax quietly
until the toxins have passed out of your body. It’s best to be
at peace and alone when possible. This brief period ofdiscomfort will leave as soon as the loosened toxins have
passed out through your kidneys, lungs, skin, etc. During longer fasts don’t tell others you’re fasting. Why
not. During a fast you must keep in mind only positive
thoughts of the cleansing and the renewing miracles
happening in your body. Often others are ignorant anduninformed about fasting and project negative thoughts. Our fasting is such a very personal and quiet time that
many years ago I went into the Santa Monica Mountains inCalifornia and bought a tract of land in the wilderness of the
Topanga Canyon near Malibu. There I built a retreat cabin,
identical to Thoreau’s at Walden Pond. In that naturalseclusion, Patricia and I enjoy the quiet and peace for our
fasting time. If it’s possible for you to get away to some
secluded place and do your fast in Mother Nature’s splendorwith fresh air and solitude, you will enjoy better results. There are also some very fine health spas throughout
the world where all the conditions are perfect for a restfulfast. Inquire at health stores for any located in your area. Many of the Bragg students who fast regularly tell us that
they use their vacation as a period of fasting and purificationof body, mind and soul. Often they will go to some beautiful
spot to rent accommodations and take their fast in seclusion. I am not saying it’s necessary to go away to fast. Your homeis your castle and hopefully you will be cozy and peaceful
there. The Bragg family all regularly fast. When any one is
fasting, we have great consideration for them. We have anagreement not to ask each other how we feel during the
fast. Fasting is so personal that no one can do anything for
you during the fast, so it’s best not to discuss it with others. Relax and be thankful for your miracle cleansing. When you are on a fast of 3 days or more, you are really on
Mother Nature’s and God’s miracle operating table. Nature is ridding you of the waste, mucus, toxins
and other foreign substances in your body. 89How to Break Long Fasts
How to Break a 7 Day Fast
Remember that when you have been on a 7 day fast
your stomach and the  30 feet of intestinal tract have
contracted. When you are ready to break the fast, don’t
overeat, please eat and chew your food slowly as directed:
Around 5 to 6 pm at the end of your 7th day fast, peel
and cut up  4 or 5 organic tomatoes (or canned, salt-free
tomatoes), add cup distilled water, and garlic (mashed) ifdesired, bring to boil and turn off heat. When cool enough
to eat, serve in bowl with liquid. Spray some Bragg Aminos
over top and a dash of Bragg Vinegar and Bragg Olive Oil. Eat as much as desired. Around mid-morning of the 
8th
day, have a medium salad of chopped cabbage, grated beets
and carrots, with half an orange or lemon squeezed overit. After your salad, if desired have a bowl of steamedgreens (
kale, Swiss chard, collard, mustard or beet greens )  and
peeled tomatoes, season with garlic, Bragg Olive Oil and
Aminos. Bring greens to  boil, then turn off heat. Withgreens, you may eat 
1–2 slices 100% whole grain bread
that’s been oven–dry–toasted into melba toast. See recipe
below for delicious garlic toast. During the day have threeBragg Vinegar drinks and all the distilled water you wish. For dinner you may have another salad of grated
cabbage, carrots, chopped celery and avocado, with freshorange or lemon juice for dressing. Often you may not
require or desire any more food. But, if so, you may have 
1
to 2 cooked vegetables; such as broccoli, stringbeans,
carrots, peas, okra, squash, etc. You may also have  1-2 pieces
delicious  whole grain garlic toast. Lightly dry–toast bread
slices in oven. Rub raw garlic cloves on both sides, spreadwith Bragg Organic Olive Oil, then spray with Bragg Liquid
Aminos and sprinkle on nutritional yeast (
large) flakes. Prayer is the mortar that holds our house together. – Sister TeresaChapter 1 090On the morning of the 9th day, you may have a
variety of fresh organic fruits such as banana, pineapple,
papaya, grapes, orange, grapefruit and apples. Or you
may have a Bragg Pep Drink (page 230). At noon you
may have a salad of grated carrots, cabbage and celery
and some  garlic toast. At dinner you may have the Bragg
Health Salad and, if desired, steamed veggies or soup. How to Break a 10 Day Fast
There is little difference between the  7 and the  10
day fast. On the 10th day around dinner time  you will
have stewed tomatoes; from then you will follow thesame schedule as given in the
 7 day fast. IMPORTANT – It’s Harmful to Your Body to Overeat. Don’t eat more than you need or desire. Remember
that you have been without food for  7 to 10 days. By
this time, you have lost the strong craving for food. Because you eat, does not mean that you are going toimmediately feel a surge of energy. It takes the body
time to adjust from a detoxifying mode to eating again. Remember – Don’t Worry About Evacuation
It may take the body a day or two to adjust to eating
again, so don’t be concerned if your bowels are sluggish. In many instances some people will have a bowelevacuation shortly after eating their first meal after afast. Elimination is different for each person, so wecannot set a standard when the bowels will move. I urgeyou to be patient with Mother Nature and don’t try toforce your bowels to move. Mother Nature has giventhe bowels their own sanitation and antiseptic system. This system will promote natural bowel movements. Youare now eating healthy foods that stimulate theperistaltic or wavelike motion of the bowels. When theydo begin evacuation, if you follow our instructions andalways eat healthy foods, you will establish healthyregular eliminations that will naturally flush the toxins
and waste matter from your body on a regular basis. Behind every successful person is themselves. – American Proverb91The Ideal Elimination Program
In my own life, by living on a diet which is rich in
bulk, moisture, water and lubrication, I have established
the following good eliminati on habits. I have a bowel
movement shortly after arising. I encourage this by a few
waist twists and leg kicks ( pg. 118) to help give me good
elimination. I told you, I don’t eat breakfast because Ibelieve the No Heavy B reakfast Plan is health ier. Several
hours after arising I then eat delicious organic fresh fruits
or a dish of fresh sliced pineapple, banana, orange,
papaya, etc. , or Bragg Pep Drink or dish of prunes or
sundried apricots soaked in pineapple juice. At noon I have
my first real meal of the day, usually Bragg Raw VegetableSalad page 
231. I often add avocado to my salad – veggies
and avocados are excellent lubricant s in promoting
healthy elimination for  the gastrointestinal tract. I make it a hard and fast rule to always eat my salad
first. I do this for several reasons. First I think we musteducate our 
260 taste buds to accept only natural foods. Therefore when you have raw foods, either a raw vegetable
salad or a fruit salad to start the meal, you educate your
taste buds to enjoy and want clean, live, healthy foods. Most people start a meal with a broth or soup with
sandwiches or bread. This is wrong in my opinion. Tomake the taste buds keen, sharp and alive – having yourraw health salad or fresh fruits first starts the digestivejuices flowing for raw foods are rich in natural healthyenzymes. All this contributes to good nutrition. I urgeyou to always eat something raw at the beginning ofeach meal. You will find in time your taste buds willbegin to reject devitalized, unhealthy foods that you maybe tempted to eat. As you re-educate the taste buds toenjoy more fruits and salads, you will find that you canand should increase the daily amount of raw, live foodsyou eat to 
60% to 70%  of your total intake – it’s the healthiest. Healthy, healing dietary fibers are organic fresh vegetables, fruits, salads
and whole grains and their products. These health builders help normalizeyour blood pressure, cholesterol and also promotes healthy elimination. 92The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle
Promotes Super Health & Longevity
Remember that raw foods are the live, vital foods. They are as Mother Nature made them. They’re whole,natural, live foods – vibrating with enzymes and solar
energy. Most people want food that stimulates them –
the sugars, fats, salt, heavy, overcooked and refined foods
that have little food value. They want fast foods and
most of them have been stripped of their goodness. The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle consists of eating a diet
of 
60% to 70% fresh, live, organically grown foods; raw
vegetables, salads, fresh fruits and juices; sprouts, rawseeds and nuts; all-natural 
100%  whole grained breads,
pastas, cereals and nutritious beans and legumes. These
are the no cholesterol, no fat, no salt, “live foods” thatproduce the body fuel that helps produce healthy, lively
people. Healthy “live foods” and fasting are the main
reasons people become revitalized and reborn into a freshnew life filled with youthfulness, health, vitality, joy andlongevity. There are millions of healthy Bragg followers
worldwide proving this lifestyle works miracles. Vegetarianism Versus Meat Eating
Over the  long years that I have been a Nutritionist,
the controversy of “Vegetarianism versus Meat Eating”
has raged furiously. Both sides present the most scientificreasons for their side of the story. I am not going to try
to persuade you to be either a vegetarian or a meat eater. There are hundreds of books written on both subjects. Cabbage (raw) has amazing properties. It stimulates the immune system, kills
bacteria and viruses, heals ulcers, and according to Dr. James Balch in Prescription
for Cooking and Dietary Wellness, your chances of contracting colon cancer can bereduced by up to 60% by eating cabbage weekly. Dr. Saxon-Graham states that
those who never consumed cabbage were three times more likely to develop colon
cancer. A Japanese study shows that people who ate cabbage had the lowestfatality rate from any cancer. Therapeutic benefits have also been attributed to
cabbage in relation to scurvy, gout, rheumatism (arthritis), eye diseases, asthma,
pyorrhea, and gangrene. See our Bragg Salad Recipe (page
 231). Cooking destroys
the cabbages healing  properties. We love cabbage and also we make a variety of
sandwiches wrapped in cabbage leaves instead of bread. Try this – so delicious. Eat Plenty of Cabbage – The Miracle Cleanser and Healer93I Prefer the Healthier Vegetarian Diet
Over the years of following a program of fasting and
eating a diet containing an abundance of raw organic
fruit and vegetables, my body has become so keen that
it practically tells me what to eat at every meal. Afteryears on this healthy vegetarian diet, my body has lost
the desire for meat, fowl and fish. My diet is composed
of organic raw fruits and vegetables, cooked vegetables,beans, legumes, brown rice, etc. with raw nuts and seeds
and their butters, raw wheat germ and Brewer’s yeast. This is what my body seems to thrive on. But
occasionally there were times when my body told me to
eat a piece of meat or a piece of fish, or to have some
natural cheese or a few fertile eggs. In other words, mybody developed an instinct for the selection of foods. Sometimes I go 4 or
 5 years without tasting eggs, etc. ,
then my body will telegraph that I need some. Listeningto my inner voice has helped me enormously. Basically I have been a vegetarian by nature most of
my life. I was reared on a large farm in Virginia wherehundreds of hogs and cattle were slaughtered regularly,so killing has always been repulsive to me. I have never
been a hunter or a fisherman because I do not like to
take another life. I have made
 13 expeditions to distant
lands and I have found many robust, healthy people
living on a vegetarian diet. On the other hand, I have
found people in other cultures who also enjoyed higherhealth and yet included animal products in their diets. I roamed the South Seas for over a year at one time and
in those far flung islands I found supermen and wonderwomen. They not only lived on an abundance of fresh
fruit and vegetables, but they included fish, fowl and
some meat in their diet. So you see I have tried to be asfair as I could about this question of Vegetarianism versus
Meat Eating. I feel that as we cleanse and purify our
bodies we develop a keen sense of what is healthiest
and best for us to eat. Keep a daily journal and see. Nutrition directly affects growth, development, reproduction, well-being
and an individual’s physical and mental condition. Health depends uponnutrition more than on any other single factor. –  Dr. Wm. H. Sebrell, Jr. 94Eliminating Meat is Safer and Healthier
Most uninformed nutritionists call meat the #1 source
of protein. Those proteins coming from the vegetable
kingdom are referred to as the #2 proteins. This is a sad
and terrible mistake. It should be the other way around. In this day and age, almost all meat is laden with
herbicides, fungicides, pesticides and other chemicals
that are sprayed on or poured into the feed which theseanimals consume. They are also pumped full of
hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulators and all kinds
of drugs to fatten them up and keep them from dyingfrom the extremely unhealthy conditions most of them
live in. This is not to mention the admitted fact that
many of them are fed the dead, ground up carcasses ofother feed lot animals who, for a variety of reasons, didn’t
make it to the slaughterhouse. Speaking of the slaughterhouse, what kind of
chemical reaction do you suppose would occur in your
body if somebody put a choke chain around your neck
to keep you in line, shoved you onto a conveyor belt,and made you watch in horror as all of those in line infront of you were beheaded one by one. Well, your body
would be pumped so full of adrenaline from all that fear
you wouldn’t know what hit you. Unused adrenaline isextremely toxic. If you think for a minute that most of
the meat that you consume is not packed with this toxic
substance, you’re sadly mistaken. Also, consider the fact that cattle, sheep, chickens,
etc. , are all vegetarians. When you eat them, you are
just eating polluted vegetables. Why not skip all thewaste and toxins and just eat healthy, organic vegetables. And what about that myth that you have to eat  meat
to get your protein. If that were so true, where do yousuppose farm animals, especially horses, get all their
protein. They are vegetarians. They get their protein
from the grains and grasses that they eat. You are nodifferent. You can get the proteins you need from the
large variety of whole grains, tofu, raw nuts, seeds, beans,
fruits and vegetables that God put on this planet for
your health. See Vegetable Protein 
% Chart, page 233. 95Meat Has Toxic Uric Acid and Cholesterol
Meat is the major source of toxic uric acid and
cholesterol, both harmful to your health. If you insiston eating meat, it should be an organically fed sourceand not eaten more than 2 to 3 times weekly. Fresh fishcan be the least toxic of the flesh proteins, but bewareof fish from polluted waters. They can be loaded withmercury, lead, cadmium, 
DDT  and other toxic
substances. If you are unsure of the waters the fish comefrom, don’t risk eating it. Avoid shellfish – shrimp, lobsterand crayfish. They are garbage-eating bottom-feeders(the rats and flies of the water world). They eat decayingscum and refuse off the bottoms of the oceans, lakesand rivers. Chickens and turkeys are a sick bunch andcommercially mass fed and heavily drugged withantibiotics and hormones. Be selective and cautious inyour eating; seek only the healthiest food choices. It’s best people should not eat pork or pork products. The pig is the only animal besides man that developsarteriosclerosis. This animal is so loaded with cholesterolthat in cold weather, unprotected pigs will become stiff,as though frozen solid. Pigs are often infected with adangerous parasite which causes the disease trichinosis. Patricia and I enjoy being healthy vegetarians and
not polluting our bodies with unhealthy meat, fowl andfish proteins. It’s safer and healthier getting our proteinsfrom organic vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, etc. Please
refer often to the Vegetable Protein 
% Chart, page 233. My Beloved Health Teachers and Mentors
One of the greatest teachers and physicians in the
science of body purification and nutrition was Dr. JohnTilden, 
M. D. ,  of Denver. This great scientist will surely
go down in history as one of the finest physicians. Hisprogram included fasting and an abundance of freshfruits and vegetables. He lived into his 
90s and was active
to the end of his life keeping his patients healthy. Another of the finest doctors who specialized in
nutrition was the famed Dr. John Harvey Kellogg,  M.
8-10 glasses of distilled water
What is the recommended daily water intake for optimal health?
60-70% raw foods
What is the recommended ratio of raw to cooked foods in the Bragg Healthy Lifestyle?
4 times a year, with a minimum of 7-10 days
What is the recommended frequency of fasting for optimal health?
Eat a meal of peels and cut up 4-5 organic tomatoes with garlic, then add Bragg Vinegar and Olive Oil, and eat as much as desired
What is the recommended way to break a 7-day fast?
Fasting, combined with a healthy, organic diet, and regular elimination habits, can help the body naturally purify itself.
What is the recommended approach to eliminating toxins from the body?