The better prepared a fast is, the better the fast.

Consider a double cycle of bowel, kidney and liver cleanses.
Have your diet properly sorted before hand and know how you are going to eat both for re-feeding post fast and the eventual diet.

Fasting ease depends on how well prepared you are.

The breast soreness can be due to nutritional status in particular low iodine. I would recommend a close look at the Iodine supplementation forum here.

Stopping coffee and other food issues earlier would also make your fast easier. As would making sure your body is well nourished by juices, bone broths and lots of fresh vegetables and some fresh fruit. Coated tongue and breath changes are part of the territory.

There are a number of fast records here detailing good fast preparations. A search will get you started.

All the best: that is exactly what you are doing for yourself. Well done T2.

todotoday,

if you suspect cancer, you should run to your doctor and find out for sure. Your chances to beat it at an early stage are very good. I believe that regular fasting can _prevent_ cancer from developing, but I have not seen yet one case of already existing cancer (other than brain) cured by fasting. Yes, tumors shrink but then usually return --and quite aggressively!-- upon refeeding. So please do not delay checking it out if you suspect it.

But, as trimnut2 pointed out, there may be many reasons for the breath soreness and cancer is the least likely among them.


Regarding your preparedness, you plan sounds good. Some people prefer to simply take a plunge without any preparation. Whatever works for you. It helps a lot to purge the content of the GI tract at the onset of a fast.


Re your "distilled spring water", that's a contradiction in terms. Spring water usually contains some minerals while distilled water has none whatsoever. I would not recommend you to drink distilled water on a fast lasting longer than a week. With sodium running low you will certainly develop electrolyte imbalance, which will make you weak, nauseous, lightheaded and it will strain your heart. If you want the details, you may want to check out a post I contributed a while ago in the distilled water thread.


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As for your main question, the bad breath is due to the metabolites of bacteria that proliferate during a fast. Most often, the culprit is P. gingivalis, which colonizes both mouth (causing gingivitis) and the GI tract. This bug is very common and, proliferating during a fast, it results in very bad breath and aggravation of gingivitis or even gum disease (if it went already that far).

What you can do is take a course of Antibiotics and fast immediately after (actually you can start fasting on the last day-two of Antibiotics , before ketosis starts). I know that Antibiotics is the anathema in curezone lol but that's the only sure thing that works for these bugs.

Without antibiotics, the other method is to go through a series of fasts, like 10 days on, 10 days off, etc. This sort of fast is reportedly better for a steady weight loss -- and to loose weight is why you mainly want to fast, right? This sort of fast will also teach you how to eat right in between, which is the most important measure for maintaining the right weight.

The bugs that proliferate during a fast can usually be dealt with quite successfuly by the immune sys during the refeeding stage (that's why bad breath promptly goes away then). By going through a series of shorter fasts (provided your eat right in between! especially essential amino acids -- the immune sys will get rid of those bugs naturally and eventually you will be able to fast with a sweet breath.


Ketones themselves actually have a fruity smell, like bruised apples, with a peachy undertone. Maybe not roses, but it's not bad at all.

Good luck!

TodoToday,

Distilled spring water is fine, because this has removed the inorganic minerals that would only have served to clog the body as waste.
Only organic minerals have benefit to the body as found in plant-foods, which have metamorphosed the minerals into an organic form that makes them bioavailable and nutritious for the human body.

It is a fallacy that distilled water leeches minerals from the body except for those that are inorganic; it does not leech organic minerals that have become a part of the cell structure.

The bad breath you have experienced while fasting is due to a toxemic body, where the lungs act as one of the organs of elimination. When toxemia is lowered or eliminated altogether via water-only-fasting, the breath becomes sweet and clean.
It is also a common experience in those who fast, and who do not suffer from toxemia, (retained toxins) not to experience any bad breath at all, but remains sweet and clean from the outset.

Chrisb1.

Thanks for all the different suggestions, I have been eating lightly (vegan) but having a difficult time giving up diet coke completely though I cut down a lot. I get in a terrible groggy mood (lots of bad nightmares, don't know if that's related) and a diet coke brings me back to life.
It would be better if I could fast in a controlled environment like a fasting retreat where I can't have access to my "drug" diet coke, I may be able to do that in a few months (not sure yet). In the meantime I am considering juice fasting/feasting for a while. Maybe a short Water Fast while I wait for my juicer to be delivered.
I am scared of finding out if I have cancer, I have heard treatments don't really work in the long run and it comes back anyways. Maybe I will get checked.