Re: weight gain.

I agree with most of what you've put there Chris. I do worry about this bit though:

"Almost any food may be employed in breaking a fast..."

I think this is very misleading and Shelton could have been more careful with his wording. I'm sure he didn't mean we should be breaking our fasts with chocolate or hamburgers! I think a definition I've read other is a bit clearer, though again I'm hopeless at remembering my sources! The defintion though adds clarification in that it says any 'natural food' and usually it is recommended that it's a single food to start with- so rather than having a fruit salad just one single natural food at each 'meal' to begin with after breaking a long term fast.

It is also well to remember that a lot of information from people like Shelton is regarding the breaking of a completed fast, which is actually considered safer to break than a fast that we artificially cut short. When natural hunger returns the body is ready to eat again, whereas if we break our fast before that we are bound to shock the system to some extent and even the right foods could give us a rough ride, as evidenced in your quotes saying ripe fruits gave stomach cramps to two fasters.

As for the time of the Recovery period, I believe it's an equal amount of days for the amount of time fasted. Dr. Fuhrman may have done shortish fasts each of similar durations, it's been too long since I've read any of his stuff, but to give a set amount of days for recovery I believe he must be talking about a set amount of days for the fast- or near to. I think that maybe a 50 day fast could take less than 50 days to recover from, but I think a 2 or 3 week fast does take the full amount of time you fasted to recover. And more emphasis is spent on the first few days because that is the most important, so as not to overtax the system with the first feedings. I do think that mostly fruit and/or high water content vegetables should only be consumed for the first week at least after a long term fast. By this time as we increase our intake the digestion system should be functioning normally and regularly again and more diverse and concentrated foods added gradually. It's more a matter of listening to the body than following a set plan. If the orange you planned to break your fast with is giving you cramps then it's either a sign the orange wasn't a good idea or the timing wasn't. If it's the fifth orange after the fast that starts to disagree with you it could well be the quantity so it would be wise to miss the next scheduled 'mealtime'.

I advocate eating mostly raw- up to 90%- throughout the recovery period, but then I believe that is how we should be eating mostly anyway. I think if you do that post fast you will get the full benefit of the fast you've done and will have very little chance of any ill effects from rushing your body back to a 'normal' diet. I don't believe for a second that you can 'undo' the benefits of a 2 or 3 week fast with a few days of bad eating, but you can certainly do some damage during the recovery period and it really is worth trying to get the most out of your efforts.

Andrew.