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Last year, Paula Jager, owner of Crossfit Jaguar in Tampa Florida, wrote a series of riveting posts about her 15 day raw milk fast. This series on The Milk Cure sparked much interest from readers from around the world who became interested in reviving this age-old remedy for improving vitality, bodily cleansing and even reversal of serious illness as practiced in the early 1900s by the Mayo Foundation, a forerunner of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
At the end of Paula’s raw milk fast last year, she said that she was so pleased with the results (she had the best bloodwork of her life at the conclusion of the fast) that she vowed to do a raw milk fast every year around the beginning of Spring.
A few days ago, Paula told me that she planned to start her annual raw milk fast very soon. What’s more, this year she asked me to do it with her.
My immediate and knee jerk response was, “Uh, fasts don’t really work for me. I don’t want to lose any weight either, so I think I’ll pass.”
Paula, being her persistent and tenacious self, continued to work to convince me.
Yeah, you guys think I’m such a hard nose, but the truth is, on most things I’m very much “go with the flow”. That cooperative middle child thing, you know?
Paula assured me that I needn’t lose any weight on the fast unless I tried to. One of the benefits of raw milk from pastured cows is that it is a complete food, a perfectly balanced elixir of highly digestible, nutrient-dense fats, protein, and carbohydrates. If you consume an adequate amount of ounces and calories for your body weight each day, no weight loss should occur.
She also assured me that she experienced no hunger or cravings during her fast last year, once again, a strong testament to the complete nature of pastured raw milk, known as “white blood” to physicians that have used it therapeutically.
Still unconvinced, I talked to my husband about it hoping to get a bit of moral support for my decision not to do the raw milk fast with Paula this year.
Sigh.
I got no help from hubby.
As soon as I told him the story, he says, “Hey, what a great idea! I’ll do it too!”
At that point, I started to get a teeny weeny bit excited about the fast. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if hubby joined in too. My biggest concern was cooking all this delicious, traditional food day in and day out for the kids and not eating any myself.
Talk about torture!
But, if what Paula told me is true, I shouldn’t feel hungry at all.
At that point, I was willing to give it a go.
Then, it hit me. Why don’t we do this together as a group for anyone who wants to join in? I know that a bunch of readers would like to do a raw milk fast based on emails I’ve received about it over the past year, so let’s do it as a 10 day raw milk challenge!
The Milk Cure (aka Raw Milk Fast)
Here’s how The Milk Cure 2012 will work …
Paula and I will start our raw milk fast on March 1, 2012.
Any of you who wish to join us should plan to start on that date as well.
The fast will go for 10 days and will conclude at midnight on March 10, 2012.
The only thing you are to consume on this fast is pastured raw milk. Water of course is fine too, but no other food or liquids but raw milk.
The reason I’m putting this post up a full week before the fast starts is to give those of you who are going to join us a chance to prepare and stock up on your raw milk. You may even need to freeze some if necessary if you don’t have access to weekly pickups.
You will need anywhere from 2-5 quarts of raw milk per day per person depending on your current height and weight. If you are trying to lose weight, then drink less. If you don’t want to lose any weight, drink as much as you need to stay satisfied at all times.
Paula drank 3 – 3 1/2 quarts per day last year. She is 5’3″ and 117 lbs.
Please read her 15-day Milk Cure diary from last year to prepare if you plan to join the challenge.
If you’re considering something less rigorous, this journal of a 3-day raw milk fast may prove helpful to your decision.
What worked for Paula was a pint of raw milk every 2 hours or so which translates to approximately 2,000 calories per day (if your raw milk comes from Jersey cows with tons of cream). If you drink raw milk from Holstein cows, you probably should think about adding some additional raw cream to each glass. A cup or so every hour or even a few ounces every 30 minutes works fine too – just adjust the amount and timeframe as it works best for you.
Also, please read about The Milk Cure and how it was used to cure very sick patients at the Mayo Foundation by clicking here.
I plan to drink closer to a gallon a day. I am just shy of 5’7″ and 124 lbs. I do not want to lose any weight so am shooting for 2,500-3,000 calories per day.
Feel free to stop the fast at any time if you choose to join in and discover that it isn’t working for you. I told Paula that if I start to lose weight after a few days, I plan to drop out. I lost 8 lbs on GAPS 2 years ago and although GAPS did me a world of good, I don’t want to go there again. My digestion is really good right now and I don’t have any health issues that I am addressing at the moment, so if this rocks the boat for me too much, I plan to drop out.
Why You Might Want to Fast With Us
I am attempting this raw milk fast primarily as a seasonal cleansing.
You might choose to join in to lose some weight. Perhaps you have some digestive or other health issues you want to turn the corner on and start to heal from.
Perhaps you might want to do it for spiritual reasons. Fasting is encouraged by many spiritual disciplines and that may appeal to you.
Whatever reasons you choose to join in are yours and yours alone. You can choose to share them with the rest of us or not.
Each day during the fast, I will post an update on how Paula, my husband, and I are doing. My hope is that any of you who are joining in will update all of us with your progress in the comments section.
The goal for this 10-day journey is to have available to the world a written diary of the experiences and observations of hundreds of people of various backgrounds and health challenges while on a raw milk fast.
Will this happen? I don’t know.
Maybe it will just be Paula and me and my husband.
I do hope at least a few of you will join us though!
If you do join in, please be sure to check with your doctor first before undertaking this fast particularly if you are doing it to help resolve any health issues.
Also, do not attempt this milk cure fast with pasteurized or even low temp pasteurized “cream top” milk.
Milk becomes a completely different food once it’s pasteurized and many vital nutrients and enzymes are either totally lost or significantly reduced. Pasteurized milk is not a complete food like raw milk is.
Please indicate in the comments section below if you plan to join us! If you want to add your reasons for joining in, that would be cool too but is not necessary.
10-Day Milk Cure Series
Below are links to each day of the Milk Cure 10 day raw milk fast so you can follow along and track our progress!
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Breaking the Fast
Geez, I just got this in my email and already there are 109 comments, so I don’t know if Sarah will even see this or not, but my husband wants to try this and is wondering if buttermilk could also be used for at least 1 serving each day? I have no idea so I said I would ask. I don’t have time to read all 109 comments, so if this has already been asked, I apologize.
Also, I’m on the fence about whether or not I want to try it at the same time as him or wait until he’s done. That would be a lot of milk between the two of us and our supply is limited. But if I do decide, at some point, to do it I’m wondering if a glass or warmed (not hot) milk with some honey would still be ok before bed? I’ve been doing this for the past month and it really does seem to help me sleep because I think it must help with hormones or something. I went into real, active menopause about five years ago and haven’t had a decent nights sleep since, until I started the milk and honey thing.
Thanks for any info.
Add some raw buttermilk in if you would like, that would be ok I am thinking.
Is it feasible to do this for a shorter amount of time? or is there a reason for the 10 day duration?
if i had to guess i would say it’s the same with any fast.. you have to do it long enough for the body to purge the “junk” and cleanse itself.. otherwise it wouldn’t be much more than just drinking a glass between meals.. as always though, the more fresh milk you can drink the better..
hope this helps,
-jason and lisa-
Of course. Just take it a day at a time. That is what I will be doing also.
I hope this will help me with my asthma. That is what I am praying for.
I went from using my Xopenex inhaler 3-4 times a day to not using it all. I take 2Tbsp. of raw Apple Cider Vinegar (I like Bragg’s) a day. You can mix it with 8 oz. water and a teaspoon of raw local honey to sweeten it a bit if needed or just do the shot. Works like a charm, although if I stop taking the ACV, my asthma comes back eventually…..which is one of the reasons I’m considering doing the milk fast with you all…..need to think on it some more before commiting though.
Erica, Do you have any info you could share about using ACV to treat Asthma; I’m sick of having asthma and want to treat it naturally. thanks, Joyce
Honestly Joyce, I was just looking around EarthClinic.com and typed in asthma and just started reading….I was desperate because I was out of my prescription Xopenex inhaler and I thought, what the heck, why not try what they’re saying worked for them!?! I didn’t hold out any hope whatsoever and lo and behold, the next day I didn’t need an inhaler, and I didn’t need it to go to bed that night, and the next day I didn’t need it either and started wondering if it was a fluke….I started taking it every day and as long as I took it once a day, I was fine. I know it didn’t cure it completely because when I ran out of the ACV and didn’t go buy any, I was about a week without it and I started needing to use my inhaler again at night to go to bed. Not back to 3 or 4 times a day though. I think I’m going to have to do something a bit more drastic in order to really cure my asthma…..maybe GAPS? I don’t think I have the stick to it to do that though. Good luck!
Thank you Sarah, I’ll check it out 🙂
I would love to also participate in this. I’ve looked and looked for raw milk sources, but here in Louisiana it is illegal. I also know that SOMEBODY has to sell it. Does anyone have a source. I’m in southeast Louisiana above New Orleans.
Thanks
I live in the Beaumont area and would love to know where to get raw milk. Thanks for any help you can offer. Grass fed beef is also something I am interested in, or organic veggies.
If you really want to get the benefits of “pastured” raw milk, don’t you think you should wait another month or so until the cows are eating rapidly growing green grass instead of just eating hay and scrounging for a bit of green that may be popping up out in the pasture?. I suppose where you are living it might be rapidly growing right now, but here in central Midwest, that isn’t until the middle of April. I plan on trying a milk fast at that time.
The cows are eating rapidly growing spring grass already in the South with the early spring we are having. You should see how yellow the butter is and how beige the cream!
I second this! Actually, our butter has been pretty close to orange. Even the milk is a little yellow!
What an AMAZING idea! I am so, so with you in spirit.
Sadly, in Mississippi, we have NO raw cows milk available. If you go TO a goat farm, you can buy raw goat milk, at a horrible price. Even the Weston Price leaders around the state had no suggestions. *sigh*
I wonder if driving across to Alabama or Louisiana I might find anything… Anyone know??
Wow, apparently Alabama and Louisiana are worse. What’s wrong with the South?!
Would love to do it, but there is no raw milk available in New Jersey.
We used to live in New Brunswick, NJ and needed raw goat milk for my newborn who I couldn’t nurse. We drove to Pennsylvania and bought 26 half gallons at a time to freeze for him. The name of the farm was Hendricks Farms & Dairy in Telford,PA. They also have raw cow milk, cheeses and grass fed organic meats, eggs, etc… look ’em up!
I am in. I love my raw milk and have been avoiding GAPS because I would have to give it up for a while. What are your feelings about using the kefir we make from our raw milk? I love the tang….
Raw kefir is fine as long as there is not heating above 118F involved.
Sarah,
how do you know cultured raw dairy is the same for the milk cure fast? What if something about the cure requires lactose (which is consumed during milk culturing of kefir and yogurt) ? Or some other factor is different. Have you read about someone who did the milk fast with cultured raw dairy?
Thanks for your help.
I have read Milk Diet as a Remedy for Chronic Disease, by Dr. Charles Sanford Porter, M.D. He discusses minor variations of a standard protocol that he used with great success for 41 years in his practice, and many include the use of cultured milk in the place of some of the regular milk. He also says that if you can find clostral milk, that is even better for healing.
Sarah, I was intrigued by Paula’s posts last year. I don’t have any specific cure I’m personally looking for, but I do expect to feel better overall. I eat a traditional foods diet, but I think I probably have some thyroid issues and a low metabolism, and not that much energy, so I expect it can only do good for me. After reading the aforementioned book this summer, I decided that I would like to attempt the milk diet this spring. I will be doing it after you, though, because the grass here in Wisconsin is not ready. Actually, I am so glad you mentioned that you are doing this partly in support of Vernon. He is my farmer, and I am so concerned about what is happening between him and the government recently.
Looking forward to reading your updates!
I would love to take part, but being in a snow-covered part of the world (southern Canada), I do have a concern. Our cows are eating hay at this time of the year, and won’t have a steady supply of grass until at least May. Will the dry grass/fresh grass have an effect on the quality of their milk? At this point, I think I will pass on the March 1 date and try the fast in May, so that I can get the most nutritious raw milk for my cleanse.
I would wait … the milk here in the South (with the early spring we are having) is very very beige with tons of cream as the cows are feeding on rapidly growing spring grass at the moment. When you do this you really do want the most nutrient dense milk possible.