After reading about people using raw milk fasts to treat different diseases, I became interested in what the experience of living only on raw milk and water would be like. Being active and fit I was not worried about what would happen. But I must admit there were other reasons why I was interested.
Some of the people I consult about their nutrition needs might benefit from the benefits of raw milk, but I always like to try things out before I suggest things to others.
So, there I was sharing my ideas with the farmer (James Nors) where I get our raw milk (NorsRawMilk.com) and he mentioned he would be interested in how it would work with me and offered to help supply me with the extra milk I needed, if I would start now. Well how could I turn down the idea now.
It all worked out that I would need near a gallon of raw milk a day to get the nutritional needs for a person my size (6′ 2″). I was not worried about the milk being lacking in any area as it is the perfect food. To understand more on this topic visit an article I wrote, Raw Milk – 8 Reasons It Is “The Perfect Food”.
Here are the overall things I noticed with my raw milk experience. First let me say it would have been neat to have gotten a blood workup before I started, but things were sort of sudden and I was on the milk wagon before I knew it.
Day 1 – 7. It was a very pleasant experience this week. I did take my waking blood pressure/pulse and weight. This week I did not notice any changes in my pressure or weight. My energy stayed very high like always and I had normal bowel movements, but I did notice that the frequency cut to half. This I attribute to the reduced volume of food being consumed, raw milk is a very nutrient dense food. The desire to chew was not overbearing, so one week down and only 3 to go. Water was consumed to balance my liquids. My sleeping became more sound with dreams happening more frequently.
Day 8 – 15. Changes started happening this week. I did see my blood pressure drop a few points, not to any concerning low point. Weight started leaving me at a rate of 0.2 lbs. a day. This was not a concern as I needed to drop 10 lbs. or so, overall this was a pleasant experience for far. My energy was staying high and I slept fine with many dreams nightly. Around day 13 I did notice I started having some issue with bowel movements. I should have started taking psyllium husk and slippery elm sooner, the next 2 days were not pleasant, but this soon cleared up and my bowel movements were back to normal. Wow, some detoxing must have accrued as the smell for the last 3 days of this week’s bowel movements were very pungent. I had to start scraping my tongue daily as it would get a thick brown smelly goo, which appeared that I was detoxing through my tongue. My teeth never felt scummy. Drinking the raw milk was still easy and enjoyable, but soon things would change. Water was consumed to balance my liquids.
Day 16 – 23. Wow, this week was harsh. Not being able to eat or should I say chew my food was getting to me. At one point I was dreaming about soaking steak in milk, I WANTED TO CHEW SO BAD! My daughter even told me I was insulting Mom by not eating her hard cooked meals, I was missed at the dinner table. Actually I would have to leave that area of the house and go work in the office to stay away from the smell of her cooking if I was to keep my sanity. Blood pressure levels did continue to drop a point or so along with the weight. Continued the daily tongue scraping. Energy levels stayed high and I was never hungry, but it became even hard to read about food. Funny thing is I never did dream about food. As before energy levels stayed high and all worked as normal. Water was consumed to balance my liquids.
Day 24 – 30. I increased my milk consumption to 1 gallon a day to see if the weight loss would reverse. At the same rate that I was losing weight I began to pick it backup. Still with all that I know about raw milk I am amazed at its nutritional value, one could live off it for as long a period as needed in my option. My energy level stayed high this the last week of the raw milk fast. Bowel movements normal now that my body has grown used to the milk diet. I did notice my skin has become softer and some callus places like my elbows have just about become smooth with new skin. My mental outlook is strong and I feel very well. Blood pressure has stabilized at what my be my new normal. I have noticed that it has been taking longer for my tongue to get to the level where it needs to be scraped. It will be interesting to see if it rises in the next month on my normal diet. Water was consumed to balance my liquids. Sleep still very solid.
Throughout the fast my energy stayed very high. During the month I continued my normal exercise routine. 3 times a week I do what I term speed workouts, which consist of jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, running in place, and more abs exercises. The workouts are done at the highest speed possible without rest between each with sets consisting of 30 reps, followed by a very brisk 2 mile walk at a 13 min./mi. pace. On off days a slower 2 1/2 mile walk is done. Over the month I did loose 8 pounds and did see a slight increase in muscle mass.
It is interesting that the only time I was low on energy was the first day I went off the raw milk fast. I ate raw greens and low protein the first day, but felt as if my plug was pulled. The next morning my energy level came back, so I feel that my body must have needed to use more energy to digest its changed food diet. The weight has not come back, but it has only been a few days since ending the fast. I have noticed that while I still continue to sleep solid the intensity of my dreams has backed down.
The need for scraping my tongue daily has fallen back to normal. I feel that my body detoxing level has now returned to a normal level. Throughout the 30 day raw milk fast I did see a good amount of detoxing, which surprised my as I detox often throughout the year.
Overall I would rate my experience on the milk fast as a pleasant easy experience. If one does not live in a household where other meals are being prepared the fast would be much easier. 🙂
About Jeff
Hi Jeff, thank you for this article. Will be picking up my raw milk tomorrow. Was wondering if by any chance if I drink two glasses of raw milk a day followed by one small meal with very low calories would that still work ? It won’t be completely protein based however. Thank you so much
This would not be a milk fast if you are consuming anything but milk. Maybe you will see some benefits depending on your old diet.
Very interesting. I am planning on trying the raw milk cleanse starting today!
Jeff, during the milk fast, did you notice an increase in your blood sugar? And, was your vitamin/supplement regime suspend (if you have one)?
Archie, NO I did not see an increase in my blood sugar levels. I did not take supplements during the milk fast as I did not want to have them influence what I experienced. If I was to go the milk fast again I would keep my supplements at daily levels.
Thanks Jeff. I’m on day 5. My family is away and I have 4 gallons a week from a cow share. I’m not able to consume a whole gallon a day, about a half or more (6’1″ 200Lbs). Not hungry and staying active. Didn’t stop taking vit/sups and took your advice on the psyllium husk day 3. Taking it a day at a time, but YOU 30 days, wow. Great article and thanks for the advice
the raw milk diet for me, things that I learned about the diet and about myself:
1. the A1/A2/Goat milk, doesn’t matter. I thought it did at first, but the size of the fat molecules really didn’t matter.
2. Raw cheeses: AVOID. The salt binds and salt is a chemical – actually pulls minerals from the body so its detrimental and catch 22 to the raw milk diet. I have done yogurt and kefir, there isn’t typically salt added to those. I make mine at home and some store bought brands. Another thing on salt, their is salts already in milk, which give you your daily dosage of sodium.
3. The longer you do this diet, the better your overall health. There are a lot of people that feel sick right off the bat and give up – you aren’t giving it long enough! I see articles like this about 30 days….you can go a lot longer than that. John D Rockefeller drank a milk only diet for a very long time, the guy was in great shape according to historical quotes and documentation. If you have never drank raw milk and had a “bad” diet for most your life, even a week of raw milk fast/diet isn’t going to be enough.
4. You need to remap your brain and acculturation: you have been told eating certain foods, types of foods and drinks your whole life. This diet is’t solids , so like article states, it can be challenging to not eat solids. You have to forget what you did in the past and understand that your “acculturation” and society has brainwashed you into thinking into eating a certain way. Raw milk alone you can live off of.
We had been getting milk from A2 cows, and when we switched tfor a time o Holstein, my daughter-in-law couldn’t handle it. We went back to A2 cows milk and she was fine.
I take it you got the A2 milk from a different dairy, since most dairies only offer one type of milk. All dairies are not created equal, maybe one has better quality than the other. I have seen dairies with the same type of cows and only miles apart have milk that tastes different. Do the dairies feed grain during bad weather, do they use hay that has been sprayed with pesticides, does the farmer remove cows from the milking heard when treating with anti-biotic, the list can go on and on. Also, keep in mind that when a person has an issue with a certain type of food it can be a sign of a digestive track imbalance. It may be good to look into a balancing program.
Your means of describing everything in this post is truly good,
every one can effortlessly know it, Thanks a lot.
I am currently on day 8 of a milk fast. Started out with a 2 week in mind, but has gone so well I may bump it up.. will see.
I laughed so hard I cried at the dream about soaking steak in Milk.. I can SOO relate.
Tiffany, I would look at some form of fiber to keep your bowl movements normal, don’t wait till you have an issue. Psyllium husk and slippery elm did the job for me. Have fun on the fast and let us know how it when.
Thanks, Jeff
Is it Ok to ask what your results have been from the fast now? Have you been able to maintain the weight loss till now- how long did you eat you eat carefully after the fast- just the first day or longer, Can you direct me to what you eat now? I am in need of a detox and weightloss, but I usually regain all weight lost on fasts or detoxs, my health problems require me to get down to a normal weight. I want to thank you again for sharing your experience, it is very helpful. I am living in a traditional society and getting raw milk is very easy.
Thank you so much for the explanation! I kind of felt that the article was a push because this place has cow shares and only the supposedly healthier type but I wasn’t sure as this is all new to me. When I called the place we plan to go get some from at his store (and eggs as well as a few other things we are hoping for), he seemed genuine and said it didn’t matter but I figured that you doing a 30 day fast with it that you had researched well and knew!
Thank you so much for the advice! I appreciate it so very much. I am learning a lot here and at other sites. Some new, some I did already know but have not consistently put into practice until recently.
Definitely making improvements every where we can. No sugar in the diet at this point except occasional fruit that is lower in sugar (berries and the occasional apple). We use sea salt. No grains at this time. We plan to start getting decent eggs, it has been sporadic up until now. Oils we use coconut, olive, sesame (sometimes). Definitely plan to start grass fed beef when we are back to two incomes but that is still a bit away!
Thanks again for all of your help and taking the time! Also keep up the awesome site because we are out there reading, learning and using those delicious recipes!
Very interesting to read! Way cool! We have never had raw milk but plan to get some in two weeks, maybe sooner if we can. I was curious, I wrote to quite a few places in the area about acquiring the raw milk and one wrote back and said to make sure that the raw milk is not from Holsteins (mostly produce A1 which is not healthy) but that it is from Guernseys (predominantly A2 which we DO want). Do you know if this is true? The place that we are planning to purchase from has it ready to go without needing to do a cow share and said that it is more difficult to find the Guernseys and that they’ve been drinking the raw milk from his farm for over 25 years and they are very healthy……do you have any thoughts on this?
Thanks for the great website btw, I’m a new reader and love it! I look forward to hearing from you and feel free to send an email if you’d rather!
Christi,
Great to hear you are enjoying the site. Let me explain without getting too deep.
From what I understand the whole A1 vs. A2 is currently a non issue. Let me explain, the article your refer to is based on pasteurized milk. This is like comparing apples and oranges because there has not been any substantial studies done on raw milk A1 and A2 beta-casein levels. Pasteurized milk’s protein chains are distorted and don’t resemble raw milk’s protein chains. Add to this that all the enzymes are dead in pasteurized milk and suddenly there are many variables missing from the formula, so how can the two “milks” be compared on any kind of level.
I think you are maybe trying too hard on this milk issue. Let me ask you a question. What percent of an improvement in health do you think any quality raw milk is over pasteurized milk? Right, it is thousands of percent better. So, I would suggest start with a raw milk that meets your current economic state, balanced with ease of delivery. After you are drinking raw milk you can always up grade to what you feel is a better quality to gain small percentage points of improvement.
Remember to check your entire food consumption for improvements, oils, fats, lose sugars, use correct salts, grains, grass fed beef, correct eggs, etc. Then add lowering toxic levels in your body currently along with exercise and mental well-being.
Wow, this turned into a small article, excuse me. 🙂
Hope this helps some and keep up the good fight.