Orange juice fast?

Since everyone knows my apparent struggles, I am wondering if a 5-10 day OJ + Salt fast may help. Possibly whatever is slugging me down, and keeping me severely constipated will subside? Any thoughts? Potentially dangerous? Helpful?

Potentially harmful. Low calorie, high water, very low protein, low calcium, too long. Could worsen malnourishment. Could worsen constipation by lowering calories. If you drink enough to get a half decent amount of sugar, I would be surprised if you don't get water-logged (diluted).
Even if your gut gets a rest for a couple of days, it can't repair without fuel (primarily carbs, maybe some fat) and building materials (protein).
Have you chosen OJ because it does not irritate your gut? Are there any other foods at all that don't seem to bother your digestion?
If you could simplify down to a small number of foods that don't irritate your gut but which do supply reasonable amounts of carbs and protein even if it's just 3-4 foods, that might be worth doing for a little while.
Did you ever try Wilfrid's suggestion for a day or two? If I remember right, white rice, white fish/shellfish, ghee, apple juice or soda, in several meals a day to appetite. Not that I know it would work, but you say you've tried all the other Peaty suggestions already.

I agree with Tara - don't bunker down and make your diet more extreme. Always ends in tears.

What foods do you like eating? They don't have to be Peat approved. Sometimes just eating foods I love (hello Pizza!) helps with my digestion and mental health.

RP does say fasting is stressful. How about wilfrid's dietary suggestions and haidut's clonidine (if appropriate)? You would stay nourished and reduce adrenaline.

The foods I love don't help me (potatoes, pizza, etc). I am just so incredibly sluggish, it's disgusting! Ray said it could potentially help me due to getting rid of what's currently hurting me. Problem is--everything I currently consume seems bad. Trying to figure out good from bad is impossible, otherwise I would just consume the good.

Bloating and Digestive Enzyme

RP has mentioned that fasting is helpful when appetite is lost due to disease.
He also mentioned there is less protein/muscle loss if one gets salt water
and other alkaline minerals while fasting.

Recently i have seen an elderly person complaining about loss of appetite
and serious bloating for several months. Then one good doctor gave him
pancreatic enzyme/ digestive enzyme he is a completely new person.
Digestive enzyme is worth a try.

I have tried digest gold in the past with no luck.

I don't eat any foods that irritate me per se, I just simply haven't had a good bowel movement in many months, and now feel like death. No idea if it's all gut related or not.

iLoveSugar said:

The foods I love don't help me (potatoes, pizza, etc). I am just so incredibly sluggish, it's disgusting! Ray said it could potentially help me due to getting rid of what's currently hurting me. Problem is--everything I currently consume seems bad. Trying to figure out good from bad is impossible, otherwise I would just consume the good.

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If Ray has suggested it to you, knowing as much or more about your situation than we do, then I wouldn't want to argue against it. Did he give you any more reasoning about why? Are you able to get sweet ripe oranges? If you try it, and it doesn't seem to be helping after a couple of days (either reduced digestive distress or more energy), I'd be cautious about extending it too long.

"Some juices can promote inflammation, but sweet orange juice is safe for a while. A monodiet can sometimes reduce inflammation, by eliminating foods that were causing the problem".

"It contains a small amount of protein, and helps to reduce the need for protein, so it's pretty safe for about ten days".

iLoveSugar said:

The foods I love don't help me (potatoes, pizza, etc). I am just so incredibly sluggish, it's disgusting! Ray said it could potentially help me due to getting rid of what's currently hurting me. Problem is--everything I currently consume seems bad. Trying to figure out good from bad is impossible, otherwise I would just consume the good.

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If Ray himself said it could potentially help then you already have your answer. I'm sure if I had the honor of being able to converse with him personally I would probably go ahead and follow his recommendations. The man has helped countless people after all.

I took a heaping tbs of coconut oil today, and immediately had to use the restroom. It hurt quite bad before going, and wasn't good, but I still went. I also took a heaping 4tbs dose of milk of magnesia last night.

iLoveSugar said:

I took a heaping tbs of coconut oil today, and immediately had to use the restroom. It hurt quite bad before going, and wasn't good, but I still went. I also took a heaping 4tbs dose of milk of magnesia last night.

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Congratulations! I've heard of a large amount of fat helping some people go.

Blossom said:

iLoveSugar said:

I took a heaping tbs of coconut oil today, and immediately had to use the restroom. It hurt quite bad before going, and wasn't good, but I still went. I also took a heaping 4tbs dose of milk of magnesia last night.

Click to expand...

Congratulations! I've heard of a large amount of fat helping some people go.

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Yeah, some things have worked in the past, but nothing lasts.

iLoveSugar said:

Blossom said:

iLoveSugar said:

I took a heaping tbs of coconut oil today, and immediately had to use the restroom. It hurt quite bad before going, and wasn't good, but I still went. I also took a heaping 4tbs dose of milk of magnesia last night.

Click to expand...

Congratulations! I've heard of a large amount of fat helping some people go.

Click to expand...

Yeah, some things have worked in the past, but nothing lasts.

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I was like that for 20 years. When I first discovered Peat's work I took cascara religiously for 6 months straight. Now that I'm able to eat an adequate amount everyday I'm finally regular. It's nice but if I under eat for even one day my bowels slow down. I think they slow in an attempt to extract every last nutrient I consume. For me it was years of unknowingly under eating. I do hope you find a solution to your issue since I'm sure not everyone's experience is exactly like mine.

Blossom said:

iLoveSugar said:

Blossom said:

iLoveSugar said:

I took a heaping tbs of coconut oil today, and immediately had to use the restroom. It hurt quite bad before going, and wasn't good, but I still went. I also took a heaping 4tbs dose of milk of magnesia last night.

Click to expand...

Congratulations! I've heard of a large amount of fat helping some people go.

Click to expand...

Yeah, some things have worked in the past, but nothing lasts.

Click to expand...

I was like that for 20 years. When I first discovered Peat's work I took cascara religiously for 6 months straight. Now that I'm able to eat an adequate amount everyday I'm finally regular. It's nice but if I under eat for even one day my bowels slow down. I think they slow in an attempt to extract every last nutrient I consume. For me it was years of unknowingly under eating. I do hope you find a solution to your issue since I'm sure not everyone's experience is exactly like mine.

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Interesting. It very well could be my issue; who knows? Do you take thyroid, or did you?

I've been off and on with thyroid. Currently I'm off again. Although I'm sure my thyroid needed some help I don't think for me personally it was my primary issue. I think mine was more serious gut issues effecting everything else. That's simplifying matters but I'm sure we all break down in our own slightly unique way. I'm open to taking thyroid whenever I need it, and it is summer here, but I stopped my low dose just recently and I've been a little warmer since making that change. I started feeling excessive adrenaline because I'm going through a major life change at the moment and wondered if my thyroid supplement was making me more sensitive to the adrenaline. I wish I could answer " yes, I take thyroid at x dose and it's worked perfectly for me from day one!". I've done a lot of adjusting and been up a down with my thyroid requirements. It's been a valuable tool to have and I'm very grateful for it but I feel like the dietary guidelines and healing my gut are what personally helped me the most. Sorry for the long answer.

When you needed to "eat more", what did you primarily focus on for a while?

At first I just gradually increased the typical Peat type foods but now I've expanded a bit. I have added a few things mentioned by other forum members (mostly Mittir's) such as incorporating skinless chicken breast about once per week, apple juice most days and fruit and vegetable broth. I find that with having to work outside the home I usually end up having a gluten free starch (rice, potatoes, masa harina) once per day for convenience. I'm not necessarily striving for perfection at this point. I'll have a Reeds ginger brew a couple times per week as mentioned by CellularIconoclast and scallops as mentioned by haidut. I just make minimizing pufa a priority and keep my eating centered around dairy and fruit. I don't worry about fat at the present but do only use coconut oil and butter as added fats or for cooking. Hagendaazinediane or 4peatssake (can't remember which one, sorry) mentioned well cooked oats and I seem to do fine with that as well. I still have liver, oysters, eggs, gelatin, oj, chocolate, milk, cheese, honey, carrot salad and all of that good stuff of course. So I guess for me it has mostly been increasing the amounts and adding a few new things that have fit into what a Peat approach means to me personally. Every now and then (twice per year?) I might have gluten free pizza at a local place and sometimes eat things prepared by others that I wouldn't normally prepare myself but it works for my life at the present. I'm just trying to do the best I can for my current situation while getting enough food to heal and keep my metabolism going. The funny thing is that I am rarely ever lacking in nutrients after increasing my food intake according to cronometer. I even stopped tracking my nutrition for the most part because I was always getting everything after awhile (except for iron which I don't want anyway). When I ate the calories cronometer suggested for my age, height and weight I could never get adequate nutrients even with my Peat inspired approach type foods. I think as long as I let the cronometer calorie recommendations influence me I was interfering with my own healing. I know my body wanted and needed more for a healthy metabolism but I was so sure that some silly calculator was smarter than me and that was just wrong. I haven't eaten this well since I was a teenager and I have an appetite and normal hunger signals again. That is a very positive sign for me. It was highly disturbing to have to force myself to eat for years. At one of my lowest points my husband had to spoon feed me. I am not the same person in many ways and I have Peat to thank for it. I got to this point by not giving up on myself or healing. I was so pathetic ilovesugar that as I walked down the hall at the hospital I just wanted to be in one of the beds more than anything. I was exhausted, weak, dizzy (I even fainted a few times) but still somehow kept going. That's why when I read your posts and it reminds me of being there myself and I want to encourage you to not give up. All of that really got bad in my late 20's and I'm about to turn 45. I don't mean to ramble but I really believe there is hope and I admire your perseverance. The eating has been difficult at times but it has gotten easier. Currently I take an occasional 1/2 zofran if the ginger brew doesn't help if I have nausea but other than that my digestion is good and from where I've come from you won't hear me complaining.