For over 30 years, TrueNorth Health Center has been conducting medically supervised water-only fasts and juice fasts to recover from serious illnesses. Such fasts are short term measures ranging from a few days to a few weeks. After the fast is broken, patients are advised to adhere to a Whole Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) Diet which is described in its own section below.

One of my friends has tackled a serious autoimmune condition for about 15 years now. She was told by TrueNorth that her body was not ready for a water-only fast. However, a medically supervised juice fast for 10 to 14 days could be conducted. But she didn't have sufficient vacation balance to stay at TrueNorth for such an extended period of time. So she was given an 8-day protocol to be followed at home, without medical supervision.

All days prior to Day 1: Try your best to follow WFPB-SOS diet. WFPB means Whole Food, Plant-Based (explained in a section of its own below); SOS means no-salt, no-oil, no-sugar (which means no refined sugars). WFPB-SOS is also described in its own section below.

Day 1: Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes and Grains.
Day 2: Vegetables, Fruits and Legumes only. No Grains.
Day 3: Vegetables and Fruits only (preferably raw). No Legumes. No Grains.
Day 4: Juice fast (mostly Vegetables).
Day 5: Juice fast (mostly Vegetables).
Day 6: (Same as Day 3) Vegetables and Fruits only (preferably raw).
Day 7: (Same as Day 2) Vegetables, Fruits and Legumes.
Day 8: (Same as Day 1) Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes and Grains.

All days after Day 8: Try your best to follow WFPB-SOS diet.

* 8-Day protocol to be repeated every 2-3 weeks.
* Legumes include beans, lentils and peas.
* Herbs & Spices could be used throughout.

My friend shared the protocol with me; I offered to become a support person and mimic exactly the same protocol; my friend agreed. Personal experience with this fasting protocol and going deeper into its details gave me some insights which I have penned down in Part 1: Spectrum of Diets and Part 2: Raw Foods and Fasting Protocols.

Is the 8-Day Fasting Protocol Safe? I don't know. It is best to consult with TrueNorth doctors and ask them! Please keep in mind that my friend was told that a water-only fast would not be safe for her; a multi-day juice-fast would have to be medically supervised but she could follow the 8-day protocol outlined above by herself (and be in touch with doctors if some complication arose). Everybody is different. What worked for my friend may not necessarily work for others. For somebody with sickness, medical advice should be sought instead of self-experiments.