Phase 3: The Refeeding Plan

"The fast fixes the problem, but the food heals the body." This is the most dangerous part of the protocol. If you eat the wrong things too fast, you can cause swelling (edema), stress your kidneys, or cancel out the healing benefits of the fast.

How to Start Eating

How long was your fast? If it was longer than 3 days → Drink liquids only for the first 12 to 24 hours. Go very slowly.
If it was shorter than 36 hours → You can eat soft foods sooner, and you can be more aggressive with your salt intake.
Are you craving sugar? If YES → DON'T GIVE IN. A big sugar spike now will slow your body's deep healing as it will be viewed as a stressor. Slowly ramp up carbs.
Are you craving salt? If YES → BE CAREFUL. A big salt spike now may cause edema and swelling. Sometimes you may try a little bit of salt to see if it improves signs of low sodium (hyponatremia).

Why Eat Carbs instead of Meat or Fat?

You might wonder why we use simple carbs like rice and fruit instead of meat and fat. It’s because your body is in a very special state after a dry fast.

The Three Main Goals

Your body has three big jobs to do during the refeed:

1. Waking Up Your Digestion: Your stomach has been "sleeping." It cannot digest heavy food yet. Meat and fat are too hard to process right now. Carbs are the fastest and easiest way to give your body energy.
2. Managing Sugar Levels: After a fast, your body is temporarily "sugar sensitive." Huge sugar spikes can cause problems. But you still need some carbs to fix this sensitivity. We use slow, gentle carbs (like rice and fruit) to help you heal without causing a crash.
3. Fueling New Cells: Your body is in a healing frenzy. It is making new stem cells that need lots of energy to rebuild your tissues. Carbs provide the fastest and cleanest fuel for this "repair crew."

Why Simple Carbs Work Best: Foods like white rice, coconut water, and soft fruit are the best way to start. They provide quick energy without stressing your stomach. For the first 5 days, you should eat almost zero protein and fat. This helps:

Once you feel stable (usually Day 6 or 7), you can slowly add fats and meat. Rushing this can stop your body from healing.

Style 1: Bioenergetic Style Refeeding

Goal: Metabolic Recovery & Stem Cell Optimization. This style is the standard for the Scorch Protocol. It uses controlled, high-quality carbohydrates to rapidly signal the body that the period of scarcity is over, triggering the "healing frenzy" of new stem cells and restarting thyroid hormone production.

Follow this schedule closely to calm your immune system and protect your new stem cells. If you usually eat very few carbs, start with smaller portions of rice and fruit. You must add meat and fat very slowly to avoid sugar problems.

Day Goal What to Eat/Drink Important Rules
1 Gentle hydration Coconut water only. Sip very slowly (about 1 cup every hour). Drink no more than 2 Liters total. Keep drinks at room temperature. Lie down after eating. Do not drink juice yet.
2 Add rice and fruit Morning: Coconut water.
Breakfast: Small bowl of soft rice porridge.
Lunch & Dinner: Rice porridge + half a cooked, peeled apple or pear.
All day: Drink coconut water when thirsty.		 Chew everything until it is liquid. Still no salt and no fat. You can start taking B-vitamins and Vitamin C now. If insulin resistant, trade for vegetable broth (no salt).
3 Increase portions Same as Day 2, but eat slightly more. Use bigger bowls of rice and more cooked fruit. You can also drink diluted juice (half juice, half water). Still no salt and no fat. You can have Water Kefir if you want probiotics.
4 Build energy Continue like Day 3. You can add more cooked rice and fruit. You can also mix a little cooked zucchini or carrot into your rice. Most of your calories should still come from rice and fruit. Focus on apples, pears, and berries.
5 Final "Kempner" day Eat until you are comfortably full every 2 to 3 hours. Stick to rice and fruit. Drink coconut water or diluted juice between meals. This is your last day of meat-free and fat-free eating. Your stomach should feel very calm.
6 Introduce healthy fat Breakfast: Rice and fruit.
Lunch & Dinner: Rice + more cooked veggies (zucchini, carrot, pumpkin). Add a small amount of fat (half an avocado or 2 teaspoons of olive oil) during the day.		 This is your first time eating fat—go slowly and see how you feel. You can add a tiny pinch of salt now.
7 Introduce protein Same as Day 6, but add a tiny bit of protein. Choose only ONE: one soft-boiled egg OR a small piece (2 ounces) of white fish or chicken. Eat slowly and stop if you feel any discomfort. Chew everything very well.

Style 2: Clinical Style Refeeding

For Patients in "Metabolic Torpor"

This method is designed for patients who feel "stuck" in fat metabolism. If you have been restricted or in a ketogenic state for a long time, your body may have lost the ability to process carbohydrates effectively. This is not simple malabsorption, but a protective state of torpor where glucose oxidation has been "switched off" to preserve life.

This plan utilizes a very slow, liquid-led transition to gradually re-awaken your metabolic engines, building the body's resilience before attempting the more aggressive bioenergetic recovery (Style 1).

Stage / Day Focus What to Eat/Drink Volume Guidelines (by Severity)
Start (0-12 Hours) Initial Rehydration Solutions: 5-10% Glucose, Sweet Tea, Non-concentrated fruit/vegetable juices, Slightly alkaline mineral waters. Volume per day:
- Mild: 20-30 ml/kg
- Moderate: 40-50 ml/kg
- Severe: 70-100 ml/kg
Day 1-3 Restorative Nutrition Blended Food (cooked baby food).
Plus: Fresh fruits (apples, citrus), vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots), fruit/veg juices with pulp. 		Mixture Volume per day:
- Mild: 1 Liter
- Moderate: 1.5-2 Liters
- Severe: 2-2.5 Liters
Start 6-12h after initial liquids.
Day 4-5 Grain Introduction Porridges: Buckwheat, rice, wheat (water-based, no salt).
Bread: Introduced gradually.		 Diet expands gradually. No salt allowed yet.
Day 6-7 Soups & Expansion Vegetarian Soups: Added to the diet. Continue expanding variety.
Day 10-15 Normalization Transition to Regular Daily Diet. Gradual return to normal eating habits.

After the Refeed: Moving to High Energy

After Day 7, you aren't just going back to your old eating habits. You are moving toward a high-energy metabolic state. Your goal is to keep your body warm and your energy levels high.

The Transition Plan

The Goal: High Energy and Happiness. We want to move your body out of "survival mode" and into a high-energy state.
What to Eat: Whole foods with lots of healthy carbs. This includes fruit, juice, milk, honey, and high-quality meats like beef and shellfish.
Go Slowly: Increase your food gradually. Since your body hasn't used sugar well for a long time, you can't rush it. Add more carbs slowly as your body temperature and pulse go up.
What to Avoid: Metabolic Killers: Stay away from seed oils (PUFAs), chemical additives, and raw vegetables like kale or soy that can slow down your thyroid.

Viral Reactivation Support

Protecting Against EBV & HSV Flares

For those with latent viruses like Epstein-Barr (EBV) or Herpes (HSV), the refeed is a high-risk period. When you break a fast, you lose the protective effects of ketosis. Combined with high cortisol and refeeding stress, this can trigger "viral reactivation", leading to cold sores, extreme fatigue, or heavy brain fog. Sometimes this makes the refeed feel much worse than it should and that's our clue to implement the viral reactivation protocol.

The Strategy: Starting after the first day of coconut water (Day 2 of your refeed), implement this protocol to "fight back" while your immunity rebounds.
Mini Reactivation Protocol (Take 3x Daily):
  • Monolaurin: Inhibits lipid-coated viruses.
  • Olive Leaf Extract: Potent natural antiviral.
  • L-Lysine: Helps block viral replication.
  • Elderberry: Broad immune support.

Note: You can also mix in Garlic and Oregano oil for additional antimicrobial power.

For more details on the connection between stress, fasting, and viral load, see the EBV & Herpes Research Module.

The "Danger Window": Protecting Your New Cells

⚠️ VERY IMPORTANT WARNING

This is critical if you are worried about cancer. Your body is growing very fast during the refeed phase.

Your body is currently using new stem cells to repair itself. This is a great time for healing, but it is also a time when your cells are vulnerable. If you are exposed to toxic chemicals (mutagens) right now, your body might accidentally build damaged cells instead of healthy ones.

Because your body is in a state of rapid growth, you must refeed very slowly to keep your cell growth under control. Avoid anything that could damage your DNA during this time.

Things to Avoid During the Refeed

1. Dangerous Foods: These can damage your DNA while your body is growing new cells.
  • Processed Meats: Avoid bacon, sausage, ham, and hot dogs.
  • Burnt Foods: Avoid grilled, charred, or pan-fried foods.
  • Fried Foods: Avoid anything crispy or browned like potato chips or fries.
  • Alcohol: Avoid all alcohol.
2. Chemicals and Additives: Watch out for these in your food.
  • Preservatives: Avoid nitrates (found in some meats) and bromates (found in some breads).
  • Food Dyes: Avoid artificial colors like Red 40 or Yellow 5.
  • Sweeteners: Avoid artificial sweeteners like Aspartame.
  • Plastics: Don't eat food that has been stored in plastic or cans lined with chemicals.
3. Environmental Toxins: Keep your environment clean.
  • Smoke: Avoid all tobacco and second-hand smoke.
  • Pollution: Stay away from car exhaust and bad air.
  • Sunlight: Avoid getting a sunburn during the refeed.

Refeed Cheat Sheet

AVOID THIS CHOOSE THIS
Grilled, burnt, or deep-fried foods Steamed or boiled foods
Bacon and deli meats Soft-boiled eggs or white fish (after Day 7)
Candy and processed snacks Rice and soft fruit
Alcohol Coconut water or herbal tea
Food in plastic packages Fresh food or glass-packaged food

The Metabolic Boosters

Moving from "starvation mode" back to "health mode" can take a long time. We can speed this up by helping your body use sugar correctly.

Tools to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Use these tools to help your cells handle energy better without gaining too much fat.

The Main Tool: T3 Therapy: (This is the next phase). This is the fastest way to turn up your metabolism and use sugar for energy.
Cell Supporters: Aspirin & Inositol: These help lower stress hormones and help your cells take in sugar correctly.
Liver Support: TUDCA: This helps clean your liver, which is the main organ for controlling your energy and sugar levels.

Need Personalized Guidance?

What you get: Access to years of highly synthesized data, a personal researcher, coach, and someone who had severe ME/CFS, Long Covid all in one. You will also get personal help with acquiring medication.

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Refeed Log & Findings

Track reactions to foods. Any bloating? Edema? How quickly did energy return?