Three Day Apple Detox

Decision

Pronounced "Makkori" in Japanese.
(Not to be confused with "Mokkori" which is slang for  "cock")

After a night out at the offal restaurant with numerous bowls of makgeolli I decided a detox was in order.

Rules of Detox
Eat only apples and drink only water for 3 days, record affects.

Supposed Benefits
Flushing of poisonous metals from eating meat and fish from the body by the healing powers of apples.

Alkalinity of apples restores balance in the body from all the acid contained in high protein foods.

128 yen each in Waseda Maruetsu

Apple pectin is helpful dietary fiber in maintaining good digestive health. Fruits rich in apple pectin include the peach, apple, currant, and plum. Protopectin, present in unripe fruits, is converted to pectin as the fruit ripens. Pectin forms a colloidal solution in water and gels on cooling. When fruits are cooked with the correct amount of sugar, and when the acidity is optimum and the amount of pectin present is sufficient, jams and jellies can be made. In overripe fruits, the pectin becomes pectic acid, which does not form jelly with sugar solutions.

120 yen each in Toranomon's greengrocer

An indigestible, soluble fiber, apple pectin is a general intestinal regulator that is used in many medicinal preparations, especially as an anti-diarrhea agent. Our ancestors believed the old proverb an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Today, nutritional scientists research for evidences that verify how apples are good for our health. Apples are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber, which is effective in lowering cholesterol levels.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that apple pectin also acts as an antioxidant against the damaging portion of cholesterol in the blood stream. Many researchers suggest that people who eat fatty foods should, if possible, wash down this food with apple juice rather than the usual drink. Researchers have found that raw apples are the richest of fruits in pectin, with the jonagold variety of apple leading other varieties.

It has been established that a diet rich in apple pectin may help protect against certain diseases. Research in Japan supports that apple pectin can also decrease the chances of colon cancer. Apple pectin helps maintain intestinal balance by cleansing the intestinal tract with its soluble and insoluble fibers. Apple pectin tends to increase acidity in the large intestines and is advocated for those suffering from ulcer or colitis and for regulating blood pressure. Pectin is also effective in causing regressions in and preventing gallstones. There is also evidence that the regular use of apple pectin may lessen the severity of diabetes.

Maruetsu must be getting sick
of me buying all their apples

Body gets to take it easy for 3 days.

Intestines get a clean-out and can absorb more nutrients post-detox.

Disadvantages
No Protein, my body needs protein so I will be straight back to my high-meat Paleo diet as soon as this experiment is over.
No Gym, it's pointless going to the gym during these 3 days because my recovering muscles will have no protein to synthesise.
Loss of gut flora? Not sure if this happens or not, but will be sure to start back with lots of leafy greens. (Detox guides recommend bacteria rich yoghurt but that's not Paleo)

5 Day Lead-up Nutrition (Super Strict Paleo)
Raw fish, apples,
Simple meat and veg bento lunches,
3 nights of roast chicken with roast veggies and no gravy.
Hard boiled eggs,
Baked sweet potatoes,
Macadamias,
Walnuts,
Green Tea

morning snack

Day 1
1 apple for breakfast
3 apples for lunch
1 apple for afternoon snack
6 apples for dinne
Total: 11 apples

Notes:
Started the day at 74.5kg
Thought I was going to eat 8 apples for lunch, surprised I could only manage 3.
I'm noticing some farting in the afternoon, usually don't have that.
I had SIX bowel movements, all of them spongy brown poos.

Nutritional Ratios of a Fuji Apple;
all carbs and a little protein

Day 2
2 apples for breakfast
2 apples for morning snack
3 apples for lunch
1 apple for afternoon snack
6 apples for dinner
Total: 14 apples

Notes:
Started the day at 73.5kg
Woke up and had a huge bowel movement, one big long brown poo, followed by "sundance" apple strudel.
Skin noticeably smoother.
Thinking one day/one metabolic cycle could be enough for this detox. Perhaps 3 days are recommended for people with metabolic syndrome who need the full 72 hours for their digestive tract to empty.
Am aware that the 1kg weight loss is just the contents of my digestive tract and that it will be put back on once I start eating normally again. Still, it's good to see a good end to food and start to apple and know that from now on the apple is just cleaning the tubes and not pushing stuff through.
Walked home from work.
More "sundance" before bed.
Expecting no further weight loss in tomorrow's weigh in.

Nutritional Values of Day 2 eating 14 fuji apples. Seriously low on Protein and fiber is off the chart.

desk lunch

Day 3
2 apples for breakfast

4 apples for lunch

1 apple for afternoon snack

6 apples for dinner
Total: 13 apples

Last Day at the Toranomon Fruit Seller;
"We have cherries just arrived in today"
"No thanks, just the apples please"

Notes:
Started the day with a "sundance" poo and weighed in at 73.1kg.
Feeling about the same as day 2.
Still keeping away from exercise other than walking and cycling.
Finished the detox with 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. (Would coconut oil have done the trick I wonder?)

Day 4

Help gut-flora recovery with, breakfast of spinach and scrambled eggs fried in coconut oil with black pepper.
Morning gym session strength check of Max Rep backsquat and Max Rep frontsquat:
Backsquat was weak at 5kg less than last week, some muscle mass loss?
Frontsquat was stronger at BW.
Second breakfast of sashimi and sweet potato.
Big Ass Salad for lunch (Spinach leaves, avocado, shrimp, grilled chicken, red onion, balsamic vinegar)
Tonsoku ramen for dinner.


Notes: 
Started the day at 73.0kg
Expecting the weight to gravitate back up once I fill my intestines with normal food again.
Important to get the calorie count up to 20% over maintenance today after 3 days of only about 1000 calories per day on apples. Shouldn't be too hard as I'll be eating out tonight.

Conclusion
Eating 38.5 apples over 4 days really makes you pee!
I was surprised to see yellow pee again on day 4 after getting used to the clear stuff.
I noticed skin getting better and better over the days which made me want to continue the detox. I am glad to be stopping though, for 2 reasons:
1) Fear of addiction to fiber: Apples are loaded with fiber and if the gut starts relying on that then gut bacteria will become redundant and when the fiber it taken away again the gut could have trouble processing stuff for a while until flora is built up again. I don't to get into a vicious fiber menace cycle like I've read about on the net.
2) I think I lost strength: Living on carbs in the form of fructose and fiber is no way to run the ship. It's great to knock out all possible harmful ingredients from the diet to give the body a rest and feed though some pectin for gut cleaning, but if I can't go to the gym and eat big protein rich post workout meals then I'm just going to undo hard work in the form of a reduction in lean body mass. Half of the 2kg I lost was put back on by resuming normal eating, the rest I put down to both muscle loss (from gluconeogenesis) and fat loss (from calorie cycling). Also if I'm going to eat carbs then I want to eat carbs that replenish muscle glycogen and fructose only replenishes liver glycogen. Once the liver is full then I'm storing it as fat.

Still, it was fun eating fruit for a change. I can see the attraction of the fruitarian lifestyle but it's just not nutritionally sound. I'm back on Paleo now and looking forward to eating some mega-roasts and doing more off the wall home-cooking :-)

My insides have been cleansed through 3 days of apple eating, and am eager to see if I notice them absorbing more nutrients than usual in the coming weeks.