Hello agoodman,
the benefits of fasting are not precarious, but the breaking of a fast is indeed so.
Reason?
With a water-fast to completion and the return of natural hunger, the digestive system is receptive to nourishment, but if a fast is broken before this point is reached, then that is not the case. In this instance the body has to be nurtured back into full digestive health and efficiency by introducing food gradually over a period of time in proportion to its length. The safest way has always been considered to be with raw juices with small amounts to begin with and gradually increasing this amount over time.
The introduction of solid food and/or the wrong type of food, at too early a stage after a water/dry fast can indeed create harm as Fonty has stated.
"Dr. Wm. F. Havard records the following cases: "A young man twenty-four years of age who had suffered from chronic constipation and indigestion, fasted twenty-seven days after reading an article in a popular health publication. On the twenty-eighth day he ate a meal of beefsteak, potatoes, bread and butter and coffee. He was seized with violent vomiting spells and could not tolerate even a teaspoonful of water on the stomach. When called on the case I discovered an intense soreness of the entire abdomen and every indication of acute gastritis." "A young man about thirty who had fasted on his own initiative for forty-two days attempted to break the fast on coarse bread with the result that vomiting occurred and the stomach became so irritable that nothing could be retained. There was marked emaciation and extreme weakness and every indication for immediate nourishment.
An Associated Press dispatch dated Aug. 28, (1929) recounts the death of Chris. Solberg, 40 years old art model, following a 31 days fast, which he broke by "consuming several sandwiches." The sandwiches, a later report stated, contained beef. Ignorance and lack of self-control killed this man. The dispatch tells us that "his fast (of 31 days) had reduced him from 160 to 85 pounds," or an average loss of more than two
pounds a day. This loss I believe to be impossible. The average losses for a fast of such length vary between twenty-five
pounds and thirty-six pounds.
Prof' Arnold Ehret tells of seeing two cases killed by injudicious breaking of the fast. He says "A one-sided, meat-eater, suffering from diabetes broke his fast which lasted about a week by eating dates and died from the effects. A man of over sixty years of age fasted twenty-eight days (too long); his first meal of vegetarian foods consisting mainly of boiled potatoes."
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.ch30.htm
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.ch32.htm
The main challenge after breaking a water/dry fast is certainly not peristalsis, which is unaffected by the fast, but with the recovery of gastric juices and the efficiency of the digestive system generally. This of course only applies without the return of natural hunger and the fast is broken prematurely.
In addition, a 30 day juice fast is basically a period of still feeding, so your digestive system is still active and functional. The baked potato you ate was therefore not really a problem for you. However, if you had fasted on water only, then your digestive system has been shut-down with the onset of full ketosis and re- partaking of nourishment needs much more care.
Regards
Chrisb1.