What is Buchinger fasting?
"After fasting, awareness should be wider than the waistband!" – that's how the founder of therapeutic fasting, Dr. Otto Buchinger. The doctor is said to have freed himself from severe metabolic disorders with his fasting method. With his statement he summarizes the guiding principle of his concept: Buchinger fasting is not about losing a few pounds in a flash, but cleaning your body from the inside and activate the self-healing powers. For this purpose, the food intake is reduced to a minimum, which should help the body to detoxify and improve blood circulation.
Basically, Buchinger fasting primarily consumes nutrient-rich liquids: herbal teas, vegetable broths and juices are on the menu. The body comes around 200 to 300 kilocalories a day. This is also the reason why you lose weight fast at Buchinger fasting, although that is not the actual goal of the cure.
What does Buchinger fasting bring?
Studies show that Buchinger fasting can have a positive effect on various diseases. The following symptoms can be reduced by the fasting cure:
- chronic inflammatory diseases
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Metabolic diseases
- Chronic pain
- Allergies
- Neurodermatitis
- asthma
- psychosomatic diseases
Also fasting the so-called happiness hormone serotonin is increasingly released in the brain, which has a mood-lifting effect.
How long should I fast according to the Buchinger style?
There are various possible variants for Buchinger fasting. On the one hand, the fasting cure can be carried out in a clinic – in this case Fasting takes between two and four weeks. However, there is now also a variant called "Fasting for Healthy People", in which you can fast at home for seven days. However, you should take a vacation for this, so that you can relax a little better and do not get stressed during fasting. On the other hand, exercise, for example in the form of small sports and yoga sessions, is also part of Buchinger fasting at home, for which you also have to take your time.
How does Buchinger fasting go?
As with a therapeutic fasting cure, Buchinger fasting begins with a so-called relief day, on which only light food is consumed. Then the bowels are completely emptied before the right days of fasting are started. The intestine is also emptied regularly during these days. Afterwards, the body is accustomed to solid food again by breaking the fast with so-called build-up days, traditionally these days are ushered in with an apple.
A traditional day at Buchinger Lent could look like this:
- Morning: herbal tea with a spoonful of honey
- Midday: vegetable broth or a glass of vegetable juice
- Afternoon: herbal tea and mineral water
- In the evening: fruit juice or vegetable broth
- In between: teas like fennel or nettle are particularly good on these days – peppermint and fruit teas should be avoided.
You should be in close contact with your doctor. Under certain circumstances, this also allows the intake of some buttermilk or cow whey so that the body does not break down too much protein. In addition to the diet, a light sports program, alternating showers and a bath or two are recommended for relaxation.
Can Buchinger fasting also have disadvantages?
With fasting therapy, the body hardly absorbs protein – but it needs it to maintain its functions. Therefore, during Lent, the body uses the protein reserves in the muscles, that can regress. Therefore, you should only fast for short periods.
Fat loss is promoted by the fasting cure. However, this also has the consequence that so-called ketone bodies are increasingly being produced. If the level of these metabolic compounds is increased, less uric acid is excreted, which then collects in the blood instead. This can cause urinary stones, and gout attacks are not uncommon. The risk is primarily with long periods of fasting if the doctor does not involve the cure. That's why you shouldn't start fasting Buchinger on your own, but talk to your doctor first.
Many people use the fasting period as a starting signal to change their own diet and eat healthier. So that you don't immediately fall back into old habits (and eat a lot of fast food or sweets, for example), you should get advice from an expert on healthy eating. When the Buchinger fasting is over, the best thing to do is to follow a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish and a few lean dairy products. You should largely avoid luxury foods such as alcohol.
Reading tips: You can find out everything about the detoxification cure and general fasting here. And here we explain what intermittent fasting is.
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