Therapeutic fasting: 11 advantages at a glance

What is meant by therapeutic fasting?

Therapeutic fasting, which goes back to the doctor Otto Buchinger, is a fasting method that aims to cleanse body, mind and soul at the same time. When you fast, you almost completely abstain from food. You can take in a maximum of 250 to 500 calories per day. Only liquid food is on the menu, for example vegetable broth and fruit and vegetable juices. It is important to carry out the therapeutic fasting under medical supervision.

How did fasting cure come about?

Buchinger assumed that his method of fasting not only had medical effects, but also psychological and spiritual ones. All three effects together result in a unit that the doctor also called the “diet of the soul”. In addition to the strict dietary rules, the fasting person should avoid stress and relax instead. Music, books or meditation can help.

What are the advantages of therapeutic fasting?

There are now many scientific studies that show that fasting can have various positive effects on health. Fasting can have a positive effect on the following symptoms:

Those who are severely overweight often get them Recommendation to use therapeutic fasting as the beginning of a change in diet. Fasting can also have a positive effect on mood. In order for fasting to be successful, it is important that the patient himself has the desire to fast and believes in the positive effects.

What can I eat while fasting?

With therapeutic fasting, solid food is avoided. The prescribed calories are primarily absorbed through liquids. The following foods are allowed when fasting per day:

Anyone who fasts for a longer period of time with a doctor’s permission can also drink some buttermilk daily.

Preparation is everything

It is important to properly prepare for the fasting period. First of all, you should look for a period of time for therapeutic fasting in which you can really relax. If possible, there should be no important appointments – not even private ones, such as birthday parties. Especially at the beginning, many people suffer from various complaints such as headaches or mild circulatory problems when fasting. Therefore, it is best if you can spend a large part of Lent relaxing at home.

It can also help to have all the groceries and other things you need at home before the fasting days so that you don’t have to go shopping during the fasting days. If you are struggling with hunger, for example, you might otherwise be tempted to put a few snacks in your shopping trolley. It is best to write a shopping list before fasting and get everything.

This is how fasting works

Before you start the actual fasting cure, you should prepare for one day. On this so-called relief day, you only take in 1000 calories and from now on, at the latest, give up stimulants such as cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine. Even some light exercise will help to shake off the stress and prepare for the relaxation phase of fasting.

On the first day of fasting, you start with a colon cleanse. To do this, mix a liter of water with 30 to 40 grams of Glauber’s salt and drink this mixture within 20 minutes. You can add some lemon juice for flavor if you like. Then you wait half an hour before drinking another half to one liter of water or tea. The permitted foods can be eaten at any time throughout the day during therapeutic fasting, the only important thing is that you do not exceed 250 to 500 calories a day.

How long should I fast?

Buchinger considered a fasting period of two to four weeks to be optimal, but how long you should fast depends a lot on your individual options. The medical association for therapeutic fasting and nutrition recommends a cure of between seven and ten days, plus a day of preparation and three subsequent days in which you slowly adjust to normal eating habits again.

At the end comes the breaking of the fast

As a rule, the fasting cure ends with the so-called breaking of the fast. To do this, slowly eat a raw or cooked apple, which should be well ripened. In the evening, potato soup is on the menu. Then it’s on to the so-called set-up days: Here it is important not to go straight back to very greasy foods or general finished products, but to gradually eat several small portions and thus get the body used to solid food again.

This should be as light as possible, it is suitable for example rice, cooked vegetables and fruit. In this way, you slowly get your body used to normal eating again, boost your metabolism and don’t immediately overwhelm your intestines.

Can therapeutic fasting have any disadvantages?

During fasting therapy, various minor complaints up to real illnesses can occur. How strong these are and whether they occur at all varies from person to person. The following symptoms can occur during the fasting days:

In some cases, even cardiac arrhythmias are possible. This is also the reason why therapeutic fasting should only be carried out under medical supervision: The doctor should regularly check all relevant values ​​of the patient, so that serious problems can be addressed in good time. In the worst case, the fast has to be broken off.

Reading tips: You can find out everything about the detoxification cure, colon cleansing, the Schroth cure and juice fasting here. We also reveal the best intermittent fasting recipes and the best therapeutic fasting recipes. Here we also explain how to fast properly.

Bridget