Therapeutic Fasting: Practice Abstinence with The 12-Day Program

Therapeutic fasting means to free the body from unnecessary ballast. But how can it be supported with exercise, relaxation and body care? A 12-day programme.

Therapeutic fasting as an energy source

Millions of people in Germany fasting regularly, most of them are fasting women. Once or twice a year, they abstain from solid food for one week and consume only water, tea, fruit juice and vegetable broth. Self-mortification? The descriptions of experienced followers of the curative fasting cure sound different: They speak of deep contentment, of carefree lightness and new energy thanks to therapeutic fasting.

There are now even scientific explanations for such high feelings during therapeutic fasting (for example the Mayr cure). The Göttingen brain researcher Gerald Hüther has investigated how messenger substances and hormones react to food deprivation. In doing so, he found out how important it is that the decision to undergo therapeutic fasting and detoxification is voluntary. According to Hüther, this is the only condition under which “the assessment centre in the cerebral cortex classifies the situation as ‘not threatening'” and refrains from producing stress hormones.

The head comes to rest, energy is released

Instead, after about three days of fasting, the secretion of serotonin increases and provides for inner harmonization and satisfaction. The head and the intestinal flora come to rest, energy is released. Those who opt for detoxification often sleep little and still feel rested. One feels more connected with oneself, more relaxed and open. Not only taste or smell are perceived more intensely, all senses are sharpened during a fasting therapy by abstaining from food.

Even those who have nothing to do with God and faith can guess in this time of abstinence why all major religions also know programs of hot fasting: I need modestly little for this balance and inner peace, according to the salutary insight.

What happens in our organ systems during fasting, however, is controversial among experts. Supporters of therapeutic fasting speak of inner cleansing and purification, of therapeutic fasting as a medicine against diseases of civilization such as allergies or high blood pressure. Orthodox physicians argue that our organism is weakened when it consumes its own protein reserves and warn against an addiction to fasting euphoria. But: Meanwhile there is already the medical society therapeutic fasting and nutrition registered association which deals with the topics of therapeutic fasting health, fasting therapy, fasting hiking, intermittent fasting and fasting cures in general.

What are the opportunities and limits of this self-awareness?

Whoever wants to fast must therefore be healthy and resilient. And make themselves aware in advance of what the opportunities are, but also the limits of this self-awareness. Fasting is not a way to lose weight, the lost weight adjusts itself after the fasting cure almost automatically again. Therapeutic fasting cannot be compared with diets. Unless fasting becomes a conscious break with established habits and replaces them with healthier rituals. A fasting period can also be a good opportunity for a subsequent change in diet.

Juice fasting, base fasting, detoxification – what helps with detoxification?

Don’t eat anything and life will be easier? This does not always work during fasting from the beginning. Tiredness, sore muscles in the thighs, headaches, backache or aching limbs: during the first days of fasting, the body often activates its weak points. “Most of it must be understood as an answer to health problems in the time before,” says the experienced fasting leader Dorothe Bertlich-Baumeister.

Perhaps after the fasting cure you have already replaced a few old habits with new ones before you start eating again. Be it to start the morning with gentle exercise instead of strong coffee to get the metabolism going. Or to create small islands of relaxation against the daily stress – instead of cigarettes and snacks.

After fasting, the time is particularly good to get off the beaten track. Because you feel strong. Because you have felt that you can live for some time completely on your own. With this strength, good resolutions for life after Lent are also easier to realise.

Checklist: May I fast?

Clearly: Only those who are physically fit may fast at home. Therefore, always first have your family doctor check your fitness for fasting. If you are recovering from an operation or serious illness, are pregnant or breastfeeding a child, you should not fast at all.

In case of the following complaints, you should discuss the decision for or against fasting with your doctor or only fast under medical supervision (for example, in a fasting clinic where special detox cures are offered and where you can detox with other fasting people)

With these complaints you should refrain from therapeutic fasting

• General states of exhaustion, irritability, nervous tension, tendency to depressive moods or depression
• Eating addiction or bulimia
• Regular use of medication (exception: the pill)
• Chronic diseases such as diabetes, gout, rheumatism, arthrosis, psoriasis
• Pronounced allergies
• Risk of heart attack, high blood pressure
• Overweight of more than 30 percent
• Underweight

Day 1 – Discharge day

Nutrition: Prepare slowly for the fasting days, also internally. Abstain from alcohol, coffee, black tea and sweets. Drink at least two litres of still water, juice spritzer, herbal tea. Eat lightly and a little less – just enough to fill you up. Avoid fatty foods and meat, but eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholemeal rice.

Movement: Exercise as usual. Those who rarely get active should take a longer walk.

Day 2 – Discharge day

Nutrition: No meat, fish, no eggs. Menu suggestion: in the morning fruit and some curd cheese, at noon potatoes and vegetables, in the afternoon a vegetable juice, in the evening broth with rice and some cooked vegetables. Drink at least 2 litres of water, juice spritzer, herbal tea.

Care: Now an alkaline bath is useful, it supports the draining, i.e. detoxifying function of the skin. Bath temperature approx. 37 degrees, bath duration approx. 15 minutes. In the bath water rub the whole body with a luffa sponge or brush. You do not have a tub? Then a shower peeling will do it, you can also use the luffa sponge dry after showering.

Movement: like on the first day

Day 3 – House cleaning for the intestines

Nutrition: Now the fasting really starts. Set aside this day so that you can stay at home. In the morning 1/4 litre of morning tea, e.g. rosemary tea, hawthorn tea (stimulates circulation) or verbena (verbena) or peppermint tea (stimulates liver and gall bladder). Afterwards believe, i.e. laxate with Glauber’s salt: In order to enable the body to switch better from food intake to excretion, fasting is initiated with a strong emptying of the bowels. This measure reduces the feeling of hunger during the fasting.

Nutrition: Here’s how it works: super slim people take 20 g Glauber salt for 1/2 litre of water, normal-weight people 30 g for 1/2 litre of water, overweight people 40 g for 3/4 litre of water. Glauber’s salt tastes awful, add a few drops of lemon juice if necessary. Drink this solution cool and as quickly as possible. Within the next one to three hours several diarrhoea-like emptyings take place. If your stomach pinches: drink tea or water, lay in bed, put a hot water bottle on your stomach. If the bowels have not been emptied by the evening, help with an enema (pharmacy).

Attention: Women taking the pill should postpone taking it until three hours after taking it. And: Those who suffer from migraines from time to time or have problems with their intervertebral discs should not believe it under any circumstances, as the rapid withdrawal of water can intensify the symptoms. Alternative: Laxoberal or Passage FX Salt (both are available in pharmacies). These agents drain more slowly. Here the process lasts the whole day and not just one to three hours.

Nutrition: Drinks vegetable broth and water at noon. You can either buy vegetable broth as a ready-made product (yeast-free!) in the health food shop or produce it yourself. In the afternoon herbal tea (e.g. ginger tea, has a warming effect) and water. In the evening water, herbal teas (e.g. chamomile, St. John’s wort, valerian, hops, lemon balm, as these are relaxing), fruit or vegetable juices.

Never drink fruit juices pure, but always highly diluted as a spritzer, mixing ratio 1/3 juice, 2/3 water. Recommended fruit juices: naturally cloudy apple, grape and pear (see shopping list). Vegetable juices should also be diluted. It is best to mix the juice with hot water in the ratio 1:1 and then spoon it out like a soup instead of drinking it from a glass. You can use all vegetable juices offered in the health food shop/natural food store. If you prefer lactic acid fermented juices, you will also support your natural intestinal function.

Important: Drink water again and again during the day! If you don’t like tea at all, you can also drink only water. The main thing is to drink a total of three litres of water and tea, at least 2.5 litres of water and tea, 1/4 litre of broth and 1/4 litre of juice. If necessary, i.e. if you feel dizzy and your circulation slows down, you should take some honey or agave syrup, e.g. in tea. Sugar and sweeteners are forbidden!

Care: Believers wear out, spoil yourselves with care. For showering, use a special caring, non-drying gel. Afterwards a brush massage does you good, it is best to oil the skin beforehand. Starting with a body brush from the feet, rub the whole body with strong stroking movements – always in the direction of the heart. First feet and legs, then arms, finally belly and upper body. Work the belly with circular movements.

The massage has a double effect: the skin becomes supple, circulation and metabolism are stimulated. A mild, soothing cream is good for the face. Also prepare a rich hand cream. You may need it several times a day now. In the evening, apply a thick layer of cream to your feet and massage them. This warms, relaxes and gives you a pleasant feeling. It also activates the foot reflex zones: first knead the whole foot, then massage each toe individually, work the sole of the foot with your fist, and finally stroke the whole foot again.

Movement: Laze a lot, but also take a little walk. Under no circumstances go to the sauna, that would simply be too much for the circulatory system.

Day 4 – Fasting day

Nutrition: Morning tea (as on day 3 or, if a skin cleansing effect is desired, rose hip or sage tea). At noon vegetable broth and water. If the feeling of hunger persists, spoon a rice or oat broth instead of the vegetable broth. Recipe for 1 serving: Bring 1 tablespoon of ground rice or oat flakes to the boil with 150 millilitres of water. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve. Season soup with herbs if necessary.

In the afternoon herbal tea (as on day 3, or aniseed or fennel tea if you have flatulence) and water. In the evening water, herbal teas (as on day 3), fruit or vegetable juices. Attention: If you are hungry with your digestion (this applies to all fasting days!), you should have an enema in the evening or apply a light stomach massage.

Care: Like the third day. In case of spots and blackheads, cleanse the face with a gentle washing cream against skin impurities, which e.g. with mild lactic acid slightly exfoliates and opens pores, and at the same time has an antibacterial effect. Fasting can also make the lips dry, so it is a good idea to have a rich lip care product with you, such as calendula oil and dexpanthenol.

Make yourself beautiful in the evening, you can be proud to have already completed the 4th day – for example by turning the cream into a little massage ritual. A soothing body care with thermal water also prevents dry skin. The skin on your thighs, stomach and arms is massaged through with lightly pinching kneading movements. This promotes the blood circulation of the skin.

Movement: In the morning, loll extensively in bed, stretch and stretch. Sit up slowly – so that you do not get dizzy when you get up. If you are used to early gymnastics, you should continue to do this. In the early afternoon, take a half hour walk in the fresh air. You can set the pace, depending on your well-being. If you notice that you are fit, you can also walk or jog slowly. During the walk, take moderate lunges from time to time to stretch your legs, let your arms circle in the air.

Do the yoga roll in the evening. The exercise does several things at once: it strengthens the abdominal muscles, stimulates digestion, relieves the neck and spine and is wonderfully relaxing. This is how it works: Sit on the floor with your knees drawn up, your arms around your shins, your forehead on your knees. In this position, roll gently onto your back while inhaling. Roll forward again with a slight swing when exhaling. Roll back and forth rhythmically for as long as you like. Important: After every effort, pause, retreat to a quiet room for at least 20 minutes, lie down, close your eyes, breathe in and out consciously and deeply. The body needs time for its metabolic work.

From day 2 onwards, without any food at all, you should help the liver to detoxify, with a liver pack, which you should ideally do during the resting phase after the midday brew. To do this, fold a linen cloth once lengthwise, dip one third of it in hot water, wring it out. While lying down, lay the damp side of the towel on your naked stomach, then the dry side, and place the hot hot water bottle on top.

Day 5 – Fasting day

Nutrition: Morning morning tea (as on day 3 or 4). At noon vegetable or rice broth and water. In the afternoon herbal tea (as on day 3 or 4) and water. In the evening water, herbal tea (as on day 3), fruit or vegetable juices. Caution: If diarrhoea occurs, dilute fruit juices and possibly vegetable juices even more. If this does not help, skip the juices and drink only tea and water.

Care: As on day 3. In case of pimples, a facial steam bath as deep-cleansing intensive care. In the evening a foot massage will do you good.

Movement: Like on the fourth day. Now most fasting people are already physically fitter, expand your exercise program with gymnastics to wake up: In the morning, after getting up, stand up straight and shake your body a few times with gentle inhalation and exhalation. Then continue breathing deeply for a few minutes. While inhaling, tense all muscles for about seven seconds, while exhaling, let go, the muscles relax again. Ideally you should do this exercise in front of a wide open window to get plenty of oxygen.

Day 6 – Fasting day

Nutrition: Morning morning tea. At noon vegetable broth or oat broth and water. In the afternoon herbal tea and water. In the evening water, herbal tea, fruit or vegetable juices.

Care: As on day 3. Cold feet are a common problem during a fasting cure. Here an ascending footbath helps. Dip your feet in a bucket/ footbath tub, add lukewarm (not hot) water. Now gradually add hot water, so that the feet always receive a new heat boost. Finally, wash your feet in cold water, dry them off well and put thick socks over them. Do the thermal water body care from day 4 in the evening.

Movement: Like on the fifth day. In the late afternoon or in the course of the morning an additional stretching exercise. The triangular exercise relaxes the back muscles, trains the waist, thighs and leg muscles and also promotes concentration by pushing the body’s oxygen supply. That’s how it works: Stand upright, slightly straddled, with your arms stretched out at shoulder level. Make sure that you do not make a hollow back. Bend your upper body slowly to the right as you exhale.

Day 7 – Fasting day

Nutrition: Tea in the morning. At noon vegetable or rice broth, water. In the afternoon herbal tea and water. In the evening water, herbal tea, fruit or vegetable juices.

Care: As on day 3. As a care extra: a fragrant hair treatment that already does good during the application time. If you regularly go to the sauna, you can now do it again without worries. Provided that you feel stable in your circulation. In no case more than two sauna sessions of 10 minutes each. After leaving the hot room, do not immediately step into the cold plunge pool, but first pour cold water into your face with your hands. Finally, apply the body cream well. In the evening, enjoy the foot massage from day 3.

Movement: As on day five plus stretching from day six. If dizziness, tiredness, listlessness occur during the day, do not let yourself hang, but pull yourself together! Go out into the fresh air for only 10 minutes – this alone can help to overcome inertia and improve your movement balance.

Day 8 – Fasting day

Nutrition: In the morning tea as on day 3, at noon vegetable or oat broth and water. In the afternoon herbal tea (if you feel chilly, e.g. with cinnamon, ginger) and water. In the evening water, tea, fruit or vegetable juices.

Care: As on day 3. An evening relaxation program could look like this: Get in the tub and put bubbling bath tablets under your back. Wonderful when the bubbles rise and it smells so good. Bath for a maximum of 10 minutes and not too hot, i.e. at approx. 37 degrees. Then thermal water body care as on the 4th day. Followed by a manicure with peeling hand oil, then cuticle care with intensively nourishing nail pads.

Movement: Like on day seven.

Day 9 – Fasting day

Nutrition: Morning tea (as on day 3 or, if a skin cleansing effect is desired, rose hip or sage tea). At noon vegetable broth and water. Or, if your stomach is upset, a rice or oat broth. In the afternoon herbal tea (like day 3 or, for flatulence, aniseed or fennel tea) and water. In the evening, water, herbal teas (see day 3), fruit or vegetable juices.

Care: As on day 3. Today’s pampering extra for the skin: a face mask. Suitable ingredients include aloe vera (provides intensive moisture), almond oil (supplies the skin with essential fatty acids) or cucumber (has a soothing and refreshing effect). In the evening foot massage as on the 3rd day.

Movement: Like on day seven.

Day 10 – Build-up day

Nutrition: You will now end the fasting and slowly accustom your body to eating again. This must be done carefully, that’s why the build-up days are so important! Abstain from fatty foods, animal fats and coffee. Continue to drink plenty, at least 2 litres of water and herbal tea. You may also enjoy dairy products in moderation, such as a yoghurt or a glass of buttermilk. Eat cooked vegetable and cereal dishes. Eat only until you are full. Menu suggestion: Morning Morning Tea. In the morning a steamed apple. For lunch, potato and vegetable soup. In the afternoon, tea. In the evening, vegetable juice and a slice of crispbread. Throughout the day water, fruit juice and herbal tea.

Care: As on day 3.

Movement: Like on day seven.

Day 11 – Build-up day

Nutrition: Eat more raw vegetables little by little. Chew thoroughly! If you have not had a bowel movement from the beginning of day 1 until the evening of day 2, help with an enema. Menu suggestion: In the morning morning tea, 2 slices of crispbread with herb curd. In the morning drink a lot and 1 ripe pear. At noon 3 small jacket potatoes plus carrot vegetables. In the afternoon 1 organic yoghurt mixed with 1 teaspoon sea buckthorn juice and 1 heaped teaspoon linseed. Herbal tea or water. In the evening raw carrots, crispbread with herb quark.

Care: As on day 3.

Movement: Slowly return to your usual sports routine.

Day 12 – Build-up day

Nutrition: In the morning herbal tea, in addition fruit with germinated muesli, honey. Later in the morning a first coffee with lots of milk is allowed. At noon millet risotto, served with a tomato salad. In the afternoon: 1 organic yoghurt mixed with 1 teaspoon of sea buckthorn juice and 1 heaped teaspoon of linseed. Herbal tea or water. In the evening: Cucumber salad, served with 1 slice of wholemeal bread and 2 slices of crispbread, topped with butter and herb curd or lean cheese. If you feel like some wine, start with a spritzer, but be careful – alcohol goes to your head much faster after fasting.

Care: You can return to your usual care rhythm. But maybe you enjoyed the brush massage in the morning and other things so much that you want to keep it?

You need this from the supermarket, organic food store or health food shop

• 25 litres low-sodium mineral or spring water
• 4 litres of vegetable juice (preferably lactic acid fermented juices such as sauerkraut or beetroot juice)
• 4 liters of fruit juice: Make sure you buy natural juices, no nectars. Citrus juices such as orange juice are not recommended as they produce too much stomach acid. This also applies to multivitamin juices.
• 1 glass of natural honey or agave syrup
• Herbal tea to taste
• Yeast extract free vegetable broth for 4 litres of broth. If you want to cook your own vegetable broth: 10 potatoes, 10 carrots, 5 sticks of leek, caraway seeds, possibly parsley; 1 small pack of ground rice; 1 small pack of oat flakes

From the pharmacy:

40 grams of Glauber’s salt and 5 ready-to-use enema or one enema set for self application. Possibly as an alternative to the Glauber salt laxoberal or passage FX salt.

Furthermore:

Hot water bottle, towels for liver wrap, loofa glove or soft body brush. Additionally for the build-up days: apples, pears, organic yoghurt natural, crispbread, wholemeal bread, lean cheese, quark, cucumber, tomatoes, wholemeal millet, linseed, muesli suitable for germination (from the health food store or organic food store).