“Those who starve do not fast, and those who fast do not starve.”
(From: ‘Modern Mayr Medicine and Viva-Mayr Principles for Good Digestion and a Better Life’ by Prof Harald Stossier and Dr. George Stossier.)
Many of you will have read about or seen some of my posts from my recent stay at the Viva-Mayr clinic in Austria, where I had their world-renowned detoxification ‘cure’ based on the teachings of Dr. FX Mayr. The cure is individually customised to suit your needs and includes a range of treatments and therapies based on your initial examination with a doctor and with the help of extensive diagnostics. The Viva-Mayr clinic sets great store by individuality and custom-made programmes. Diets are tailored individually in line with the principles of Modern Mayr Medicine, with a goal to achieve a sustainable change of lifestyle, both preserving guests’ health and preventing the onset of diseases in the future. Programmes are designed to help re-activate the body’s self-healing powers and restore its energy levels.
Some of the programmes on offer at Viva-Mayr include weight optimisation, strengthening the immune system, detoxification, and stress reduction. The four elements of treatment are protection, cleansing, training, and substitution.
When I went in March, I booked in for the two-week ‘cure’ for weight optimisation. A fully personalised therapy programme with vitalising and relaxing treatments was put together, tailored exactly to my requirements.
Day one of the ‘cure’
My first day of the ‘cure’ began on a Monday, when all the staff (doctors, nurses, and complementary therapists, including the Kneipp therapists) were back in the clinic after their weekend off. I was up bright and early at 6.30 am, glugged my Epsom salts solution, had a good drink of room temperature water (drinking cold water is discouraged), did my oil pulling, jumped in the shower, and headed downstairs for a breakfast of gluten-free porridge with almond milk.
- What is the Epsom salts solution?
While I was at Viva-Mayr, I took a daily dose of this solution – one level teaspoon of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) dissolved in a little lukewarm water. The Epsom salts can be prepared the evening before with cold water to ensure the salt dissolves completely overnight. In the morning, just warm water and a teaspoon of base powder (see below for more information about this powder) are added. The salt water is very bitter so a few drops of fresh lemon juice can be added, making it similar in taste to grapefruit juice. The Epsom salts clean the entire intestines from top to bottom. It’s important that these salts are drunk daily when undergoing any Modern Mayr Therapy protocol, as this is the only way old digestive residues can be effectively removed and excreted. The salts are recommended for no longer than three weeks.
When detoxing at such a deep level, there can be crisis reactions. These kinds of detoxification methods can prompt the release of an abundance of toxins, which can only be a good thing, but can leave you feeling very delicate, fatigued, exhausted, a general feeling of illness, headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, mood swings and more. This is when colon hydrotherapy treatment can be very useful to help mobilise these toxins out of the system.
- What is oil pulling?
This practice is recommended by the Viva doctors to stimulate the digestive juices in the mouth, at the same time cleansing the mouth, gums and teeth. Coconut oil or almond oil can be used and ideally needs to be retained in the mouth for five minutes, swishing it around, pushing and pulling it through the teeth and pushing into all corners of the oral cavity, top and bottom. When finished, spit the oil down the toilet, don’t swallow it. It’s also recommended to use a tongue scraper as when detoxing, the tongue can get quite coated.
- What is the Base Powder?
All guests at the Viva-Mayr clinic take the Base Powder; it plays a very important role in the ‘cure’ protocol. In a nutshell, if the body is too acidic, disease can manifest, especially inflammation – and any inflammatory response that doesn’t shut off when it should, or one that turns on when it shouldn’t, may damage healthy tissue over time. It may also lead to mutations that cause cells to reproduce rapidly, creating an environment that may lead to tumour growth.
The Base Powder contains alkalising minerals that reduce acidity in the body, thereby reducing inflammation, wherever that inflammation may be – the stomach, the gut, the joints, the skin, etc. During the ‘cure’, one level teaspoon of Base Powder is added to the Epsom Salts solution every morning and it is also taken three times daily, between meals. Ingredients in the Base Powder are sodium hydrogen carbonate, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, magnesium citrate and sodium monohydrate phosphate. The recommended maintenance dose is one level teaspoon daily in warm water.
Day one – continued
After breakfast, I headed to the medical centre to have my measurements taken. I drank more water then went over to the well-equipped gym where I spent half an hour on the rower and treadmill. Just before lunch, I had my medical consultation with Dr. George Stossier as well as my medical myodiagnostics (applied kinesiology). This is a functional muscle test, which involves the doctor placing certain powders (food, parasites, heavy metals, viruses, bugs) on your tongue and asking you to push your legs into their hand. The test is based on the belief that various muscles are linked to organs and glands so if you show a weakness when pushing, that correlates to an internal problem. The test showed that my liver needed some support, and I should avoid gluten and lactose for the time being.
I was frank and upfront with the doctor; I told him about the weight I’d put on in recent years due to stress and how it’s affecting my thyroid and cortisol levels; how busy I am with the business; and how my mum’s dementia has taken a toll on my own wellbeing of late. My concerns were therefore weight, cardiovascular health and cognitive health. He put me down for a full panel of blood tests and urine tests with extra ones to check for heavy metals (which can increase the risk of dementia) and cardiovascular markers, including cholesterol and homocysteine. I need this information so that I can make any necessary changes to my diet/lifestyle/supplement protocol to take me into the rest of my 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond! I was told to collect some supplements, a larger bottle of mouth oil and a tub of Base Powder from the pharmacy.
On that first day, I had an amazing massage with Sabine – full back, including neck shoulders, face, and head too. In my opinion, there isn’t anywhere that provids better massages. The therapists are excellent at using techniques, some of which I used when in practice as a massage therapist – not just the traditional movements of effleurage, petrissage and tapotement, but also cross-fibre frictioning, myofascial release and trigger point massage. I had a massage nearly every day and always looked forward to them.
My diet protocol for my two-week ‘cure’
I was put on the Mild Derivative Diet:
- Breakfast – either gluten-free porridge with oat or almond milk, or an egg, a piece of fish, a piece of sheep or goat cheese, or a spread of some kind with a hard piece of either soya, buckwheat, or spelt bread to chew on.
They call the bread the ‘chewing trainer ‘to train you how to chew properly, at least 40 times each mouthful.
- Lunch – mainly a simple, very well-blended vegetable soup with a main course of vegetables. We are encouraged to put oil in the soup and on the vegetables, either olive, flaxseed, hemp, pumpkin or walnut oil.
- Dinner – a simple vegetable broth with the ‘chewing’ bread.
After a few days, I was able to eliminate dinner and just have breakfast and lunch, giving me a 14-hour fasting window.
The principle of this diet is not only to lose weight, but above all, to modify eating behaviour and adopt a new approach to food. Since returning from my stay at Viva-Mayr, I have continued my efforts at home to ensure that the slimming effects and digestive benefits of the ‘cure’ last over time.
At Viva-Mayr, under medical guidance, cooperation and responsibility for one’s own health are required; something that is now sadly lacking in many areas of medicine. Ultimately, our healthcare system which is becomingly increasingly unaffordable also suffers from this. It is the obligation and responsibility of the individual to remain healthy. I feel very strongly about this and it’s one of the reasons I gravitate to the Viva-Mayr clinic and their ethos. I want to be fully engaged and involved in my health and not outsource it to an entity that wants to put me on various medications as I age, based on tests that are too narrow. I will explore and try all natural alternatives, but I am not a martyr and will, if needs be, take medication if I’ve exhausted all natural means.
If you have any questions about a digestive and gut health issue or would like more information about a tailored health and wellness protocol, please get in touch.
