Give your body a spring clean for Lent
Traditionally Lent involves 40 days of fasting and penitence, ending on Easter Sunday. Many people emerge from such abstinence feeling spiritually and emotionally rejuvenated. But even for the non-religious, fasting can have fantastic benefits for your body.
Indeed, in these days of stressful, junk-food filled and sedentary lifestyles, many people look to fasting or detox diets as a way of slowing down for a while, rewarding the body with natural, wholesome foods and ridding their system of waste and toxins. Digesting food normally takes up about a third of our energy, so fasting allows the body to regenerate and assists its natural purification processes. “Fasting allows the stomach and whole body recovery time to expel toxins accumulated via stress, pollution and bad eating habits,” says Elke Rintermann, a Heilpraktikerin, or practitioner of alternative medicine, in Munich. “Ideally, it is good to fast for at least five days, but even those who opt for a 24-hour fast should still see results.”
Unfortunately, as anyone who has tried fasting will know, the first few days are the hardest. However, it is important not to give up at the first sign of a headache, or if you are feeling tired. “Symptoms such as headaches are often a sign that the body is detoxifying. At these times, you should just drink lots more water to flush out toxins,” says Rintermann.
Admittedly, the thought of doing without food conjures up thoughts of hunger pangs and utter misery for most people. But, done properly, fasting needn’t mean a diet of just fresh air and water. Heilpraktikerin Christella Schroeder recommends making yourself a light and healthy vegetable broth by cooking a selection of fresh vegetables with a few spices. This should be accompanied by lots of still water, herbal tea and plenty of walks in the fresh air. Brave souls can also help flush out their systems by drinking a glass of Glauber’s salt (sodium sulfate), which also helps flush out the system.
Once a fast is over, it is important not to dive for a hamburger and chips, however tempting it may be. Your body needs time to adjust. It is advisable to cut down on food for a couple of days before and after a fast, and stick to a diet of mostly fruit and vegetables or rice, cutting out meat, dairy products, coffee, cigarettes and alcohol.
Rintermann recommends fasting to help cure illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation of the joints and intestinal disease, as well as to improve general well-being. But fasting is not for everyone. Pregnant women and those with serious illnesses, such as cancer or heart problems, shouldn’t attempt a fast. “You should go on a fast only if you’re feeling good,” Rintermann says. “And it’s advisable to seek medical advice beforehand.”
Some people find it easier to fast in a group. Schroeder, who also speaks English, organizes fasting get-togethers, in which people meet every second evening throughout the fast to talk about what they are experiencing and to offer each other support. Or, if you prefer to suffer in style, book yourself in for a few nights at the Hotel Concordia in Tegernsee (Tel. [08022] 862 30, www.hotel-concordia.de), which organizes fruit-fasting and hiking holidays from € 680 per person, per week, including herbal teas, salt water and vegetable broth. Sadly, the hotel’s sumptuous, organic breakfast buffet is out of bounds!
