Fasting in the Bavarian Alps
This is how Buchinger fasting works at Tannerhof – Germany's truly singular fasting hotel. Fasting with experts who carry three generations of experience. Timeless, authentic, unhurried, and always renewed.
We recommend at least one full week of fasting. The longer the period, the deeper the experience – and the greater the health benefit.
Preparation: Easing in makes a real difference – one to three transition days (fruit, potato, vegetable, or raw food) before the fast begins. Coffee and alcohol should also be paused.
Doctor's appointment: Takes place on your first day of fasting. Medical guidance and monitoring are essential to make fasting a good experience for you.
Beginning of the fast: After the consultation you'll receive Glauber's salt or another laxative salt. This cleanses the bowel and reduces feelings of hunger. Please drink plenty of fluids to compensate for the loss!
Fasting menu: What you'll have on fasting days – herbal tea in the morning, a mild vegetable soup at midday (with a little cup of broth on the side, if you like), and in the evening a freshly pressed fruit or vegetable juice and/or buttermilk.
Fluid intake: At least 3 litres a day. Herbal teas, mineral water (lovely with a little freshly squeezed lemon), or hot ginger water. Drinking is essential for circulation and supports the kidneys in clearing acidity.
"Transition day": Around the second or third day, low-blood-sugar symptoms can show up – weakness, shakiness, mild nausea, or headache. A strong, circulation-stimulating green tea with honey often helps.
Hay wrap: The hay wrap supports the body's other key detoxifying organ – the liver. A wrap with a hot-water bottle works just as well.
Enemas: An enema is available twice a week, mainly to prevent the bile acids from being reabsorbed. Alternatively, another dose of laxative salt does the same.
Alkaline powder: Helps balance the surplus of acidic metabolites that fasting produces.
Movement: Gentle exercise is important – it preserves muscle, and deeper breathing helps clear acidity. You'll simply feel better when you move.
Accompanying treatments: Our fasting packages include treatments that stimulate circulation, strengthen the immune system, and support the detoxifying organs – skin, kidneys, and liver. You're also welcome to design your own treatment package.
Inner work: Make the most of it. Fasting sharpens the senses; we become more open and receptive. There's finally time to listen inward, to take stock and find new direction. Our coaches Trixi Wolfseher (psychotherapeutic coaching), Birgit Holzwarth (nature coaching), Petra Reindl (communication coaching), and Nele von Mengershausen (art therapy) offer real support along the way.
Sleep and euphoria: Because serotonin is broken down more slowly, sleep often becomes lighter. Don't worry – you simply need less of it while fasting, leaving more time for good books or putting thoughts on paper. The famous "fasting high" comes from the same shift in serotonin, though it varies a lot from person to person.
Length of the fast: Depends on how much time you have and why you're fasting. For first-time fasters, 7 days of fasting plus 2–3 days of build-up has proven ideal – 10 days in total. If health concerns are central, at least 10 days of pure fasting is better.
Breaking the fast and building up: The apple on fast-breaking day stands for chewing. Each bite should be chewed 30 to 40 times. The build-up phase should last about a third of the fasting time – and matters just as much as the fast itself.
And afterwards? If you're looking for a lasting change in eating habits, it's worth staying a few more days. You can spend that time learning how to eat intelligently with our "Schlanke Tanne" Low Carb cuisine. One-to-one nutritional counselling may also be helpful.
Fasting is a deliberate, time-limited renunciation
of solid food and stimulants. With the Buchinger method, you take in plenty of water, herbal teas, freshly pressed fruit juices, and vegetable soups – which supplies the body with the minerals, trace elements, and vitamins it needs. Protein and other supplements can be added when required.
Fasting is at once a philosophy – the conscious choice to dial back to almost »zero« in times of plenty – and a deeply nourishing holistic therapy.
Fasting is a deliberate, time-limited renunciation
Fasting is at once a philosophy – the conscious choice to dial back to almost »zero« in times of plenty – and a deeply nourishing holistic therapy.
of solid food and stimulants. With the Buchinger method, you take in plenty of water, herbal teas, freshly pressed fruit juices, and vegetable soups – which supplies the body with the minerals, trace elements, and vitamins it needs. Protein and other supplements can be added when required.
Whether for a fresh start in eating habits, deep cleansing, or other health reasons.
Fasting has a positive supporting effect on conditions including rheumatism, certain stages of cancer, asthma, allergies, food intolerances, migraine, and type II diabetes – among many others.
"Fasting awakens the inner physician."
(Otto Buchinger)
Fasting at Tannerhof is always medically supervised and thoughtfully combined with gentle exercise and rest, with eliminative therapies, Kneipp treatments, and massages.
