Why fast under medical supervision? What the supervision provides

Key points at a glance

• Medical supervision gives fasting a frame: the initial consultation, adjustment along the way and the closing consultation form a quiet, continuous arc.
• The initial consultation at the Tannerhof is holistic — medical history, physical examination including bioimpedance analysis and medication review.
• With ongoing medication or pre-existing conditions, the ÄGHE fasting therapy guidelines show why qualified guidance makes sense.
• How well-tolerated supervised fasting is is documented in a large observational study: adverse events at well under one percent.
• The doctors at the Tannerhof are experts in fasting; supervision runs through the in-house private practice.

What medically supervised fasting means

Buchinger therapeutic fasting is the deliberate, time-limited abstention from solid food and stimulants. Instead of solid meals, herbal tea, water, mild vegetable broth and freshly pressed fruit or vegetable juices carry you through the day. Fasting is more than a diet — a treatment method, a cleansing on many levels and an encounter with yourself.

Medical supervision is not strictly necessary for every fast, but it makes sense. At Naturhotel Tannerhof it is part of fasting. Anyone looking for a medically supervised fasting programme finds the right frame in the Body Detox programme.

The question this article carries: what does this supervision actually provide? It turns fasting from a solo run into a guided process in which the individual stands at the centre. Three medical appointments form the arc — the initial consultation, an interim consultation if needed and the closing consultation.

The initial consultation: holistic and medical

It starts with the medical initial consultation on the first day of fasting. The length of stay is already booked by this point; the consultation fills the frame and can adjust it, often extending it. The order matters: first the consultation, then the start of the fast.

The initial consultation is designed holistically. On the medical side there are three fixed building blocks:

• Medical history: the doctor's interview about your case history — previous illnesses, earlier procedures, current complaints.
• Physical examination including bioimpedance analysis: alongside the classical examination, bioimpedance analysis measures body composition.
• Medication review: which medications are being taken and what does that mean for fasting?

Beyond that come the questions that address the person: why someone is fasting, what goals exist, what is happening in life right now. Only from this picture does the individual fasting course emerge — and only afterwards, if it fits, does the fasting itself begin.

Why supervision provides safety

The Ärztegesellschaft Heilfasten und Ernährung (ÄGHE) distinguishes between preventive and therapeutic fasting. The fasting therapy guidelines state that therapeutic fasting belongs in medical hands. Anyone taking medication should not approach fasting alone.

Wilhelmi de Toledo and colleagues evaluated the course of 1,422 fasting participants over four to twenty-one days in PLOS One in 2019. The result: fasting in this frame was safe and well tolerated, adverse events occurred at well under one percent, and physical and emotional well-being rose significantly.

Since 1996, doctors have been able to qualify as fasting physicians through an ÄGHE curriculum. Fasting is thereby a medical specialty with its own standards. The doctors at the Tannerhof are experts in fasting.

How the course is adjusted

A fasting process is not a uniform routine. In the first days the body adjusts — weakness, shakiness or headaches can occur as the metabolism switches from glucose to fatty acids and ketone bodies. The medical team keeps this phase in view.

Within the booked frame, duration, accompanying therapies and rebuild rhythm can be adjusted together with the medical team from the initial consultation onwards. Five fasting days and upwards give the adjustment room; for first-time fasters a week with build-up is a nice scale.

Where necessary, an interim consultation is added between intake and closing. Environment and medical supervision work hand in hand: fasting between alpine meadow, mountain stream and the view of the Wendelstein is considerably more intense, and medical guidance gives this experience direction.

Fasting safely with pre-existing conditions

The fasting therapy studies available via the ÄGHE classify fasting under qualified supervision for, among other things, rheumatic diseases, allergies, autoimmune diseases, asthma, migraine, type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and depression — described in substance, never as a promise of a cure.

Whether therapeutic fasting fits the individual case belongs at the Tannerhof in the initial consultation. In pregnancy, breastfeeding and anorexia, therapeutic fasting is off the table. With chronic illnesses, ongoing medication or uncertainty, a telephone medical pre-consultation can be requested before arrival. Billing runs through the private practice at the Tannerhof.

The full treatment and application spectrum

Medical supervision sits at the Tannerhof within a deliberately broad treatment and application spectrum. An overview of the entire treatment offer is available on the corresponding page.

On the medical side, the initial consultation, follow-up advice and closing consultation form the supporting arc. On the diagnostic side there is bioimpedance analysis, IHHT altitude training and, where appropriate, ozone autohaemotherapy. Alongside, a broad field of relaxing applications:

• Wraps and compresses: hay flower wrap, aroma wraps, mud and warm packs.
• Baths and pours: Kneipp alternating douche, magnesium-rich detox baths.
• Massages: fasting massage, detox massage with Königsöl, lymphatic drainage, reflexology.
• Breath and movement: breathing therapy, yoga, Feldenkrais, tai chi and sauna sessions.

Movement is part of it, in measured doses: moderate base endurance training and moderate strength training — the body nourishes itself from within.

A fasting-experienced team across all departments

Fasting experience is anchored at the Tannerhof across all departments. Reception, restaurant, therapists and practitioners are familiar with the fasting course. This shows in the Fasterstube, the dedicated dining room for fasting guests — fasting in the DNA of the house.

The closing consultation and the path into everyday life

The arc closes with the closing consultation. Here the supervising doctors evaluate what has changed during the fasting period and discuss the recommendations for everyday life.

Before that comes the rebuild. Breaking the fast still belongs to the fasting period and begins with the apple. Then follows the rebuild over roughly a third of the fasting period. If a sustainable change is wanted, Schlanke Tanne Low Carb can follow on.

So out of a fasting week comes more than a short abstention — carried by the quiet line of medical supervision. Become essential, human.

Discover medically supervised fasting at the Tannerhof

Naturhotel Tannerhof has offered Buchinger therapeutic fasting under medical supervision for over 70 years. More in the Body Detox programme and on the page on Therapeutic Fasting and Schlanke Tanne.