Who Should Not Fast: Contraindications Explained Plainly
For whom Buchinger therapeutic fasting is not suitable, what medical clarification provides, and how Tannerhof advises before arrival — evidence-based and quietly explained.
Buchinger therapeutic fasting is the conscious, time-limited abstention from solid food and stimulants. For most people it is well possible. It is not suitable during pregnancy and breastfeeding, or with anorexia and other eating disorders. With chronic conditions or ongoing medication, the question belongs to medical clarification.
The essentials
- Buchinger therapeutic fasting is well possible for many people; during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and with anorexia and other eating disorders, it is not suitable.
- For advanced liver or kidney insufficiency, decompensated hyperthyroidism and pronounced malnutrition, the Guidelines on Fasting Therapy advise against fasting.
- People on long-term medication should not fast without medical accompaniment, because many drugs need to be adjusted during fasting.
- At Tannerhof, a telephone medical pre-consultation is available on request before arrival; the full clarification follows in the medical intake consultation on the first fasting day.
- What matters for a fasting week is your own will and readiness to fast.
Who should not fast?
Buchinger therapeutic fasting is the conscious, time-limited abstention from solid food and stimulants. Human metabolism has strong strategies for bridging a limited fasting period, so fasting is well possible for many people. But situations exist where therapeutic fasting is not the right path.
For guests interested in a medically guided fasting programme, Body Detox is the right programme page; the methodology is described at Buchinger Method.
The Guidelines on Fasting Therapy from the German Medical Society for Therapeutic Fasting and Nutrition (ÄGHE) list a manageable set of contraindications. The large observational study by Wilhelmi de Toledo and colleagues (PLOS One, 2019) with more than 1,400 fasters used the same conditions as prior exclusion criteria — and documented a very favourable safety profile in the remaining participants.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
In pregnancy and breastfeeding, therapeutic fasting is not suitable. Nutrient demand is particularly high in this time, because the child needs reliable supply too. Both the Guidelines on Fasting Therapy and the PLOS One investigation list pregnancy and breastfeeding as clear contraindications.
This does not mean that mindful, lighter eating is off-limits in this life phase — only that the time-limited abstention from solid food in the sense of Buchinger fasting does not belong here.
Anorexia and other eating disorders
With anorexia and other eating disorders, therapeutic fasting is not suitable. This is not a time-limited, voluntary caesura but a disturbed relationship with food that fasting would reinforce rather than clarify. The ÄGHE Guidelines name anorexia nervosa and pronounced malnutrition explicitly as contraindications; the PLOS One study counted anorexia nervosa and cachexia (pathological wasting) among its pre-defined exclusion criteria.
Chronic conditions and ongoing medication
Beyond those, the Guidelines describe further conditions:
- Advanced liver or kidney insufficiency, because fasting puts additional load on metabolism.
- Decompensated hyperthyroidism, which should first be stabilised.
- Advanced dementia or pronounced cognitive limitations.
- Pronounced malnutrition and cachexia, a state of wasting.
Ongoing medication plays a role of its own. During fasting metabolism shifts, and many medications — for example for blood pressure, blood sugar or clotting — then need medical adjustment. The ÄGHE puts it clearly: people on medication should not fast without medical accompaniment.
In the PLOS One investigation with over 1,400 people fasting for four to twenty-one days under expert accompaniment, adverse events occurred in less than one percent of participants, with severe events remaining the rare exception — provided the known contraindications had been excluded beforehand.
What medical clarification at Tannerhof provides
At Naturhotel Tannerhof, therapeutic fasting is always medically guided — a stance grown over three generations of physicians.
For doubts before arrival — for example with chronic conditions, ongoing medication or simple uncertainty — a telephone medical pre-consultation can be arranged on request.
The full, detailed clarification follows in the medical intake consultation on the first fasting day:
- medical history-taking,
- physical examination including bioimpedance analysis,
- medication review,
- and the questions of why you are fasting, what is happening in life right now and what fasting experience you bring.
What carries therapeutic fasting at Tannerhof
If the medical clarification supports it, a fasting week begins that is more than abstention from solid food. Buchinger therapeutic fasting is more than a diet and not a primary weight-loss method — it is a therapeutic method, a cleansing on several levels and a meeting with oneself.
An overview of therapeutic fasting and Schlanke Tanne Low Carb, the in-house low-carb form, is at the Therapeutic Fasting and Schlanke Tanne hub.
FAQs
Therapeutic fasting is not suitable during pregnancy and breastfeeding, or with anorexia and other eating disorders. The Guidelines on Fasting Therapy also name advanced liver or kidney insufficiency, decompensated hyperthyroidism, advanced dementia and pronounced malnutrition as contraindications. With chronic conditions or ongoing medication, the question belongs to medical clarification.
No. In pregnancy and breastfeeding nutrient demand is particularly high because the child needs reliable supply too. Both the ÄGHE Guidelines on Fasting Therapy and the PLOS One study from 2019 list pregnancy and breastfeeding as clear contraindications for therapeutic fasting.
That depends on the individual case and belongs to medical clarification. During fasting metabolism shifts, and many medications then need medical adjustment. People on medication should not fast without medical accompaniment. At Tannerhof, fasting is always medically guided — precisely for such situations.
Under expert accompaniment, Buchinger fasting is considered safe and well tolerated. In the PLOS One study of more than 1,400 fasters, adverse effects occurred in less than one percent of participants, provided the known contraindications had been excluded beforehand. This prior clarification is exactly what the medical guidance at Tannerhof provides.
With uncertainty before arrival, a telephone medical pre-consultation is available on request. The detailed clarification follows in the medical intake consultation on the first fasting day, with history-taking, physical examination including bioimpedance analysis, medication review and your personal goals.
Your own will and readiness to fast are decisive. If both are there and the medical clarification supports it, duration and course can be shaped together with the medical team — individually and unhurried.
Sources
- ÄGHE: Guidelines on Fasting Therapy (Karger, 2002; update 2013).
- ÄGHE: Frequently asked questions on therapeutic fasting.
- Wilhelmi de Toledo F. et al.: Safety, health improvement and well-being during a 4 to 21-day fasting period, PLOS One, 2019.
- In-house source: Body Detox.
Note
This article describes the approach and practice of Naturhotel Tannerhof regarding Buchinger therapeutic fasting and gives the contraindications laid out in the Guidelines on Fasting Therapy. It does not replace individual medical advice. A telephone medical pre-consultation is available on request.
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