Just as important as what you eat is how you eat – and when you eat it, according to the Viva Mayr clinic in Austria
WE HAVE ALL heard the saying, “You are what you eat”, but after a week at the Viva Mayr clinic in Austria I learned it is more accurate to say, “You are what you digest”.
That there is a world of difference between the two is the central tenet behind this health spa founded by Dr Harald Stossier and his wife Christine seven years ago.
Viva Mayr is renowned for its strict, but effective, regime that purges the body of toxins, leaving your stomach flatter within days. Just as important as what you eat is how you eat – and when you eat it.
“The majority of people eat their food the wrong way,” explains Stossier. “They bolt their food without chewing it, and therefore it is not properly digested. We have to relearn this basic human action.”
Stossier estimates that about 90 per cent of people have irritated intestines, which, if left to develop, can result in chronic health conditions and diseases.
He advises me that simply by changing my eating habits I will get rid of digestive problems, have more energy and be able to focus better, sleep better and perform better in all spheres of my life. Sounds promising.
“Our intestines are like the roots of a tree,” he explains. “They are not visible, but they are crucial to our health and strength. You can’t see if the roots of a tree are sick, but if they are weakened, so is the rest of the organism.”
So it is I find myself arriving at the clinic to consult the couple who are on a mission to re-educate people in the fine art of eating.
I soon find the regime consists of daily Epsom salts doses to clear out the system – disgusting but effective – stomach massages, a diet tailored specifically to the individual . . . and lessons in chewing.
People tend to eat less when they chew properly, because chewing helps the nutrients in food to be released and absorbed more effectively, and a well-nourished body gets fewer cravings.
Viva Mayr is founded on the principles of the Austrian physician Franz Mayr (1875-1965), who was the first to prove a direct link between good digestion and overall health.
The attraction of coming here is not just about learning to eat properly, but to completely recharge your system. A tour of the hotel reveals a massage department, indoor pool, fitness suite, sauna and steam rooms and water therapy department.
My appointment with Stossier reveals that despite being mainly a healthy eater, I have issues with my digestion. That small but stubborn layer of fat around my stomach, which I can’t seem to shift, no matter how many sit ups I do, is the sign of an inflamed small intestine, he tells me.
As he prods my stomach I can feel the knot of pain where my small intestine meets large. Also – not a huge surprise owing to my affection for a full-bodied red wine – my liver is not in great shape.
A thorough examination of my tongue, eyes, stomach, back and skin reveals a lot about my health. Deep cracks in my tongue signify I need a better alkaline/acid balance in my body to prevent disease, and he says I am showing signs of adrenal exhaustion – a fairly typical condition for many busy working mothers he adds.
I also have an overgrowth of the candida fungus in my intestine, which can cause bloating, fatigue and a host of other symptoms such as “brain fog”, hay fever, weight gain, sore gums, rashes and other miscellaneous problems.
The following day I am booked in to see Christine, who performs muscle testing, or kinesiology, and confirms that I am intolerant to wheat and dairy. So many of my friends have been told this by alternative practitioners it’s beginning to sound a bit cliched. I ask why this is now so common.
Our reliance on processed foods, particularly white flour, and a limited diet is what’s causing it, she explains. “Think about how much we feed our children pasta, bread, pizza, cakes, biscuits,” she says.
“We should all be eating a wider range of grains like quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, millet. After a while our systems just can’t cope and we start to present signs of digestive distress.”
A diet is drawn up specifically to remove the candida and clean out my system. No sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, wheat or dairy products will pass my lips, and I will be mainly eating alkaline-forming foods – most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, herbs, seeds and nuts – which are easily digestible.
Generally, acid-forming foods include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes. To maintain health, research indicates that your diet should consist of 60 per cent alkaline-forming and 40 per cent acid-forming foods.
I am prescribed supplements of vitamin D as I am deficient in this – alongside many in Ireland and Britain she says – and I am to take magnesium. This is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels and promotes normal blood pressure. Oh, and I have some “anti-candida” pills as well.
I have got off lightly. Many people I see in the restaurant have so many bottles of pills and supplements you can’t see the table.
Before I leave the consulting room, Christine echoes her husband’s words, “Chew your food properly, at least 40 to 50 times. If there is one thing you must learn from this week it is to chew properly”.
My lunch that day is a tiny bowl of soup and some slightly stale (wheat-free) bread. And I am allowed to choose one flavoured spread or a small portion of meat or fish or half an avocado. Supper is a boiled potato with a few lightly steamed vegetables, and a dash of cold-pressed pumpkin oil.
I am drinking two litres of water a day as directed, but only in between meals. Drinking while eating is a big no-no as it reduces the effectiveness of the digestive enzymes.
Another important rule of the Mayr diet is, “Nothing raw after four”. In the first half of the day, when we are rested and raring to go, we can digest basically anything. The healthy salads I tend to eat for supper are fine at breakfast or lunchtime, when the digestive system is able to cope, but not late in the day, says Stossier.
Raw foods are harder to digest, which can make them a hazard for a tired metabolism as they sit, fermenting in our intestines if eaten after around 4pm. The last meal of the day should be no later than 6pm to allow thorough digestion before you go to bed.
By day two, I am ravenously hungry and eat the cress garnish after my portion of soya yoghurt and stale bread, fantasising about cheese on toast.
In the restaurant, the food is immaculately prepared and presented. I soon become adept at slowly savouring each mouthful, although trying to chew a small forkful of boiled potato 40 times proves challenging.
By day four, my body has become more accustomed to the regime and I am not so hungry between meals. I reflect on how many times I stuff food in without really thinking, rushing from train to desk, eating while staring at my computer screen, or grazing in my kitchen at home, finishing my kids’ leftovers just because they are there.
Although food and digestion is the focus, there’s a lot to do in this beautiful part of Austria. I make good use of the indoor pool, do some walking in the nearby forest trails, and borrow one of the hotel’s electric bikes to cycle to the summer house where composer Gustav Mahler wrote much of his haunting music.
The hotel lobby provides free internet access and there is deliberately no wireless installed, to avoid “electro-smog”. I can’t help but wonder if this is why I wake naturally, so refreshed every day. By the end of my week, I feel great, and hunger pangs are a distant memory.
On my final day, Stossier weighs me and I discover I’ve lost nearly 2kg. On my return home I continue to follow the Mayr diet as much as possible, eating only three meals a day instead of snacking indiscriminately, sitting down and focusing on my food, taking the time to chew it properly.
A month on, I look and feel great. Friends keep complimenting me on looking so healthy and I have to buy clothes in a smaller size as all my trousers are suddenly decidedly baggy.
Keeping up the diet has been harder, particularly with a family of five to feed, but I am now used to saying no to bread and cheese. I introduce goat’s cheese slowly as advised, as this is easier to digest than cow’s milk products.
Wine is back on the menu, but I figure if I can avoid slipping back into bad habits, I can easily keep this up. “As long as you’re good 80 per cent of the time, you’ll be fine”, one of my fellow guests at the clinic claimed she was told.
I often find myself dreaming of my Austrian retreat . . .
Catherine Eade stayed at the Viva Mayr clinic in Maria Worth, Austria, viva-mayr.com
To diet for: The Rules
- Chew chew chew! Every meal should take at least 30 minutes to eat.
- Become more aware of everything you put in your mouth, and don’t eat “empty” foods – ones with no nutritional value.
- Drink two-three litres of water per day, but not during or close to meals.
- Cut down on portion size, and resist the urge to snack between meals.
- The maxim is true: breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. And remember, nothing raw after four.
- Do something physical every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes of stretching or a walk.
