Inflammation triggered annoying colds and fevers, and I wasnt exactly bursting with energy.
So I decided to take a radical step: a fasting retreat.
Great!, she said, sounding utterly skeptical.
Photographed by Arthur Elgort,Vogue, June 2003
She praised the effective medical protocol and the high-level care they offered to patients.
My curiosity was piqued.
I was looking for something no-nonsense, safe and serious.
Photo: Courtesy of Buchinger Wilhelmi
What the hell was I thinking?
Nevertheless, I marched on.
The list is as varied as the a la carte menu at Zurichs Kronenhallethough perhaps not quite as mouthwatering.
Photo: Winfried Heinze / Courtesy of Buchinger Wilhelmi
It inspired him to develop a medical-supervised, science-backed fasting regime.
Theres a lot of misconception about fasting, she said.
Our bodies are built to handle fasting, even for extended periods.
Photo: Claudia Prahtel / Courtesy of Buchinger Wilhelmi
Despite this, our bodies are perfectly capable of surviving on stored fat.
Both nature and human beings operate in cyclesonly computers dont.
This clears the way for new, healthy cells to develop.
Caloric restriction significantly accelerates this process.
Fasting also triggers a metabolic switch, prompting the body to burn fat and glucose stored in adipose tissue.
Its a form of clever self-cleaning that is completely safe when done correctly under medical supervision.
Indeed, fasting can help improve and even cure serious health conditions.
Human beings have incredible self-healing potential, observed Dr. de Toledo.
People are always searching for the next miracle cure, the latest substance, or the newest injection.
But the body itself has an extraordinary ability to heal.
Fasting activates this self-medicating powerits a necessity for the body.
Rather than waiting for a miracle from the outside, the real miracle comes from within.
