Saturated fatty acids, animal proteins, various artificial food additives: Most people eat too many things every day that cause unnecessary work for the metabolism. And it is not always possible or willing to prevent this by making a fundamental change in diet.
Fasting expert Rainer Matejka then advises at least one day off per week. There is not necessarily less to eat that day. “You can still eat until you’re full,” explains the chief physician at the Malteser Klinik in Bad Brueckenau. However, there is only rice, potatoes or vegetables, plus water or herbal tea – and nothing else. If you can tolerate it, you can also do a fruit day instead of the potato day, but this is not advisable for everyone. “It becomes difficult with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases or irritable bowel syndrome,” says Matejka.
Those who prefer a uniform diet can refine it with high-quality fat, i.e. linseed oil with potatoes or walnut oil with vegetables. Above all, however, it is important to omit the other standard diet and to avoid sausage and cheese, meat and sweets.
This gives the metabolism the opportunity to work off the accumulated mountain of hard-to-digest ingredients. And provided there is enough liquid, the kidneys can excrete unwanted substances that day. “The vernacular speaks of deacidification, which is actually not entirely wrong,” says Matejka.
Not only metabolism and body weight benefit from this relief. Ideally, it can also prevent serious diseases such as fatty liver, high blood pressure or diabetes. At the same time, the body receives valuable plant and mineral substances from potatoes and the like.
