Periodic fasting: the key formula for achieving well-being and longevity

Sometimes it happens that from a débâcle or a physical problem come successful insights. Such was the case with Otto Buchinger, a German Navy doctor, whose career was interrupted by serious rheumatism. He exhausted all possible remedies until he decided to undertake a 19-day therapeutic fast and was completely cured. Hence the idea of opening a facility to launch the Method of the same name. Many decades later, in 2016, Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on autophagy, the body's ability to self-regenerate and reject pathogens when deprived of food. In luxury clinics and medispas today it is among the most effective formulas offered for a real reset. "My grandfather already thought so more than a hundred years ago: long-term fasting is the best non-pharmacological remedy for longevity, and we incorporate it into a holistic approach that sees body, mind and soul in a single healing and growth process," says Leonard Wilhelmi, the fourth generation of the family and director of Buchinger Wilhelmi, on Lake Constance, Germany.

Buchinger Wilhelmi sul lago di Costanza, in Germania.

Part medi-spa, part place of absolute quiet, marked by slow and conscious rhythms, but above all a clinic specialising in fasting and regenerative medicine. On arrival, after an initial consultation, blood tests, other diagnostic tests and a day of digestive rest, fasting begins in the beautiful room designed by Matteo Thun, with caloric intake limited to soups or fresh fruit juices - 72 hours of ketosis are required, through which the body deprived of food redirects its energies to purify itself and burn stored fat and glucose - which lasts at least six days, followed by four of gradual re-feeding. It passes, however, quickly, both because of the range of activities on offer, from power walking to yoga, Pilates to painting classes, and the transformation that, little by little, takes place. It is not just a question of the lack of solid food, but of a process of liberation from waste, including mental waste (first and foremost, the sources of stress and burn out), with the help of Zen meditation, mindfulness and, if interested, spiritual guides, such as Buddhist monks present during some specific retreats (the next ones will be 11-15 August, 24-28 November).

Buchinger Wilhelmi Marbella

The same method with a therapeutic fasting programme, the same ownership, but under the direction of his brother Victor, and a different landscape, for the sister facility Buchinger Wilhelmi Marbella in Andalusia, which overlooks palm gardens near the sea. Here, too, there are doctors, nutritionists, counsellors and therapists available for targeted treatments. If the Buchinger clinics were the pioneers, also Lanserhof Lans, one of the best longevity centres, amidst meadows and forests near Innsbruck, Austria, offers customised detox or fasting programmes with therapies based on doctor FX Mayr's approach, for whom a healthy gut is the key to health.

Lanserhof Lans vicino a Innsbruck, in Austria

In Italy, Villa Eden, for years an award-winning retreat in the green surroundings of Merano, has just expanded its Health Longevity Spa and Med Spa with a diagnostic centre and new medical clinics: on request, intermittent fasting (IF) is included in the one-week detox programmes, which include no dinner or two days of liquids, such as fresh fruit juices and vegetable centrifuges - the regenerating red one with beetroot and celery is excellent - enriched with superfoods, including spirulina. 'The goal is weight control, improved metabolism, reduction of systemic inflammation, insulin levels and oxidative stress, while stimulating autophagy and the activation of sirtuins, the proteins involved in the regulation of ageing,' explains Dr Emanuele De Nobili, scientific director, who recommends starting with an epigenetic test to personalise therapies through digital diagnosis of three to four hairs, which are reliable biomarkers. The role of therapeutic fasting, whether total or intermittent fasting, also affects longevity: 'it reduces the risk of major metabolic diseases associated with

Villa Eden a Merano.

cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases'.