This section provides the reader with an overview of correction nutrition and general health and nutritional guidelines that will help in changing eating habits permanently.

Proper Nutrition

The books and papers that have been written on the subject of nutrition in the past decade could fill a library all by themselves. Not a day goes by that the results of new research and testing are not published. Yet opinions on the subject are extremely diverse. If one were to avoid all foods that at one time or another were thought to be dangerous to our health, one would have to go hungry in front of a full plate.

This is also true for the maze of nutritional systems, diet fads, and therapies. Objectively speaking, i.e., measured according to Mayr’s signs of good health, these are seldom successful in the long run, and probably never could be, because they do not create the prerequisite for proper nutrition, namely a healthier (i.e., cleansed and completely efficient) digestive system. Nutrition, states Dr. Mayr, cannot be equated with food. According to the following formula, nutrition is the sum of the food factor plus the digestion factor:

Nutrition = Food + Digestion

Therefore the digestive system has to be made sound before better nourishment of the organism can take place. As long as the digestion factor is flawed, the body can never be completely nourished.

► Touch. The sense of touch through the hands, lips, teeth, and tongue tells us more about the consistency of foods; our sense of touch also warns us if something is either too hot or too cold. Numerous stomach and intestinal illness are caused by the fact that our sense of temperature has been dulled (gastritis, enteritis from drinking ice-cold drinks).

► Taste. The sense of taste indicates the properties of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and their combinations, subjects foods to a final test, and advises us whether to eat something or reject it. Neither chain smokers nor alcoholics can count themselves among those whose sense of taste is reliable, nor can gourmands who love eating unwholesome foods, roasts and gravies dripping with fat, sugary foods, jams and jellies, etc.; likewise no healthy person would ever think of judging life only by the motto “we live to eat,” as is so common today.

Commands are not necessary if senses are healthy and strong. The weaker our senses, the less instinctive and more aberrant will be our food choices, and the more confused our attitude toward many aspects of life in general. Finally, many people get sick—both physically and mentally—because only foods that are bad and unhealthy taste good to them.

In contrast, the more discriminating the senses become through regular intestinal cures, the easier it is for someone to tell what he or she ought or ought not to eat.

The Protective Reflexes of the Digestive System as Regulators of Food Intake

Whatever applies to the senses also applies to the protective reflexes of the digestive system:

► The satiation reflex. The satiation reflex tells the body when it has had enough food. Neither too much nor too little, but just the right amount is beneficial to good health. Only a correctly functioning satiation reflex can best control human nutrition. Unfortunately this reflex is so dulled or irritated in the average person that they almost never eat the right amount.

► The swallowing reflex. The swallowing reflex prevents us from swallowing bites that have not been sufficiently broken down in the oral cavity. These it projects forward again to be chewed and insalivated more thoroughly. After satiation it also prevents any more swallowing. This is demonstrated when healthy infants spit out their food.

► The gag reflex. The gag reflex serves as a protection for the stomach and intestines by regurgitating food that has been swallowed but not chewed, is too big, or is otherwise dangerous. A gag reflex that has been dulled only reacts to blatantly harmful situations, such as fish bones, sharp bone fragments, excessively spicy or hot dishes, acids, alkalis, etc. taken by mistake, or if food starts to go down “the wrong way.” If our swallowing and gag reflexes had not become so dulled, our mealtimes, in which bites are supposed to be thoroughly ground by the teeth, would never have turned into the quick affairs they often are today.

How Should We Eat?

Horace Fletcher was an American businessman, who by the age of 40 was unable to work and practically senile. His application for life insurance had been turned down. Various medical treatments brought no improvement. Then, on the advice of a friend who enjoyed particularly good health, he began to chew and insalivate all his food so thoroughly that it was liquefied by the time it reached his stomach. To achieve this he chewed approximately 2,500 times per meal.

Gradually, his esophagus started refusing to let anything pass that had not been well chewed and insalivated (his swallowing and gagging reflex improved) and he felt satisfied with less food (his satiation reflex improved). This satisfaction also lasted longer. His desire for high-protein foods, spicy dishes, sweets, alcohol, coffee, and tea decreased and he preferred a variety of simple, natural foods (his selectors improved). Concerned friends were alarmed by Fletcher’s loss of weight and told him he didn’t look good. But Fletcher stuck with it.

After 5 months of disciplined chewing, all his complaints had disappeared and his sense of well-being was at an all-time high. He was setting records for strength and endurance when he was 50, even 60 years old, and this on 1,600 calories a day, instead of the officially recommended 3,400 at that time! Tests by several scientists and nutrition specialists showed that his metabolism was well balanced and that he had outstanding muscle tone and endurance.

Since results like Fletcher’s cannot be expected in every patient, we cannot objectively recommend this regimen. However, the fact remains that simply chewing and insalivating food more thoroughly relieves the digestive system and thus brings about a fundamental improvement in overall health.

Moreover, eating correctly goes hand in hand with inner peace and a comfortable atmosphere. Spouses, for example, should discuss their aggravations, concerns, and troubles only after eating. Also, constant talk distracts people from the task of eating and causes them to bolt their food down. Eating while working, reading, watching TV, or as a means of suppressing anger is harmful!

Cows know when it is time to go home And willingly leave their grassy trough
But unwise men
Never know when
Their stomachs are full enough.

(The Edda)

The Roman writer Pliny wrote: “Most people work to fill their bellies, which then cause them untold suffering.” Nothing has changed since then.

Everyone requires a different amount of food. How much is determined by various individual factors, including digestion (utilization of foods), physical and mental work, age, sex, etc., but the amount that is right for each person can only be indicated by a properly functioning satiation reflex. However, this reflex is usually jaded, so the average eater can no longer rely on their feeling of when to stop, but usually keeps on eating until they are full. This no longer has anything to do with a sound satiation reflex.