The F. X. Mayr cure is a natural, holistic treatment procedure that applies three therapeutic principles: care (recuperation), cleansing (removal of waste deposits), and training (restoration of fitness).

Mayr Therapies

Recovery, in accordance with the views of F. X. Mayr and the Mayr plan, refers to a natural holistic healing process that is built on Mayr’s diagnosis of health. This process involves three therapeutic principles: respite (relaxation), cleansing (detoxification), and training (regaining fitness). These aim to improve organ function and additionally increase productivity, well-being, and quality of life in general.

The “royal healing path” of the Mayr cure requires individual implementation in each patient with regard to the dosage of the diet and duration of the cure.

► Individual procedure. All true paths to health show individual differences. The treatment methods used in the Mayr cure are therefore also tailored to the individual. Hence a healthful tea fast (see next section) may be best for one person, a milk and hard roll cure for the next, and an expanded milk diet for the third, while yet others may benefit from an individually graded mild drainage and detoxification diet.

It is the task of the Mayr physician to recognize and recommend the most favorable form of therapy for each patient by means of Mayr diagnostics. In the course of the cure the type of diet can easily be shifted into another stage when certain signs suggesting an appropriate change are found.

The most important options and stages in the Mayr cure are:

• The healing or tea fast according to Mayr (described below).

As modern medicine increasingly relies on this most natural of remedies, it is only following a practice that is probably as old as the human race itself.

Indications for Fasting

Fasting has proven effective against a large number of illnesses:

• Digestive, nutritional, metabolic, and glandular disturbances.

• Heart and circulatory problems.

• Many respiratory diseases.

• Illnesses relating to the kidneys, bladder, and female abdominal area.

• Various skin conditions and allergic reactions.

• All types of fever.

• Certain nervous and mental disturbances.

Underlying most of these clinical pictures are excessive loads of toxins, acids, or waste deposits. There are almost no organs or tissues in the human body that cannot be disturbed or damaged by toxins—especially by acids, i.e., by overacidification—and that would not be improved by detoxification and deacidification. And no other method of detoxification/purging/deacidification is more effective than fasting and the other treatment methods used in the Mayr cure.

Moreover, when used early enough, fasting is the preventive method par ex kkerous illnesses, for improving overall health, and increasing energy. Because of its intense curative powers, fasting has been described as operation without a knife and the royal path to recovery.

Fasting is very different from hunger. Hunger is defined as a lack of sufficient nutrition to the point where the body suffers. This can occur in the following ways:

• Intentionally, for example by going on a hunger strike.

• Unintentionally, as a result of lack of food, famine, or disasters.

• Due to a major imbalance in the digestive system, whereby the cells of the body are starved despite sufficient food intake.

When Dr. Mayr and his patients first fasted, he was so impressed with the favorable results that he devoted the rest of his life to this method of healing. From this he developed his own method, which we know today as the therapeutic or tea fast according to Mayr, in contrast to other forms of fasting such as juice or Buchinger fasts. This is a strict form of fasting in which only weak herbal tea (with perhaps a little honey and lemon), water, mineral water, or clear vegetable broth is taken for either several days, for 1, 2, or 3 weeks, or even longer in special cases.

Going on a Tea Fast in a Wellness Clinic

Such a fast should be undertaken only with medical supervision, ideally at a sanatorium. The following are also helpful:

• Not thinking about work-related problems.

• Laying aside worries and cares.

• Placing oneself in an atmosphere and climate that promote healing.

• Enjoying the calm, good air, and natural, undisturbed surroundings.

• Interacting with other people who are doing the same fast.

• Feeling the liberating experience of inner cleansing. This creates relaxed and positive personal relationships among its participants: Fasting makes one freer and happier!

At a sanatorium there won’t be any tiresome interference from tactless or ignorant people. Some people often unscrupulously try to thwart the cure, either because they cannot imagine not eating or because they are jealous or feel guilty, as they themselves could profit from fasting but are too fainthearted or weak-willed.

The normal length of time for a complete Mayr cure in a sanatorium is usually about 4 weeks, or 3 weeks for an abbreviated treatment. Depending on the diagnosis, the course usually, though not always, goes from Mayr’s tea fast to a hard roll and milk diet and finally to a more manageable type of diet plan.

  8. In the evening, have one to two cups of the prescribed herbal tea (possibly with a teaspoon of honey and a little orange juice), taken in spoonfuls. If permitted, accompany this with a cure roll using the correct eating habits.

  9. Before going to bed, shower as in step 3.

10. Go to bed as early as possible and with moist warmth. The sleep taken before midnight is particularly important.

Maintenance and Cleansing Therapy with a Hard Roll and Milk Diet (Mayr’s Milk Fast)

Maintenance and cleansing therapy with a milk diet is another form of Mayr cure. Whereas the tea fast is only available to a limited number of people, namely sanatorium guests, practically anyone can go on one of the many milk fasts, including modified elimination therapy.

Undergoing a mild form of treatment is quite easy for most people while still going to their place of work.

Training to Eat Correctly

In addition, the milk fast is also a course in correct eating. Proper nourishment depends on eating correctly, which means always taking small bites, chewing them thoroughly, and liquefying them quickly by means of a conscious, intense insalivation (this takes concentration). But almost nobody does this these days. Just as the muscles of the arm keep getting stronger and more efficient by throwing a javelin, atrophied salivary glands are strengthened by this type of eating therapy; they relearn how to produce saliva of an ideal quality and quantity to digest a given food; and they are able to thoroughly disinfect and clean the oral cavity after eating by rinsing it in thin saliva. Eating correctly also produces better teeth cleaning and improved circulation in the gums and roots of the teeth (massaging effect from chewing), thus reducing the chances of gingivitis and loss of teeth.

This is where the Mayr cure comes in. A person has to start over again from the beginning. He or she has to learn how to chew and insalivate and practice this regularly. And anyone who really works at it can learn this art of eating so well that it would take almost a lifetime to unlearn it.

Since no other method of fasting and no nutritional system, be it that of Bircher-Benner, Jackson, Hauser, Waerland, or even more recently that of Kollath, Schnitzer, Bruker, and others, teaches this prerequisite of proper nutrition anywhere near as well as the Mayr cure, the latter, when done correctly, is superior for this reason alone. It eliminates a primary source of bad nutrition and the resulting ailments.

Other Benefits of Mayr’s Milk Fast

• It uses a food that contains all the basic nutritional elements in balance and is considered the classic decontaminant: milk. It nourishes; it eases, intensifies, and speeds up decontamination of the body; it reduces a crisis reaction or prevents it from occurring during cleansing treatment.

The sick animal finds a protected place and lies down, instinctively taking no food or only very specific foods until it has recovered. Medical science has also used this principle since time immemorial: the mentally ill have to “rest,” those with fever take to their beds, a broken arm is put in a sling, a broken leg in a cast.

Dr. Mayr allows the digestive organs to convalesce by fasting or by using the best possible mild diet.

Milk

Milk is part of this mild diet. Milk contains an unrivaled abundance of all the basic caloric carriers and vital substances in a harmonious balance: amino and fatty acids, vitamins, enzymes, and minerals (including trace elements). It has antibiotic properties and is a decontaminant, our most important carrier of vital substances, a unique, secret “elixir of life,” and rightly called the “queen of foods.”

The biological value of milk is demonstrated by the growth of young animals, whose weight doubles or triples in a short period of time.

• The best milk is fresh from the cow, followed by raw milk (grade A milk), then infant formula that has only been warmed in hot water, rather than scalded.

• Changes start to take place in milk protein when it is heated above 45°C.

• Malted coffee (coffee made from an infusion of barley malt) added to milk, yogurt from a health-food store, or a good grade of sour milk can also be used.

Milk should not be thought of as a drink that is gulped down to quench one’s thirst, but rather a liquid food to be taken only in the smallest portions and, like an infant, only when needed and then thoroughly mixed with saliva.

Milk should be “eaten,” not drunk. To achieve this, Dr. Mayr suggests taking it with a good, chewy hard roll.

Knowledge

Composition of Milk

In addition to the forms of sour milk mentioned above, which are often better tolerated, and also the permitted addition of malt coffee, the following can be considered as cow’s milk alternatives:

• “A-milk” (antiallergy milk according to Rauch), or cream milk. This can be made at home and consists of 25 to 50% cream and 50 to 75% water. Individuals who tolerate butter well have no problems with this tasty A-milk.

• Sheep’s or goat’s yogurt. These are always tolerated very well and are especially recommended for those with fungal problems.

• Soy or almond milk.

• Porridge soups can be prepared from oats, rice, spelt, etc., with water or (preferably) vegetable broth and a little sea salt.

The chosen alternative must be ingested as ordered together with the “chewing trainer,” the cure roll (see below).

Hard Roll

The consistency of the roll is critical to the success of the treatment. Only the right type of roll will increase the efficiency of the salivary glands, produce a stronger flow of saliva, and at the same time train one to chew properly.

• Ideally, rolls should be purchased fresh every day and spread out on wax paper or on a towel to air dry.

• Depending on the weather, they will reach the desired consistency in 2 to 4 days: dry enough to be cut, firmly elastic, i.e., they can still be pressed in a little, but noticeably harder than fresh hard rolls, though nowhere near as hard as rolls dried for bread crumbs.

• It is absolutely necessary to be sure there is a sufficient stock of rolls on hand and to check their condition before each meal so that just the right stale roll is used.

• If the rolls remain too moist or too soft, the drying process can be accelerated by cutting them up and spreading out the pieces.

• Note: Rolls will not dry out in a steamy kitchen or in containers (breadbox, plastic bags, drawers).

• Rolls that are bone dry and therefore too hard (rolls ready to be made into breadcrumbs, zwieback, and toasted rolls) are also unsuitable. They are not absorbent enough, nor do they stimulate or maintain a sufficient flow of saliva; however, they are, relatively speaking, better than rolls that are too soft. They can also damage bad teeth.

• Note: Gas pains during the cure often mean the wrong rolls or the wrong foods are being eaten.

• For patients with wheat intolerance and on request, the Mayr physician will recommend rolls made with finely ground spelt or other alternatives.

Many health-food advocates believe they must reject Mayr’s milk diet because the rolls are a white flour product and therefore of no biological value. The function of the roll, however, is not to supply nutritional value but to serve merely as a chewing and salivation trainer. No better “trainer” exists!

Training the salivary glands is of much greater significance for the recuperation of the entire digestive system than is the instantaneous supply of vital nutrients. Besides, the cure roll is a pure respite diet. It supports the respite principle, while the whole-grain rolls that are always suggested as a replacement are much too high in fiber and therefore impede the recovery of the intestines during the cure. They are not suitable as chewing trainers.

The use of the cure roll, however, does not mean that you should use white flour products after the cure. On the contrary—in the ensuing permanent diet you should of course always choose foods with high nutritional value as long as they can be digested properly.

Eating Method

• Just before you plan to eat it, cut a roll into thin slices or cubes.

• Put a small piece in your mouth and chew it well until saliva is produced (training the salivary glands). The bread and saliva will begin to form a watery paste with a slightly sweetish taste. (The more degenerate your salivary glands are, the harder it is to achieve this effect at the beginning of the cure). The sweet taste results as the starch in the bread is converted into sugar by salivary enzymes.

• Now mix the entire contents of your mouth—bread, saliva, and milk—by more chewing and by using your tongue. This should taste good and the pleasure should be savored. (Practice!) The milk is already starting to be vigorously digested in the oral cavity, which is essential to the success of the treatment.

• Now you can swallow the mixture.

• Repeat this process until hunger is satisfied. Any amount may be eaten.

• Whether you ingest a half, one, two, or even three whole cure rolls per meal is irrelevant as long as you follow the eating instructions exactly. If you take the milk in small gulps instead of sipping it from the teaspoon, you might as well stop the cure at that point—you will not achieve any success.

The training of eating habits along Mayr’s guidelines, supported by a positive attitude, promotes a highly simple cure process and the best possible result.

Something worth having is worth working for. Here too, recuperation requires a cooperative attitude, honest effort, and following these steps thoroughly, consistently, and with concentration, even though they may seem unimportant. This is decisive. After all, success is the goal!

Treatment shouldn’t even be started if this method of eating cannot be carried out. It must either be done right or not at all. Food well chewed is food half digested.

The Drinking Cure

Every intestinal cleanse is also a drinking cure. We recommend the following:

• Good drinking water.

• Herbal teas (bean coffee and black tea must be avoided at all costs).

• Uncarbonated (still) mineral water.

Drinks should be taken plain and neither too cold nor too hot. Frequent drinking, spread throughout the whole day, provides substantial support in flushing out pollutants and prevents retoxification.

In patients who are feeling generally unwell, increasing the consumption of fluids is also helpful and tends to quickly restore the patient’s well-being.

The drinking of herbal teas is also important after the cure. Because of environmental pollution, the modern individual needs greater amounts of beneficial fluids in everyday life. Frequent drinking of appropriate herbal teas supports the processes of detoxification and elimination. In addition, herbal teas contain mineral salts, vitamins, trace elements, enzymes, and aromatic substances.

However, at all costs avoid all acidifying teas such red mallow (hibiscus, red sorrel), fruit teas, and rose hip.

What to Do if Hungry or Thirsty

If this treatment is followed exactly, you will feel satisfied for a long time. Any feeling of hunger between meals only occurs because eating was done incorrectly, too fast, or otherwise carelessly (e.g., when you drink the milk instead of sipping it from a spoon), or because rolls were eaten that were probably too fresh.

Always have something to drink when you are thirsty or when you eat (liquid diet!). If a feeling of hunger persists despite drinking warm tea, a bit of stale roll can be eaten between specified mealtimes, but always according to the method described. Tormenting hunger must never occur during this cure. With increasing health, the need to eat outside of mealtimes disappears on its own even in patients with the most difficult cures.

Nevertheless, do not confuse true hunger with “gusto,” the desire of a spoiled palate for variety. True hunger can be satisfied with rolls, but gusto, on the other hand, only with gourmet foods. It is valuable and therapeutic to successfully resist this type of craving.

General Care

Unless a person’s health has been so impaired that treatment has to proceed in a sanatorium, it can be done by most people at home or at work. This applies to those who do manual labor as well as to those who sit at a desk. Practically all types of professions lend themselves to parallel treatment—from butchers, mechanics, bakers, farmers, housewives, and tailors to judges, politicians, and university professors.

• The type and length of treatment must be adapted to the demands of the patient and his or her responses.

• The diet has to be altered at just the right time.

• Manual abdominal treatment (MAT) has to be performed.

• A proper transition to a modified diet and finally to healthier nutrition must be made.

It is these things that to a large extent determine the success of the treatment.

Very often, coping with one’s job seems to become less stressful even while treatment is in progress. Bed rest is only prescribed in exceptional cases. But as a general principle, quietness and rest are required:

• A few minutes to a half hour of rest before eating, short periods of relaxation when the opportunity presents itself, and retiring early on a regular basis (being asleep before midnight) are absolute requirements.

• Watching TV every night puts a strain on the autonomic nervous system and interferes with deep sleep and therefore with the regeneration of the organism. TV should not be watched during treatment!

• Any degree of tiredness or baths that are too hot may precipitate a crisis and should therefore be avoided.

Intestinal Cleansing with Epsom Salt Solution

A report from Karlsbad, the world famous spa for digestive problems, relates: “I was sitting peacefully on my little bench in the woods, reading the newspaper, when suddenly somebody raced by, tore the newspaper from my hands and disappeared. ‘Hey you,’ I yelled, ‘that’s today’s paper!’ To which the voice responded, ‘Yes, but I can’t wait for tomorrow’s!’”

The Mayr cure also supports intestinal cleansing by means of Karlsbad salt or—usually slightly better—Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), which has a more intensive effect.

• The salt is taken every day in the morning on an empty stomach, as early as possible or immediately upon rising.

In most patients, the elimination of intestinal deposits in combination with the Epsom salt solution results in one, two, or three liquid-to-mushy stools per day. When especially strong irritating toxins are discharged, much more frequent watery and mostly foul-smelling evacuations can result. The down-draining, often aggressively corrosive deposits can then irritate the intestine and lead to the passing of numerous small amounts of stool. Occasionally, the anal mucosa can temporarily swell up, become red, and feel sore. Even constipation can occur when toxins are eliminated that have a paralyzing effect on the intestines. In such patients, the trained Mayr physician knows what to do and how to remedy the problem quickly.

These pollutants usually break up at the beginning of treatment, more often than not in the first few weeks. Unbelievable amounts of foul-smelling masses of stool, ranging in color from black, brown, and gray to white or green can be passed. Occasionally, hard blocks of excrement as large as apples, skins, seed husks, and other such characteristic meal residues from months past show up. This process of dissolving can make the areas where these residues were attached sore. If bowel movements do not happen immediately in voluminous amounts, then they usually occur gradually, with less intensive coloration and less odor over a longer period of time. But even in the latter case, the appearance of consistently light yellow, odorless stools should eventually result. As the intestines are cleansed, the blood is also cleansed and deposits and acid are cleared from stressed tissues, joints, and vessels. Although cleansing mostly occurs in the intestines, all the areas and organs of secretion are involved:

• The kidneys (dark, cloudy, foul-smelling, “caustic” urine).

• The skin (sweating, body odor).

• The mucous membranes, e.g., in the mouth and bronchial tubes (bad breath or unpleasant taste in the mouth, coated tongue), and for women the vaginal mucous membranes (vaginal discharge).

The longer and more intensely the body has had to endure this contamination, the longer it will take to thoroughly cleanse it. Thus when one of Father Kneipp’s patients in her so-called golden years became impatient after only a short time in treatment, he answered her pointedly: “You can’t clean up such an old house in one day!”

Enemas as a Supportive Measure

In difficult cures with insufficient or completely absent evacuation of the intestines, or strong reactions to the cure, the physician may also temporarily recommend enemas as a supportive measure.

Many people shy away from enemas because they believe that they need somebody else to assist them. Self-administration is, however, easy and possible for anyone. It is best done in the bathroom, in a squatting position, with the container holding the flushing solution suspended above.

Enema with the Klyso Pump

Intestinal flushing is done more comfortably and quickly with an enema pump tube such as the Klyso (or Klyso Pump). This is a tube with a valve and a small pressure ball that allows the one-way flow of water when pressed.

► Effortless self-administration with the Klyso:

• While standing, insert the clyster tube into the anus and continuously pump the warm, almost hot water into the intestine. Only warm-to-hot water relieves intestinal spasms. One to two teaspoons of sea salt can be added to the water.

• Stop pumping only when the urge to evacuate is strong, and then evacuate the intestine.

• Usually 10, 20, or 30 balloon evacuations are necessary.

This procedure lasts for several minutes. If necessary, the lower intestine can be flushed several times a day with warm water; this usually becomes unnecessary after a few days. Due to its handy size, the valve balloon can even be taken along when traveling, as a reliable “savior in emergencies.”

The Klyso can be purchased from any good pharmaceutical supplier and, although it is probably the simplest medical instrument there is, it is nevertheless extremely effective.

If enemas have been prescribed, do not be confused if you eliminate stool prior to the enema or if repeated enemas produce almost nothing but clear water. In most cases this clear water still contains abundant dissolved pathogens and waste products, as a result of which it is often highly toxic. This is also proven by the frequently penetrating odor of the evacuations as well as the relief that the patient feels after every enema.

After use, rinse the Klyso with vinegar water (a shot of vinegar in a glass of water).

Deacidification