During her many years on the fringes of public life, Samantha Cameron always looked trim. Official dinners, kitchen suppers in the country, royal entertaining, complete with five-a-side cheeseboard: none of that ever put a bulge on her enviable silhouette — and now we know why.
Last month, the wife of the ex-prime minister revealed that every now and then she would make a point of eating slowly, chewing every mouthful of food up to 50 times.
Until then, no one outside her circle knew that Mrs Cameron, 46, was a devotee of the VivaMayr cure, which focuses on lengthy chewing and smart eating to maintain a healthy gut and stay slim.
Certainly, her father, Sir Reginald Sheffield, has been known to attend one of the two exclusive VivaMayr clinics in Austria at least once a year, where other devotees include the Duchess of York, supermodel Karlie Kloss, singer Natalie Imbruglia, Theresa May and me — though not all at the same time, sadly.
Two years ago, I stayed for a week at the clinic on the shores of Lake Altaussee, eating elf-sized portions of millet porridge and being tended to by the 38-year-old medical director of the clinic, Dr Sepp Fegerl.
Jan Moir (pictured) shared the VivaMayr cure diet available exclusively to VivaMayr clinics. Devotee’s include Samantha Cameron, supermodel Karlie Kloss and singer Natalie Imbruglia
I must say, I loved kindly Dr Fegerl, the only man who has ever told me: ‘You must get more bitterness into your life.’ It’s something to do with food absorption, apparently. He also gives a really good liver massage.
Staff follow the doctrines of Austrian physician Dr F.X. Mayr, who believed that humans unknowingly self-harm by storing toxins in their intestines. To this end, he developed the Mayr Cure, a combination of fasting, sweating, sleeping, sensible living and chewing.
‘Chew like a champion,’ Dr Fegerl would urge, recommending a minimum of 35 chews per mouthful. This is a real grind, literally and figuratively. How did Sam Cam cope?
In Austria, I was diagnosed with a zinc and magnesium deficiency, irritated intestines, a low level of alkaline in the blood and a leaky gut. Dr Fegerl prescribed a baffling array of medicaments to deal with all this, including a tub of the all-important VivaMayr base powder.
Clients take a spoonful of this mineral-rich powder every day to alleviate hunger pangs — and it works. I emerged a week later feeling a little bit healthier, a sliver thinner and a mite younger.
And now you don’t even have to travel to Austria to try the cure. You can simply follow the basic rules as set out in the book Healthy Cuisine, extracted below. Or visit the VivaMayr clinic which opened in Harley Street, London, this year — the first outside of Austria.
Medical director Dr Fegerl and his colleagues fly in regularly to see clients. Jan admits following the regime at home seemed more daunting for her than at the clinic
Dr Fegerl and his colleagues fly in regularly to see clients — never ‘patients’ — and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see my favourite liver tickler.
‘Hmm, tsk. You still have the magnesium deficiency,’ he told me when I visited him recently.
After he had examined my blood tests he prescribed a home routine of three days per month on an Epsom salts purge and base powder every afternoon, plus vitamin D3 tablets, magnesium supplements and five drops of a bitters infusion in water before each meal. ‘Or perhaps a Campari and soda, if you can’t manage that,’ he said.
He also wrote ‘CHEWING!!’ in capitals across my notes. Sam Cam, Karlie and me — we all know how important it is to make like a rabbit at every mealtime. For the Mayr philosophy, suggest Dr Fegerl and his colleagues, can add years to your life.
Yet what seems so effortless to achieve in a luxurious clinic in the Alps, with staff in white uniforms and waitresses in dirndl skirts helping at every turn, suddenly becomes more daunting at home.
Experts trained in the plan have written a book for following the regime at home
My days there would start with a glass of emetic salts and end with me clinging onto a hot water bottle, whimpering with exhaustion. Somewhere in the middle there might be a colonic irrigation, a walk around the lake, a beautiful sleigh ride through the Alpine villages, and a consoling thimble of pumpkin mousse.
Doing it at home? Oh my God. That is not going to be quite so easy. Where is the dirndl maiden who is going to pour my fennel tea? What time am I booked in for the steam bath and when, pray tell, is my lovely jingle bell sleigh arriving?
So, while I’d love to reveal everything about my homemade Mayr journey, I haven’t quite plucked up the courage to even start it yet. Eeek! Don’t tell Dr Fegerl.
DO THE DIET FOR LESS
Can’t quite afford £3,000 a week to visit the Mayr in Austria? No problem.
Doctors and nutritionists trained in the Mayr’s nutrition plans have come together to produce a new book that explains how we can all eat the Mayr way by making a few simple changes to our meals, writes LOUISE ATKINSON.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Every cell in our body is subject to the workings of an internal clock — our blood pressure and pulse increase in the early morning, for instance, while body temperature drops in the evening.
By paying close attention to these natural rhythms, we can optimise a host of metabolic processes.
That’s why everyone should start with an energising breakfast, then have a well-balanced lunch and a light dinner — no snacking. Eating at regular intervals trains the body to burn fat better and prevents weight gain.
BREAKFAST: 7 TO 9am
The book reveals that lunch is the best time of day to digest raw vegetables, whilst fruit is best enjoyed at breakfast
The stomach is most active between 7 and 9am, so breakfast — if you get it right — is the most easily digested meal of the day.
Add to this the fact that hormones which govern weight gain/loss are increasing to their highest levels and you can see why complex carbohydrates should be eaten now.
Enjoy fruit (ideally berries which are low in sugar) with protein and healthy fats (like nuts and seeds) to feel full. Wash it down with coffee or green or black tea.
LUNCH: 11am to 1pm
This is the best time to digest raw vegetables (more on this later). Make time to prepare salads (packed with vitamins, minerals and plant compounds) or soup with fish, seafood or meat.
Add a little wholegrain carbohydrate (bread or brown rice) if you like, but avoid too many carbs as they can cause food cravings. Don’t be afraid of fats in the form of cold-pressed oils, such as flaxseed oil, to dress salads. This improves the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. If you love a pudding, have it now.
TEA BREAK: 5pm
Our biorhythms reach a natural low point in the afternoon and we often reach for chocolate to stimulate ourselves. This is a surefire way to lay down fat as it raises blood sugar levels quickly, which causes the body to release insulin in greater quantities, opening cells to sugar and fat.
If cravings are driving you crazy, a handful of nuts or seeds should help.
To avoid weight gain, carbohydrates are recommended not to be eaten with fats. The aim is to eat six grams of carbs per kilo of body weight per day
SUPPER: 7 to 9pm
Do you find yourself waking every night between 1am and 3am? This could be your ‘toxic alarm’ going off — your body is struggling to process what you have consumed in the evening.
Our digestion is least effective at night. We also don’t produce the digestive enzyme cellulase while we sleep, so foods that are difficult to digest or that ferment easily (fruit, raw vegetables, bread, potatoes and puddings) can ferment in the gut, creating alcohols which the liver struggles to break down.
If you’ve also had wine, your sleep can be interrupted by your grumbling liver.
Eat your meal three to four hours before you go to bed, so that initial digestion happens while you are awake.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Remember the following basic food rule: combining protein and fat prevents weight gain, whereas carbohydrates and fat is a poor combination which causes it.
HOW MANY CARBS?
Aim to eat six grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day, avoiding sugar and fast-acting processed carbohydrates in favour of ‘good’ carbs, such as vegetables and legumes (lentils, beans, and chickpeas), berries and whole grains.
If calculating grams is too arduous, try the 40:30:15 rule. At breakfast, carbs should make up 40 per cent of your meal, at lunchtime 30 per cent and at dinner 15 per cent.
YOUR NIGHTLY FAST
The hormone somatotropin is produced during the night, but only if we don’t eat for 12 hours. It is a kind of fountain of youth, protecting against arterial damage and promoting fat loss. Ensure a clear 12-hour window between dinner and breakfast to reap its benefits.
CHEW TACTICS
Taking tiny mouthfuls, chewed properly 20 to 40 times, increases the surface area of the food so digestive enzymes in the saliva can break down the food particles more efficiently, ensuring thorough digestion.
KEEP IT ALKALINE
A plant-based diet has a good alkaline effect and studies show a healthy plate of food should have a 70:30 ratio of alkaline to acid-forming foods.
Too many acid-forming foods, such as refined flour (cakes, biscuits, pies and pastries), sugary drinks, sweets, coffee, tea, and alcohol (and, in excess, meat, fish, eggs and dairy) can cause symptoms such as lethargy, poor concentration or muscle pains.
But boosting your intake of vegetables and salads can help your body flush out excess acid.
EMBRACE GOOD FATS
Use cold-pressed oils to drizzle on salads and in sauces, and to enhance cooked foods. Store sensitive omega 3-rich oils such as flaxseed in the fridge.
AVOID MILKY COFFEE
Just three milky cups of coffee with a teaspoon of sugar each day adds up to an additional 525 calories per day — equivalent to an extra meal.
You could therefore be consuming nearly 200,000 extra calories per year, which may amount to 55lb (25kg) of fat. Two glasses of wine each evening could be responsible for 22lb (10kg) of fat.
Adapted by Louise Atkinson from Healthy Cuisine by Dr Anne Fleck and edited by Dr Christian Harisch.