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AMANTHA Cameron has revealed that, in addition to her well-known love of working out, she also chews each mouthful of food up to 40 times to help her stay slim and healthy.
It sounds tedious and a little implausible but it’s actually one of the key beliefs of the famous Mayr Clinic – whose principles the former prime minister’s wife is said to “sometimes subscribe to”.
The idea is that chewing tiny mouthfuls of food properly between 20 and 40 times activates the salivary glands and digestive juices, encouraging better digestion. Eating in this way also alerts you much sooner to when your stomach is full.
Perhaps Mrs Cameron picked up the tip from her father, Sir Reginald Sheffield, who has been known to visit one of the two Viva Mayr – to give it its formal name – clinics in Austria at least once a year.
Set on the picturesque Lakes Altaussee and Worthersee respectively, Mayr clinics are renowned for their strict detox regime known as “the cure” which is said to purge toxins. It was developed more than 100 years ago by Austrian physician Dr Franz Xaver Mayr, who believed in “auto-intoxication” – that we are poisoning ourselves by eating the wrong things, which our digestive system then struggles to get rid of.
After years of medical study and observation Dr Mayr, who died in 1965, concluded that a healthy intestine and digestive system are the key to health and beauty and was the first person to make a direct link between the two.
His original treatment for patients consisted essentially of chewing monotonously on stale white bread while intermittently sipping milk, a regime he found reduced body weight fast and detoxified the organs.
Today, the modern version of the Mayr cure is based on a complex and holistic approach to health that’s gained popularity with clients from around the world. A new Mayr day clinic – the first outside Austria – opened in London’s Harley Street in April, where a basic consultation and blood test will set punters back £170.
tHE fundamental principle at all three clinics remains the same: that our health can be significantly improved through our digestion.
“Everything starts with the gut,” according to Dr Christine Stossier, assistant medical director of the Altaussee clinic in Austria, which she and her husband Harald opened in 2005.
She argues that our bodies are ill-equipped to deal with what we eat and the way we eat it. “You can eat healthy organic food but if you eat it in the wrong way it loses a lot of its value.”
Regular guests at Mayr include everyone from Russian oligarchs to professionals suffering from burnout and stress. As a stay starts at €225 (£204) DOCTOR’S ORDERS: Samantha Cameron follows Dr Mayr, inset, who saw digestion as key to good health