IT WAS EARLY MORNING on a crystal-clear autumn day on the tiny German island of Sylt, and I was chewing toast. And chewing, and chewing. When I finally reached a count of 40, I swallowed. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window of the dining room, long strands of dune grass rippled in a brisk offshore breeze. I took another small bite, sipped some almond milk from a white porcelain cup, and began the count again.
This repetitive process is part of what’s known as the Lanserhof Cure. It’s based on the theories of the turn-of-the-last-century Austrian holistic physician Franz Xaver Mayr, who specialised in gastrointestinal health, and who started clinics throughout Austria that are still in operation today. Mayr’s methods are the bedrock
