The Mucusless Diet, a dietary approach developed by Arnold Ehret in the early 1900s, centers around the idea that certain foods, particularly those from animal sources and processed foods, contribute to the overproduction of mucus in the body. Ehret posited that excess mucus is a primary cause of various health issues, ranging from digestive problems to chronic diseases. The diet advocates for the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed plant-based meals, believed to have detoxifying and healing properties.
Core Principles of the Mucusless Diet
The Mucusless Diet emphasizes several key principles:
- Plant-Based Focus: The diet revolves around consuming primarily plant-based foods, with a strong emphasis on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains.
- Raw and Unprocessed Foods: Proponents often suggest consuming raw and unprocessed foods to preserve their natural enzymes and nutritional content.
- Avoidance of Mucus-Forming Foods: The diet advises against consuming mucus-forming items, including dairy products, meat, refined grains, and processed meals.
- Periodic Fasting/Detoxification: Ehret suggested that periodic fasting or detoxification could help the body eliminate accumulated mucus and toxins.
- Gradual Transition: Followers are encouraged to transition gradually to allow their bodies to adapt to the changes.
Arnold Ehret: The Founder of the Mucusless Diet
Arnold Ehret, born near Freiburg, Germany, in 1866, was a health educator and naturopath who developed the Mucusless Diet in the early 20th century. After being diagnosed with chronic kidney inflammation at the age of 30, Ehret experimented with fasting and a mucus-free diet, eventually achieving a state of health that surpassed his previous condition. He documented his experiences and principles in several books, including "The Mucusless Diet Healing System."
Ehret's journey began with a personal health crisis. After unsuccessfully consulting numerous doctors and therapists for his kidney ailment, he embarked on his own path to recovery. Through alternating periods of fasting and consuming only non-mucus-forming foods, he was able to heal himself.
Ehret's conclusions were based on two essential principles:
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- Most diseases stem from improper, unnatural foods that are too rich in protein and fat, as well as overeating.
- Fasting is the only natural means of repairing the consequences of malnutrition and overeating.
He viewed disease as a blockage of the body's conduction system (blood vessels and lymphatic system) caused by the accumulation of mucus and toxins.
Ehret's Perspective on Protein, Fats, and Medication
Ehret considered the misconceptions surrounding protein-rich foods and gluttony to be particularly dangerous. He believed that life is based on a well-functioning metabolism, not on the idea that one must consume protein to create protein. He noted that animals do not consume milk to produce milk themselves.
Ehret also recognized that fats slowed down the body's cleansing processes. In fact, he would intentionally use fats to slow down strong detoxification processes.
Furthermore, Ehret saw toxins, including medications, as problematic to the body, even those taken years prior. However, he believed that the right foods could dissolve and eliminate these residues.
The Mucusless Diet Explained
The Mucusless Diet, or healing diet, involves alternating between periods of fasting and consuming non-mucus-forming foods. Ehret emphasized a gradual transition to this diet to avoid a detoxification crisis.
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Permitted Foods
The diet consists of fruits, green leafy vegetables, low-starch vegetables, and gently steamed starchy vegetables. Ehret's primary focus was on mucus-free foods and their cleansing effects, rather than solely on raw foods. Mucus-free foods are low in protein and fat and are base-forming.
Parallels with the Alkaline-Forming Diet
The chemist Ragnar Berg, who researched the acid-base effect on human health, concluded that nutrients are best utilized with an alkaline-surplus diet. Berg recommended eating plenty of fruits and vegetables daily while limiting meat, eggs, grains, and legumes.
Ehret appreciated Berg's acid-base tables, noting that his classification of foods into mucus-forming and non-mucus-forming was confirmed by them, as mucus-forming foods mostly corresponded to acid-forming foods.
Ehret's Supplementary Rules
Ehret also emphasized several supplementary rules:
- Simplicity: Avoid mixing too many different foods.
- Green Foods: Consume green foods for their mineral content.
- Starchy Products: Heat starchy products to break down their slimy properties. Cooling cooked starchy vegetables before eating increases resistant starch.
- No Drinking During Meals: Avoid drinking during meals, as fluids can hinder digestion.
- Complementary Therapies: Incorporate sunbathing, sports training, and bowel cleansing.
Foods to Avoid
The Mucusless Diet advises against consuming the following:
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- Very Mucus- and Pus-Forming: Dairy products (cheese, curd, etc.), meat and fish products, eggs
- Medium Mucus-Forming: Cereals and cereal products (bread, pasta, etc.), pseudocereals (buckwheat, quinoa), legumes, vegetable oils
- Moderately Mucus-Forming: Nuts, seeds, avocados, potatoes, beans, and corn
Ehret's Formula for Vitality
Ehret devised a formula to simplify his system of health: V = P - O (Vitality equals Power minus Obstruction). This formula illustrates that disease or lowered vitality is not entirely based upon diet. If the body has too much morbid and foreign matter, toxemia, and mucus, these obstructions would affect the power and vitality of the body.
Fasting According to Ehret
Ehret brought to fasting a system that could be duplicated by others in search of health. He combined fasting with a systematically and individually adapted fruit diet, which made it easier and harmless. Fasting stops the consumption of wrong eating and over-eating. As soon as eating is dispensed, the body attempts to dissolve and eliminate toxins via the kidneys.
Preparing for a Fast
One of the first points with which Ehret instructs fasters in preparing for a fast is "to gradually change diet toward a mucusless diet, and natural herbal laxatives and enemas.” An important tip that Ehret observed in fasting patients was that the process of dietary change must be gradual. He also emphasized the importance of completely emptying the bowels at the beginning of the fasting by a harmless purgative or by a syringe [enema] or by both.
During the Fast
During the fast, it was highly recommended that fasters spend as much time as possible outdoors, day and night. Exercise was encouraged for those who felt “strong enough to do it; if tired and weak, rest and sleep as much as [possible].” Feeling miserable during a fast was attributed to obstruction and lack of elimination.
Symptoms, such as weakness, are often a sign that waste is in the circulation and should be eliminated. On days when fasters feel weak, they may “find that [their] sleep is restless and disturbed, and experience bad dreams. This is caused by the poisons passing through the brain.”
Ehret labeled fasters who only drank water as fanatical. He recommended fruit, vegetable juices, and lemon juice as all appropriate drinks during a fast. Drinking no more than 2 to 3 quarts of liquid per day was suggested.
Breaking the Fast
Finishing a fast correctly was absolutely crucial to avoid disastrous outcomes. The first meals following a fast “must be of laxative effect, and not of nourishing value.” Ehret stressed the importance of transit time after the first meal. The faster the first meals traveled to the exit meant the body was efficiently carrying “out the loosened mucus and poisons of the intestines and the stomach.” If needed, herbal laxatives and enemas were indicated.
Foods that Ehret recommended included laxative foods, such as fresh sweet fruit, cherries and grapes, soaked or stewed prunes. For most fasters, the first foods to break the fast were raw and cooked, starchless vegetables. If eating did not cause discomfort, Ehret suggested eating enough food to elicit a bowel movement.
Short Fasts
Ehret was very fond of short fasts and considered them as exceptionally powerful for severe diseases arising from drugs and deep-seated toxemia. Conducting short fasts also served as a preliminary step for longer durations of fasting. He advised that it was best that the patient eat a Transitional Diet or a Mucusless Diet before a short fast.
Often called the One Meal A Day Plan, or the No Breakfast Plan, patients ate in the afternoon at 3 or 4 PM. Ehret recommended for those unaccustomed to fasting to miss their breakfast. In his later years, Ehret was not an advocate of an indiscriminate long fast of 30 or 40 days’ duration. He preferred shorter fasts of 1 to 5 days’ duration. His fasting regime began with the No Breakfast Plan, which was then followed by a 24-hour fast for a few days, and gradually increased up to 3, 4, or 5-day fasts.
Ehret's Legacy and Influence
Arnold Ehret’s contribution to Naturopathy in the early 20th century was enormous. Today, naturopathic doctors are very aware of mucus-forming foods and the dangers of over-processed and adulterated foods in one’s diet. The man who started this dialogue about mucus-forming foods triumphed against disease and created a system to ensure health.
Ehret's longest fast was 49 days. He always began and ended each fast with a Transitional Diet consisting or fresh, raw and/or cooked fruits and vegetables. He favored short fasts comprised of 1 to a few days in length, and very often prescribed a series of short fasts alternating with a Transitional Diet for very serious conditions.
Criticisms and Controversies
Despite its popularity in alternative health communities, the Mucusless Diet is not universally accepted or endorsed by mainstream nutritionists and medical experts. Some of Ehret's claims are considered pseudoscientific and lack scientific evidence. For example, his assertion that the lungs are the primary pump in the body and the heart acts as a valve is not supported by modern medical understanding.
Additionally, some critics argue that the diet is overly restrictive and may lead to nutrient deficiencies if not carefully planned. The emphasis on fasting and detoxification may also be harmful for certain individuals, especially those with underlying health conditions.