Health Conditions

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The Master Cleanse is a 10-day fast that is used for detox and weight loss purposes. It has also been called the Master Cleanser Diet after the original book that described it, the Lemonade Diet, the Maple Syrup Diet, and the Cayenne Pepper Diet after some of the ingredients used, and the Beyoncé Diet after its most famous fan.

Although the Master Cleanse is often referred to as a fast, it’s not really a complete fast, in that up to 1,300 calories are consumed each day in the form of sugars from the ingredients in the beverage that Master Cleansers prepare and drink.

Does it Work

Does the diet work for weight loss? If you follow the instructions, it most certainly will work. Any fast will cause you to lose weight, because you aren’t eating food. The Master Cleanse in the strict sense is not a fast because you drink a considerable amount of sugar-containing lemonade, about 650 to 1,300 calories worth per day, depending on the number of glasses you drink. Thus you will have a daily calorie deficit: Most non-overweight people need from 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day to maintain their weight (women will be on the lower end of that range). If you are overweight, you are probably consuming more than that to maintain your weight.

As an example, if you normally eat 2,150 calories, and you choose the extreme 650-calorie version of the Master Cleanse, you will have a 1,500-calorie deficit, losing three pounds of fat per week (and perhaps some water weight also). (There may be other factors that will affect this result.) Many reputable diets prescribe a two-pound per week loss, so in this sense the Master Cleanse is actually not that radical: it just substitutes lemonade for real food and adds the shock effect of constant colon cleansing.

How to Do the Master Cleanse In a nutshell, the Master Cleanse is this:

The diet takes at least 10 days (up to 40 days, the period of time that Jesus fasted after his baptism, as Burroughs points out)

The only nourishment that you take is a special lemonade concoction made from lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water, six to twelve glasses per day, each glass containing about 110 calories in sugar carbohydrates

An herbal laxative tea is drunk at night and a quart of salt water is drunk first thing in the morning, resulting in several liquid bowel movements every day — you need to always be near a toilet when you do this diet, and you need to stock up on toilet paper

You come off the diet by transitioning to solid food over a few days, ideally becoming a raw food vegetarian in Stanley Burroughs’ version of the diet

The Master Cleanse Lemonade The lemonade is prepared by mixing the ingredients in this free recipe: 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice. Burroughs recommends organic lemons, fresh, not bottled juice. Limes may be substituted. Lemon zest and pulp may be added, making sure that the lemons are organic and not artificially colored or treated with pesticides.

2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup. This must be pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Burroughs recommends the darker Grade B, which has more color and nutrients than Grade A, which is also acceptable. He goes into aspects of maple syrup production that would be difficult for the average person to investigate, such as whether formaldehyde or plastic tubing is used (not recommended by Burroughs).

1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Burroughs insists that cayenne chili pepper be used, but permits ramping up from a lesser amount if the taste needs getting used to. The more cayenne you can tolerate the better.

Water. Burroughs recommends a 10-ounce glass of medium hot water, but also allows cold water to be used. Some have interpreted “10-ounce glass” to mean 8 ounces of actual water. Since Burroughs also allows plain water to be drunk during the fast in addition to the lemonade, this doesn’t seem important.

I usually make enough in the morning to last me until mid afternoon and then make more. The fresher the lemons, the better. I do not have access to much organic produce so I have to use what I can get. I just don't use the pulp and I put all my produce in an ozone bath that helps to rid chemicals and pesticides.

Whenever you get hungry just drink more of the mix and your hunger will subside in 10 minutes or so. Make sure that you drink at least 6 drinks a day preferable 10-12. Plus more water and you can have herbal peppermint tea. This is all you consume for 10 days.

Things to Avoid at All Costs

Burroughs strongly counsels against the use of honey in the lemonade or the consumption at any time of honey, which he describes as predigested bee vomit, popular only among “gullible health foodists.”

Burroughs also cautions against taking any kind of supplements or vitamin pills or using illicit drugs. Although Glickman wisely recommends against going off any prescription medications without your doctor’s approval, it’s unclear what Burroughs’ opinion was on this point. He reprints without comment an endorsement from a follower who relates how he quit his medications for blood pressure, nerves, and lack of energy during his fast.

You shouldn’t smoke or drink alcohol, coffee, tea, cola, but the good news is that your cravings for them will completely disappear, according to Burroughs. Burroughs allows the consumption of extra plain water and of mint tea.

No other food or drink should be consumed at all, say both Burroughs and Glickman.

The Colon Blaster

There are two preparations needed to induce colon cleansing.

Laxative herb tea. Although Burroughs is quite specific about types and amounts of lemons and maple syrup, on the subject of laxative herb teas he simply suggests without further elaboration that you should buy any good brand offered by your health food store.

Internal salt water bathing solution. Dissolve two teaspoons of uniodized sea salt in a quart of lukewarm water.

The laxative herb tea and the salt water are the one-two punch that will keep your colon in full-time Old Faithful mode during the diet, cleansing it clean as a whistle.

During the Diet To begin the diet you need to choose the minimum number of days that you are going to attempt, steel yourself for what is to come, and follow the following daily routine.