Master Cleanse (maple syrup, lemon/lime juice, red pepper & water)

[dannno]

Ya I think some of those granola heads get a little carried away.. I mean, ya, eat organic raw fruits and veggies, but if you're already eating that way you really don't need to spend your entire life cleansing your body.. after your first cleanse you should be pretty clean, so just stick to eating healthy.. not saying it's not bad to do once in a while, but some people get overzealous.

Danno....your body still processes it as a sugar. Look at this chart. It's completeness score for nutrition is atrocious. That green drink recipe seems much more healthy.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/sweets/5602/2

Your link claims that the nutrients are beneficial:

The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Zinc, and a very good source of Manganese.

My post contained the complete list of nutrients available in Grade B maple syrup.

There are also vitamins and nutrients in lemons.


Technically you can survive on water for quite some time, but your body will be depleted of energy and then nutrients. The maple syrup provides your body a constant source of energy in the form of carbohydrates and enough nutrients to stay healthy for the duration of the diet. You will feel your energy levels dip slightly, but you won't be tired like you want to sleep, more like relaxed like you want to meditate. I'm trying to think of a good analogy, but essentially it puts your body in a state where it is not demanding what it normally does. You aren't supposed to do a lot of exercise on this diet.

OK lets suppose I would actually do the Lemonaide diet. Where does the 10 day number come from. Could I do it for 2 days and get some results or am I wasting my time. Is there going to be some benefit from a shorter duration?

The first couple of days things just start to loosen up, and by day 3 and 4 you are getting rid of all the old toxic stuff just sitting there trapped in your intestines. Ya I'm talking about shit trapped in your intestines, and it comes out during your bowel movements. These aren't normal bowels at all... and there is A LOT of it.. you will be fucking amazed, and you will be so glad that it is gone out of your system... As you start to get this stuff loosened up and moving that is when you start to feel a bit light-headed as the toxins begin to be released out of your system (but since they are breaking up and moving through your digestive tract you end up absorbing some of the toxins which creates the illness)

It takes 2 or 3 days at least to get the bulk of this stuff out of your system. The last 3 or 4 days are just ensuring that you get as much of it out as possible and really get things spic n' span in there. Then the idea is you eat healthy so that the food and mucus that gets trapped in your intestines isn't toxic, so it won't be releasing those toxins into your system..and it allows for better nutrient absorption.

So, yes, you can do it for 5-8 days and still have benefits, but I would try to do it for longer to make sure and get the bulk of all that stuff that's trapped out.

Then eat apples and berries and fruit after you get off the diet, that will also help ensure that everything is cleaned out well.

 

[Ninja Homer]

Just adding my 2 cents to the discussion...

The way to look at it is that the master cleanse isn't a diet, and it's not a fast. It's a cleanse. It's kind of like a jump start to a healthier lifestyle. It gives the body's cleansing organs a break from digesting foods that is greatly needed in a typical western diet, and it helps the cleansing organs clean themselves out.

It doesn't just clean the colon, it's supposed to help clean out the whole body. It's been a while since I've read up on it, and I don't remember offhand all the ways it's supposed to help, but if I remember right, the lemon juice helps break down many buildups/blockages such as in the lymphatic system, colon, liver, and kidneys. The cayenne helps the blood flow throughout the body, both to bring nutrients to the cells and to clear out toxins. When you have bowel movements after the first few days, it's not just fecal matter that was clogging your colon... it's crap that has built up all over your body because your cleansing organs couldn't keep up with it. Not the most pleasant thing to think about, but at least now you know how to get rid of it.

Besides the maple syrup, you also get nutrients from the lemon juice and cayenne pepper. You may also get minerals from the salt (good natural salt contains every mineral the body needs), but I'm not sure how much of that is absorbed since you're using salt water as a colon flush.

Doing this cleanse once a month is WAY too much. I'd think once a year would be more than enough if you continue with a good diet, possibly twice a year if you don't. If you use too much colon cleansing and laxatives, you can lose the ability to control your bowels on your own. That would suck, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it would take a lot more than doing the master cleanse twice a year for that to happen.

 

[hadenough]

Day 17 and I'm feelin pretty darn clean. I've had some amazing results. Starting to crave stuff like celery and lettuce. YUM! Can't wait to chew something. Trying to decide wether to stop at 21 or 30 days.

 

[MelissaWV]

People aren't doing this "once a month"... they're doing this FOR a month. Your post has a great deal of merit, but people who swear by this just want to do it constantly. It's a bit frightening.

Just adding my 2 cents to the discussion...

The way to look at it is that the master cleanse isn't a diet, and it's not a fast. It's a cleanse. It's kind of like a jump start to a healthier lifestyle. It gives the body's cleansing organs a break from digesting foods that is greatly needed in a typical western diet, and it helps the cleansing organs clean themselves out.

It doesn't just clean the colon, it's supposed to help clean out the whole body. It's been a while since I've read up on it, and I don't remember offhand all the ways it's supposed to help, but if I remember right, the lemon juice helps break down many buildups/blockages such as in the lymphatic system, colon, liver, and kidneys. The cayenne helps the blood flow throughout the body, both to bring nutrients to the cells and to clear out toxins. When you have bowel movements after the first few days, it's not just fecal matter that was clogging your colon... it's crap that has built up all over your body because your cleansing organs couldn't keep up with it. Not the most pleasant thing to think about, but at least now you know how to get rid of it.

Besides the maple syrup, you also get nutrients from the lemon juice and cayenne pepper. You may also get minerals from the salt (good natural salt contains every mineral the body needs), but I'm not sure how much of that is absorbed since you're using salt water as a colon flush.

Doing this cleanse once a month is WAY too much. I'd think once a year would be more than enough if you continue with a good diet, possibly twice a year if you don't. If you use too much colon cleansing and laxatives, you can lose the ability to control your bowels on your own. That would suck, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it would take a lot more than doing the master cleanse twice a year for that to happen.

 

[Ninja Homer]

People aren't doing this "once a month"... they're doing this FOR a month. Your post has a great deal of merit, but people who swear by this just want to do it constantly. It's a bit frightening.

The "once a month" was in response to this post.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend doing much more than 10 days on it. However, many people have done it 30 days or more without any problems, just look through this forum.

10 days shouldn't ever be a problem, because the body can go that long without any food, and this cleanse actually has quite a bit of nutrients. Any longer than 10 days, and I'd definitely talk to a holistic doctor about it.

 

[dannno]

People aren't doing this "once a month"... they're doing this FOR a month.

Ya, some people, that's not what some of us are recommending. It's supposed to be a 10 day diet. If you want to go longer, i'd recommend instead going for 10 days, then eating healthy for 6 or 12 months, then do it again. Doing it once a year for 2 or 3 years should help clear anybody out, then I'd do it maybe once every 5 or 10 years if you're eating healthy, cause I don't see any reason to do it more often once you've cleared out your system and are back to a healthy diet.

 

[Ninja Homer]

Ya, some people, that's not what some of us are recommending. It's supposed to be a 10 day diet. If you want to go longer, i'd recommend instead going for 10 days, then eating healthy for 6 or 12 months, then do it again. Doing it once a year for 2 or 3 years should help clear anybody out, then I'd do it maybe once every 5 or 10 years if you're eating healthy, cause I don't see any reason to do it more often once you've cleared out your system and are back to a healthy diet.

Exactly. That's what I'd recommend as well.

Some other cleanses I'd recommend that would go along well with the master cleanse are a liver/gallbladder cleanse and kidney cleanse. Instructions for both are in this book, and I highly recommend these versions of the cleanses. The same instructions for the liver/gallbladder and kidney cleanses are also in this book, along with a LOT of other good natural health info. I'd get the 2nd one... the extra $10 is worth it. Ebook versions are also available: http://ener-chi.com/book.htm#timeless

 

[hadenough]

* Benefits of fasting
1. Fasting initiates rapid weight loss with little or no hunger. Most people are surprised at how little desire for food they have while fasting.

2. Fasting promotes detoxification. As the body breaks down its fat reserves, it mobilizes and eliminates stored toxins.

3. Fasting gives the digestive system a much-needed rest. After fasting, both digestion and elimination are invigorated.

4. Fasting promotes the resolution of inflammatory processes, such as in rheumatoid arthritis.

5. Fasting quiets allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever.

6. Fasting promotes the drying up of abnormal fluid accumulations, such as edema in the ankles and legs and swelling in the abdomen.

7. Fasting corrects high blood pressure without drugs. Fasting will normalize blood pressure in the vast majority of cases, the blood pressure will remain low after the fast, if the person follows a health-supporting diet and lifestyle.

8. Fasting makes it easy to overcome bad habits and addictions. Many people have overcome tobacco and alcohol addictions by fasting, and even drug addictions. Fasting rapidly dissipates the craving for nicotine, alcohol, caffeine and other drugs.

9. Fasting clears the skin and whitens the eyes. It is common to see skin eruptions clear while fasting, and the whites of the eyes never look so clear and bright as they do after fasting.

10. Fasting restores taste appreciation for wholesome natural foods. People say that their taste buds come alive after fasting and that food never tasted so good.

11. Fasting is the perfect gateway to a healthful diet and lifestyle. Going on a fast gives you the motivation and enthusiasm to make a fresh start.
http://cinque.getwebspace.com/facts.html


Just a little info I found.

 

[MelissaWV]

2. Fasting promotes detoxification. As the body breaks down its fat reserves, it mobilizes and eliminates stored toxins.

It depends how long you're fasting for, but fasting tends to break down muscle, too. Not good.

 

[Todd]

It depends how long you're fasting for, but fasting tends to break down muscle, too. Not good.

I've tried to point that tidbit out to no avail.

 

[MelissaWV]

I've tried to point that tidbit out to no avail.

Well, at least a lot of the "cleanse" people are researching what they're doing. For better or worse, they've decided it's good to do it precisely how they want and for as long as they want. It's certainly their body

Fasting, though, is not the panacea that list makes it out to be. Anyone glancing at that list would wonder why we ever eat at all, given how beneficial it is not to eat. Oh yeah... we need nutrients... and digestion itself is a bodily process that needs to go on in some form (on the cleanse, you do keep going on and on with the elimination process and you're at least getting a few things to keep your body going; prolonged fasting doesn't give you that level of benefit).

Fasting as a means to "lose weight" is dangerous advice.

 

[Todd]

Well, at least a lot of the "cleanse" people are researching what they're doing. For better or worse, they've decided it's good to do it precisely how they want and for as long as they want. It's certainly their body

Fasting, though, is not the panacea that list makes it out to be. Anyone glancing at that list would wonder why we ever eat at all, given how beneficial it is not to eat. Oh yeah... we need nutrients... and digestion itself is a bodily process that needs to go on in some form (on the cleanse, you do keep going on and on with the elimination process and you're at least getting a few things to keep your body going; prolonged fasting doesn't give you that level of benefit).

Fasting as a means to "lose weight" is dangerous advice.

I'm not sure I've suggested it shouldn't be someone's choice.

I once had a sales person at a local nutrional natural foods store suggest that they were eating less food because they got most of their nutrients from vitamin sources....(basically a pill). Upon trying to get me to make the purchase of a particular supplement...... The person said...quote..." I don't eat many veggies anymore because of these supplements".

Uh...ya'

My point is I've watched just as many in the "natural" community do very unhealthy things to their body as anyone else has in the name of health, with little or no medical proof.

I think my main concern is that I'd like to see measurable evidence that the body actually uptakes nutrients and removes toxins better because of the cleanse than it can by letting the body run it's course of natural cleaning ability. Like I said earlier....we all have anecodotal evidence as to how great we may feel etc. So either I trust people like Dr. Andrew Weil and Oz way too much that cleanses and other "alternative" methods are unecessary or they are quacks that just haven't "studied" it enough. I kinda doubt the latter. To suggest the human body simply cannot detoxify and cleanse itself without doing this is not true.

 

[hadenough]

My ears can hear you but my body cannot. I actually look stronger now than 18 days ago when I quit eating. And not only do I look stronger, I feel stronger too. My wife thinks I'm lookin' good and I didn't even need to loose weight. I just lost that outer layer of fat and all thats left is lean muscle. And what sacrifice? I feel better mentally too! The only thing I sacrificed was the self gratification from eating, period.

 

[Todd]

^^^^

I didn't LOSE ANY WEIGHT in the longterm, THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS 'DIET', are you even reading my posts? Read my last one because I specifically said THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS DIET

Now I know where I got it that people get the idea that this might be a good way to lose weight.


hadenough

I can understand someone that abstains from the Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge or denies themselves the nice grilled chicken breast in favor of more vegitarian diet.

But..to suggest that eating only lemonwater and maplesyrup for half a month is to "deny self gratification" is like holding your breath to abstain from the self gratification of breathing.

I'm wondering where you think you gained the muscle/strength?

You say you've become "leaner" from this....but the body doesn't gain muscle without protein. It's called Ketosis. (gluconeogenesis). There's no way around it that over the course of this thing your body ate some of it's muscle....biology doesn't lie.

Good luck in your endeavors. I'm just trying to offer a different perspective. I'm very much a believer in naturalists foods and my wife has studied and educated me on nutrition for 17 years and she's great at it.........but not everything the naturalists community says is is always good for you.

 

[MelissaWV]

CFL needs some Master Cleanse

 

[Ninja Homer]

CFL needs some Master Cleanse

/thread

 

[dannno]

Like I said earlier....we all have anecodotal evidence as to how great we may feel etc.

It's not just about how you feel, I mean, exactly how graphic do you want me to get about what is coming out of you during this diet? I eat a bunch of food, and the next day I expel it. While on this diet, you aren't eating any food, yet you are expelling garbage in your body on a daily basis.. there is so much shit stuck in your digestive tract you end up excreting solid material for about 10 days. A recent post described all of the areas of your body that don't get cleansed from constant eating, add those in with however many hundreds of yards of intestines we have and you end up losing a lot of weight just from rotting crap that is in your system. There is a lot more than you think there is, trust me.

The cleanse isn't some magical "drink anti-oxidents and you will be cleansed!" diet, this is a "drink this drano and watch all the bullshit that's stuck rotting in your body come out for the next 10 days". It's pretty damn gross, to be honest, but in the end you feel like a million bucks... like you were born yesterday..

I'm wondering where you think you gained the muscle/strength?

You say you've become "leaner" from this....but the body doesn't gain muscle without protein. It's called Ketosis. (gluconeogenesis). There's no way around it that over the course of this thing your body ate some of it's muscle....biology doesn't lie.

Ya, even though there are omega fatty acids in maple syrup, as I showed in the analysis last page, there is a chance that a small amount of muscle is lost during the 10 days, but I guarantee it is not significant.

The reason he feels stronger is because he's had his energy restored and is able to better absorb nutrients. In the long run he'll be better off because his metabolism will work much better. In the weeks after I went on that diet, I woke up in the morning NOT TIRED. It freaked me out. I was working at 7AM during that time and I have never been that way in my entire life.. I always had and still wake up now tired as shit, I should probably do the diet again some day.

 

[hadenough]

I can vouch for everything danno is saying. I'm on my 19th day and you should have seen what was in the toilet this morning, and its been like that every morning since I began. I'm not eating any solids, I don't even use the pulp from the lemons. I bet I've lost 5 lbs of shit that was stuck in my colon, and I was a healthy weight when I began. I'm 30 years old, but I could tell that my stomach wasn't as flat as it used to be. It is now.

As far as the strength thing goes, I'll admit, I probably have lost a very, VERY small ammount of muscle, but the positive mood and loss of fat makes you feel stronger, and without a doubt more flexible. I can jump up and down without all the heaving and grunting that comes with age. Yesterday I went for a 15 mile bike ride, which normally would have worn me out. Instead, I felt like I could have gone for another 10 or longer. I'm confident that as soon as I've returned to eating I will gain any strength that I've lost and then some because of the increased absorption of nutrients that results from the cleanse.

I'll put it to ya this way. It would seem that after 19 days, I wouldn't even recognize myself. But its actually quite the opposite. I don't even own any scales, but I would say I've lost 10 lbs. Down from 185 to 175 and I'm 6' tall. No one, except my wife, has even said anything about how I look. My wife only says I feel thin when she hugs me. No one has said, "youve lost weight" or "you look skinny". I still go to work, do chores, and anything else thats required. It really hasn't affected me much at all.

 

[MelissaWV]

Once again... I think a huge distinction should be made between dannno's suggestions, and being on your 19th day of drinking lemonade and maple syrup.

 

[hadenough]

Alot of people have gone 40 days on the cleanse. I think the lemonade has over 100 calories per glass, and I usually drink six glasses a day, but you can have up to twelve. Grade B maple syrup is thick and rich and I've been told full of vitamins and minerals. Lemon juice has lots of good stuff, and even the cayenne pepper has vitamins in it. Not to say you could live on this, but for 20-30 days doesn't seem like too big of a deal to me. It did at first, thats why they say to go 10 days at first to build up your confidence. Your not going to die from 20 or 30 days of drinking some health lemonade.

It is important, however, to pick a time for cleansing when you aren't pressed by too many responsibilities. I picked January because it is the off season at my job and can take it relatively easy at work. I will have spurts of energy when I get some work done, then I can relax a little and just go through the motions. Also, not much going on when I'm off work either. Its January, after all.