The Master Cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet or the cayenne pepper cleanse, is a detoxification program that causes rapid weight loss in a short period. Stanley Burroughs, the creator of the Master Cleanse, was not a doctor and was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 1984 when a patient died while following the Master Cleanse diet. Follow the Master Cleanse only under a doctor's supervision.
Cayenne Pepper
Add 1/10 tsp. ground cayenne pepper per glass of lemonade you make for the Master Cleanse diet. Grind the cayenne pepper yourself, or get store-bought cayenne pepper powder. The cleanse consists of drinking between six and 10 glasses a day of the lemonade mixture, says Jocelyn Voo in an article in Fitness magazine. Cayenne pepper is added to the lemonade to help clear mucus from the bowels and clean out the digestive tract, according to the book "The Master Cleanser."
Lemon Juice
Add 2 tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice to the cayenne pepper and mix well, until the cayenne pepper dissolves into the mixture. Burroughs recommends using organic lemon juice. Do not strain out the pulp. Burroughs suggests that the lemon juice's acidity helps cleanse the body of toxins and provides the body with a small amount of vitamins and minerals.
Maple Syrup
Mix 2 tbsp. maple syrup into the glass. Burroughs recommends using Grade B maple syrup, because it's not as filtered as Grade A maple syrup. The maple syrup is used as a preservative and as a sweetener to help make the drink palatable. Additionally, the sugar in the maple syrup helps give the body energy throughout the duration of the diet.
Water
Add 8 oz. water to the glass and stir it completely to mix the lemonade. Drink it as soon as possible. The longer the lemonade mixture sits, the more enzymes die and the less beneficial the drink, Burroughs says. Do not use distilled water, because it lacks essential nutrients that are required for the Master Cleanse diet. In addition to drinking the lemonade mixture, drink plain water throughout the day to help curb your hunger.
References
- "Fitness" magazine: Detox Diets You Should Try - And Avoid
- Every Diet: Lemonade Diet
- "The Master Cleanser": Stanley Burroughs: 1974
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