The lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet has gained popularity in recent years, and celebrities, such as Beyonce Knowles, have praised its benefits. Though this diet may look tempting to some, experts suggest a healthier approach. "There's absolutely no benefit to fasting or detoxing," says California-based nutritionist Linda Bacon, Ph.D. "Extreme diets are simply bad for you and they don't work. But every year people engage in magical thinking."
About Master Cleanse
The lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet, also called the "Master Cleanse" diet, was originally created by nutrition guru Stanley Burroughs in the 1940s as a treatment for ulcers. Using the Master Cleanse diet as a weight-loss aid gained popularity in the late 1970s with the publication of Burroughs' book "The Master Cleanser." According to Burroughs, the diet purportedly helps "detox" the body by flushing out toxins and other impurities.
Diet Regimen
While on the Master Cleanse diet, dieters consume no solid food, and drink only a mixture of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup throughout the day for at least 10 days. The diet also commonly includes one quart of warm salt water for breakfast and one cup of laxative tea at night.
Side Affects
The lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet provides only about 600 calories per day. Side effects of starvation diets that rely on severe calorie restriction include fatigue, headache, irritability, dizziness and aches and pains. You'll also spend a lot of time in the bathroom, which can lead to dehydration and irritation of the rectum.
Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at St. Louis, Missouri's Washington University further warns that long-term fasting can deplete muscle tissue and impair the functioning of organs, such as the heart, liver and kidney. Crash diets also deprive the body of essential nutrients, slow down metabolism, weaken the immune system and can cause cardiac stress and heart palpitations.
Warning
Check with your doctor before beginning any new diet to ensure your health and safety. Master Cleanse and other crash diets can upset sodium, potassium and blood sugar levels in the body, therefore medical experts don't recommend these diets for pregnant women or those with diabetes, kidney or heart disease. Children, teenagers, older adults and those with digestive conditions should also avoid the Master Cleanse diet.
Considerations
Harvard Medical School's "Health Beat" magazine notes that fluid loss and frequent bowel movements account for most of the pounds lost on the lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet. Once you stop fasting and return to a normal fluid and food intake, you'll most likely regain the weight you lost.
Instead of crash dieting, experts such as cardiologist Isadore Rosenfeld, professor of clinical medicine at New York City's Weill Cornell Medical College, suggest losing weight slowly and safely through exercise and a diet that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, fish, lean meats and whole grains. "The key to losing weight is a combination of diet and exercise," says Rosenfeld. "One alone will not do it."
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