The Lemonade diet was originally developed by alternative practitioner Stanley Burroughs. Published as "The Master Cleanse" in the early 1940s, this combination detoxification program and weight loss diet claimed to be able to cure any disease, including diabetes. This diet, however, is not recommended for people with diabetes. Consult a physician or certified diabetes educator for guidelines on safe weight loss plans for diabetics.
The Lemonade diet is a modified fast. You consume no food, but can drink up to 12 glasses of lemonade made from purified water, organic lemons, grade B maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Additionally there are morning salt-water flushes and laxative tea every evening. This creates a diuretic effect that will cause you to shed a lot of water weight very quickly. However of much it will be easily regained. The Lemonade diet is also a very low calorie diet that may cause hypoglycemia, muscle loss and weaken your immune system because of the lack of nutrients, according to Susan Moores, R.D. writing for MSNBC.com.
Diabetes and the Lemonade Diet
According to Burroughs, "diabetes is the result of a deficiency diet consisting in part of white sugar and white flour." Supposedly, making the lemonade with molasses rather than maple syrup can correct this deficiency. Burroughs goes on to suggest that insulin-dependent diabetics can wean themselves off of their medication as they cleanse as they no longer need additional insulin. This is dangerous advice and medically unsound. There is no special ingredient in molasses that will cause your pancreas to produce more insulin, as Burroughs claims. Because the bulk of your 1,000 calories daily come from maple syrup or molasses -- both just sugar -- you may experience radical swings in blood sugar.
Warnings
The Lemonade diet isn't safe for most people, but is completely unsafe for people with diabetes, heart or kidney disease and women who are pregnant or nursing. The diet is low in calories, nutrients, protein and fiber. Fiber slows digestion and can help stabilize glucose and insulin levels. Because of the lack of protein, your body may convert muscle to energy, rather than stored fat. Losing muscle mass can slow your metabolism, as can consuming less than 1,200 calories per day. If you don't have enough calories, your body goes into "starvation mode" and conserves energy for survival, which will stall weight loss.
Fad Diets
The Lemonade diet is a dangerous fad diet. The National Institutes of Health says that any diet that eliminates entire food groups, makes unrealistic promises, is not medically or nutritionally sound and can not be backed with real scientific data should be avoided. Instead, the NIH recommends slow and steady weight loss of between 1 and 2 lbs. weekly by exercising more, limiting sugar and processed foods in your diet and not eating out of frustration, boredom or other emotional state.
