Pop star Beyonce has admitted to using the Master Cleanser diet to lose 20 lbs. in preparation for her role in "Dream Girls." The Master Cleanser is a detox system laid out in "The Master Cleanser" book by Stanley Burroughs that advises drinking a mix of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for a minimum of 10 days. The Master Cleanser is primarily a detox diet to cleanse your body of toxins, but weight loss is often a welcome side effect.
Instructions
"The Master Cleanser" recommends drinking a mix of 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. grade-B maple syrup with cayenne pepper to taste in 8 to 12 oz. of water, which is approximately 100 calories. The book recommends six to 12 servings a day but says that you should drink lemonade whenever you feel hungry. Six to 12 servings per day is approximately 600 to 1,200 calories, though if you drink more lemonade, you consume more calories. According to MayoClinic.com and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calorie restriction is a valid tactic for weight loss. If while on the Master Cleanser program, you drink fewer calories than the amount it takes for you to maintain your weight, you will lose weight, just as you would on any diet.
Important Precautions
In addition to drinking the lemonade, you also drink laxative tea or saltwater daily. You are allowed some herbal tea for variety and as much water as you want. You cannot eat any solid food, drink caffeine or alcohol or anything else, including juice. If you even put sugar in your herbal tea, that would be considered breaking the rules and the calories from the extra sugar would increase your daily calorie intake, which might sabotage your weight loss.
The Lemonade Diet
The Lemonade Diet is a system for using the Master Cleanser on an ongoing basis a couple of days a week, instead of as a short-term detox for 10 days or more. The Lemonade Diet, created by Dr. Michael Horwitz, works by using the same lemonade recipe as the Master Cleanser. You drink the lemonade only one or two days per week, not on consecutive days. Start at noon on one day and go 24 hours before eating solid food again. This allows you to have a regular breakfast one day and a regular lunch and dinner the next day, which is easier than doing 10 days straight of the Master Cleanser. During these two days a week, you consume a low-calorie diet and this adds up over time to result in weight loss.
Risks
According to an article published in July 2008 in "HealthBeat" from Harvard Medical School, there are some risks associated with detox diets. "HealthBeat" warns that the Master Cleanser program lacks protein, fatty acids and other essential nutrients. The energy you derive from the lemonade drink is all from carbohydrates. It also warns that using a laxative daily may result in dehydration and a depletion of electrolytes, as well as impair normal bowel function.
Who Should Detox?
Not everyone needs to detox because the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and digestive system get rid of toxins on their own. In "Fitness" magazine, Mary Jane Detroyer recommends that people ask their doctor to check their liver enzymes to determine if they need to detox because their livers are overstressed. Detroyer is a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist.
References
- Harvard Health Publications: The Dubious Practice of Detox; Thomas Lee, M.D.; June 2008
- Fitness: What Is a Detox Diet?; Jocelyn Voo
- MasterTonic.com; The Lemonade Diet; Dr. Michael Horwitz; March 2006
- MayoClinic.com: Counting Calories, Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics; December 2009
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: What is Healthy Weight Loss?; June 2011
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