The Master Cleanse can be either fad diet or rigidly structured fast performed for health benefits depending on how you choose to use it. Many dieters use this extremely low-calorie, water-based fast for fast weight loss. At minimum, people who perform the Master Cleanse for 10 days consume a minimum of 15 quarts of water. However, if you opt to drink the laxative tea and drink the salt-water potion the creator of the diet recommends, the water you need for the Master Cleanse increases considerably. The Master Cleanse does not deliver the essential nutrients your body needs, and the laxative component can lead to abnormal bowel function. Talk to your health care provider before using the Master Cleanse to lose weight or for any other health concern.
The Master Cleanse
The Master Cleanse is a liquid fast first created in the 1940s by self-professed alternative healer Stanley Burroughs as a way to purge the body of "toxins" and "cleanse" the internal organs. Burroughs' Master Cleanse was later published as a 50-page booklet called "The Master Cleanser" in the mid-1970s. Like most liquid fasts, the Master Cleanse forbids you to eat solid foods, as well as caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, thereby providing dieters sustenance solely through a peppery lemonade drink. Fasters are also encouraged to drink laxative tea and engage in a "salt-water flush." According to Burroughs' writings, the cleanse is designed to be used for 10 days or up to 40 days for "serious cases," although these are not clearly defined in "The Master Cleanser" booklet.
Ingredients
Burroughs specifies that cleansers drink 6 to 12 glasses of "lemonade" every day. A glass of the lemonade is made by combining 8 ounces of water with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon or lime juice, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper. The amount of water needed for the Master Cleanse is 48 to 96 ounces a day. Therefore, 15 to 30 quarts of water is needed to prepare the lemonade drink for 10 days.
Internal Cleansing "Helpers"
Burroughs suggests consuming a cup of herbal laxative tea every morning and every night to supplement the Master Cleanse. Alternately, he suggests consuming a salt-water concoction first thing in the morning. The salt-water flush is prepared by mixing a quart of water with 2 teaspoons of sea salt. The salt-water flush adds at least another 10 quarts of water to your liquid intake if you follow the Master Cleanse for 10 days.
Cautions
According to a February 2008 article in the "Los Angeles Times," the Master Cleanse is popular among fad dieters anxious to lose weight fast. In 2007, "Master Cleanse" was the recipe that people searched for the most using the Google search engine, the article goes on to say. Burroughs asserts in his booklet that cleansing, also referred to as "detoxification," is "basic for elimination of every disease." However, medical authorities dispute the notion that cleansing has any health benefits. A July 2008 issue of "Healthbeat" released by Harvard Health Publications indicates that most of the weight you lose through the Master Cleanse is water weight, aided in part by the salt-water flush and laxative tea. Additionally, the cleanse can actually make your metabolism slow down due to the scant number of calories you consume — as low as 650 calories a day if you drink only six glasses of the lemonade.
References
- "The Master Cleanser"; Stanley Burroughs; 1976
- Harvard Medical School: The Dubious Practice of Detox; July 2008
- "Los Angeles Times"; The Master Cleanse: Fasting is the New Black, Darling; February 2008
- "New York Times"; Flush Those Toxins! Eh, Not So Fast; A. Ellin; January 2009
- "New York Times"; I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine; L. Ogunnaike; December 2006
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