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The Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet

I'm considering embarking on The Master Cleanse, which is not primarily focused on weight loss, but rather focused on ridding the intestines of built up bacteria. Weight loss is an effect of the Cleanse because it's basically a fast where one drinks a mixture of fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water for a recommended minimum of ten days.

I'm interested in any feedback from those who have done the Cleanse themselves or know anyone who has done it. I know this is generally not in line with the mentality of this website and I know that maintaining any benefits gained from a cleanse of this nature requires lifestyle maintenance.

Thanks so much for the feedback! If you've never heard of The Master Cleanse, Google it! There's a ton of information.

Keep on keepin' on folks! Whatever you wish is achievable and YOU ARE WORTH IT!! :D

Worms?  Did you have them identified by a Helminthologist?  Because it's very unusual for people in Western societies to be carrying around parasitic worms in their guts. What you're claiming is careless, because gullible people might actually believe you and think that they, too, have "worms" in their instestines.  Can you support your "research" with scientific articles, i.e. journal, year, volume, page number?  Otherwise don't push this on us.  Quoting from one book does not constitute "research."  Hiding behind the veil of "western medicine doesn't know everything" is also a cop-out.  You sound like you're associated with the authors.

If the master cleanse makes you feel good, by all means go ahead.  But don't try to make the claim that it's detoxifying, or clearing worms or "impacted waste" out of your intestines.  You've provided no verifiable evidence.  This website is devoted to providing information on healthy diets and lifestyles, and in my opinion, this fast is contrary to that goal.

Please post an addy and I will send you a pkg with the next round of Mucoid Plaque with some of the little squirmies in there and the impacted matter that formed to my colon (problem is I have talked to people with similar atttitudes about other subjects before and no amount of evidence is enough... how many people need to post benefits before it might just be possible in your opinion-- would a cleanse have helped John Wayne before it got to the point where he had cancer)... you would be surprised how many people do have worms and just do not realize it--- people in Western societies do have worms, it is not strictly a "3rd world" phenomenon. The idea may sound so icky that no one likes it but just saying it isn't so doesn't change anything.

I have talked to more than one person who has removed worms. One of them I know personally, in the U.S., and have seen their worms in addition to mine so you may not like the idea that it works and that is fine but please do some research before posting--- and no, running to sites that say it doesn't work then regurgitating that here does not constitute research... true research means taking in all the information about the subject then coming to a conclusion, not merely thinking it sounds bad and finding others who agree then saying it must be so.

One problem the cleanse addresses is most people do not drink anywhere near enough water but on this cleanse they will drink plenty if they follow the instructions... hydrating the colon without adding more solids to the mix will help things flow through, that just makes sense... if you are trying to clean your kitchen sink pipes out would you keep piling junk in there while doing the cleanup or would no one be allowed to put anything in while you were doing the work?

Also, how can posting my personal experiences be careless?

The fact you can find Doctors who will say it is a bad idea is immaterial... you will be able to find that sort of debate on many topics where experts can be pulled into the picture, there are people for and against but again all I suggest is actually doing some research yourself and reading the book would be a good place to start... if you are not willing to at least do a bit of research into the cleanse itself rather than just reading info from those who support your view and posting that here, it is a bit irresponsible because you could steer someone away from something that might have helped them... for example, people with severe sensitivity to different body care products such as perfumes have reported complete removal of symptoms after a cleanse... how would you explain that if cleanses are ridiculous hogwash?

Also, I wasn't hiding behind the veil of Western medicine doesn't know everything but rather people have a lot of environmental health problems they would like relief from and the typical consultation usually ends in the patient receiving a prescription and more prescriptions are not the solution... if it were that simple people would get healthier from taking the meds but for the most part all they are doing is treating symptoms--- for example, I have a rash so I must need some cream or lotion... if the rash came from an external irritant maybe but not if it was caused by internal conditions yet if I go to the Dr. I will likely be given medicated cream. That is what I was talking about and that is a fact not me doing any kind of sidestep.

...so the issue is many of those symptoms have causes that can be treated and by resolving that issue the symptoms will go away for good rather than needing to constantly apply a cream or take some med.

For the longest time Doctors in the U.S. laughed about Chiropractic care now most consider it an acceptable form of treatment. Old thinking dies hard with a lot of people regardless of how much real life info there is to back it up.

Reminds me of the story of Elmo the monkey... they tried to get monkeys to like coconuts so instead of bananas they put coconuts where they were easily seen. Eventually a monkey they named Elmo went to the coconuts. Initially he was harrassed by the other monkeys then finally a few more decided to join Elmo and they too were harrassed then finally when a large enough group of monkeys joined Elmo the harrassment stopped and coconuts were then acceptable.

I actually think it would be interesting for someone in the medical community to take a group of people, those who are really desperate for relief from some of the problems cleanses have been reported to take care of, and do a trial but the real question is why has that not happened... if it is so dangerous and so many are trying it why don't they do a trial, if for no other reason than to "set people straight" for their own good. People don't like to hear it but few people will go to school that many years then give themselves a huge pay cut by telling their allergy (and possibly other) patients they should try a cleanse because many have received benefits from it... it does not pay to send people away, it pays to treat and treat and treat. I doubt seriously you will see such a trial but you have that information available online from 1000's of people yet you refuse to believe it... if there was a trial, since you are so against this, if the results turned out to support cleanses would you then at least start to research on your own or would you suspect the trial... I think the latter based on what I have read from you on this forum.

You can either assume that 1000's of people on the net who say they have tried cleanses, many actually post a daily diary, are lying or that maybe the Doctors you have read from are misinformed because they have not done a trial... sometimes medical ideas about different topics are wrong and need to change.

Also the people posting about these cleanses are not the Olympic athlete or someone in similar shape... people who have severe problems, such as severe reactions to body care products or food allergies, know when they feel better... all of the sudden they can be around people who use body care products and not feel incredibly sick or their food allergies are completely gone... people have reported no more arthritic pain after cleansing so again we are not talking about someone who already felt great and now they think maybe they feel better because others say they do too.

I can understand your skepticism. I was on a site for a cleanse product the other night and it sounded like an infomercial but I could see through it because I have tried one of the products they were comparing theirs to so I know their info was not 100% accurate but I have no financial interest in getting people to buy sea salt, lemons/limes, cayenne pepper or grade b syrup because I am not getting a click through... cleanses have benefited me and I am sharing that info to hopefully help others. That is the extent of my interest... I was benefited so I am trying to do the same.

I?ve mentioned it before on another thread regarding ?master cleanse? ? anything that claims to ?cure? everything this thing does throws up a red flag with me.  As with a lot of things, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

One website I saw said that it can relieve conditions from acne to headaches to heartburn.  No, the headaches aren?t from stress or lack of sleep, the acne isn?t from inadequate skin care or genetics, and the heartburn isn?t from something like a hernia or an ulcer ? your body is full of toxins!

I don?t see a problem with a nominally healthy person attempting it for whatever reason (it would still be best to see a doctor first), but trying to alleviate something like persistent heartburn, which can be a sign of a potentially dangerous underlying condition, with saltwater and lemonade is just silly. 

And MasterCleanser ? while I may be a skeptic on the whole ?detox? thing, I do respect your posts on the matter. But, the whole John Wayne autopsy thing is a myth:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/fecalc olon.asp

I know a couple of people who did this, lost weight while on the diet and then gained more than they had lost once they finished it.  I don't trust these kinds of diets, you're probably better off doing a changing your eating habits and producing long term results.

Again, I asked for verifiable evidence.  You gave me none.  Just because thousands of people claimed to have benefited from it means absolutely squat.  There's something called the placebo affect...people want to believe it makes them feel better, so it does.

I have never "run to websites saying it doesn't work then regurgitated the evidence."  I'm not making any claims here, you are.  FYI, I'm a scientist (Ph.D. Biochemistry).  I don't believe anything unless it appears in a respected, peer-reviewed journal.  I've done a Medline search of "master cleanse" and NOTHING came up. This means that no accepted scientific research has been performed on master cleanse.  Furthermore, a Medline search of "mucoid plaque" reveals that it is only present in the arteries, not in the intestines. 

You're correct that the U.S. medical system is driven by profit, and that doctors are pressured to prescribe expensive medicines over more wholistic (and cheaper) ones.  I live in Europe where there is a much more established system of naturopathic medicine (regular doctors are well-versed in natural, plant-based medicines and prescribe them as well as the more standard pharmaceuticals), but even so, doctors here are not recommending fasts like the master cleanse. 

I have known people on fasts like this, and they are spacy and almost delirious due to the lack of calories.  I don't want these people driving on the same streets as I do, no more than I want drunks driving on the same streets as I do.  In my opinion, promoting things that could damage your health, and could hurt others, is careless. 

I repeat, master-cleanse yourself to your heart's content if you honestly believe there are worms in your intestines (and no, I'm not going to give you my address so you can send me some), just don't push this on others.  You don't know that it's safe.

Finally, the scientific evidence is pretty clear that the most dangerous environmental toxins are free radicals, and the best way to detoxify free radicals is to eat a diet rich in antioxidant foods...fruits and vegetables.  So I guess in that sense, the master cleanse is O.K., as long as you eat a big bowl of vegetarian chili, a green salad, some fruit for dessert and a nice glass of red wine along with it!  Cheers.

"Mastercleanser" OBVIOUSLY has a "personal interest" here. It's a promotion. Can this person be reported/deleted? I know promotion is not allowed on other message boards I visit. When I report them, they're usually deleted.

This is classically typical of the "master cleanse" people. You do research on this topic and you're convinced you've got worms. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

So just because people believe in something that is alternative they should be banned?  Great way to learn from the experience of others. 

Also not all of us are so stupid that we have the "placebo effect" taking place when we are on the cleanses.  Cleansing the body through fasting is done in MANY cultures - not just the master cleanse.  Fasting  gives the digestive system a break and  can be  good for you when done properly for a FEW days at a time - not weeks..

However this program and fasting in general i might add should NOT be done for weight loss - that's not what it is intended for. 

I swear why do people have to be hostile about things they don't understand and try to shut people up?  I don't understand that - you can't learn if you censor those who don't think inside your little box.

Just a friendly reminder that promotion of unhealthy diets and practices is against the posting guidelines.  Since the medical authorities are in agreement, this subject could be considered unhealthy. Promotional posts are, of course, forbidden.  The moderators have taken not of this thread.

this article from The Mayo Clinic is an example

Posting Guidelines

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clairelaine
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I have no issue with fasting itself, if done wisely, i.e. for religious reasons.  What I take issue with is people making claims that their bowels are loaded with impacted feces and worms and providing absolutely no evidence for this claim.  Just because you can get enough people to say it's true doesn't make it's true.  Being true makes it true.  If I claim eating live hedgehogs will make you lose weight and feel great, are you going to go ahead and do it, or are you going to ask questions, as in "show me the data"? 

I'm not thinking inside my little box.  I'm thinking.  And I think it's suspicious that "mastercleanser" just showed up on this site yesterday and feels compelled to "educate" all of us in the calorie-count.com community.  

I'd like to know how John Wayne worked his way into this thread?

Rufus,

The poster MasterCleanser brought up John Wayne's supposedly backed up bowels and impacted feces as an example of why people need to do a master cleanse, and mentioned it in a second post as well  - reference posts #60 (3rd paragraph) and #62 (1st paragraph).

If this is one of the pieces of "evidence" being offered by proponents and websites, that alone brings the claims into question, as it is an easily disproved urban legend.

Thanks!

Mastercleanse is sharing their perspective and is not trying to sell anyone anything or to drive people to their own website or blog, which would be promotional and against the posting guidelines. 

Cleansing and Fasting is an issue and has been done for centuries for various cultural, personal or religious reasons. 

However controversial they may be, cleansing programs such as the Master Cleanse are not healthy and sustainable ways to lose weight within the philosophy of this website.  Advocating the Master Cleanse as a method of weight loss would be against the posting guidelines.

We do want to encourage discussion, debate and the exchange of information, ideas, strategies and most especially encouragement and support between {{{friends}}} ~ so some discussion of alternative philosophy and methods is valuable and reasonable on a forum like this. 

We appreciate everyone's help to keep these kinds of conversations respectful, thought provoking and within the posting guidelines :)

Cheers, united (volunteer moderator)

I eat extremely healthy and am on a very stricked diet, but would love chance to cleans out the old. 

If you eat extremely healthy, your body has already cleansed out the old and does not need a faddy scam like the Master Cleanse.

I think it's such an interesting idea, but I could never resist food entirely for so long.  The most I've ever done is a raw vegan liquid fast with a friend of mine trying to help her get out of bad habits.  It lasted about a week, but we were still "cooking" making smoothies and such and trying new things.  (Who'd think avocados would be good to drink?  Or that there are so many raw vegan soups?)

I felt great on my fast, until I decided to go "hardcore" for three days and do only pure juices and water.  The "cleansing" symptoms I experienced were something that I recognized from previous badly executed diets.  Frankly, they were starvation symptoms.  Headaches, dizziness, tiredness... it wasn't my body getting rid of toxins, it was my body telling me to have some tomato soup!

Firstly this is an old post recently reactivated.

Calorie Count Plus does not support the promotion of cleanses and fasts for dieting purposes.

Calorie Count is all about sustainable weight loss, this can be done by using the Tools on this site to achieve a healthy reduction in calories leading to weightloss which can be maintained long-term without too much effort.

The problem with using fasts and cleanses for weight loss is that you are bound to gain the weight back once you get off the fast. Also during the fast you are not getting sufficient dietary nutrition. The gain back in weight after ending the fast may lead to what is known as "yo-yo dieting" which can add to frustration, self-esteem issues and a life of constantly going up and down with your weight with no real progress.

This diet is very clearly an unsustainable fad diet.

Instead of cleansing using a fad diet, eat these foods which are healthy, mainly low cal and naturally cleansing ...

Fruit
Fresh or frozen fruit.
Vegetables
All fresh vegetables. Vegetables thought to be particularly good detox foods include broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, artichokes, beets, red and green vegetables.
Rice
All forms of rice, including rice cakes, rice crackers and rice pasta. Brown rice is typically preferred.
Other Grains
Quinoa, amaranth, millet, and buckwheat can be used instead of rice. They can be purchased at a health food store or in some grocery stores.
Beans
Split yellow and green peas and lentils are easiest to digest and require the least soaking time. Other good options include kidney beans, pinto beans, mung beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and adzuki beans.
Nuts and Seeds
Unsalted nuts or seeds can be sprinkled over salads or eaten as a snack. Good options include flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Nut butters are permitted. Peanuts and peanut butter are usually not recommended.
Oil
Extra-virgin olive oil is a preferred oil.
Condiments
Vegetable salt, sea salt, vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, all herbs or spices.
Tea
Herbal teas, green tea.
Other Beverages
Water, lemon water, pure unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, rice milk
Daily Detox Do's
Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day, warm or room temperature.

Take the time to chew food well, especially grains.

This is from the ASK MARY section of Calorie Count:

A cleanse is unnecessary, but a short-term fast like the Master Cleanse, might serve as a tangible signal of change and should not hurt a healthy woman – as long as it doesn’t last for more than one day.  The body doesn’t need a cleanse because it has systems to eliminate toxins and a fast lasting longer than a day will lead to muscle breakdown, nutrient deficiencies, headaches, irritability, and fatigue.  Avoid fasts that use laxatives, which can lead to dehydration and colon damage, as well as those that use colonic irrigation, which can infect or perforate the bowel.

Calorie Count Plus's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines.

Posting Guidelines

• Your post is subject to modification or deletion by our moderators. We will take down any posts that violate either the letter or the spirit of any of these rules.
• Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.