The Master Cleanse Diet

The Master Cleanse Diet has been endorsed by celebrities and health gurus all over the world. It's purported to help people detoxify their bodies, alleviate or prevent chronic ill-health, and even trigger weight loss. The Diet itself relies on a handful of simple, everyday ingredients that a lot of people already have in their kitchens. When combined following the Master Cleanse recipe, they become a potent force for detoxification and good health.

Following the Master Cleanse itself is not difficult, but it takes dedication. Absolutely no solid food is eaten during the cleanse itself. Most followers recommend performing the Master Cleanse for a period of at least ten days, but not everyone can or should jump right into a long, ten day cleanse, especially if they haven't ever detoxed before. This cleanse is acknowledged as being fairly “hard core,” so a lot of first-time followers will want to ease into it by spending the days leading up to their cleanse consuming freshly-juiced organic fruits and vegetables. This will load them up with vitamins, minerals, and living enzymes, and accustom their digestive systems to a liquid diet. After a few days of consuming freshly-made juices, followers should be prepared to undertake the Master Cleanse itself.

The Master Cleanse Diet has been variously referred to as the Lemonade Diet, or the Maple Syrup Diet. This is because the Master Cleanse recipe itself calls for two tablespoons of lemon juice, a pinch of cayenne pepper, two tablespoons of grade-B maple syrup, and a full eight ounces clean, filtered water. This mixture is drunk up to twelve times a day, particularly when the Master Cleanse follower is feeling hungry. Though the Master Cleanse recipe is the cornerstone of the Master Cleanse Diet itself, the whole detoxification protocol also calls for laxatives (to be taken morning and night), or a Salt Water flush to assist in waste removal.

Laxatives or a Salt Water flush are necessary to help stimulate regular bowel movements. Since the Master Cleanse recipe is completely liquid, and even fresh-squeezed lemon juice contains very little fiber, there is nothing in the Master Cleanse recipe to trigger the body to eliminate solid waste.  Laxatives and salt water help with this, since they soften stools and stimulate elimination. Herbal laxatives are okay to use while doing the Master Cleanse, but some followers prefer to perform a Salt Water flush by mixing two teaspoons of sea salt (not table salt) into a liter of water, and drinking the entire liter in a short period of time. Without laxatives or a Salt Water flush,  solid waste would sit in the colon for a prolonged period of time, continually releasing toxins into the bloodstream and defeating the purpose of the cleanse.

The Master Cleanse recipe is created with ingredients specifically chosen for their ability to detoxify tissues, boost circulation, and suppress feelings of hunger. Lemons are known for providing plenty of vitamin C, a crucial antioxidant, but they also help the body in other ways. One of the biggest health benefits of lemon juice is its action on the liver, by helping it to eliminate toxins more effectively. Lemon juice also helps bring the body's pH back into balance. Even though lemon juice itself is acidic, the process of breaking it down causes it to have an alkalinizing effect on the body itself. This helps undo some of the damage to the body's pH that things like refined sugar and processed foods can cause. For the Master Cleanse recipe, it is vital that the lemons used be freshly squeezed, and not stored in the refrigerator beforehand. This will help preserve the health-promoting virtue of the live enzymes in their juice.

Grade-B maple syrup is another key ingredient in the Master Cleanse recipe. Unlike the junk usually sold as maple syrup, real grade-B maple syrup doesn't contain sugar, corn syrup, or other refined ingredients. Instead, it's a whole, natural, unrefined source of energy to help keep your blood sugar stable during the Master Cleanse. Maple syrup also acts as a natural preservative for the enzymes in the lemon juice, so it can help keep your lemon juice fresh if you end up having to prepare it beforehand.

Cayenne pepper has several health benefits that science is only now discovering. One of its biggest benefits is the boost it provides to circulation. Cayenne pepper helps open peripheral blood vessels, which encourages cleansing, nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to circulate through all of the body's tissues. This helps it nourish and remove waste from cells. The capsicum in cayenne pepper also helps open pores, stimulates the sweat glands, and encourages the body to flush out waste.

Without enough water, the other ingredients in the Master Cleanse recipe would be hard to drink, but water has a lot of benefits above and beyond making the Master Cleanse Diet possible. Most people don't drink nearly enough of it each day, which makes it much more difficult for their bodies to excrete toxins through the pores and kidneys. Water helps dilute waste matter in the kidneys, encourages frequent urination, keeps your skin moist, and keeps your blood the right consistency.

While the record for the longest time on the Master Cleanse Diet is supposedly over a year, most people won't need to cleanse for that long. One of the most important things to remember with this cleanse is that it's a starting point for a healthier lifestyle- once followers stop drinking the Master Cleanse recipe every day, they need to move on to eating wisely. This means things like raw, whole, organic or wild fruits and vegetables, hormone- and antibiotic-free protein, and as little processed or refined ingredients as possible. This will allow their bodies to build healthy tissues and avoid accumulating toxins like BPA, pesticide, herbicide, antibiotics, arsenic, mercury, and others.

If you are considering following the Master Cleanse Diet, it's a great way to help you get your health and your eating habits on track. The Master Cleanse isn't always easy to follow, but the benefits that it offers its adherents make it very worthwhile.