To be successful, diets need to be tailored to the individual and take into account all aspects of that person. You should speak to your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian before beginning a new diet, especially if you have a pre-existing health condition.
What is the Master Cleanse Diet?
The Master Cleanse is a diet that is said to detoxify the body. The Master Cleanser, also known as the lemonade diet, was developed by alternative health practitioner Stanley Burroughs as a weight loss method in the 1940s. He became more popular and published a book The Master Cleanser in 1976 The book (and the accompanying diet) became popular among people trying to lose weight.
A lemon beverage made with maple syrup and cayenne pepper is consumed for 10 days with the intention of flushing harmful chemicals and toxins from the body. Besides this homemade drink, saltwater solutions and herbal laxative teas are also encouraged. This text is saying that the diet is more like a fasting instead of an actual diet.
The idea is that detoxification can help the body “reset” and lose weight. Although you may lose weight quickly by fasting, there is no scientific evidence to support cleansing the body for improved health.
What Can You Eat?
On the Master Cleanse, you will mostly drink liquids instead of eating solid food. This detox plan is an all-liquid fast. The suggested ten-day duration features a spicy lemonade made with water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. In addition to the normal drinks, there is also a saltwater solution and laxative teas available.
If you want to extend your fast, the Master Cleanser book by Burroughs suggests a maximum of 40 days. The book also says that people can do the fast three to four times a year.
What You Need to Know
The recommended way to do the Master Cleanse is to start your day with a saltwater flush, drink 6 to 12 cups of spicy lemonade during the day, and end the night with a senna-based laxative tea.
The lemonade fast is focused on a lemonade beverage because lemons are rich in vitamins and minerals. Burroughs and other health practitioners believe that lemons are especially cleansing.
Lemons are high in vitamin C and also contain some potassium. The study found that high doses of Vitamin C can improve liver health and glucose metabolism in people who suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, this does not imply that lemon juice can detoxify your body.
There are plenty of other foods that are high in vitamin C, and many of them have more potassium too. A single banana contains a lot of potassium, for example, as much potassium as all the lemon juice you’re likely to drink in a day on the Master Cleanse.
The maple syrup and cayenne pepper also don’t help with your calorie or nutrient intake (and there’s no reason to think these ingredients have special cleansing properties). One benefit of maple syrup is that it provides a small amount of energy in the form of carbohydrates. A two-tablespoon serving of maple syrup contains about 24 grams of carbohydrates, mostly in the form of sugar.
The Master Cleanse recommends gradually easing back into normal eating at the end of your fast. drink orange juice On the second day, you’ll have orange juice and vegetable soup again. You can start eating fruits, vegetables, and salads again on the third day. Finally, on day four, you’ll return to eating normally.
What to Eat
- Special-recipe “lemonade”
- Saltwater
- Senna-based herbal laxative tea
What Not to Eat
- All other foods
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Quick weight loss
- May provide a mental reset toward healthier eating
Cons
- Does not provide adequate nutrition
- Food is not allowed, so hunger is inevitable
- Provides a quick fix, not sustainable weight management
- May cause gallstones
- Scientific evidence doesn’t support detox claims
You can lose about 2 pounds per day if you follow The Master Cleanser program. If you lose 2 pounds every day, in one week you will have lost 14 pounds. This is much more than the 1-2 pounds per week that medical professionals usually advise. This fasting diet will probably make you lose weight, but it’s not any more effective than other diets.
If you’re looking for a way to reset both your mental and physical state, the Master Cleanse may be able to help you. When you don’t eat for a few days, it can be a good time to think about your health goals and what you want your diet to look like in the future. Some people report extra mental clarity from fasting.
As with any fast, hunger is inevitable on the Master Cleanse. If you have a lot of willpower, you may find it difficult to make it through 10 days of a liquid-only diet. Fasting for a long period of time requires you to ignore your body’s natural hunger signals. This means that you can become disconnected from your physical needs and not be aware of them. Implementing an extreme diet like the Master Cleanse can result in developing unhealthy eating habits.
The Master Cleanse diet consists of only 650 calories per day, which is very low compared to the average person’s diet. While it is technically safe to go a few days with very few calories, it is best to do so under medical supervision. This isn’t a sustainable calorie intake for adults. If you lose weight on the Master Cleanse, there’s a chance it will come back quickly since the diet doesn’t teach anything about how to eat properly to lose weight after the 10 days are up.
If you drink six glasses of spicy lemonade per day, you’re consuming 650 calories. This would result in an unhealthy calorie deficit that is not sustainable in the long term.
How Does The Lemonade Work For Weight Loss?
At least six times a day, those following the lemonade diet must drink a mixture of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and pure water. In phases 1 and 3, you can eat solid food. At all other times, you should avoid it. One should be careful about which solid foods to include or exclude from their diet when trying to lose weight quickly, as eating too few or too many calories can be dangerous.
A person’s caloric intake must be much lower than what they normally eat every day. How many calories you should eat on this diet depends on whether you are a man or a woman. Women should eat no more than 1600 calories, and men should eat no more than 2500 calories. A low-calorie liquid diet for 10 days will help your body burn fat cells for energy.
A study showed that people aged between 18-29 years who were given a mixture of lemon and honey for 4 days lost nearly 2.2 kg and improved their triglyceride levels ( 3 ).
We need to take into account that fad diets are not lasting, effective methods to lose weight—rather they are only temporary.
How Does Lemonade Diet Work For Cleansing?
The combination of lemon, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup can help clean your internal organs and get rid of toxins that build up from stress, pollution, and extra visceral fat.
The main ingredient in the lemonade diet, lemon, is a great source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. The antioxidants scavenge the free oxygen radicals that damage the structure of the cells, which prevents degenerative diseases. In addition to preventing fat accumulation, lemon polyphenols also increase the beta oxidation of fatty acids.
Though it contains refined sugar, maple syrup is a good source of minerals and antioxidants. This mineral helps the body in converting food into energy and is also helpful for normal nerve and brain function. This syrup contains zinc, which boosts the immune system. Mineral such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium found in maple syrup help to prevent stroke and high blood pressure. Use sugary foods sparingly as they can cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly.
Cayenne pepper contains the thermogenic compound capsaicin, which has been shown to boost metabolism and promote fat loss. A study found that capsaicin, the active ingredient in red pepper, provide fullness and satiety.
Water is important for the body because it helps to keep cells hydrated, provides structure to cells, and helps remove toxins from the body.
Health Benefits
You will create a calorie deficit when fasting that will most likely result in weight loss. If you want to lose weight quickly, the Master Cleanse could be the right solution for you. This fast is different from an all-water fast because it provides a few calories and some nutrients from lemon juice and water.
However, it is still worth noting that the majority of mainstream medical and nutrition experts do not recommend fasting for weight loss.
You will also need to be prepared for the effects of the Master Cleanse’s nightly laxative tea. The Master Cleanse may provide relief for those who struggle with chronic constipation. Some users may feel that frequent bowel movements are cleansing. Too much use of laxatives can lead to irregular bowel habits.
- The benefit of this diet is often explained in the form of rapid weight loss. To put it in a better way, this program enables the body to regain its balance of elements and maintain its optimum weight. Those who are not overweight lose between 2-3 kgs, and those who are underweight reestablish the balance of the body’s metabolism. The process would have taken much longer if the body had to burn off all the excess fat.
- The loss of weight is only a secondary effect, the principal effect being the detox of organs by lowering calorie intake. Moreover, the body gets rid of fat deposits. It is in the course of this purification that the skin and hair get rejuvenated.
- Detoxification will allegedly rid the body of warts, arthritis, asthma, stomach troubles, etc. Besides, lemon juice and cayenne pepper will flush out the excess fat from your body, leading to rapid weight loss during the diet. They also cleanse the lymphatic system of toxins. The maple syrup contains all the nutrients your body needs to function during this time.
- It is good for your skin, hair, heart, and digestive system.
Role Of Exercise When On The Lemonade Diet
The lemonade diet provides about 600-700 calories per day. It is better to not do any tough workout routines during this time. You won’t have enough energy to keep going. You may feel weak and fatigued. However, you can improve blood circulation by doing yoga and a few stretching exercises.
Best Part Of Lemonade Diet
The best part of this diet is that it helps you lose weight quickly and also improves your skin. A low calorie diet helps to control your weight and also causes your body to burn stored fat for energy. The lemonade diet gives you a steady supply of vitamins and minerals. This diet consists of a solid food phase before and after the actual lemonade diet phase. Eating less food gradually helps your body to get used to it.
Side Effects Of Lemonade Diet
- This diet can cause fatigue and weakness.
- The beverage does not provide proteins, fiber, carbohydrates, or fat to the body.
- This diet leads to slowing of the metabolism of the body to conserve energy as the mixture supplies minimal energy.
- This may lead to weight gain if this diet is followed for a longer period.
- It will weaken your immune system.
- You may experience mood swings and find it hard to concentrate.
The Master Cleanse is famous for being the first detox diet. Even though the keto diet can help people lose weight in the short term, it is not very beneficial to overall health. There is no scientific evidence that any foods or ingredient combinations will detoxify your organs. If you go too long without consuming calories, you may end up worse off than if you had not gone without them.
If you are thinking about the Master Cleanse to lose weight or to treat a health condition, you should talk to your healthcare provider first.
It is not necessary to follow a long-term or short-term diet. Many diets out there simply don’t work, especially long-term.
Remember that losing weight is not the only way to be healthy. There are other ways to pursue health. Your overall health is also greatly affected by exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle choices. The most successful diet is the one that is balanced and works with your lifestyle.
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