RAW Blog

The Master Cleanse or, as it's commonly referred to, "The Lemonade Diet", is a juice-based fast maintained for a period of 10 days.  It can be done for less, as many people attempt the diet and complete between 1-3 days to start.  Second attempts last up to 5-7 days and by the third attempt, many people are able to make it to the full recommended 10 day span.  Some people can even go longer - up to 20, 30 and 40 days!

It's pretty darn simple in terms of what you're supposed to do: drink the lemonade throughout the day, take some mint laxative tea in the evening, then do a power flush using a saltwater solution in the morning.  I won't be doing the saltwater flush (as its called) until the end of day 2 and will continue to do this in the evenings moving forward.  I have more time at home one-on-one with the bathroom in the evening, so this works out better for me.  Many cleansers have done the same thing, so I feel better about deciding to do it at night vs. morning.

What's in the Master Cleanse Lemonade?

Next, lets talk about whats actually IN the lemonade I'll be drinking.  Well, that's pretty simple too.  The ingredients are (on a daily basis): 2-3 large lemons, 14 tbsp organic maple syrup, 2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper and water.  This is enough for the entire day.

Mixing the Lemonade

To make the lemonade, you juice the lemons (enough for 14 tbsp., this was about 3 lemons).  Next, place 7 tbsp. of the lemon juice in one chuggable plastic container (mine holds 28 oz).  Add 7 tbsp. maple syrup and 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper. The idea is to get you enough calories (in the maple syrup) to provide your body with the energy it needs to consume on a daily basis.  The amount of calories you need depends on your weight, but you can be sure that the least amount required is 1,200 for a woman and 1,800 for a man.  These are rough estimates and vary by the person. 

My goal is to consume at least 1,200 calories per day (around 48-60 oz).  This is far less than what I've been consuming recently.  I think my daily consumption up until now was 2,200 calories a day or thereabouts, which meant no real weight loss.  I wasn't gaining anything, either.  In fact, because most of my calories were from high water-containing fruit such as watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, etc, I was always in a state of flush, using the restroom quite often throughout the day.  I also drank coffee daily with milk.  I was on 1% milk, around 2 cups per day.  Believe me, I could tell with the mucus just how much milk I was drinking daily.  The build up is crazy.

Why the cayenne pepper?

Some have asked, as well as myself, what exactly the cayenne pepper is for.  At first I thought, wow, we're drinking water with lemon juice and maple syrup and THAT'S IT, and now you want me to add PEPPER to the mix?  Do you hate me?  The hate myth was easily dispelled once I found a reference video by Dr. Glickman (I'll link it here) explaining why the cayenne pepper is essential:

     "..the cayenne pepper opens the arteries and enhances blood flow and cuts through mucus.  It also stimulates nerve endings in the mouth, all of which will enhance the outcome of the cleanse."

I guess that's a good enough reason for me.  I'll keep adding it, but very little until I can get used to the taste.  Today's amount was 1/8 tsp per bottle and it was too much.  I mean, sure, it helped with the mucus and such but man, the taste was horrendous!

The Purpose of the Master Cleanse

The ultimate purpose of the Master Cleanse is to give your digestive system a chance to rest and to flush the liver, kidneys and colon out while doing so.  Many people know that the colon contains build up from years gone by.  Yes, that means that while you may think you're passing yesterday's burger and fries, you're actually probably passing burgers and fries from ten years ago to boot.  No joke.  This is why so many people have illnesses, bad bacteria build up and diseases such as colon cancer, to name a few.

In the end, giving your largest system a chance to rest (the digestive system), you are allowing your body to focus its efforts on repairing those areas of the body which have suffered.  Your body isn't super human, it can only do so many things at once.  While digesting, your body is using energy that it could be using to repair organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys and (most importantly) the brain.  So many areas benefit from giving your system a break that I can't really mention them here, and I'm not a medical professional so I don't intend to be specific.  Just know that it's extremely beneficial to rest your body, and by the way, you deserve it!