Master Cleanse Diet

At Time to Cleanse, the only cleansing diet we recommend is the Isagenix cleansing program; however, over the past few months many people have asked us for our opinion on the popular Master Cleanse Diet, and we’ve had clients come to us after completing a Master Cleanse, wanting to increase or maintain their results.

What is the Master Cleanse Diet?

Most people have heard about this popular weight loss and cleansing program, and every few months it pops up again in the news because it’s used by many celebrities who want to lose weight quickly. One of the most well-known is the famous R&B singer, Beyonce.

The Master Cleanse Diet was developed by a man named Stanley Burroughs back in the 1940’s, and was first published in his book called the “Master Cleanser” back in 1976. Stanley wanted to create a program that anyone could use to cleanse the body of toxins and impurities. It was never intended as a quick weight loss program; however, that’s why most people use it now.

Essentially it’s a lemon juice drink that you take 8-12 times a day for at least 10 days (the book recommends up to 40 days!), along with an herbal laxative tea in the morning and evening. During your liquid cleanse you can’t eat any solid foods.

What is the Master Cleanse Recipe?

Making the drink is actually quite simple, and you can do it using ingredients you will find at home or in your local supermarket. The ingredients used to make the drink are:

• Lemon juice
• Cayenne pepper
• Maple syrup
• Water

You are advised to only use fresh lemons, and ideally an organic maple syrup, along with filtered or purified water. You can view the specific quantities of each ingredient required on this Master Cleanse Recipe website.

One of the key benefits of the diet is its low cost, especially compared to some of the popular diet plans out there.

What results do people experience?

I’ve never done the Master Cleanse so I can’t speak from personal experience, however it’s promoted as a ‘quick weight loss’ diet and people have experienced some impressive results during their 10 or more day liquid cleanse.

Supporters of the diet would claim that it’s more than just a ‘quick weight loss’ program, and that fasting has actually been shown to be an effective way of dealing with a number of health issues, including obesity (see Wikipedia). Lemon is very alkaline and has been shown to help cleanse the body.

Critics of the diet would argue that it is a severely restricted diet, which puts unnecessary stress on the body and provides only short-term results. Some of them would even argue that it’s actually dangerous for many people to undertake.

Our clients who have approached us after finishing a Master Cleanse Diet generally did achieve good results – some of them quite impressive. However, many of them were finding the weight was coming back on very quickly, and some of them didn’t manage to complete the cleanse due to its intensive restrictive nature.

Our Opinion on the Master Cleanse

We strongly believe that dieting or cleansing shouldn’t be about depriving the body of vital nutrients. During a Master Cleanse diet you are giving yourself little or no protein for 10 whole days; amino acids (found in protein) are the main building blocks of the body, and without them your muscles will begin to waste (which can also happen during some calorie-controlled diets). You are also depleting the body of its stores of essential minerals and vitamins, and other essential nutrients.

Whilst we understand and believe in the benefits of a short-term fast, we feel the Master Cleanse Diet is too intense and stressful on the body; but most of all, it doesn’t effectively deal with the underlying cause of weight gain or toxicity. As a result, the positive outcomes are only short-term and you may find yourself needing to complete another program shortly after finishing.

Why we recommend the Isagenix Cleanse

The Isagenix cleansing program focuses on nourishing the body with the perfect balance of nutrients to enable it to restore natural balance and remove toxins and impurities. Rather than starving the body, you are actually feeding it with everything it needs to perform at its peak. Using the principles of nutritional cleansing, people are able to achieve great results without needing to resort to extreme measures.

During your Deep Cleansing days (a key part of the Isagenix programs – once a week for example during the 30 day program), you don’t eat regular solid foods in order to give your body a rest, however you do take a professionally formulated and scientifically tested product called ‘Cleanse for Life’. This contains a range of herbs and botanicals designed to support the body as it cleanses away toxins and impurities. On these days you also take Isagenix snacks which help to maintain blood sugar levels and keep your metabolism working effectively.

You can find out more about the Isagenix Cleanse by reading our reviews of Isagenix.