hello, anyone here ever done the "Master Cleanse" -a 10-60 day fast drinking only lemon juice, maple syrop, & cayenne pepper? You also drink salt water every morning as a laxative to cleanse the colon. + a laxative natural herbal tea at night. I'm on day 1--my goal:40 days this is my first time on this cleanse. Has anyone here ever tried it & succeeded? how long? how has it served you? any tips or things i should know? have you done it since & would you? why or why not?
well--its now day 7 of this fast and i feel fabulous. for anyone that may be interested just google "master cleanse" and you'll find a ton of info. here are the detox stages for those that may be interested: Detoxification Stages Here is an overview of the detoxification stages during a juice fast. The time periods are a general estimation. Stage 1 (Day 1 To Day 2) On the first day of fasting, the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dl. To restore the blood to the normal glucose level, liver glycogen is converted to glucose and released into the blood. This reserve is enough for half a day. The body then reduces the basal metabolic rate (BMR). The rate of internal chemical activity in resting tissue is lowered to conserve energy. The heart slows and blood pressure is reduced. Glycogen is pulled from the muscle causing some weakness. The first wave of cleansing is usually the worst. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger can be the most intense in this period unless the enema is used which quickly assists the body into the fasting state by ending digestion in the colon. Stage 2 (Day 3 To Day 7) Fats, composed of transformed fatty acids, are broken down to release glycerol from the gliceride molecules and are converted to glucose. The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem-free skin may have a few days of pimples or even a boil. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. Ketones are formed by the incomplete oxidation of fats. It is suspected that the ketones in the blood suppress the appetite by affecting the food-satiety center in the hypothalamus. You may feel hungry for the first few days of the fast. This effect is temporary. The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may last 40 to 60 days, depending on whether you are on water or juice. The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases. You may feel pain in your lungs. The cleansing organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and impacted feces on the intestinal wall start to loosen. Stage 3 (Day 8 to Day 15) On the latter part of an extended fast, you can experience enhanced energy, clear-mindedness and feel better than you have felt since childhood. On the downside, old injuries may become irritated and painful. This is a result of the body's increased ability to heal during fasting. If you had broken your arm 10 years before, there is scar tissue around the break. At the time of the break, the body's ability to heal was directly related to lifestyle. If you lived on a junk-food diet, the body's natural healing ability was compromised. During fasting, the body's healing process is at optimum efficiency. As the body scours for dead or damaged tissue, the lymphocytes enter the older, damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a reoccurrence of aches from previously injured areas that may have disappeared years earlier. The pain is good as the body is completing the healing process. The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected, as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth. Daily gargling with salt and water will prevent or heal cankers. Stage 4 (Day 16 to Day 30) The body is completely adapted to the fasting process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue is pink and the breath is fresh. The healing work of the organs is being completed. After the detoxification mechanisms have removed the causative agent or render it harmless, the body works at maximum capacity in tissue proliferation to replace damaged tissue. While a short fast will reduce the symptoms, a longer fast can completely heal. Homeostatic balance is at optimum levels. The lymphatic system is clean except for a rare discharge of mucus through the nose or throat. After day 20, the mind is affected. Heightened clarity and emotional balance are felt at this time. Memory and concentration improve. Stage 5 (Breaking the Fast) The sticky, toxic, mucoid coating on the intestinal wall is loose, and the first meal frees it from the intestinal wall. Toxins enter the blood through the colon. The gallbladder dumps its waste in a heavy discharge of bile. This can cause an instant bowel movement upon eating followed by intense diarrhea. If the symptoms are too uncomfortable, an enema will help.
Sounds interesting... I couldn't stomach salt-water, but the rest sounds interesting. Glad you're enjoying it and that it's working for you as well.
seriously, I've done a lot of research. fasting for 2 days with juice and water is all you really need to do. maybe a cold coffee enema, then a probiotic enema the next day. but this cleanse sounds slightly absurd.
you are absolutely right stalk! i was GREAT for 7 days---but on day 8 at one point my eyes went all blurry and i felt panicked--like by body was in a 'crisis' i came home and had some broth--did shit to help me feel better then i ate 1 egg with 1 slice of whole grain bread and within ten minutes i felt a rush...surge of energy and my cheeks flushed and an awesome peace came over me. i really fucked myself up...because now i notice my digestion is all messed up...dumb, dumb, dumb.
yeah, this "diet" is endorsed by a guy who has no credentials as a health professional. I have a friend who did it and really damaged himself. Don't do any fast for more than a few days. If your body lacks protein, it will take it from your lean muscle mass, then your organs. It can be easy to believe what a "health guru" has to say, but I'm skeptical to believe anything that is endorsed by someone with no professional credentials...it's like believing some random person on the street. Just because someone put some information on the 'net or in a book does not make the information true. A good example is that Kevin Trudeau guy - he is a total fraud, claiming that he has "cures" for diseases, but in order to know those "cures," you have to give him your money. Anytime a legit cure for anything comes out, you know that real doctor and scientists would be all over it... I don't even go on fasts. I think you can "cleanse" your body day-to-day by eating a balanced diet high in whole-grain fiber, lean meats and eggs (not factory-farmed, preferably pasture-raised and fed, no antibiotics or hormones), raw dairy products if you eat dairy (I'm allergic so I can't), lots of fruits and veggies (preferably organic - although local is even better), and little to no processed foods. If your diet is pure, and you exercise and stay healthy and don't do a lot of drugs or drink a lot of alcohol, you don't need to put yourself through the torture of a fast or a colon cleanse.
I personally don't think much of the Master Cleanse. I don't really think it's all that healthy to fast anyway. It can screw up your metabolism and cause weight gain. I do think that it's a good idea to cleanse the body every so often though. I found a pretty good cleanse called Whole Body Cleanse by Enzymatic Therapy. It is a 14 day cleanse that is pretty gentle on the body, but cleanses out toxins and such. It has a gentle laxative and fiber to cleanse the intestines and bowels, and milk thistle which pulls out the toxins. The fiber also helps push the toxins out, along with lots of water. It works well, and you can follow a regular, healthy diet while on it.
I tried it for three days once. The lemon juice is hard on your teeth first of all. And second that 'rush' or 'euphoria' they and everyone describes is actually you getting high from the chemicals your brain is releasing trying to give you energy to stay alive. It's a defence mechanism, not a 'good' feeling
It is going to be so hard on your kidneys when you start eating food again after this cleanse. Fasts for more than a few days scare the shit out of me. But, I have stomach issues and can't fast anyway. The lemon juice and cayenne pepper would probably cause my stomach to start bleeding.
whoa, old thread! Yeah, total dumb quackery. I feel like only the crazy actually do the whole 40 days. Most people feel like shit after 7 to 10 days. What disturbs me is that there are a lot of people who are "die-hards" about these health fads and really go all out on them. At a health food store I worked at for a few years, we for awhile had this regular who would constantly be special ordering cases and cases of organic lemon juice and powdered cayenne pepper in bulk and claimed he'd been doing it for a month and counting when he first started coming in. I also fondly recall him shitting his pants in the store bathroom (because it gives you wicked shits all the time), no joke, and proceeding to let me know that his soiled drawers were in our bathroom's garbage can...charming. The sane people I've known who tried this almost never made it past day 7 before they decided enough was enough.
