Master Cleanser/Lemonade fast

Regenerative Culture Health, Healing & Movement
#1

has anyone done this fast? I did it once and it worked good and was fairly easy. Am thinking about doing it again before Thanksgiving, or after… can’t decide. Would love to hear other’s experiences with it! Personally I could not stand the salt water cleanse (tastes terrible, makes my stomach upset, until it passes through), but it worked great, so I did it every morning. I didn’t feel like I was hungry at all when I drank the lemon/maple syrup/cayenne pepper tea, but I had cravings for food that I would never normally eat (at least the TV commercials for the food looked SO Yummy! I don’t watch TV anymore, so this probably would not be an issue this time around). Also, I could not stay away from cookbook, and read them with such addiction that I had a whole month’s worth of recipes that I wanted to make when I was off the fast (never made them afterwards)… The one thing that I did learn was that food and drink is an integral part of our society, I found it very hard to go out with friends because everything about “going out” included eating or drinking!!

Also, I noticed that my energy was up and I still biked to work, and did yoga every day… I mainly want to do it again to kind of “reset” my body and then I want to start eating paleo again… and maybe finally get this hypothyroid thing under control!

-emily

#2

Haha, Emily we are so alike … I have “seriously” considered the Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse at least 5 times in the past 6 months.

The thing that always stops me from it is that Mr. Burroughs seems to make inaccurate claims. For example, he claims that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from lemons and maple syrup, including calcium, which I don’t really buy.

The other things that has stopped me is the general agreement that the Master Cleanse can make you really moody some days as the toxins are flushed out in waves. I don’t know if I can maintain my composure as a food service worker while doing the MC!

Also, the MC seems really New-Agey to me, and that really turns me off. I’m a hippie, sure, but I don’t go in for mood crystals, astrology, auras, or any of that. I guess I’m more of a Bob Dylan, Beatnik kind of hippie than an Age of Aquarius, Summer of Love kind. :wink:

Do you know anything about the research done for the Master Cleanse? Is it based on traditional medicine/cleansing/fasting rituals; was its foundations developed using empirical or experiential evidence over years in history, and did Mr. Burroughs simply discover these traditions? OR, did he invent it out of the blue? That’s what I want to know…

Sorry to be such a skeptic. :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

Hey Rebecca! The fast requires Grade B Maple Syrup, which, just searching for the nutritional content on google, I found a lot of info about the various vitamins and minerals present, including that Grade B has the same calcium content as whole milk! My roomate used grade A for a little while, and she didn’t feel good at all, then switched to grade B and the fast was a lot easier… I know that’s an important aspect…

http://ezinearticles.com/?Maple-Syrup-Health-Benefits---Not-Short,-But-Very-Sweet&id=684198

I know, a lot of people have done this fast! I told a few of my friends about it in columbus and pretty soon everyone was doing it, I started the trend, hehe…

I am definitely right there with you on the anti-New-Agey wagon, definitely not for me, but this seemed like a really easy fast, and I liked the idea of it being a cleansing fast. I also was researching my thyroid condition at the time and found that cleansing fasts can be a really good way to “reset” problems like that, or at least, to narrow down foods that may be causing a reaction or something… like if I had any food allergies, etc…

I couldn’t really find much about the history but I will search more on that…

I think it’s just a good way, personally, for me to kind of have a starting point to eating better, because it really does “flush” everything out! Kind of like starting with a clean slate, haha.

I can definitely relate to your concerns about working in a food service setting! I don’t currently have a job, but I do think it would be a lot harder to work in a food service setting because you would constantly be surrounded by food, and also, I did get agitated when on the fast… All I could suggest is that you could give it a try for five days, that would be halfway through the normal time length. I did that before too. One of my old roomates in Portland did it for much longer than the 10 day normal time, I think she almost did 20 days, and people have done 40 days before!

-emily

#4

I understand having reservations based on Stanleys claims. I definitely had them too and actually would recommend just reading the recipe and skipping all of Stanley’s rhetoric.

I have a ton of friends who do it regularly and say a lot of good things about it, which is what I put more faith in than Stanley Burroughs claims. I’ve done it a couple of times and my wife does it every fall and spring for the last few years.

I say go for it. I found that I got a bit spaced out but when I went a bit heavier on the maple syrup it took car eof that problem. If you need to be able to stay grounded and need to keep thinking clearly you can put a bit extra syrup in the drink and make sure you drink plenty of it.

Honestly I skipped the salt water cleanse part after watching my wife do it.

I think it’s a good thing to do.

#5

[quote=“Plains”]Lemonade? Make sure you brush your teeth all day long, unless you’re supertoothed.

That’s all I have to add. I’m more into eating shit and feeling like it myself. I must admit however that the Deathklok diet has recently intrigued me greatly. :P[/quote]

hehe, Dethklok’s awesome!

#6

??!
?!?
??!!
:o Deathklok??! Sounds like a diet I’d rather not attempt. :slight_smile:

#7

No it’s great really :smiley: It’s like the Atkins diet with one big meal before bed, so you get lots of time to digest and stuff, you know? Then lots of Popsicles because they’re just like water anyway, and then some bread because only Nazis don’t eat bread.

#8

[quote=“SilverArrow, post:6, topic:512”]??!
?!?
??!!
:o Deathklok??! Sounds like a diet I’d rather not attempt. :)[/quote]

haha! Well, the Dethklock is this cartoon that I used to watch on Adult Swim… it’s this metal band that awakes demons and stuff with their music. I only watched a couple episodes, but it’s really funny, and even though they are a cartoon, I guess theey are touring now! That’s the Dethklock I know of! Don’tknowabout the diet though :wink:

#9

It’s from the episode ‘dethfashion’. They have to diet to fit into their new metal outfits. Thanks for explaining I should have done that :slight_smile:

This is the best thread diversion ever. Sorry you can go back to your cleansing now!

#10

I agree, hahahah! ;D

#11

Well, to perpetuate the diversion … :slight_smile:

In my (failed) semester of graduate school in an art/architectural history program, I rode the campus shuttle to and from classes. One morning I got on the shuttle and the student bus driver (who was rad) was playing this amazing metal with a driving (no pun intended) beat. Now, I don’t own any metal albums or in any way identify with metal culture (and it shows ;)), but I loved what he was playing on his little boom box up in the “cockpit.” Since I was sitting near the front of the bus, I leaned in and asked, “What band is this?”

“Megadeth.”

As I was in an overbearingly cynical mood about being in graduate school while knowing full well that it was locking me into civilized life, I smiled, a “right on” sort of smile.

But I still had one more question, which I saved for when I deboarded. “Well, what’s the name of this album?”

“Countdown to Extinction.”

My eyes lit up. I gave the driver one pointed look of approval (and flirtation) before he drove away… into the Virginia morning…

awww…

#12

can I ride the diversion wave?

Hello me...its me again. You can subdue, but never tame me. It gives me a migraine headache Thinking down to your level. Yea, just keep on thinking its my fault And stay an inch or two outta kicking distance. Mankind has got to know His limitations.

I think most metal ‘gets it’, that’s why they are so angry.

…

I used hot peppers in a lot of my foods, and if I miss a few days in a row, I can feel my metabolism go down. Reishi mushroom tea is always my choice of fast, or cleanse. I feel like the spores come to life in my body, even though I’m sure they don’t actually. I have never felt like a food was more invigorating than Reishi tea. never did pure capsacin and reishi. probably couldn’t eat for a day or two after that…

#13

[quote author=Plains link=topic=550.msg6079#msg6079 date=1195088259]

Those people express feelings I've known but been unable to make sense of or compile. And once you get the idea, you don't even need the lyrics.
Goodness gracious, so so true. Anyway this fast thing yes, I also know many people that rave about it. I have never done but hot damn that drink is straight ambrosia! Lemon, maple syrup, cayenne... I sing thy praise! I really should do this fast huh? Sounds (and tastes) delightful. ;D
#14

i’ve done the master cleanse twice. i dont recommend it as a sustainable way of dealing with your health issues. cleansing of this sort is STRONG medicine and should only be used with people who have certain constitutions/underlying health concerns.

generally speaking, cleansing (particularly fasting) depletes spleen qi, spleen yang and blood. if someone is already deficient and then does fasting it will worsen their health situation. i experienced this exact problem.

i think that the trend to suggest fasting/cleansing as a “cure all” for all people is irresponsible medicine.

#15

A few things:

  1. If you haven’t seen an episode of Dethklok, do so now! :slight_smile: I did, and I am now a better person for it. :smiley:

  2. It sounds like there is more than one cleansing option. Tony: regarding Reishi tea, is it supposed to cleanse the whole body, or just part of it (for example, the digestive system)?

By “those people” do you mean Immortal, or black metal musicians in general? And could you please name some black metal bands you like? Thanks!

#16

hahaha awesome! :slight_smile: Well, I am glad that talking about the master cleanser has brought more people to know and appreciate Dethklock, hehe…

[quote=“skalopsky j. nettles, post:14, topic:512”]i’ve done the master cleanse twice. i dont recommend it as a sustainable way of dealing with your health issues. cleansing of this sort is STRONG medicine and should only be used with people who have certain constitutions/underlying health concerns.

generally speaking, cleansing (particularly fasting) depletes spleen qi, spleen yang and blood. if someone is already deficient and then does fasting it will worsen their health situation. i experienced this exact problem.

i think that the trend to suggest fasting/cleansing as a “cure all” for all people is irresponsible medicine.[/quote]

I am not suggesting that people fast to treat their health problems, for me, I just think it’s a good starting point to start a better diet, and especially since it’s a cleansing fast, that makes sense to me to get everything old and bad out so that the new diet can have the optimal effect…

-emily

#17

i consider what youre referring to as a health concern. most people are already deficient as it is - especially women and especially if there is a history of improper diet, veganism, raw foodism, etc.

i think there are better ways of doing what youre talking about that don’t strip your body of nutrients and exacerbate deficiencies or cause deficiencies.

re: reishi - this is a good tonic herb that is very nourishing and it supports immune function. i would be a good addition to any diet anytime. especially in deficient folks or people who have low immune function.

i find cayenne/spicy food generally to be very aggravating to me. some folks can handle it in a good way, but it can exacerbate health problems for sure.

#18

yeah reishi also offers amino acids, and a bit of carbohydrates, as well. It is brothy when prepared right, with a jolt of bitter polysaccharides.

here is a decent primer one the multi-effects of this fungi’s wide array of uses:

http://intelegen.com/nutrients/reishi.htm

The best preparation is fresh or dried fruit bodies, 50g wet, 5g dried, shredded, boiled for one hour, steeped for one half hour (the steeping is very important), filtered (paperless coffee filter is perfect, this is less important, but makes the difference between bitter dissolved asprin taste, and mushroom broth taste), and reheated.

#19

Thanks, Plains. I’ll look into those.

So, just wondering - what do any of you think is the essential connection between herbal/natural cleansing and rewilding (other than the idea that you could grow your own tonic ;))?

#20

[quote=“SilverArrow, post:19, topic:512”]Thanks, Plains. I’ll look into those.

So, just wondering - what do any of you think is the essential connection between herbal/natural cleansing and rewilding (other than the idea that you could grow your own tonic ;))?[/quote]

I don’t really know, but in nature, there is a time when animals “fast” or at least have less to eat than other seasons, like in winter, of course… the average american eats way too much, and could use a lesson like fasting, at least to reflect on the role of food/eating in society and re-evaluate the neccessity to eat so much…

All I know is that our bodies are full of toxins and could benefit if those toxins are flushed out, through fasting, tonics, or other ways…

-emily