The book that started the whole lemon detox diet phenomenon is called The Master Cleanser.
This book is really more of a pamphlet–in a few short pages, it relays the guidelines and instructions for following the lemonade diet.
The Master Cleanser provides a little analysis of the phenomenon of fasting and what you can expect, but it really doesn’t go into the same level of detail as many other books on fasting. The primary topic covered in The Master Cleanser is how to initiate the lemonade diet, how to administer the daily flushes and a basic primer on what’s possible with the cleanse and what to expect.
The recipe for the lemonade you’ll be drinking during your Master Cleanse is as follows:
- The Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon
- 2 Tablespoons of Organic Grade B Maple Syrup (I’ll explain more about why Grade B below)
- A very small amount of Cayenne Pepper (as much as you can handle, or as little as a small pinch)
- 10 ounces of fresh clean water
Mix all of those ingredients in a sealable glass jar. I like to use the kind of glass bottles that many store-bought juices come in. I have the juice ahead of time and save the bottle to use as my lemonade jar.
And there you go–you’ve just made your lemonade and you’re ready to begin drinking it!
Grade B Maple Syrup
Maple syrup comes in different grades, which signify the syrup’s level of purity. You might think that we’d obviously want the highest grade of maple syrup–Grade A–but Stanley Burroughs, the author of The Master Cleanser, is very clear about the importance of using Grade B maple syrup.
The reason for this is that Grade A is too highly purified–it is missing the vital mineral content that naturally occurs in unfiltered maple syrup. A fasting person needs all the nutrition they can get, and so, Burroughs advises us to go with Grade B maple syrup.
The Daily Flush
In addition to drinking the lemonade, the other big aspect of the lemon detox diet is the daily flush.
As you fast, so goes the theory, your body uses the downtime when it’s not busy digesting food to do some spring cleaning. Toxins and impurities that have accumulated in the body are gathered and jettisoned via several vectors–sweat, the breath and, most voluminously, the intestines.
However, when you’re fasting, you’re not normally using the restroom. You’re not eating anything, so you don’t have anything to push out the other end (sorry to be graphic here…but cleansing is a slightly graphic topic at times…).
A flush involves ingesting something that creates a laxative effect to induce a bowel movement even though you don’t have any solid food in your intestinal tract.
The recommended flush in The Master Cleanser is to use salt water (2 teaspoons of sea salt mixed in 1 quart of room temperature filtered water). Drink the salt water as quickly as possible, wait until the time comes and then allow the salt water to push through and come out the other end.
I find the salt water flush a little harsh for my tastes–I prefer either laxative tea like Smooth Move or Oxy Mag. Both of these approaches feel better and work just as well as the salt water flush.
How Long to Do the Master Cleanse?
Burroughs recommends 10 days for The Master Cleanser program to work its full magic, but how long you do the cleanse is of course up to you. Some people do it for much longer periods, and many people do shorter bouts of the lemon detox diet.
It takes your body a few days to shift its systems into clean-up mode, so if you only do the cleanse for a couple days, you won’t really get the benefit of giving your body a chance to expel built-up toxins. If 10 days is too long for you, consider shooting for 6 or 7 days. I’ve done several six-day Master Cleanses, and they have always felt very productive and helpful.
It can be tempting once you’re in the throes of the lemon detox diet to want to abandon ship early and return to eating food. Be prepared for how you’re going to handle temptation before you begin the diet. Stay true to your commitment to see the cleanse all the way to the end. But also pay close attention to how you’re feeling and don’t try to be a hero and push yourself beyond what’s healthy for your body.
Starting with smaller cleanses and building up is a great way to feel out how you respond to prolonged periods of cleansing.
There’s no hurry when it comes to The Master Cleanser. Go slowly and reap the mighty rewards.