The Lemonade Diet

[missbettie]

I did it for about 3 days. I think I could do it longer but I just love to cook and eat so much!! I did feel better just after those 3 days though...could be in my mind but I still liked the feeling. More power to you Healthy!!

I'm so happy your not at that horrible job anymore!! Yay for health food stores!! I'm sure you will love it there!!

[Mahk]

The inventor of the Master Cleanse, Stanley Burroughs, was a convicted murderer (yes, death caused by his lemonade) and a total nut case:

"At his criminal trial in California, Burroughs was convicted of second-degree felony murder, felony practicing medicine without a license, and unlawful sale of cancer treatments. The felony murder charge stems from the jury's finding that the patient's death was a homicide committed by Burroughs while he was engaged in the felonious unlicensed practice of medicine. The California Supreme Court described the facts surrounding the treatment as follows:

During the first meeting between Lee [Swatsenbarg] and defendant [Burroughs], the latter described his method of curing cancer. This method included consumption of a unique “lemonade,” exposure to colored lights, and a brand of vigorous massage administered by defendant... "

I agree with Dr. Ed Zimney, M.D; this "master cleanse" thing is a "master scam". The anecdotal evidence that it is beneficial is entirely a placebo effect, plain and simple.

More here, especially the last section titled: When Detox Turns Dangerous .

[missbettie]

way to burst my bubble mahk! ...Thanks for the info!!!

[Healthy]

Hi Miss Bettie -- I agree, I too love food very much, especially since becoming vegan. I can't believe I don't miss cheese at all!!

As far as the "scam" comments -- I even read what some of the posters wrote and they said exactly what the book said, "it's not for everyone."

Also, why I don't believe this article is the book itself has a disclaimer on it, that it's not out to CURE any diseases.

Had I just read about this on the internet, I'd say, "yeah, maybe a scam" -- but when you see REAL LIVE PEOPLE right in front of your face that are thriving on this, it's undeniable that there's something to it.

Then the more I tell people about it, the more I hear, "Oh yeah, my friend did this and it helped her tremendously..."

Like one poster said, "there's a difference between a fast and starvation."

Well, I will try it and see for myself.

Seems the comments are pretty split down the middle as 1/2 are for it and 1/2 against it.

It's like anything else ... some take care of their health and die young, others smoke cigars and drink and live to 100 ... it's all about knowing your body, what you can take on, what you can handle.

I know in my heart, if this isn't for me, I will stop immediately.

For instance, several months ago I took a bikram yoga class. I wanted to embrace it because I heard so much positive about it.

Well, it wasn't for me -- I knew from the get go.

Same with Master Cleanse ... my body will tell me whether it's for me or not. And like I did with bikram, I am meditating on it and preparing, weeks ahead of time.

[justdewit38]

By the way, I know this is an old thread, but I did this fast for awhile, didn't stick to it long, and I did only one or two days of no food. I think you could eat a piece of watermelon or so and I did that. Fasting is good for you, I don't know about this fast, but fasting is good for short periods.I don't remember if I felt any better, I did several fasts in a row, including a fruit and vegetable fast
, and I did feel better after all of that. I can't fast for long with out any food as I have diabetes. Citrus foods are actually alkelizing to the body, even though it's acidic going in. It's a cleansing food. So lemons in your water just as a general principle can be very good. Bad stuff doesn't do well in an alkeline inviroment. Dieters tea or smooth move tea has laxative properties, works very well. You can get them at meijers or health food stores.

[Roxy]

Hi Healthy

It sounds like you have done your research and are quite prepared for the cleanse I just want to wish you all the best and I hope it helps you achieve your goals of happiness, healthiness and cleanliness

P.S. - We both got awesome new jobs in the health food industry! Yay for us

[Healthy]

Roxy -- tell me about your new job!! Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you!

Yes, I'm a research-aholic when it comes to health! I've read the negatives (just as I read the negatives about Bikram yoga before trying it) and I KNOW for a fact if Master Cleanse isn't right for me, I'll stop immediately.

The key to anything in life is: One size does not fit all.

I've done crazy things that a lot of people will never try (like jumping off a 100 foot bridge into water then fighting a massive current to get back) ... then there are simple things that people do everyday that I can't ever imagine myself doing (like having children!)

We're all so unique and that's the beauty of life in general.

[!!]

I'd be very interested to know how you get on, Healthy Good luck come the 7th of April!

[Healthy]

!! -- I'll post my journey here for everyone ... and I'll be totally honest, whether it works or not

[Mahk]

Dr. Marc Lawrence, MD [who is a board certified Physician Nutrition Specialist who specializes in weight loss and nutrition, attended Stanford University, earned his medical degree from Cornell Medical School, trained in Emergency Medicine at Stanford, and General Surgery at Harvard] says the toxins in one's body actually increase by using the Master Cleanse diet, just the opposite of what it claims:

"The Dangers
Contrary to the author’s claims, the Master Cleanser will cause toxins to build up, by depleting glutathione liver stores, the major detoxifying antioxidant produced by your body. Additionally the laxative effect caused by the diet will further acidify your blood and this can cause a profound metabolic acidosis. I have personally treated a number of patients in the Emergency Room, who presented with weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea as a result of the Master Cleanse. Contrary to popular belief these “detox” symptoms are actually a result of a build up of toxins due to glutathione depletion, dehydration and a profound metabolic acidosis. One patient, whose acidosis and dehydration did not respond to IV fluid resuscitation, required admission to the hospital.

This diet is particularly dangerous if used, as the author claims to fight “colds” and ” flu”, since inadequate nutrition will weaken, not strengthen, your immune system.

The Bottom Line
I would not recommend this diet for any reason, and consider it dangerous to your health."

Source.

Reading through his site's various celebrity/health/detox/diet book reviews and articles it seems he's mostly pro-vegan from a health view, at least. [see for example this entry.]

[Roxy]

Roxy -- tell me about your new job!! Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you!

It's really awesome. I'm working in the produce department of a natural foods grocery store. My manager is a vegan, and the other lady I work closely with is a vegetarian. There are lots of vegetarians working there, and I've met numerous vegan customers too

I'm so glad to finally be happy doing a job that I enjoy. What does your job entail?

You are right - one size does not fit all. I hope you achieve all you want from the cleanse....and if it doesn't work for you....then you can still put it down to a new life experience.

[Healthy]

Hey Roxy!! Wow, that sounds so great! Go Roxy Go!

Isn't it wonderful to work with like-minds! I'm only on my second week and I got my period two days ago. It was the lightest, fastest period I had in two years -- thanks to being stress-free!

For ONCE I can enjoy my co-workers, bosses and manager. Everyone is so nice and cool! My BF is ecstatic because I'm not coming home bitching about work. Our evenings are soooooo much nicer now since I'm so happy.

My job entails helping customers, packing bulk items (yesterday it was wheatberries), printing out labels for bulk items, answering phones, scanning items, putting them away ... I also get to meet with sales reps and give my opinion on products. I'm sure I'll learn more as time goes on.

And now I can still freelance write, but about stuff I want to write about without having a boring journalist format to follow!

This is how life should be. Everyone should love their jobs!

[Eclipse]

So, this diet consists of going 10 whole days without eating? That's radical, and absolutely dangerous to your health. There are other cleansers out there that don't involve starving yourself.


Don't do this cleanse.

[missbettie]

well everyone has their opinions

[bryzee86]

well everyone has their opinions

And some opinions are based on medical fact - others are based on a whim dreamt up for profit...

[missbettie]

and peoples personal experience such as Healthy's doesn't matter?

[bryzee86]

I understand what you're saying, and yes personal experience do matter. But to me it just doesn't make sense to deprive yourself of needed nutrients.

[missbettie]

true true...fasting and all that stuff is definately not for everyone...didn't really work for me...but thats cause i'm a little porker.

[Animosity]

As an aside to everyone, I think most of these detox/cleansing regimens are total B*ll Sh*t, if anyone cares, but they are impossible to address scientifically because they cleverly keep all the evil "toxins" invisible, unidentifiable or un-named. The only evidence we are presented with is anecdotal testimonials and infomercials: "I just followed world-famous star/dietitian Beyonce's advice and now I feel better, swim faster, and can see further. Those toxins sure were holding me back! Also I can feel that my chakras are in much better alignment, my aura is brighter, my chi is at an all time high and my biorhythm and astrology charts prove this!"

Ahh. Yes. The Miracle Clense, The Miracle Clense! You'll notice the effects instently! Better alignment, Brighter aura, A boost in chi, A healthy glow, The ability to run 100 miles, Get a better job, Get a better house, Drive a better car, Super powers! A better sex life, Everything you've ever wanted! and so much more. How you ask? Well with out patented proven process of removing those nasty toxins! Our biorythm and astrology charts prove it! So go on, Try it! Your colon will shine like a diamond and your soul will be light as the virgin snow.

And some opinions are based on medical fact - others are based on a whim dreamt up for profit...

Hey, Come on now! We all know if it's been featured on TV, It must work. Remember how we cured obesity with diet pills?

Yeah. It's just like that...

[missbettie]

^ very constructive.

[limegreeeney]

Hey there. I tried the master cleans about 2 weeks after I went vegan. I actually really liked the taste of the lemonade and lasted 3 days fasting. On the third day though I drank the salt water solution and immediately got sick. I tried drinking the lemonade that day and it didn't go well. All that acid in my system didn't settle... I felt sick all day so I stopped all together.

: (

[SarcasticCookie]

I've done it once and I absolutely loved it.

The first couple days were hard, but it was well worth it in the end. I felt so much healthier. My body processed food a lot better afterwards, and all my cravings for junk food were gone. It made me fall in love with raw foods.

Plus I liked the lemonade. I always put extra cayenne in because I love the heat.

[Mahk]

Does everyone here know that if you hold your breath you will pass out and see God? Also when you come to you will breath deeper, clean out your liver, see distant objects more clearly and have a better sex life! Millions of people have given such testimony so it must be true and it can't be the placebo effect because...because...because there's no such thing as the placebo effect. God told me so.


See the air is filled with poisons and pollution. Dust, mold, smoke, asbestos particles, soot, carcinogens etc. By not breathing for a few minutes you stop this dangerous intake of toxins, allowing your body's natural cleansing/detoxifying systems to purify your blood which then purifies the mind. This is the same premise as to how the master cleanse diet works and it is complete nonsense. AND IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS: PEOPLE HAVE DIED. DON"T DO IT AND DON'T PROMOTE IT.

[I guess the people who died were the "it's not for everybody" people. They should have known better and it is their fault they died, not the diet and its promoters.]

[missbettie]

JJJEEEZuS!

[snivelingchild]

PEOPLE HAVE DIED doing anything and everything. People are stupid.

I definitely don't think the master cleanse is the best way to fast, and definitely wouldn't recommend anyone do a fast for as long as it suggests (this diet WAS created about 50 years ago, with very outdated knowledge of nutrition), put there is no need to intrude on a thread you don't agree with in such a condescending matter. There is a "Fasting: what are your thoughts" thread for such things.

There are many doctors who recognize the benefit in fasting, and design fasts for patients. Why don't you look into the work of Dr. Joel Fuhrman? I can't for the life of me remember the name, but there is also a clinic I've read about in Florida, that has had amazing results with cancer patients focusing on a raw food diet (vegan, too, I think) and avoiding chemotherapy.

A better analogy for fasting would be going to an oxygen bar, rather than not breathing, and you still consume water essential for life (and many times veg/fruit juice, which is a better way of fasting) while not consuming lots of different foods to digest. An oxygen bar lets you consume essential oxygen, without the concoction of other gases in air, and does have many benefits when done for short amounts of time.

Lack of evidence is not a convincing argument. To speak against something, you must disprove it, not NOT prove it. Yes, there is no conclusive evidence FOR fasting either, which mean the verdict is still out.

You want to make a point? Bring some research to the table, not extremism. I'm not exactly well researched in fasting specifically, but I would love to see you challenge what I just wrote with research....In the other thread.

[Risker]

Lack of evidence is not a convincing argument. To speak against something, you must disprove it, not NOT prove it. Yes, there is no conclusive evidence FOR fasting either, which mean the verdict is still out.

It's called burden of proof and the 'burden of proof' lies with those that make the claim, it does not lie with others to disprove it.

[snivelingchild]

Here, thank you.

[missbettie]

thanks sniv.

[Mahk]

Missbettie, first off I want to apologize if it sounded like I was attacking you personally, I wasn’t. I’m sorry if I came off sounding that way with my “I guess the people who died were the 'it's not for everybody' people." comment. I was trying to be funny, not mean to you.

I can get a little steamed and hot under the collar when people in general, not you specifically, advocate and promote what I consider to be a potentially life threatening activity, which I consider the Master Cleanse [MC] to be. It makes me feel like my friends (all you good vegan people here on the forum) are not only being duped and swindled but much more importantly are being put in medical jeopardy, up to and including possible death. When my friends are being attacked in such a way I respond with full force and don’t worry about coming off sounding condescending, nasty, or belligerent. Their safety comes first.
----------------------------------------------

Most of us are probably well enough to live through this ten day minimum (as prescribed by the inventor of the diet, Stanley Burroughs) “cleanse”. I’m not so worried about us, but more for, say hypothetically , the new 16 year-old girl who’s just joined our forum and suffers from anorexia/bulimia, unbeknownst to us. She’s having heart palpitations and errantly attributes it to a “toxin” after reading our thread, that she then decides to cleanse herself of using the MC. After perhaps four days her already malnourished body starts breaking down and eating her own muscles due to the total lack of protein intake. This of course also includes her ailing heart, which is a muscle of course, and she goes into cardiac arrest and dies. It’s not her fault she died, it is the diet and its supporters. Their disclaimers such as “know you body before undertaking the MC” don’t absolve them of this .

If my ranting about the dangers of the MC help deter just one person from such a terrible fate, then I don’t care what everyone else thinks of me, I’ll feel I’ve done the best I can to help save a life.

[missbettie]

its okay Mahk, I know you didn't mean anything. And I definately know where you are coming from. Thats the beauty of the world everyone has different opinions. And yours does make complete sense so no worries.

[ambs]

you might loose weight short term, but in the long run.. no, it's a stupid diet to go on.
just eat healthy, right sized portion meals and do daily activity.
and if you want to cleanse your body of toxins, then drink water first thing when you wake up, and you can add some lemon zest to make it a little more tasty.

and another con, drinking so much lemon wouldn't be good for your teeth.

this diet would be good for a one day thing.. but not 10! as snivelingchild said, it's a fast.

[Shaolin Jedi]

I'm giving serious thought to trying the 'Master Cleanser'. This type of regime was around well before William Burroughs thought of it in the 40s, but the spiritual aspect of this 'fasting' (which is essentially what it is) is missing with the modern interpretation, which seems more scientifically based.

Will keep members informed on how it goes if I decide to go ahead with it.

[Mahk]

This type of regime was around well before William Burroughs thought of it in the 70s, but the spiritual aspect of it is missing with the modern interpretation, which seems more scientifically based.

"Scientifically based"? LMAO!

Tell me, Shaolin Jedi, what would you hope to achieve by under taking this or a similar regimen?

[Shaolin Jedi]

<---Is having a rethink. I didn't realise people had died from this endeavour.

[Mahk]

Great! More precisely, people have been murdered under this "therapy".

Burroughs was convicted of felony murder but it was a combination of administering his lemonade fast, deep massage, and colored light therapy he administered to his patient who he killed, not the diet alone, so maybe the diet part alone really works to cure leukemia and other ills as he was attempting. Ha ha.

I get vehement when I see people promote alternative medicines/therapies such as these to my friends, which I consider any vegan to be, if they:

A) Are dangerous and/or unhealthy such as suggesting the partial cessation of the intake of oxygen, water, or food.

B) They preclude or delay accepted modalities like following a doctor's advice.

Anyone who attacks my friends is attacking me.

[Shaolin Jedi]

As one of your friends I apologise for promoting said 'therapy'. Stop, rewind, eject. Thanks for the info.

[Mahk]

No problem friend.

May you live in peas.

[bryzee86]

No problem friend.

May you live in peas.

and carrots.

[Zero]

<---Is having a rethink. I didn't realise people had died from this endeavour.

It is indeed a fast and certainly not a diet and one needs to take proper procautions as with any fasting. The people who died that have been documented (that I have read about) weren't actually following it properly and were doing things like drinking protein shakes thinking they would die from protein deficiency . The excess protein caused their blood to become acidic and they died, another one was where a lady was trying to fast and eat small amounts of high fat / high protein food, same result - death.

A similar thing happened with people who were water fasting (which I have also done for 5 days), but again they were drinking protein shakes and died.

I did this for 10 days in 2006 and I found it to be a great experience overall, it really made me think about my relationship with food.

This is one of those things where if you are not going to follow it the letter or you are extremely worried about you should not do.

[Mahk]

The people who died that have been documented (that I have read about) weren't actually following it properly and...

I would think the person who invented the fast, convicted murderer Stanley Burroughs, would have known exactly how to follow it correctly since he designed it and the 24-year old who he killed under his care, Lee Swatsenbarg, would have followed it "to the letter".

Then again, as I postulated earlier, it could have been the incorrect colored lights Burroughs was also shining on his "patient" which did him in. [I hear green light cures the "Heebie-jeebies" and purple "the cooties/lurgy", ask your [witch]doctor.] I put the word "patient" in quotes since Burroughs was not a doctor, had no education in science, medicine, or nutrition, and was also convicted of practicing medicine without a license....Hmmm, now why should one need one of those?

My two favorite book reviews of Stanley Burroughs' miraculous cures:

"A quack who is responsible for my father's death., September 29, 2006

Please save your money and your health. My father died an early and painful death because of Burrough's "cures and lamplights". My father's case is the one studied by law students and unfortunately the one that the "Rose Bird" Supreme Court used for their personal agenda."

Source. [If only he had used the correct color light. How sad.]

And this one.

Remember everyone, keep repeating to yourself over and over again:

"If the Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet harms me, it's not the diet's fault, it's my fault."

[missbettie]

you know Mahk. I appreciate that you have made this thread non biased considering now there is just as much negative comments as good, buuuut all the negativity isn't really the purpose of this thread. I think everyone got the bigger picture now.

[Zero]

It's not a diet, thats what people keep missing. People have been fasting for hundreds of years, it's nothing new.

I don't necessarily advocate it because I cannot possibly know whether it will work for everyone, I only have my personal experience which is nothing short of positive, I lost 10lbs, felt clearer in my mind and had more energy after, if that was merely a placebo effect so be it.

Isn't the case you are referring to one where the guy had badly spread cancer already and might have died at that time anyway? Wasn't the conviction more down to attempting to practice medicine without a license so led to a felony 2 under what would have been malpractice had he been a doctor?

Not standing up for what he did but I am concerned that only half the facts are being presented.

[Mahk]

you know Mahk. I appreciate that you have made this thread non biased considering now there is just as much negative comments as good, buuuut all the negativity isn't really the purpose of this thread.

As long as people advocate dangerous regimens which have been proven to harm and kill people using pseudoscience, snake oil, and voodoo then I will fight against them. Fighting charlatans, con artists, witchdoctors, and frauds I consider a noble cause. Don't like that? Don't listen.

Don't like a fact which I pretty much always back up with an independent source reference? Then argue the facts. I really don't care if my views aren't the popular one here. If I help prevent just one 16 year old borderline anorexic forum member from dieing of cardiac arrest, who otherwise would have tried this dangerous fast [which causes muscle atrophy, including the most important one, the heart] due to the total lack of protein intake, then my time here will have been well spent.

[missbettie]

As long as people advocate dangerous regimens which have been proven to harm and kill people using pseudoscience and voodoo then I will fight against them. Fighting charlatans, con artists, witchdoctors, and frauds I consider a noble cause. Don't like that? Don't listen.

Don't like a fact which I pretty much always back up with an independent source reference? Then argue the facts. I really don't care if my views aren't the popular one here. If I help prevent just one 16 year old borderline anorexic forum member from dieing of cardiac arrest who otherwise would have tried this dangerous fast which causes muscle atrophy [including the heart which is a muscle] due to the totally complete lack of protein intake, then my time will have been well spent.

a 16 year old borderline anorexic will have problems regardless if they put a little lemonade and cayenne pepper in there body.

I totally agree with you posting your facts and everything like that and it awesome that you do have links to back them up, you are obviously well informed. But for every person that has been harmed there are also people that swear by it. If you look at it from a responisble point of view, from the right state of mind you won't have any problems. And if you start having problems then obviously this isn't the right fast for you and you should stop. plain and simple. but like Zero said, this isn't a diet it is a fast. People have been fasting forever. fasting has proved extremely beneficial for many many people and there actually are links and books and even some doctors that back it up. If you want I can find some links or books or testimonials so you can see that some people actually benefit from it.

If it makes you feel good do it. if you start feeling sick stop. if you believe its a crock of crap then don't do it. But either way be responsible. Do as much research as you can and even possibly talk to a doctor.

but really in my personal opinion, though your arguments are well put and thought out, and very beautifully written I might add, there are other ways of wording your posts to not be so patronizing.

[Mahk]

Isn't the case you are referring to one where the guy had badly spread cancer already and might have died at that time anyway?

Leukemia. I certainly wouldn't trust a pro-lemonade site to ascertain how advanced it was, but who knows. My links elaborate the details. Burroughs told his 24-year old "patient", to stop seeing his regular doctors, start his magic lemonade fast, shined the colored lights on his body (oh brother), and undertook the massages that Burroughs administered. Most importantly he actively prevented Lee Swatsenbarg from undertaking the needed bone marrow transplant that his real doctors advised. Would that have saved him? Who knows. What we do know is that Burroughs' treatments are bogus. You can't treat leukemia with colored lights, massage, and special lemonade. Trust me.

[Zero]

You can't treat leukemia with colored lights, massage, and special lemonade. Trust me.

No one here is trying to say you can.

I think everyone gets that the "colored light" thing is bullshit you don't have to keep trying to use it to discredit the master cleanse.

I don't think it's good for terminal illness, it's more of a light therapy that many people have used to get rid off some light ailments. It should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or common sense for that matter.

[fiamma]

Mahk are you on some kind of personal crusade? Why do you always want to have the last word? missbettie seems fully aware of what she is about to undertake, as she says herself it is a fast not a diet. I think it would be fairer to all concerned if you injected a little less sarcasm into your posts and credited us with a little more intelligence.

[Mahk]

Yes, OK, it is a fast, not a diet. Don't blame me for the thread's title "Lemonade diet". I didn't title it. To me a diet is a "food and drink regimen". I never said the intent of this regimen was to loss weight. A diet can just as easily be for attempted weight gain. We are all, for example, on a "vegan diet" because we are vegans. Does the use of the word there offend anyone? I'm not so sure why this point seems so important to so many of you, almost everyone brings it up, but to me it is exceedingly trivial what it is called and I'll gladly call it "the master cleanse" the "lemonade fast" or whatever else the proponents want to call it. I apologize to all if I ever implied or called it a "diet". My bad. Also, if anyone wants to start a thread about their personal journey with the fast, feel free, I wont rain on your parade, but this thread is open to all and I'm just calling it how I see it. Take it or leave it.

I think it would be fairer to all concerned if you injected a little less sarcasm into your posts and credited us with a little more intelligence.

That would be difficult for me for two reasons:

A) I'm a sarcastic guy in general. If that makes me unlikable, oh well, so be it. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to implore people I care about not to jeopardize their health by undertaking this medically unsound lemonade fast.

Sure most of us are healthy enough such that a few days of zero protein intake and most major vitamins and minerals wouldn't cause any permanent organ damage, but thats most of us, not all of us. As I said before, what I really fear is the new 16-year old forum member who's already having heart palpitations due to anorexia, a known issue, who mistakingly thinks, "There must be some toxins in my system that are causing my heart issues. Maybe if I follow this Stanley Burroughs' Master Cleanse book I'm reading about in this thread then I can rid myself of them." I known such people hang out in our forum because I've seen them [I guess I mean read them].

How long do people follow the plan?

"According to proponents it is recommended to be on the cleanse for a minimum of ten days, but some people stay on the cleanse for longer periods of time, even as long as 45 days" [emphasis mine]
So stated Peter Glickman, the current promoter of this plan, in his 2005 version "Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days." That's a nutritional disaster for even a healthy, fit person and very risky in terms of organ damage, especially the heart, as any doctor would agree.

B) Here's the part I just don't get. I'm not being sarcastic now, I'm being dead serious. I've documented that the designer of this lemonade fast used other "therapies" such as message and colored lights to treat leukemia and other ailments in tandem with his lemonade fast, and although some of you have responded with "yeah, that's bullshit, sure" it doesn't dissuade you all from believing, to paraphrase, "but that doesn't mean all his treatments were quackery, just some of them; there still may be something to the lemonade thing purging toxins and such" This baffles me. I don't get that, it seems illogical, sorry. I guess I think differently than others.

Here's the other thing that baffles me. I see it both repeated in this thread and in the numerous MC (Master Cleanse) blogs and forums I've viewed in researching this topic. Whenever a faster has a bad reaction, becomes sick, or has an unwanted weight change after the plan, up or down, everyone is quick to blame the faster, not the program:

"You didn't stick to it long enough to really see the benefits."
"You did it for too long."
"It didn't work? Well then I guess it's not for you."
"You should have known to stop when the dizzy spells started."

It is as if any negative views about the fast are verboten. I see this over and over again. Of course this is called "blaming the victim"; the regimen didn't fail, you failed !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This plan is basically a sugar water fast. One might as well be drinking caffeine free Coca cola, nutritionally, that is. Anyone who thinks cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and maple syrup have substantial nutritional value in the quantities that are consumed here is mistaken. I can provide links to nutritional databases should anyone not believe me. Yes the spiciness of the pepper may have a few physiological effects for some, such as a flush face or sweating ("those are the toxins leaving your body"), there is a tiny bit of anti-oxidant vitamin C in the lemon juice, but for the most part one could drink any sugary drink of choice and get the exact same results from this fast. If only Burroughs had been a proponent of varied veg/fruit juices instead of his "magic concoction" this whole thing would be about 100 times more sound and I wouldn't be here complaining.

I'm going to say goodbye, for now, and to anyone in the future who reads this and thinks,"Ya know, I think Mahk might be on to something here. I don't think I will undertake this fast after all. He's right. All the thousands of positive reviews of this plan and how it made them feel better, alive, etc. could absolutely be explained 100% by the placebo effect!", it would make my day if you either say so in this thread or PM me.

Thanks.

P.S. I apologize to all if I ever came off sounding condescending or belittling of others in the whole thread. I didn't mean to, sorry. My hatred, anger, contempt, and disdain is for the MC and the con artists who financially benefit from it like Burroughs, Glickman, and the various websites that promote the various books/kits, etc., not all of you good people.

[snivelingchild]

Just to mention: te lemon juice and cayenne pepper are to increase the metabolism for weight loss. You can take these by themselves without a fast to help digestion. Cayenne also has other benefits, including helping with blood flow and inflammation.

[Pilaf]

Mahk just owned this thread. I've enjoyed watching his posts tear this pseudo-spiritual garbage to shreds.