Soon, I am going to start my second master cleanse in two years. I am not doing it solely in order to lose weight. I am going to do it in order to again shift gears, in this case drop the all too common mixed carbo- and protein based diet and go back to healthier eating habits that still will include all there is to eat, but in the right combination. No matter what some say about it, if you are basically healthy and strong, the master cleanse is a great way to initiate the change from unhealthy to healthier food habits. In itself, it does not do the trick because the pounds you lose you will quickly re-acquire and then some... But it serves well as a jump-starter for more far-reaching lifestyle adjustments. At least, that is what I experienced after my first master cleanse last year.The results for me were not as spectacular for Beyoncé Knowles who quickly needed to lose 20 pounds in order to be a star in the movie DREAMGIRL – and she did lose these pounds; or for the performing artist Teron Beal; or for Kacy Duke who is the personal trainer to several celebrities, including Denzel Washington, who also did the Master Cleanse fast and came to love it. Same for Gwynneth Paltrow, whose photo appears on google in the context of sharing her positive experiences with the fast. But, what did they do? What is the Master Cleanse, anyway?
According to an article in the New Your Times, …”Master Cleanse remains a perennial favorite, a kind of folk regimen that owes its popularity to word of mouth and the internet. Created in the 1940s by a nutrition guru, Stanley Burroughs, to treat ulcers and other internal ailments, the fast enjoyed a vogue in the late 70s after the publication of his book “THE MASTER CLEANSER”.” Now, as demonstrated in the above examples, most celebrities don’t do the Master Cleanse because of health reasons. They do it in order to lose weight. Then, why did I do it? And how?
The main reason for me was to use another method of detoxification in order to supplement my chelation sessions and colon hydrotherapy cleanses of the previous months. I still felt somewhat sluggish, and although perfectly healthy, not vital enough. I missed my spunk, that extra spark that makes life and work so much easier, and I wanted to get it back. – I had done fasting before, but never the Master Cleanse, mostly 5 to 7 days of vegetable juice diets. Freshly pressed vegetable juices were out of the question this time, as it is almost impossible to get good carrots, beet and celery in Goa, full of raw live enzymes. Especially in monsoon when the European run organic farms are closed, the vegetables on the market all come from the neighboring state of Karnataka and are therefore devoid of important nutritional value when you buy them. They are simply already too old for juice fasting. In the rainy season, carrots are also often slightly rotten at the core.
However, being a fast, the Master Cleanse does not only require nutrition so that who ever takes it stays functional, but also elimination. This is the less fun part. In order to make sure that old dross is released from the system, I had to drink one liter of salt water (2 heaped tsp of sea salt, or pure rock salt on 1 liter of water), first thing every morning. It tastes plain awful! You inevitable gag and ask yourself if you will vomit. But then, if you have a little courage, it takes only a minute to drink the concoction. Inevitably, twenty to thirty minutes after I had my salt water, I needed to run to the bathroom a few times. But reports that one has to do so throughout the day are pure fantasy, according to my experience. Once the salt water had worked its way through the system and expedited old residues out of the small and large intestines, I did not have to visit the toilet for the rest of the day, except to pee. And as in between the lemon water, I also drank plenty of pure spring water and some herbal teas, I had to pee a lot. In the end my pee had a faint smell of lemon, which felt fresh and clean. Regarding stools, they were watery throughout the process, not pure water however. An interesting phenomenon occurred: Although they were mostly watery Day 3 through Day 6, on Day 7 through 10 quite a bit of solids were eliminated with the water, which means that old stools from the small and large intestines had been liquified.
Some detox reactions occurred. On Day 3, I was very tired and slept a lot. On Day 5, I suffered a slight headache for a few hours, which did not incapacitate me at all. And on Day 8, to my great surprise, the most violent detox reaction came up, which I considered rather late in the game. I had to vomit a lot of water and herbal tea, together with my lemon water and was attacked by a violent headache in the evening, which, however, disappeared overnight. On Day 9, right after the attack, I felt particularly strong and vibrant. This overall feeling that has continued ever since, even now that I have stopped fasting and am slowly easing my way back into my normal food habits - although I may make a few modifications.
I feel stronger and more alert after the fast – and rejuvenated. I also have lost 6 lbs (3 Kgs) in the course of the 10-day adventure.
Now, for those who feel inspired and want to follow my example, one note of caution: If you have no prior experience with fasting, please consult someone knowledgeable, who can guide you. If you have health problems, don’t fast without consulting your physician or naturopath before you begin. The Master Cleanse is a great tool for detoxification and weight loss, but there are some contra-indications. Respect your body’s limits, which are not the same as my body’s, or some other body’s limits.