The Master Cleanse Diet is one of many liquid cleansing diets available on the market today. Also called the Lemonade Diet, it’s designed to detoxify the body of impurities. People who go on the Master Cleanse Diet (or really, any detoxification diet) and finish it successfully often experience a number of health benefits, including
Relief from joint pains or bacterial infections
Elimination of toxins formed in the body
Relieved pressure in the nerves and arteries
Flush the kidneys
The Master Cleanse diet has received recent attention lately as a result of celebrities who have gone on it and lost weight quickly. While people who go on the Master Cleanse diet will lose weight (up to 14 pounds in two weeks), most of this is water weight. In fact, even the book the Master Cleanse diet is based on says people on this diet should expect to gain at least half of the weight lost back as they reintroduce solid foods. For this reason, the Master Cleanse diet was not intended for weight loss.
The Master Cleanse Diet at a Glance
This diet is a two-week program, although people vary the amount of time they stay on it based on how soon they start feeling relief from their various symptoms.
While on the diet, there is no solid food consumed. Instead, dieters drink water, organic lemon juice mixed with water, and maple syrup and cayenne pepper mixed in with water, and a laxative tea.
Once the period of cleansing is over, solid and semi-solid foods, such as vegetable soup, are gradually introduced back into the diet.
Review
Before going on the Master Cleanse Diet, it’s important to take a number of things into consideration. We’ve reviewed this diet based on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest) based on the following criteria:
Health – 2. The Master Cleanse Diet is by no means a balanced diet. It is designed to be used short-term in order to cleanse the body of impurities or relieve joint pains.
Cost – 4. Some of the ingredients, such as spring water, the organic maple syrup, the organic lemon juice, and the special laxative tea can be costly over the two-week period while on the diet.
Ease of Implementation – 3. This is a fairly easy diet to implement once you have all of the ingredients. It basically consists of mixing water with a few ingredients.
Ease of Adherence – 1. Detoxification and liquid diets in general are difficult to adhere to because people are so used to food. The first few days will be difficult, and hunger pains are common.
Speed – 4. You will lose weight and feel better within two weeks of adhering to the master cleanse diet. However, the weight loss will come back. That’s why this diet is mainly used for health purposes.
Long-term potential – 1. The Master Cleanse Diet is not suitable for long-term, and it’s not practical, either. It contains no real nutrients, and the body needs solid food to function properly.
Busy lifestyle rating – 4. This is not a time-consuming diet. It basically consists of mixing ingredients into water, which can be drunk while on the go.
Family Friendly – 1. This is not a diet for the entire family, since it contains no food.