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Why the Master Cleanse or Lemonade Diet is a protocol that will do more harm than good to your body, even though you will likely lose quite a bit of weight in the short term.
The first time I heard about the Master Cleanse (not to be confused with the Master Tonic) was sitting on a bench at a playground back in 2003, when my first child was in preschool.
One of the parents was ecstatically describing how she wanted to try the “Lemonade Diet” as it was called at the time. Her husband was apparently already on it and dropping weight fast.
Intrigued, I asked her about the specifics of this wonder detox.
As she described the ridiculously simple fasting regimen, I felt my eyes get so big that I’m pretty sure she must have thought they were going to pop out of my head.
How could consuming nothing but a mixture of water, fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup 6-10 times a day for a recommended 10 days possibly be good for you?
Master Cleanse 3-Phase Program
Here’s the Master Cleanse three-phased program in its entirety if you are not already familiar: (1)
- Ease-In and Ease-Out: 3 days before and after The Lemonade Diet that slowly removes or reintroduces complex, processed (C.R.A.P.) foods from your diet.
- The Lemonade Diet: “10 Days to Lose Weight Fast, and Feel Great At Last”.
- Everyday Detox: Every day, a Natural Detox Method must be engaged to eliminate waste, such as an herbal detox tea, laxatives, or the Salt Water Flush.
Common sense is your first clue that the Master Cleanse is a very dangerous type of detox.
Considering one’s long-term health is a priority over fitting into skinny jeans for a weekend party. The research will tell you this as well.
Credible Research on the Lemonade Diet?
Unfortunately, there is little to no credible scientific basis or legitimate research to be found on the detox cleanse and diet known as the Master Cleanse.
A search of the objective scientific literature sites will confirm this for you in a hurry.
The few studies that exist are small, uncontrolled, or methodologically weak. Weight loss occurs but is temporary and due to extreme calorie cuts (mostly water and glycogen loss), with high risk of rebound gain. (2-4)
What’s more, there is no traditional practice in ancestral cultures from around the world that mimics anything remotely similar.
Given that there is no anthropological or scientific basis for conducting such a crazy, wild experiment on one’s biology, why do it?
Are social media testimonies, which, in this age of AI, may not even be from real people, sufficient to try it?
Gentle Detox Without Stressing the Body
The most optimal and safe approach to cleansing and detox involves not just eliminating toxins.
It also must include proper nourishment of the body while the cleanse is occurring. This is especially true for the liver which is the body’s main detoxification organ.
A nourished body with a liver that is getting all the nutrients it needs is going to do an infinitely better job than a starved body and a strained liver.
This may occur when large amounts of fat-soluble toxins enter the bloodstream in a short space of time, such as what occurs during the Master Cleanse.
Elimination of toxins rapidly in the absence of any nutrition is an incredibly stressful event! It can often do more harm than good, especially for those who already may be struggling with subclinical issues.
Because of this, it is very important to include proper nutrition in any detoxification or weight loss regimen.
Such precautionary measures ensure that permanent damage does not inadvertently occur.
Gentle is a key aspect of any safe detoxification protocol, such as what is achieved with a cleansing bath.
Anything marketed as beneficial that involves starvation or deprivation is a detox myth. (5)
Anything else and run for the hills!
In other words, it’s true that doing the Master Cleanse for 10 days will almost certainly cause you to lose some weight because you’re getting so few calories.
However, most of the weight loss will be water. You will almost certainly gain most, if not all, of the weight back when you start eating normally again.
In addition, the physiological disruption from the cleanse will likely skyrocket levels of the stress hormone cortisol which may actually cause you to gain weight back more rapidly in the coming months. (6)
What’s worse, you’ll also lose muscle and bone and possibly damage yourself in the process.
Is all this bodily drama worth a short-term, yo-yo effect?
Your call, but science and common sense say definitely not!
(1) The Lemonade Diet Ingredients and Recipe
(2) Lemon detox diet reduced body fat, insulin resistance, and serum hs-CRP level without hematological changes in overweight Korean women
(3) Harvard Health Ad Watch: What’s being cleansed in a detox cleanse?
(4) What Is the Master Cleanse?
(5) Liver Detoxification: Starve or Nourish?
(6) The effects of stress on body weight: biological and psychological predictors of change in BMI
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