You Won't Lose Weight with the Master Cleanse

No colon cleaning, fad diet or supplement will make you lose weight - even the Master Cleanse (or "Lemonade Diet".) Any weight loss will be short term only and the chances of you gaining it all back (and then some) are very high. This is because there are no quick fixes when it comes to dieting. You must eat fewer calories than you burn off during exercise for the rest of your life. There really is no getting around it.

What Is the Master Cleanse?

Basically, the Master Cleanse is a very expensive kit with lemonade powder and a pamphlet. On the first day, you cut out meats and "processed foods". However, basically everything on the store shelves is processed - even high-fibre breakfast cereal. The next day, you just eat fruits and vegetables. The day after than, you only eat fruit juice, vegetable juice and perhaps broth.

Then you start the fast. Basically, you drink lemonade for a week (or one day, depending on what source you read). This is lemonade with cayenne pepper and syrup. Be prepared to spend of that time on the toilet, because you also have to "flush" your digestive system out with either laxative teas or the salt water flush. This is a salt water solution that you drink. But have you ever drunk salt water? The odds are you won't be able to drink much or you may throw it all up. Perhaps that's a cleanse of another sort.

After that, you then are encouraged to eat wisely for the rest of your life. Of course, anyone suddenly gone to an entirely liquid diet and has been encouraged to poop excessively will be thinking about eating sensibly.

Dangerous

People with certain medical conditions will be risking death (or at least misery) if they fast or make such a radical change to their diets. These people include diabetics, pregnant women, anyone suffering from an eating disorder, those with low blood pressure, those with low iron in their blood and perhaps people with migraines. It's thought that not eating regularly may trigger attacks in some people who get migraines, according to "Migraines For Dummies" (Wiley; 2003.)

The Mayo Clinic warns that fasting and cleansing diets may make you anaemic, dehydrated or make your heart suddenly palpitate. If you do decide to do the Master Cleanse and these symptoms occur, you must call an ambulance. The Mayo Clinic also adds that there is absolutely no scientific proof that fad diets like the Master Cleanse works.

In Conclusion

If you are serious about losing weight, then you need to talk with your doctor about what foods to cut out, what to add and what exercises that would best help you. Many doctors and the American Diabetic Association recommend going onto a vegetarian or vegan diet, especially for those people facing diabetes and heart disease.