Sourcing Supplies For The Lemonade Diet Or Master Cleanse

[BittersweetFarang]

Greetings ThaiVisa. Every year for the past five years I have done the Master Cleanse which is a 10 day food fast which purifies the body (among many other benefits). I plan on doing so again, but this time in Bangkok Thailand. According to the book, The Master Cleanser, by Stanley Burroughs (it's available for free online), by abstaining from food for 10 days - and only drinking a lemonade concoction of water, maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper, the body has a chance to cleanse itself of vast amounts of impurities while still getting the nutrients it needs to retain healthy tissue. Without getting into the details too heavily, I am trying to source the following materials necessary for the Cleanse:

* Organic Maple Syrup.

* Lemons. Big yellow lemons that is.

* ground organic cayenne pepper

* Celtic sea salt.

* A non-electric orange juicer. A sturdy one with a lever is preferable.

My initial search for these items has not been very encouraging. I called Lemonfarm and they said no to all of the above.

There are a few substitutions in the above list that are acceptable:

* pure sugar cane juice in lieu of water and maple syrup.

I have seen roving sugar cane juice vendors on the street, but I will need a large and steady supply for 10 days. I saw one stand at Suan Lum night bazaar which I will try, other recommendations as to where to source this would be appreciated. Pesticide free is very important, if at all possible.

* Limes if I cannot find lemons.

* Ground red chili powder if cayenne specifically is unavailable. Anyone know what the Thai word is for Cayenne pepper?

* Non-iodized salt if Celtic sea salt or sea salt is unavailable. This is critical. Please advise if you know where I should look for this item.

If you know where I can source any one or all of these items, please post it here or PM me.

Much appreciated.

[angiud]

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Limes are fine, you can get large lemons but they cost a lot more. There is a hybrid lime that is larger and juicier and I often see them for sale at Tops and Rimping and but a fraction of the cost of imported or rare large lemons.

Maple syrup grade #2 for me seems to work much better than cane juice. I have experimented and experimented and feel free to try cane juice as its cheap and fresh but I just don't feel it works as well. lots of chemicals like ammonia are used to grow sugarcane but I don't know if that is the issue. It upsets my stomach more and I just feel agitated maybe due to the higher sugar content. The maple syrup has a lot more minerals. It could be purely psychological but for me its imported Maple syrup hands down.

you don't need a juicer at all. Just roll the lime/lemon on the counter to burst the cells then cut it and squeeze. You can use a spoon etc as leverage. There is no need for a powered juicer at all. An in between is a little juicer cup works well also.

The ground chilie pepper brands work well although its not as finely ground or dry as a good cayenne pepper. I use the chile pepper as it seems to accomplish the same effect of burning off mucus, generating heat, vitamin c and increasing circulation.

Unfortunately its hard to find any or all of these organic like in the US etc but still its very effective program. Just remember to drink lots of water between and drinking the mixture warm seems to be helpful also.

I never resort to the salt but it makes sense for minerals and fluid retention.

enjoy as its very powerful and effective if lots of water is consumed and you don't cheat and eat other foods.

Edited January 3, 2010 by CobraSnakeNecktie

[jackoneilone]

thats it?

for 10 whole days nothing else but just that?

no fiber no multivitamins no protein no fish oil nothing else?

and how does one handle the hunger pangs starvation etc?

and how did they figure you get all your body needs out of just that liquid concoction? jeeeez

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

yeah thats all. It's very popular in Hollywood etc. It seems counter intuitive but the lack of digestion demands allow the body to free up resources and perform some amazing healing and detoxing. Something like 70% of the bodies energy is used for digestion so free up 70% and its like being attached to a jet engine.

Most people try to avoid intensive physical effort during the cleanse preferring to rest and maybe some light yoga type of things to stimulate the body a little.

I have found you definitely want to avoid things like weight lifting or intense efforts like endurance sports.

It's quite easy to not have any real hunger during the cleanse. Plenty of websites and youtube video's documenting how to do it... googling "master cleanse" will yield a wealth of information

If a person is really toxic then 10+ days is often necessary. After that a lot of people just do it one day here and there and perhaps 3-4 days every month or so. A lot of the value is just the water part. Fasting 1 day a week on water accomplishes much the same maintenance results.

It's helped me greatly I have much the same body characterists at age 48 as I did at age 20. Same weight, body fat and flexibility. 70 kg, 10% fat, BMI of 23 and dam_n flexible and pliable. Even my sport bicycling is as good or better than my younger years. Not periodically fasting however and I have experienced crappy short term sensations and health conditions periodically over the years.

[jackoneilone]

hmmm ill look into it more.....

speaking of jet engines friend 54 is now on antiaging meds the whole works test, hgh, multivitamins, coq10, minerals,DMAE, dhea etc etc and BOY has he changed with the last 5 months or so! amazing!

Edited January 4, 2010 by jackoneilone

[Soutpeel]

......Master cleanse, etc etc....all a load of <deleted>

"Celtic sea salt"...... ...does it come with a set of bag pipes and a kilt ??....Salt is Salt....NaCl (Sodium Chloride)

My advice...proper diet and regular exercise

[BittersweetFarang]

......Master cleanse, etc etc....all a load of <deleted>

"Celtic sea salt"...... ...does it come with a set of bag pipes and a kilt ??....Salt is Salt....NaCl (Sodium Chloride)

My advice...proper diet and regular exercise

The Master Cleanse is a form of fasting. Which is a "load of <deleted>" you say? Moses, Jesus, and Buddha are all known to have fasted. Fasting is something that has been around for millennia, yet you dismiss it with a flippant remark. "Proper diet and regular exercise" you say?. Define "proper". There are more interpretations of "proper diet" than you can possibly imagine. Carnivore, Omnivore, vegetarian, Fruitarian, Macrobiotic, Vegan, Raw vegan, etc etc. You probably mean steak and potatoes followed by a couple of pints at the pub then go to the gym and bench press 100kgs 10 times. Don't get me wrong, I like a good steak and a drink on occasion. All the more reason I clean myself out every year.

It really is difficult to convey the benefits of something to someone who has never experienced it.

NaCl is NaCl, but salt is not salt. As far as edible table salts there is iodized salt and uniodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, Fleur de Sel, rock salt, among others. Celtic sea salt is regarded as having many beneficial mineral besides NaCl. These different salts have different minerals and refining processes and even different salinity levels or 'saltiness'.

My original post was to source the materials for the MC (Master Cleanse) in Bangkok, not to proselytize the benefits, but since you have offered your well researched and open minded wisdom, I now will share my research. I had a blood test taken before and after the last cleanse, and the numbers speak for themselves.

I wanted to have some medical evidence regarding the physical effects the MC had on my cholesterol level and liver. On the day before my cleanse I went to the doctor for a checkup, including blood work and then I went back on day 11 of the cleanse for a second blood test and here I can compare the results. I continued on the cleanse for a total of 19 days the last time and dropped 25 pounds of fat.

224 H - Total Cholesterol. (reference range 125-200)

71 - HDL Cholesterol

Cholesterol HDL/ratio 3.2

133 H - LDL Cholesterol. (reference range <130)

My good and bad cholesterol were both high (H). Doctor said this was fine. He mentioned that if my 'good' cholesterol was not high, then he might be concerned about my 'bad' cholesterol being slightly out of range on the high side.

11 days of the MC later:

151 - Total Cholesterol

56 - HDL Cholesterol

Cholesterol HDL/ratio 2.7

79 - LDL Cholesterol

Massive reduction of cholesterol. Total cholesterol dropped 31%. Good cholesterol dropped 22% and bad cholesterol dropped 41% in 11 days on the MC. What I do know now is that the MC beats the heck out of Lipitor and the junk in my arteries was removed naturally, along with 25 pounds of fat and who knows what other pollutants and toxins I may have ingested or breathed in. In addition, my liver toxicity levels dropped significantly as well: AST went from 29 to 11 and ALT went from 27 to 9. My doctor said these results were "remarkable".

It is truly amazing how that lemonade scours the circulatory system and all other parts of the body of unwanted residues.

When you experience the results, your mind will open. The first time is a leap of faith. There is no other way.

[BittersweetFarang]

It seems counter intuitive but the lack of digestion demands allow the body to free up resources and perform some amazing healing and detoxing. Something like 70% of the bodies energy is used for digestion so free up 70% and its like being attached to a jet engine.

CobraSnakeNecktie - Absolutely! Thank you for being here and supporting the Master Cleanse. It is pure and simple and cheap. It frees up so much time as well. At least half the day is spent shopping for food, preparing it, eating it, and cleaning up afterwards. The cleanse is really a mental battle. It requires discipline and it teaches you more about your body than you ever imagined. It goes beyond the physical as well. It cleanses emotional baggage and even engenders feelings I can only describe as spiritual. It's life changing. There is no money to be made selling the cleanse. That alone explains why there is an often violent dismissal of it. When I meet someone suffering from disease, the first thing that goes through my mind, is that they should try the cleanse for 10 days. I often hold back on this recommendation because I don't want to come across as a new age snake-oil salesman with the latest panacea. But in my heart, I am convinced that many diseases can be wiped out and that no harm can come from at least 10 days of fasting and purifying with this ever so simple lemonade.

[ArthurPewty]

Evolution has given the human body a great way to get rid of waste without silly diets. A few days of water, fruit and vegetables and a sauna are all that is needed, if it is needed at all.

These extreme diets are nonsense. It appears that it will do nothig but put your blood sugar on a rollar coaster and deprive you of a number of vitamins.

Edited January 10, 2010 by ArthurPewty

[jackoneilone]

It seems counter intuitive but the lack of digestion demands allow the body to free up resources and perform some amazing healing and detoxing. Something like 70% of the bodies energy is used for digestion so free up 70% and its like being attached to a jet engine.

CobraSnakeNecktie - Absolutely! Thank you for being here and supporting the Master Cleanse. It is pure and simple and cheap. It frees up so much time as well. At least half the day is spent shopping for food, preparing it, eating it, and cleaning up afterwards. The cleanse is really a mental battle. It requires discipline and it teaches you more about your body than you ever imagined. It goes beyond the physical as well. It cleanses emotional baggage and even engenders feelings I can only describe as spiritual. It's life changing. There is no money to be made selling the cleanse. That alone explains why there is an often violent dismissal of it. When I meet someone suffering from disease, the first thing that goes through my mind, is that they should try the cleanse for 10 days. I often hold back on this recommendation because I don't want to come across as a new age snake-oil salesman with the latest panacea. But in my heart, I am convinced that many diseases can be wiped out and that no harm can come from at least 10 days of fasting and purifying with this ever so simple lemonade.

Bettersweetfan:

It is inevitable with any "diet or cleanse" of that nature to see massive reductions in your cholestrol levels. Infact fasting being the main key factor would produce huge drops of the cholesterol levels and I know since Im speaking from experience and having done before/after panels just like yours. However whilst fasting I have also supplemented with things I know are good for me eg fishoil, multivitamins etc resulting in much much better cholesterol profile than yours not to mention hormonal profile and full blood panel profile. Also I would have just enough protein in an easily ingestable form so as to avoid the body canabilising itself to sustain me.

My question to you though is:

How do you deal with the hunger?

Even with supplements (making sure I had the key ingredients, minerals, vitamins, protein, glucose etc my body needed) I was very hungry.

How could you realistically ONLY intake those ingredients listed and for such a long time without cheating now and then to curb the hunger pangs and pains?

[BittersweetFarang]

How could you realistically ONLY intake those ingredients listed and for such a long time without cheating now and then to curb the hunger pangs and pains?

The answer is extraordinary. But I will tell you. Mental discipline. When I commit to something, I don't waiver. I did feel hunger pangs. When I did, I made another lemonade and the pangs simply vanished completely. The maple syrup and lemon juice is loaded with all kinds of nutrients - vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, etc. The cayenne pepper is rich in vitamin C and with lemon juice it seems to scour the body of impurities from the inside out. Organic maple syrup provides the sugars and nutrition the body needs to retain healthy muscle tissue, but this fast should not continue past 30 days, or so I am told. The last time, I went 19 days and felt a strong need to start eating solid food again. But physically, emotionally, intellectually, I felt fantastic. Completely, thoroughly, cosmically cleansed.

During the cleanse people always ask me, what about the protein? Well. A horse eats nothing but grasses and alfalfa. They seem to have healthy muscle tissue. A lion does too, but they sleep 19 hours a day on an all meat diet. The digestive system is essentially a juicer. Solids get broken down and pass through, and the juices are ingested. Breaking down those solids requires a huge amount of work. Think about how you feel after a heavy meal. Dead tired. Blood drains from your body and brain and goes to your stomach to slowly work on that meal. Juice requires little digestion at all. The lemonade requires almost no digestion allowing the body to switch metabolic states. From digestion mode to cleansing mode.

Apparently, after 3-4 days of giving your body a break from digesting, it goes to work cleaning out the body. Trillions of cells get refreshed and replenished. Every organ gets cleansed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, and brain.

Some people seem to get upset about the results that I have experienced and talk about. Not sure what the real reason is, but it rubs some people the wrong way. The naysayers are always, without exception, people who have never tried the MC and who dismiss fasting as a healthful benefit. We are brought up to immediately quench the slightest twinge of hunger by stuffing ourselves with food. I don't need to point to medical studies that show that minimal calorie intake dramatically increases longevity. I know intuitively from experience that this is the case.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

good thread. I would add that as humans we evolved for 100's of thousands of years to go without food from time to time. It's totally fine to not get any external complex proteins or essential fatty acids for a week or so. It was very common to go hungry for extended period of time thru human history. Our bodies are very accustomed to a hunger periods.

I would use weight as a safety guide. If your already too thin then MC could be a problem but most everybody is heavy these days. I suppose under a Body Mass Index of 21 then MC is questionable. A BMI of over 25-30 then most people have ample amounts of fat reserves to live off of. (don't flame me about BMI. If your a competition athlete with no body fat then your not here anyway to learn about health)

One of the concepts of fasting is that when the body is in a fasting state and needs protein then it goes looking for it inside the body and it's that quest that can help digest unwanted deposits and perhaps even some tumors.

Hunger after the first few days with the MC is really not an issue. The digestive system goes into a rest state. First few days can be tough though.

As BSF says it's a lot of mental. It's maybe that we are becoming so mentally weak these days but our ancestors were a tough lot. They could miss meals and still function and survive. The fasting or cleansing aspect can really help strengthen our self discipline muscles which need to be tested and challenged to not disappear. There are so many unhealthy and unproductive choices in our modern lives that to succeed and excel then it takes some self discipline and willpower.

The reason so many celebrities and athletes etc have embraced the MC is that its very helpful. Give it a try sometime and decide for yourself.

[jackoneilone]

As I stated I have tried shall I say for lack of a better word a more scientifically sustaining and nutritious fast. Protein came in the form of very fast absorbing low digestion sources eg Whey Protein Isolate or its functional derivatives BCAA.

Even then and knowing that nutritiously speaking Im fully providing for the body as best I can, considering its a fast (blood tests to prove things), the hunger was intense. Of course IF I dropped my intense gym sessions then I didnt feel as starved and craving food but thats logical and the most hunger was on the first few days. But then things would reach a point where you started feeling lethargic and weakish which is when you knew it was time for real food.

To explain the scientific effects of a fast on the human body would take me hours to write with a ton of references from sources and my medical texts lol so im going to skip all that. Suffice to say it affects almost all of your hormones, puts your body in a catabolic state, increases your cortisol production, reduces your metabolic state and essentially your body starts canabalising itself to feed your cellular energy requirements(first goes your glycogen reserves within a day or so and then its major source becomes your muscular structure as its easier to break down-with the help of cortisol- than fat. which is why people on such fasts though they do lose some fat lose a much larger amount of muscle. and muscle is much harder to produce and gain not to mention its beneficial effects and its increasing your metabolic rate etc. all very counterproductive).

Hence why not providing the basics with a sound scientific nutritious supplementation would be folly. The more aggressive method would be to try and counteract the catabolic state of the body by anabolic medications and supplementation. (Do note that your body does try though it fails-depending on severity and duration of fast- to counter act the catabolic state eg increase HGH).

The only way to do such a diet IMHO is to provide the requirements as mentioned and try and control/offset the catabolic state by supplementation going so far as the use of anabolic agents if needed. That way you can detox and your body breaks more fat down than your muscular tissue which is completely counterproductive to a healthy life.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

jackelone makes some good points especially for the very athletic about catabolic states.. I do know some detoxification type holistic docters in the states who prefer to use supplemented fasts to open up detoxification pathways. A pathway such as the liver, kidneys, skin etc can be greatly optimized by finetuning the nutrients during a fast.

I would say the MC is a good introduction type fast.

There are a lot of caveats when doing fasting and its best to consult a professional or clinic resort etc with some experience. Most people who should fast tend to have very slow or sluggish metabolisms. The MC cleanse is well suited to the overweight and metabolically dysfunctional.

For most people a MC fast if properly adjusted for maple syrup can maintain body weight. A person would want to adjust the amount of maple syrup to their weight goals. Less maple syrup for more weight loss.

I used to ride semi competitively bicycles and have a fairly high metobolism so 10 days of fasting is rarely needed. If I have a symptom like nasal congestion or gum tenderness then I find its my body telling me to do some fasting and clean things out. Everybody has different objectives for fasting of course and the specific symptoms or reasons should be taken into account when designing a fast.

It's probably advisable to try various types of fasting whether it be straight water, MC or amino/fatty acid assisted and see which works for various goals and objectives. Starting with a day or so and gradually building up. It would be fairly arrogant of me or anyone to assume a narrowly defiined set of goals and rigid protocol for all people thinking of fasting.

Take a diabetic for example. Maple syrup is not going to work. In that case using blackstrap molassas would be preferable.

Hopefully this thread acts as a starting point for some and the beginning of greater self health management for others.

If a reader is looking for some sort of holy war discussion on fasting then google and there are plenty to choose from like curezone or earthclinic. Just sorting thru the history of fasting and the many books and studies already conducted is a serious endeavor. Maybe someone out there will be stimulated by this discussion to go and learn more.

Fasting is a long recognized and powerful tool of self healing but of course it has many forms, styles and case specific objectives.

[fullwhenempty]

How could you realistically ONLY intake those ingredients listed and for such a long time without cheating now and then to curb the hunger pangs and pains?

It's the cheating that creates the hunger pangs. When your digestion 'shuts down' after 24-48 hrs, you don't usually feel hunger. As has been said, hourly drinks dampen down any hunger pangs in the first two days. If you cheat, you kick your digestion back into life and that's when real hunger surfaces. It's actually very easy to continue, once you commence any fast. Another way hunger pangs are reduced is by taking psyllium and bentonite shakes. They give you a 'full' feeling.

There is a difference between proper juice fasting and malnutrition or starvation. With the former you are still getting vitamins, minerals and enzymes. You take your food in liquid form, which is more readily assimilable and concentrated.

There are a number of ways to customize fasts to suit your constitution and particular health needs. I prefer holistic 'detox' programs, that have the most likelihood of resolving health problems, rather than those that concentrate only on colon cleansing.

Some excellent posts on this.

[BittersweetFarang]

Just wanted to revive an old post with an update. I was unable to source Organic Maple Syrup anywhere in Bangkok. I recently returned to Thailand just in time for the riots and the mayhem. I brought back with me 2 quarts of grade B organic maple syrup and right now I am on day 10 of the cleanse. Feeling excellent. Lost 6 kilos of fat and feeling better than I have in a quite a while. I don't do this for the weight loss, I do it for the complete body detoxification, however, weight loss is a welcome side effect. I think I am going to go another 2 days. The main challenge is not eating the delicious Thai food all around me. It take serious mental fortitude to do this in Thailand, but it is worth it.

To your health!

[Soutpeel]

day 10 of the cleanse. Feeling excellent. Lost 6 kilos of fat and feeling better than I have in a quite a while. To your health!

6kgs in 10 days is not fat loss....its fluid loss and its very dangerous, controlled/sustained weight loss should be 1-1.5kg a week

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Well fat cells don't go away but when a person is toxic then they swell up to encapsulate excess minerals from the body and the fat cells appear more substantial. Apparently the bodies fat cells don't fluctuate in number. I have had similar experiences decreasing bloating from my body. Not sure if I would call it fat per se.

When a person is toxic with various excess metals/mineral issues then the cells, fluids(lymph etc) of the body often compensates with bloating as the normal cellular respiration is impaired. The extra water weight is a dis-ease condition and removing the congestion will rapidly reduce the bloating or water weight. Often this bloating is caused by excess salts which are clogging the cells membranes and stressing the kidneys and adrenal glands from operating at efficiency. When the body cannot remove these excess substances then they are parked in fat cells for safe keeping along with some fluid.

The MC diet itself is extremely water rich and full of minerals so I wouldn't be particularly concerned about metabolites or hydration unless lightheadedness occurs or the body mass is below a healthy level. It's best to rest and only do light activity like yoga, stretching or short walks during such a cleanse. Doing hard workouts would catabolize muscle tissue which would be counterproductive. Some people can even gain weight on the master cleanse. It depends on how much maple syrup is used as well as the inbalances of the body. The MC tends to adjust the body to where it should be.

Good results !! I know a lot of people are skeptical about Master Cleanse but it really works for rejuvenation and hard to believe until a person tries it for themselves. The could just as well call it 'Master Reset' because that is what it does.

[mahtin]

Where can we find good salt here?

Down to the last half kilo of Himalayan I brought with me.