To 'Master Cleanse" or not?

Eeek, reading the Wikipedia entry on this scares me. I’ve never done a fasting diet like this, but I imagine the only thing it would accomplish would be to flush out all of the good bacteria from your system, make your metabolism go way down, and send your body into starvation mode. I’ve asked doctors about fasting before, and they either have told me it was bad idea or that it’s only useful for a day or two.

to me, fasting serves a primarily mental or spiritual function, but I fail to see where it fits in with the health of the body.

watch penn and teller ” detoxing” its still on itunes

I wouldent do it the deit sounds fairly bad tasting I am a vegetarian and I’m well in shape and healthy.

I have done the master cleanse before, and it was an interesting experience. I did not make it the full 10 days, but found the experience to be unique. And no, the diet does not taste bad at all (that is, unless you hate lemonade). I actually loved drinking spicy lemonade for a week. Doctors say that fasting is bad, but many natural paths say its good. Hard to say, but it did not kill me and I got plenty of minerals and vitamins from the maple syrup.
Why did I do it: long story (mostly wanted to detoxify).
Why did I stop: I was not getting enough proteins.
If you really want to do it, give it a shot. Just make sure to listen to your body while you are doing it.

Thanks b, exactly the type of response (and source) I was seeking. My motivations are the same and as far as the taste thing goes, I know will like it. I also don’t think I’ll last all ten but I figure even half would be helpful. I also just want to see if I can do it.

I hope you enjoy the experience peedub. Here is a link to a PDF with a copy of the the original text from Stanley Burroughs. I highly suggest you follow the directions for coming off the fast very closely, even if you only fast for a few days.

Thanks a lot.

You’re welcome. Let us know how it goes.

I’ve actually tried the master cleanse (lemonade) diet to detox. And, well I only was able to stay on it for 7 days. I was mostly hoping to get rid of any parasites that I might have, but didn’t experience any of that (not sure if you’ve seen some of the pictures online of what came out of some master cleansers! scary stuff). I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t on it long enough or if it was because I didn’t have any parasites.
I’ve thought about doing it again, but it really is not easy. But hey I lasted 7 days, which was shocking. A friend of mine lasted 2 weeks, she lost a bunch of weight, but it came back when she started eating again.
I definately think it’s a good thing to do. Fasting is a great way to detox our bodies and to give our digestive system a break. Not bad to do every once in a while.
If you don’t think you can do the master cleanse…maybe you can start with a juice fast? That way you’re getting calories, but it’s all fruits/veggies, you’ll be detoxing but getting tons of nutrition at the same time. Maybe even if you just do it for one weekend.
I’ll be honest with you, I seriously felt like fainting a couple of times, specially the first couple of days. It’s weird but you kinda get used to it after the first few days. I guess your stomach just shrinks.
If you do try it, be careful when you start eating again, follow the instructions and start eating things slowing, you don’t want to shock your system.

Good luck!!! Let us know what happens.