The Master Cleanse Diet has made another of its periodic appearances in the public eye. The important thing to remember about the Master Cleanse Diet is that it isn’t actually a diet. It’s a method of fasting, not a method of dieting. As such, it can be extremely dangerous.

Essentially what you’re doing on the master cleanse diet is starving yourself. The lemon juice and cayenne pepper mixture that you’re supposed to drink is not anything to do with "diet": it’s to make sure that you don’t die from electrolytic imbalances while taking no salt or sugar into your system. The fasting regime also requires that youhave at least one "top down" salt water enema a day. Just as a basic guide to being sensible, anything which makes your gut stop working is simply a stupid idea.

The concept of the Master Cleanse Diet derives
from the fact that we live in a fairly polluted world. So polluted that
our bodies cannot detoxify properly as a result. This build-up over
time can produce long-term health problems including diabetes, cancers,
acidity problems as well as many other health problems. This cleanse is
supposed to level out the body while intensely detoxifying the system
over a period of ten days. It has been said that we are what we eat as
well as we are what we most commonly do. This is the stance that the
Master Cleansers go by.

That is pure, unadulterated, prime grade, numero uno, bollocks.

The Master Cleanse Lemonade Diet has even hit
hollywood in a big way. Famous singer Beyonce Knowles is a large
advocate of the master cleanse lemonade diet. It is recommended,
however that people go through the diet using a fiber supplement, colon
cleanser or natural laxative as the diet does not consist of any fiber.

No fiber? Good Grief!

As solid food is not eaten it is necessary to help the digestive system
eliminate material and avoid constipation. This is achieved in two
ways: laxative tea is taken every night, and in the morning, a large
volume of lukewarm brackish water serves as a top-down enema. The salt
in the water is salt-balanced compared to the blood; ie, the salt level
sufficient that the water is not easily absorbed by the intestines, yet
not salty enough to make one gag as it is drunk or suffer from excess
salt symptoms. This passes through the digestive system extremely
quickly – 30-60 minutes.

No solid food at all? Are these people insane? Look what happens when two journalists go on these sorts of diets:

The hour long program is the conceptual inverse of Super Size Me, instead of eating and eating these women diet, fast, and exercise, exercise, exercise. These women work so very hard to drop enough weight to fit into UK size zero, the equivalent of a US size four, and they have six weeks to reach their super-skinny goal. They try the Master Cleanse (aka lemonade diet), protein shakes, watercress soup with nothing else, and colonics (the scene is actually quite graphic and very unglamorous). This extreme relationship to food truly disrupts their lives and relationships, and one becomes borderline bulimic; although, I do believe the supervising physician does a good job of intervening.
Even more interesting than the actual dieting is the epilogue of the show when we catch up with the journalists two weeks and five weeks after their experiment is over. The pounds return quickly for one woman, perfectly illustrating the dangers of yo-yo dieting and the other journalist is still wrestling with her food issues. It is so sad to see.
This hour-long program really hammers home how unhealthy, both mentally and physically, extreme dieting truly is. I do fear some women will still find the final super-skinny results appealing and block out the dangers of this type of dieting.

To understand how dangerous the master cleanse diet is consider this:

Pop star Beyonce may have a figure that many of us envy, but
                it seems she believes in the ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra to get it
                that way. In fact, this is one of the most extreme diets ever
                and makes Carol Vorderman’s detox plans look like a positive
                food fest.

This diet is potentially dangerous. Effectively, it involves
                drinking nothing but sugared water for days on end. Of course
                you will lose weight, but that’s purely the result of limiting
                calories excessively.

A tablespoon (which they say is 10ml) of Natural Tree Syrup
                contains just 26 calories. That means if you have six drinks a
                day (each containing the recommended 2 tablespoons of syrup),
                your daily intake will be just 312 calories. Even nine drinks
                only provide 468 calories.

Between 300 and 500 calories a day: when the average adult needs 2,000 just to keep going. Of course you’ll lose weight. And quite possibly damage yourself in the process. Consider this:

(calories) in concentration camps has been estimated at. 500–900 calories …per day.

And on the master cleanse diet you’re going to get anything from one third to all of the calories that concentration camp victims got. And do you know what happened when they studied those victims?

Our study confirms that subjects who have survived a period of extreme food
deprivation are more likely to develop binge eating behaviour.

Yup, by doing something so amazingly stupid as following the master cleanse diet you’re making it more likely that you will binge eat in the future. Please, don’t do anything so damn silly: if you want to lose weight eat a little less and exercise a little more. Don’t be taken in by charlatans, Just Say No!