The Master Cleanse: Fasting is the new black, darling

Last week, there was an entire display at Whole Foods in West Hollywood devoted to, well, not eating any food at all. Meanwhile -- on KCRW's radio show "Good Food" -- a heated debate raged over not ingesting an ounce of protein, good or bad. Oh, and don't forget that Gwyneth Paltrow was admitted to a New York hospital for undisclosed reasons in mid-January but reportedly managed to still maintain a fast.

Unbelievably, fasting is no longer the province of West Coast wing nuts, yogis and whippet-sized starlets. And one particular regimen -- the Master Cleanse -- has gone decidedly mainstream. "Master Cleanse" was the most searched recipe in 2007 on Google.com. The "lemonade diet," a variation on this detoxifying program, placed third.

Tired of using utensils? Too lazy to launder those Frette napkins? Sick of wondering what it must be like to dine at Mozza before midnight? Join the growing club of "no-foodies." This 10-day fast in which you survive on fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water could be your salvation.

"It's always popular at the beginning of the year because people have resolutions about getting healthy and losing weight," says Sharon Glasser, the "whole body team leader" (no kidding) at the Whole Foods on Fairfax Boulevard. "We get 75 calls a day about the Master Cleanse at this location alone."

What's most amazing about this detoxifying regimen is its enduring popularity. Think of it as the Chanel jacket of diets. The fast was first created in the 1940s by an alternative health practitioner named Stanley Burroughs (right), who was also a nudist and peddler of cancer cures. In 1976, he self-published a 50-page book called "The Master Cleanser" and since then, variations abound. There's the "lemonade diet" and a "master cleanse" CD set devoted to completing this rigorous detox program.

Here in Los Angeles, you're nobody if you haven't starved yourself. Beyonce did the cleanse last year to prepare for her role in "Dream Girls" and lost 20 pounds in 10 days.

I made it through nine days on the Master Cleanse last May, and I can't think of a time in my life that I was more popular at cocktail parties. You would have thought I won the Nobel Peace Prize or gnawed off my left leg at the knee. People approached me to grab my hand and murmur, "I'm so impressed" or "Wow. I could never do that."

"I've done the cleanse more times than I can count," says Anna Getty, the oil heiress, eco-lifestyle guru and prenatal yoga instructor who teaches at Golden Bridge in Los Angeles. "I first heard of it at a yoga class. People in the yoga community are always cleansing."

The weight loss is just part of it. Go online to one of the dozen or so Web communities devoted to the cleanse and you'll find varied reports on wellness -- from "glowing skin" to "mental acuity." People even blog about their copious bowel movements and upload photos of what comes out of their colons. FYI: Be mighty careful before you scroll down on certain sites.

Doctors haven't spoken out en masse against the cleanse, but many of them bristle at the outlandish health claims associated with it. Die-hards insist that all bodily toxins and mucus are purged from the large intestine. Others say the cleanse can cure kidney ailments, arthritis, even athlete's foot. In my opinion, the cleanse is just a way to reboot how you look at food and erase a hard drive of bad eating habits.

Some cleanse enthusiasts take it too far and fast for as long as 40 days, which sounds a lot like a Jesus complex. Me? I lost about 10 pounds in nine days and about $600 in skinny jeans that didn't fit two months later. Come to think of it, gnawing off a few limbs might have made more sense.

Photo: Whole Foods, Los Angeles Times; Beyonce, WireImage

EVER TRIED THE MASTER CLEANSE? HATE IT OR LOVE IT?  NO EXPLICIT POOP POSTS, PLEASE.

Comments

[Steve]

What? No cabbage soup? Hi, just want to mention, the geocities link isn't working anymore. Gotta go-- got my 10 day no-oxygen diet to plan.

[Charlie Rebich]

I know the Master Cleanse works. I have literally talked with hundreds of people who have done the diet and had literally miraculous results. I should know since I own the company that sells the improved Master Cleanse that uses palm syrup instead of maple. We call our version the Neera Super Cleanse (www.neerasupercleanse.com). Neera means palm syrup in India and it is a much more nutritious syrup that makes the diet easier.

We have a great web site that talks about the diet and has articles about some of the scientific studies that have come out that support occasional fasting and low calorie diets.

If you have any questions about the diet please let me know. Send me an email from our web site. We also have stores that sell our version in LA. Just down the road from Whole Foods, Erewhon (a better, independent store) sells our version.

Have a wonderful and healthy day,
Charlie Rebich
www.neerasupercleanse.com

[Belinda Tuminski]

I just wanted to comment here with one word of caution, that should be mentioned in any such article. The Master Cleanse is okay to do for short periods of time if you are not very young, or very elderly and frail. If you are diabetic, that needs to be monitored VERY carefully.

We are a "give it to me fast" society, and "fast" is not always necessarily safe with long lasting results. Muscle wasting can occur, with such a plan. You definitly want to detox, and this should one day become self evident.
With all the little poisons, the FDA and EPA allow in all our personal products, foods, meats, water and even the toxins in the air, it is prudent in my opinion to detox on a regular basis. It is said that a little bit of poison won't hurt you because your body does have a built in detoxification system, but they totally disregard the accumulative effect. Our bodies detoxification systems was not designed for life in the 21st century.

So, in our best interest, we should be detoxing on a regular basis, and avoiding as many of these toxins as we can. I have studied detoxification for many years, and have concluded that the best detox is one that cleanses and rebuilds as well. The rebuilding portion of the Master Cleanse is missing, just be aware of that. One of the best ways to detox, is to do so nutritionally.

Jeffery Bland, who is an incredible brain, developed nutritional foods that can be specifically for the purpose of health and detoxification. To this nutritional food, you need to be adding probiotics, balanced essential fatty acids, whey protein, and organic fruits for improvement or satisfaction of taste. You can also add additional ingredients that are benefical to you body's functioning and detoxification.

Thank you for allowing me to speak my two cents. If further discussion is desired, I can be reached at www.detoxsense@yahoo. I am working on building a site at www.detoxsense.com, and it will be up and running in the near future. It will be basically be an educational site to promote truth in healing, and I will also be making available some of the best products I have learned of.

You are on the right track!! Health is where its at!! Its amazing how good health effects all the dimensions of the human design, including mood, attitude and spirit! Good luck to you all!

Belinda

[Emma]

Is there anyone else who would like to tout their snake oil for free? Please post here.

[butterflysoup]

Too complicated. My erstwhile health food guru, a nurse, suggested 8 broiled oranges a day. (Or maybe 10, I can't remember, probably doesn't matter.)
Got very hungry for a while but kept going. High as a kite by the end. Never did it again.

[butterflysoup]

Too complicated. My erstwhile health food guru, a nurse, suggested 8 broiled oranges a day. (Or maybe 10, I can't remember, probably doesn't matter.)
Got very hungry for a while but kept going. High as a kite by the end. Never did it again.

[Humble Bee Health]

The Master Cleanser is a very powerful tool for all kinds of changes for the body. For those of you with more questions I have assembled a Master Clenaser Frequently Asked Questions page here...
http://www.humblebeehealth.com/frequently-asked-questions-master-cleanse-related/

[Stevie Wilson]

Hey Monica.

I don't think I sent you the link to this but this column as seen in the print edition made me remember the updated and NEW version of the diet.. which is a TABLET
check it out here-Note I did include you in the blog!

http://la-story.com/food_beveraage/detox_diet_does_it_work_la_times_monica_corcoran_w/

It's ok.... not as puke-worthy as the original.
just drink LOTS of water!

Stevie Wilson

[The Master Cleanse Diet is a Scam!!!]

Get the real story: http://hubpages.com/hub/Master-Cleanse-Lemonade-Diet

Any starvation diet (the only calories you're ingesting during this period are from the maple syrup in the drink) will give you rapid weight loss, but you'll put the weight back on... usually plus some!

It's also dangerous to your health, considering the irritation to your digestive tract and the fact that the recommended salt water flush will strip your colons of all the "friendly bacteria" that protect you from infection.

Oh, and the small fact that Stanley Burroughs, who created the Master Cleanse, was convicted of second degree murder for the death of a patient under his care.

[Sabrina Quinones]

I did the master cleanse last year for a whopping 21 days!!! I lost 40 lbs and kept it off for 6 months. THEN I went back to eating the crap I was eating before and really OVER DID IT! I gained back so much freaking weight. About 30 lbs. I am going on the cleanse again tomorrow for a month this time and I will be more strict about my eeating habits when I come off of it.

[brian]

I've been doing the Master Cleanse on an annual basis for about 30 years, once for 40 days. I find that after an initial 3 days of wooziness, I feel like Superman - even better than when I am eating normally.

I am well over 300 pounds, nearly 50 years old, and freely describe myself as a glutton. My blood pressure and cholesterol should be through the roof. Still, my annual physical has been very good. I accredit this to the fast. My doctor is still concerned about this, so I only do it for 10-12 days now, plus the 3 days coming off of it.

The more Cayenne you can handle on this fast, the better. Cayenne pepper is supposed to be one of natures great healing herbs, so load up on it. Inevitably, my extremities are unusually chilled because of the large amount of cayenne warming the blood. This is even evident on hot summer days.

Losing weight is only a minor asset to this regiment. This should be done to detox the body, not to lose weight. However, I do lose about 1.5 pounds a day when I am on it.

I've worked a strenuous job railroading while on this with no adverse affects. If you can handle the tough regiment this fast requires, then I would highly recommend this cleansing fast.

Finally, after the fast, I take a weeks worth of acidophilus-bifidobacterium to replenish the good bacteria that was destroyed during the fast.

Feel free to email me with questions.

[Chelsea]

I agree with Gwyneth that the master cleanse is too extreme. I think drinking lemom water for days on end is not enough nutrients. There are two girls in my office who ARE on the cleanse right now. They are very argumentative about the benefits of the cleanse and wrote a blog post about it. You decide. http://blog.mindbites.com/the-master-cleanse-what-why-and-how/

[Sky Minor]

Having done the cleanse twice myself I can say that there is no better feeling than on the third day in, when most food residue clears itself out. The feeling is akin to the buzz from drinking three cups of coffee. Constantly. You jump out of bed in the morning and you have more energy than you would normally. Mental acuity is razor-sharp. After day 4-5 you don't even miss food and after day 8 food begins to repulse you with a sharper sense of smell that you have. I am slender normally at 6'2" 170lbs and vegetarian but i dropped 10 lbs myself. Awesome for the beach body. I second the notion that the extremities can become chilled. The first time I cleansed I also went sober without drinking or smoking and that only aided my energy and sharp mental status. The second time I allowed myself to smoke a reefer after day five so I feel like I was repolluting my de-polluted body temple. My advice would be to avoid smoking.

[Alfonzo]

When I was young, the people in my church often did the cleanse, and I woulod see them act as if they were on their death bed. I graduated from college last year and got a stressful job that most people my age do not get for maybe 5-10 years after college. Because of the stress and high demand, I was really not taking care of myself and eating the right things.

Reluctanty, i started the cleanse. The lemonade was actually tastey to me (i even added a littel more cayanne pepper). I did this for 15 days and lost 20+ lbs. Even on the dreadful days 3 and 4 i wasn't that bad. I have friends who could not last 2 days! I have read a lot of posts and comments on many different sites. I have come to the realization that people keep calling this a diet when it is not. It is a cleanse with weight loss being a side effect. So more importantly i felt better, more energetic, and my thinking was clearer. Common sense should tell people that if they start back eating the same crap after the cleanse they will gain the weight back. I did well for months, but got promoted and fell back into the same rut. Of course I gained some of the weight back, and IT'S MY FAULT. I will be starting the cleanse some time this month. Wish me luck!

I think that most of the reservations that people have about the MC come from the fear that no food=starvation. I would like to make it very clear that at no time was i hungry, but the cravings were fierce sometimes, especially when i started tasting certain foods in my mouth :# I found that it helped when i just took a little time to smell foods. My coworkers thought i was crazy for smelling the doughnuts in the breakroom but it helped me a lot! I only stopped at day 15 because when i was doing it, the price of lemons shot up in my area to almost 70 cent per lemon #conventional lemons). I have a whole foods store in my new location with lemons 2 for $1 so i am good now!

[wild about horses]

I am on day 4 of the cleanse right now and I feel great.
I am not hungry at all and have excess energy. I have been doing yoga every day, taking walks w/ my dogs, and working at my job. I believe that people get "hungry" for 2 reasons. One is that they may not be drinking enough of the lemonade; and two is that your mind plays games with you when you start to not eat. Your cravings kick up a notch and insist that you fulfill them.
If you do the MC to deprive yourself to lose weight quickly you will be hungry and miserable. If you do the MC to get healthy and give your body and mind a break you will feel great.
This is my second cleanse. I did my first cleanse a year ago b/c I was diagnosed w/ cervical cancer and wanted to help my body heal itself by getting all "of the junk out". After my surgery my doctor told me that she never saw anyone heal as quickly as I did.
I have decided to do a 21 day cleanse this time b/c my eating habits have gotten out of control and I want to break them. I used to never, ever even think of eating fried foods and for the last few months I can't get enough of them. I am tired and grouchy all of time and I think it is b/c of the sugary, greasy food I have been eating. I am an emotional eater and I want to break that habit.
The MC helps me reclaim my life by forcing me to not eat unhealthy foods. The MC helps me prove to myself that I can have self control over my daily eating habits. It helps my mind get back in the drivers seat instead of being ruled by cravings. I am not over weight or out of shape. The MC helps me find my center and get back to healthy habits, like doing yoga every morning and making healthy food choices.
I have a bachelors degree in animal nutrition and science so I am not misinformed about what fasting does to your body.
For me, it is more of a spiritual cleanse to reconnect with myself.
I don't understand why people who don't cleanse get so angry about people who do. Is it b/c those who don't can't and therefore feel threatened, or just their need to be right? I had a person who smokes and goes out a few nights a week to drink tell me how unhealthy the MC is for me. That was funny to me.
Live and let live!