Immigration to China

Decided to do a Master Cleanse diet while I’m staying at home and have lots of spare time. It consists of drinking just lemonade for 10 days straight. Supposedly this cleanse eliminates toxins and other crap from your body and is really good when done several times a year.  

These are the claims about the Lemonade Diet made in the original “Master Cleanser” book by Stanley Burroughs:

– dissolves and eliminates toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body

– cleanses the kidneys and the digestive system

– purifies the glands and cells throughout the entire body

– eliminates all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles

– relieves pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries, and blood vessels

– builds a healthy blood stream

We’ll see.

It’s the first time in my life I’ll be doing a cleanse like this, so really have no clue of what to expect. Bought organic lemons and maple syrup from Whole Foods yesterday and ready to start.

Day 1

Feeling a little tired today from all of the 4^th of July celebrations, which food-wise included eating lots of pizza and drinking lots of beer. Talk about healthy nutrition! The perfect time to start cleansing and getting rid of toxins from my body.

Only got hungry and prepared the lemonade at noon. It turned out to be really concentrated with lemon juice and not sweet enough, will try to add more maple syrup later on. Feeling a little twitching in my left eye after drinking three glasses straight. I guess my body is adjusting to a new life! Also, my level of alertness increased a lot about half an hour after drinking it.

Started to feel really hungry in the evening. The foods that I never really considered as enjoyable, like sunflower seeds, now look and smell really amazing…

Day 2

Woke up with some pain in my stomach. Must have been that herbal laxative tea I drank before going to sleep. Started the morning with my first-ever salt water flush. Drank 3 glasses of water mixed with salt and about an hour later started “eliminating” it. Felt like I was peeing with my a**. The weirdest feeling ever!

Decided to go for my morning walk an hour later and felt really weak and dehydrated. Also feeling mildly depressed. I guess I need to have some lemonade for breakfast too, after the salt-water flush. 

Day 3

Started adding Cayenne pepper to the lemon juice and syrup mixture yesterday, as the original recipe stated. The taste of the lemonade with pepper in it changed a lot, but I actually like it more since the drink feels more filling in the stomach. Started adding more pepper per portion today after getting used to it.

Had “breakfast” of 3 glasses today after the morning flush. Felt pretty good during the morning, but became really weak after taking a short 30 minute walk to the newly open CityGarden. Drank another 3 glasses and feeling fine now.

Still experiencing feelings of hunger. My sensations of smell are a lot more vivid than before and I also started to notice how much leftover food is left on the plates after people are finished eating at outdoor tables of restaurants and cafes.

Day 4

Feeling a lot more energetic and not hungry at all today. I guess the detox period lasted 3 days for me and is now over…

I noticed that I am not as willing to read books as before the cleanse. Internet usage is still huge though.

Days 5–7

Feeling pretty stable the last few days. My energy and alertness levels have been maintained at good levels. Still feeling some hunger in the evenings before going to sleep.

One noticeable thing is the weight loss. Since I’m really thin, I didn’t expect to lose any weight during the Master Cleanse. However, my shorts started falling off of me in the last few days, forcing me to wear a belt all the time! Definitely lost a few pounds.

Days 8–10

Not much to report here. Cruising through the last few days like on an auto-pilot. Experiencing excellent alertness and energy levels. 

Kinda getting used to the cleanse, it is hard to imagine I will be eating solid food again in just a few days. It seems like I could go on like that for a lot longer…

The salt-water flush, however, will not be missed!

Breaking the cleanse (4 days)

Day 1. Drinking orange juice (with pulp) the whole day, as recommended. Feeling crappy, weak and cold. The stomach is growling. Even though each glass of OJ has twice the calories as lemonade, still feeling somewhat hungry.

Day 2. Cooked a delicious vegetable soup first thing in the morning. Ate five bowls of it during the day at regular 2–hour intervals. Feeling much better today as the food digestion has begun.

Days 3–4. Went to the parents house for the weekend and started eating lots of salads made of home-grown vegetables. Yummy! Also started eating soups with meat and other foods like sweets. Got very full of overeating all of it, especially the fatty stuff. My digestion is back to normal though. Just need to slow down and get back to a 3–times-a-day eating schedule. Also noticed that my book-reading power came back to me the last couple of days. The Master Cleanse is complete.

Conclusion

To tell you the truth, I didn’t experience any of the medical benefits promised by the Master Cleanse. My long-time hand and recent foot injury did not become any better during and after the cleanse, but they didn’t get any worse either. The main benefits experienced were entirely psychological and spiritual. I definitely felt more connected to nature and the external universe. It’s easy to understand why fasting became a part of many religions. Being a little hungry a few times a year can’t hurt!

I’ve really come to appreciate the role of food in my life, and what an abundance of food choices I have (when not on the cleanse!). The cleanse brought me focus on how much I DO have in my life, versus focusing on the things that I haven’t achieved. It made me reassess my attitudes and feel greatful for my existence, despite all of the problems.

Definitely a valuable experience that I’ll be willing to repeat every year.