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The official Master Cleanse diet was created by Stanley Burroughs. In 1941, Burroughs began promoting his lemonade-only diet as a means to burn fat and lose weight. In 1976 he released his book "The Master Cleanse," which revised the diet to all liquids, instructing dieters to consume only lemon juice, lime juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. Drinks made with mixtures of these ingredients are ingested six to 12 times per day. Afterward, users drink an herbal laxative tea to further flush out the intestines.
The major targets of the Master Cleanse diet are the toxins brought into the body from processed foods, an unhealthy environment or drug use. Daily caloric intake is reduced dramatically by this diet, but because it is much easier for the body to digest and assimilate liquids only, fewer calories are used by the body. This is supposed to increase the body's natural ability to metabolize stored fats for energy.
The natural ingredients of the Master Cleanse diet break up mucus (lemon), provide carbohydrate energy in the form of unprocessed sugar (maple syrup) and shed excess waste from digestive linings (laxative tea).
Because of the extreme caloric restrictions placed on the body during the Master Cleanse, be sure to read one of the books written on the subject before you start. These include Burroughs' original "The Master Cleanse" and Peter Glickman's "Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days." -
The human body experiences, and even produces, a large amount of toxins daily. Free radicals are created as waste byproducts of cellular metabolism processes. Processed foods contain additives and preservatives that are unnatural in the human body. Excess caffeine, tobacco or other drugs create waste material that is useless in the body.
An overload of toxins in the human body due to poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle are one of the major causes of stress to the immune system, which is designed to clear toxins from the body. A poorly functioning immune system is a major factor in poor overall health. As detox diets are aimed at clearing the harmful toxins from the body, including free radicals and man-made pollutants, they have become popular with health-conscious individuals who want to support their immune systems. -
The active ingredients in marijuana are called cannabinoids. Of these, the most commonly cited is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC, and to a lesser extent other cannabinoids, affect the secretion and reuptake of several neurotransmitters in the body, affecting motor function, appetite, mental acuity and a host of other bodily functions. In order for the THC to be activated, heat must be present. For most marijuana users, this is accomplished either through smoking the marijuana flower of the cannabis plant directly or by baking the THC from the flower into a fatty substance, such as butter or oil. This works because of THC's high fat solubility.
After a person uses marijuana, the THC remains in many different parts of the body, including the hair, blood, urine and fat cells. A person who smokes marijuana will store anywhere between 10 to 25 percent of the THC in his body; food-based marijuana ingestion causes the body to store about six percent. Although THC leaves many of the bodily fluids soon after use, it takes a week for 60 to 70 percent of the stored THC to leave the fat cells, and about a month for it to be completely disposed from your body. -
The most popular form of marijuana drug testing for employers or other testing agencies is urine testing, however, a variety of other tests exist as well. Urine will test positive for marijuana if 50 nanograms of THC per milliliter of liquid is detected.
The biggest factors of bodily levels of THC in the body are personal use and individual metabolism. Without increased detoxification, the normal half life of THC can vary between one and 10 days. Chronic marijuana users will store THC longer, as built-up THC does not get the chance to be metabolized and disposed from the system. A faster metabolism will allow the body to dispose of excess THC more rapidly. Based on these two factors, the time needed for total marijuana detoxification can vary anywhere between three and 50 days.
The Master Cleanse diet is not scientifically supported beyond the work of a few respected nutritionists. However, any process undertaken to improve the body's ability to metabolize fats, such as diet and exercise, will increase the rate at which internal levels of THC are lowered.
