The Master Cleanse is a serious, long term body cleanse created by Stanley Burroughs in 1941.  Burroughs considered it a detoxification program that removes harmful toxins, promotes weight loss, and cures ulcers.

The cleanse is done in 3 different parts; the Ease-in, the Lemonade Diet and the Ease-out.  The first part, the Ease In, is a three day body prep.  The amount and types of food that most people consume on a daily basis are not conducive to this cleanse, so the first 3 days will slowly wean you off of foods and onto a juice diet.

The cleanse itself can be done for any amount of time.  3 days is the shortest time frame, but some people do it one day a week.  5-7 days is a good first try and 10 days will give you the best results.  Each day, you prepare your daily allotment of “lemonade”.  The lemonade you will be consuming is not your standard lemonade.  You will be making it with fresh squeezed lemon (or lime) juice, organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper.  This will be your diet for the next 10 days.  Anytime you feel hunger, you drink the lemonade.

The other big part of this body cleanse is the Salt Water Flush.  Each day (you can do this in the morning or the evening to fit your schedule) you will mix Organic Sea Salt into a glass of water and drink it.  You do not have to drink it in one go, but if you take a break, you may not be able to continue drinking.  This will cause a bowel movement.  It can take 5 minutes or it can take 60 minutes.  You should make sure that when you do the Salt Water flush that you are in close proximity to a bathroom.  You will most likely have 3-7 movements.  During the first few days, you will be moving all the solid matter out of your body.  In the following days, you will expel the toxins that are the reason you’re doing this body cleanse in the first place.

During the cleanse, you can drink as much water as you want.  Water will help keep you full and will chase the taste of both the Salt Water portion and the Lemonade out of your mouth.
The Ease-out is the same thing as the Ease-in.  Because your body has not been used to solid foods, reintroducing them slowly is a good idea.  Running out to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger would most likely make you very sick very quickly.  You should start slowly, with juices and then work yourself back up to where you are eating solid foods.

The Master Cleanse is not for the faint of heart!  It’s one of the most extreme detox methods available and can be one of the harshest of the body cleanse choices.  Jared Leto and Beyonce have both tried this diet with great results.  Beyonce, however, denounced the diet, saying that there are other ways to lose weight and she would not recommend it if someone wasn’t doing a movie.  It is a fairly large time commitment and can be more hassle than it’s worth.

Pop star opinions aside, The Master Cleanse is NOT for everyone and you should make sure you prepare yourself adequately for such an extreme body detox method.