The Master Cleanse, or the lemonade diet, was developed by Stanley Burroughs in the 1940’s and I have found that it is one of the most beneficial and easy of all the detox programs to do. You basically just have fresh lemon juice (2 Tablespoons) in a glass of pure water with grade B maple syrup and a dash of cayenne pepper and you can drink 6-8 glasses a day. You may alter the amount of maple syrup to taste or decrease it to take off a bit of weight or choose an alternative sweetener like stevia or agave. The drink is both cleansing and nourishing and having the mix of sour, sweet, pungent, hot tastes is deliciously satisfying. Grade B maple syrup is high in many vitamins and minerals such as manganese, zinc, B complex and amino acids and helps maintain the body’s energy levels during the cleanse. Cayenne pepper increases blood circulation and heart action. It is usually recommended to try this cleanse for three days at first and later to increase it to ten days. For more information, check out the web for the lemonade diet.

However, the Master Cleanse is not necessarily right for everyone and the book Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis Balch describes a number of liquid diets that are based on vegetable juices and a liver cleanse which relies on apple juice. Also, at our center we carry the Standard Process 21 day purification kit, which structures a dietary regime around salads, vegetables and supportive herbal preparations. Many of our clients, who cannot do a liquid fast, obtain great results from this approach.

In the next blog, I’ll be discussing the benefits of deep breathing and nature connection for wellbeing. Meanwhile, try to get a dose of ‘Vitamin Nature’ by taking a daily walk around your neighborhood and closely observe the natural environment in which you live—this helps to ground you in the ‘here and now.’
Until next time, Dr. Shanti