This “starvation diet” she talked about is actually the famous Master cleansing lemon diet formulated by the late Stanley Burroughs. Actually, Beyonce is only one of two famous people who have testified to the effects of the Master cleansing diet. Robin Quivers also revealed to the Howard Stern Show that she lost a weight with the diet.

Now the big question here is: would you do or would you not do a cleansing lemon diet like Beyonce and Quivers had? What are the possible effects besides losing weight? To understand that, first you need to know what makes up the lemonade diet in Burroughs’ formula.

Ingredients of a Master Cleansing Diet

The lemonade diet is made up of four simple ingredients. These ingredients are:

• Organic lemon or lime juice. This must be freshly squeezed.
• Cayenne peppers
• Genuine maple syrup
• Purified water

As you could see, all of the ingredients of Burroughs’ formula are natural, which means there are no side effects associated with taking them into the body. They are also cheap and easy to procure. Not only that, all of these ingredients serves a purpose.

To make things clear, the Master cleansing lemon diet is not a starvation diet. The lemonade mix has all of the necessary vitamins and minerals that the body needs to survive, and are a perfect substitute for solid food for the entire duration of the diet.

The reason why Burroughs chose genuine and organic products like the maple syrup and the fruit juice is because they are rich in fiber and antioxidants. The antioxidants help to slow down aging and deterioration of our body and its internal organs by breathing life into our cells.  The antioxidants also protect them from further damage that might adversely affect their functioning, like synthesizing the needed vitamins and nutrients for our body.

The fiber on the other hand removes any waste products that remain behind in our intestines as well as in our blood. This ensures smooth circulation and lessening the risk of heart disease. At the same time, it makes certain smooth bowel movement leaving us feeling refreshed and healthy after the cleansing is done.

The medical community is ambiguous in its stance on the subject. While it is rare that a therapist will recommend cleansing diets to his patients, medically the diets are useful health-wise. Still, because it is alternative medicine and not mainstream, there are several criticisms that have been raised as to the validity and effectiveness of the diets.

The Credentials of an Effective Cleansing Diet

Like mentioned earlier, the creators of cleansing diets have put considerable research before they came up with their own regimes. There may be some subtle differences between each diet and the other, but a typical cleansing diet has these components:

• Antioxidants

The cell menders, antioxidants are capable of reviving ailing and damaged cells in our body while strengthening the others. Because of this, antioxidants are generally considered as being able to slow down the process of aging and prevent the deterioration of the most important of our internal organs.

• Probiotics

Some cleansing diets are supplemented by probiotic treatment. This kind of treatment involves introducing bacteria into the intestines. These bacteria are not the sort that can cause upset stomachs and bouts of diarrhea. These bacteria are the friendly type: they stay inside the internal organs and prevent the colonization and spread of harmful bacteria in the intestines.

• Spices

Despite their somewhat appalling taste, spices are fibrous. This means that they can absorb and strip intestinal walls of salts and residual waste, helping to make the digestive process smooth and the intestines healthy.

Cleansing Diets Are Beneficial Physically and Financially

There are many benefits that a person can enjoy from a cleansing diet. These include:

• Cleansing regimes are generally cheaper than other health treatments.

A typical cleansing diet is made up of natural and easily obtained ingredients like organic lemon juice, cayenne peppers, maple syrup and water. These can be obtained at cheap prices.

• There are no harmful side effects from a cleansing diet.

Because its ingredients are natural, a cleansing diet does not subject a person into side effects nor leave some damage into the body like some medicinal substances would.

• Cleansing diets improve the health and well-being of a person

Although not its primary aim, cleansing diets can result to weight loss as the body gets rid of the accumulated fat and waste in the internal organs. This can raise self-esteem to some people, especially the obese and the overweight.

Indeed, cleansing diets are blessings in disguise for a person. You get to achieve better health—mental and physical—for less than the expenses that you would incur compared to the more expensive weight loss and health improvement therapies.

Everyone knows the importance of regularly undergoing a liver cleansing diet. However, most mainstream physicians do not recommend these diets to their patients. On the other hand, alternative medicine practitioners highly recommend these diets to everyone as a complement to their health and fitness regime. Given these conflicting opinions, we might be led to ask: can we really rely on these cleansing diets?

Let us take a good look at what makes up a liver cleansing diet.

Components of a Liver Cleansing Diet

Chemically, the liver cleansing diets are composed of two important compounds: antioxidants and fibers.

The antioxidants are capable of restoring the liver to prime condition, which is our main reason for going on a liver cleansing diet. These antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that we know about, including vitamins A, C, and E, as well as selenium. These antioxidants can replace dead cells with new ones by encouraging regeneration, and can also reinforce existing cells. Antioxidants also include phytochemicals like lycopene, which are known to prevent the invasion of cancer cells (carcinogens) of our bodies.

Fibers, on the other hand, encourage bowel movement by removing all traces of fatty deposits and residual waste in our intestines. Fibers are also easily absorbed into the bloodstream, where they do the same thing to our blood vessels. With fatty deposits and other constrictions removed from the arteries and veins, a liver cleansing diet lowers the risk for heart diseases.

Common Issues Raised about Liquid Liver Cleansing Diets

Cleansing diets have raised several red flags in some people’s minds thanks to statements from people that have experienced them. Beyonce Knowles, for example, used Stanley Burroughs’ Master cleansing diet to reach the necessary weight for her role in the movie Dreamgirls. Knowles had described the diet as a “starvation diet” where she “felt like dying” for the entire duration.

These concerns are not unfounded. Liver cleansing diets can indeed induce vomiting and diarrhea. However, these are not reasons to raise red flags. You see, when a person who has taken a certain concoction suffers from vomiting and upset stomachs afterward, people will always rule poisoning. However, the vomiting and diarrhea are merely the body’s natural reactions to the toxins that the diet has stripped off from the intestines. It’s not permanent or damaging; the vomiting will wear off in time as the intestines and liver get cleaner deep into the cleansing.

Beyonce’s most remarkable role is in Dreamgirls not just because of her acting, but the convincing portrayal of the character losing a lot of weight. It was not a product of make up or prosthetics however; it was real. Beyonce did lose 14 to 20 pounds in the middle of the shoot, and she had to do it fast. What she did was take on a body cleansing diet which purged her of that fat in her body in so short a time. This “Beyonce cleansing diet” is in reality Stanley Burroughs’ Master Cleansing Diet.

What Is the Master Cleansing Diet?

The Master cleansing diet is a liquid diet based in lemonade. Yes, it is a simple lemonade mix. You’d maybe wonder if it’s the real deal, that simple lemonade can get rid of that weight in a very short time. The results speak for themselves. If in doubt, you can ask our famous singer.

Actually, weight loss is only a by-product of the Beyonce cleansing diet. Its real end is the elimination of all the toxins and accumulated waste in our bodies. A part of our weight is comprised of accumulated waste, and so a person will lose weight after doing the cleansing diet for a certain period. Not only are you getting rid of that unwanted weight, you are doing your body a favor as well by ridding it of the toxins that cause damage and, as a result, diseases.

How to Make and Maintain the Lemonade Cleansing Diet

Preparing the lemonade mix for the Beyonce cleansing diet is pretty simple. First, you’d need two tablespoons each of genuine Grade B maple syrup and freshly squeezed organic lemon juice. Next, add in a pinch of cayenne pepper. Finally mix them all in using about 8 ounces of purified or filtered water, and you’re all set. The mix is designed to be taken each time you feel hungry.

According to Burroughs’ book, the Master cleansing diet requires you to cease eating for the entire period of the cleansing. This means that the lemonade you prepare is the only thing that will enter your body. This is to make sure that no waste product remains in your body when the diet is done doing its magic. The diet will purge you of all accumulated waste; it won’t do you good to add in new ones during the period of the cleansing.

The composition of the lemonade mix has been thought of carefully. The reason why organic lime or lemon juice is used is because of the nutrients and vitamins that organic juices have. These nutrients and vitamins will keep your body supplied with what it needs to continue functioning.

The Liver’s Role in our Body

To understand the implications, it is also important to understand what the liver does for our body’s health and fitness. So, what exactly does the liver do for our body to deserve that importance?

The liver is actually very instrumental in keeping our bodies healthy and clean. It removes and blocks all harmful or unwanted substances in our food from entering the bloodstream and getting into our brains. If harmful chemicals get into our brain, it can cause considerable damage. The liver exists to ensure that does not happen. Consider it a filter, if you may.

Like all filters, the liver also works both ways. You can compare it to a computer’s processor. The processor takes all the data and distributes it to the programs that need them. In the liver’s case, it grabs all the necessary nutrients in the chemical composition of food and absorbs them into the bloodstream.

The liver is not impregnable, however. It may be able block all the unwanted compounds from entering our bloodstream, but residue may still clog it and affect its performance. If too much residue is collected, the liver may not be able to process food effectively. This will have dire effects to our body. Several diseases – lethal ones like jaundice and hepatitis among them – may develop in our body.

Cleansing the Liver with Antioxidants

Fortunately, it is possible to cleanse the liver of any toxins that have clogged it. We can do this through a cleansing diet. You can take this diet for up to 7 days, but there is a shortened version called a 3-day cleansing diet. Like its name suggests, this liver diet lasts for 3 days. This is perfect for beginners who may not yet be used to this different diet.

A 3-day cleansing diet consists of foods that are heavy in antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that can restore the body’s cells to prime condition. This means that antioxidants can help maintain the liver’s continued functioning by repairing damaged cells. Antioxidants also strengthen and enhance the metabolism of the healthier cells not only in the liver, but in the whole body. Scientists also find out that, through cellular repair, the aging process is slowed down considerably by these compounds.

The most common antioxidants include Vitamins A, C and E, selenium, and some common phytochemicals like lycopene (which also prevents cancer), polyphenols, lutein, lignan, and glutathione.

Because they are heavy in antioxidants, your therapist will recommend and formulate for you a 3-day cleansing diet which will include these food sources:

• Carrots, squash and broccoli
• Citrus fruits
• Green peppers
• Strawberries
• Fish
• Spices like garlic

This kind of diet is not solely devoted to losing weight. Instead, the lemonade cleansing diet is designed for losing all those residual waste in our bodies. We all know that is fatty deposits in our blood vessels that causes heart attack, since they force the heart to pump faster to get the blood moving through the constriction. How did these deposits get in there? It happens when the liver’s ability to correctly break down fat is affected by damage to the organ. The unwanted fat finds its way to the small intestines where it is absorbed by the body through the bloodstream.

The cleansing lemon diet takes care of that problem. Specifically, it restores the liver’s health by encouraging cell repair and development with the use of antioxidants. At the same time, the fibers introduced by the lemonade scrubs those fatty deposits off the arterial walls when absorbed into the bloodstream. The same is done to waste products that cling to the intestinal walls so they could be flushed out of the body.

You could see that, as a result, the liver’s ability to emulsify fats into the necessary nutrients is boosted. The cells are also protected by damage by the antioxidants present in the cleansing lemon diet so they don’t deteriorate with continued wear and tear, not only in the liver but also in the whole body. In short, a cleansing lemonade diet can prevent you from growing older prematurely.

The Master Cleansing Diet

The Master cleansing diet is the most common cleansing lemon diet. It was designed by alternative medicine therapist Stanley Burroughs back in the 1940’s although it wasn’t until 1978 that he introduced it to the world. The Master cleansing diet is famous for significantly reducing the weight of Robin Quivers of the Howard Stern Show. Beyonce Knowles also brought attention to the cleansing diet when she took it in order to really lose weight for her role in the 2006 flick Dreamgirls.

The Master cleansing diet is a mixture made up of organic lemon or lime juice, genuine Grade B maple syrup and cayenne peppers brought together in a glass of purified water. For the duration of the diet, it is designed to replace food. For a week or so the practitioner of the diet does not eat anything and relies on the lemonade for sustaining the vitamin and nutrient needs of the body, while the lemonade cleanses all those toxins from the body.

However, as we grow older, we start feeling tired. Fatigue is actually just one indication that something is wrong with your body. Your lungs may be contaminated by nicotine from cigarettes. Your liver might be damaged and unable to process carbohydrates that the body needs to convert into energy. Your heart may be laboring because your blood vessels are full of plaque, resulting to high blood pressure.

There’s no need to fret, however. It is never too late to act for the benefit of our health. That is why there is a body cleansing diet that you can practice. This diet will take care of purging the body of toxins and other harmful chemicals and restore our health. This diet is called the “Master cleansing diet.”

A Brief Overview

The Master cleansing diet is the brainchild of alternative medicine practitioner Stanley Burroughs. It first came into prominence in 1978, when Burroughs published his book “Master cleansing diet.” In this book, Burroughs outlined the concepts behind his formula and how it can help the body recover from the damages inflicted on it.

The diet is a simple lemonade concoction. It is purely liquid, with no food involved. It is a mix of organic lime or lemon juice, genuine maple syrup, cayenne peppers and water. Burroughs intended this diet to be maintained for at least 3 days or up to 2 weeks.

How to Practice the Diet

According to Burroughs, it is necessary to fast for a week when practicing his body cleansing diet. Naturally people would wonder about the body’s sustenance. Who could possibly survive a week without food? Burroughs has thought of that, and assured people that the lemonade has the necessary nutrients and vitamins to keep the body healthy during the fasting period. It is natural to feel weak when undergoing the diet, because there are no calories introduced into the body that it can burn for energy. When it comes to nutrients, though, the Master cleansing diet has enough for the body.

Like mentioned earlier, the diet lasts up to 2 weeks. For the entire duration, you take in the lemonade when you feel hungry as it is a substitute for food. People who have undergone the diet have reported discomfort and nausea all throughout the duration of the diet, although it lessens as days go by. Vomiting and diarrhea is simply the body’s mechanism against the toxins, a mechanism that is triggered by the chemical composition of Burroughs’ body cleansing diet.

The Master cleansing concept does wonders for the body. You’ll be surprised at how refreshed and healthy you feel when the diet is done. Although this is not its intended goal, the diet can help reduce weight as it purges the body of the accumulated waste which can include fat.

The Importance of the Liver

We could say that, next to the heart, the liver is the most important internal organ in our body. As long as the liver functions normally, we can be certain that the body is fed the nutrients and vitamins that it needs in order to survive and be strong. However, the liver is just as fragile as the rest of our body is. Once the liver is damaged, its ability to break down fat into the nutrients and vitamins will be reduced. This unprocessed fat will find its way into our bloodstream and into the walls of our intestines, where it will definitely cause serious problems to our health.

We could say that damage to the liver can cause a chain reaction of complications throughout our body. Possible complications that could arise from a damaged liver include, but are not limited to:

• Hepatitis
• Jaundice
• Irritable bowel movement (from the toxins that find its way to our intestines)
• Heart attack (from the fat that enters the bloodstream)

Not only that, the fat that gets into our bloodstream can leave us feeling tired faster than we used to. That is because the fat blocks our blood vessels forcing the heart to increase its pumping rate. This can result to labored breathing and fatigue.

With that in mind, it is important to restore the liver to health. We can do using by practicing a liver cleansing diet.

What Is a Liver Cleansing Diet?

A liver cleansing diet is a liquid diet that aims to strengthen the liver, as well as remove all blockages in the intestines and the bloodstream. One such diet is the Master cleansing diet by Stanley Burroughs. The diet consists of a simple lemonade mix made up of ingredients rich in antioxidants, fiber and spices.

We all know that antioxidants are considered the repairmen of our cells. They encourage the regeneration of dead and damaged cells so our internal organs do not deteriorate and continue to function normally. The spices and the fibers, on the other hand, absorb and remove all the unwanted deposits in the arteries, veins and intestinal walls.

What Is a Master Cleansing Diet?

The Master cleansing diet is a liquid diet regime designed by the controversial healer Stanley Burroughs. Several sources point out that Burroughs has already developed and promulgated the diet close friends since 1941. Others, however, consider 1978 as the year of the diet’s introduction to the general public. It was during this time that Burroughs wrote and published a book bearing the name of his brainchild. The diet would reemerge later on after a book was published in 2005 by Peter Glickman. Glickman’s book reintroduced the diet as more than just a detoxifying diet; it was packaged as being good to the person’s health and his well-being.

The Master cleansing formula comprises of four ingredients. These ingredients are:

• Lemon or lime juice. Two tablespoons of these are required for every mixture. They should also be organic.
• Maple syrup. The genuine syrup should be used and not flavored syrups. Two tablespoons are also for the formula.
• Cayenne pepper.
• Cold water.

The Diet Process

The cleansing diet requires no intake of food for the whole duration of the practice. According to Burroughs, it is ideal to take up to 12 glasses of the lemonade everyday for up to 7 or 10 days. Contemporary authors, however, recommend drinking the lemonade when you feel hungry since the lemonade functions as a substitute for solid food.

The diet will subject you to several uncomfortable experiences. First, you might vomit a lot but this is natural since the body is reacting to the lemonade and getting rid of the waste in your whole body. Weakness is also a common experience for those that undergo the cleansing; there is nothing in your body to provide the necessary carbohydrate due to the absence of solid food. However, rest assured that you have the necessary nutrients for your body to continue functioning through the entire process.

As they say, “no pain, no gain.” The few days of discomfort and nausea is a small price to pay for the improved health and wellness that you will feel when the diet is over.

After the Diet

Although there have been instances that a practitioner reverts to normal dieting right after finishing the Master cleansing diet, Burroughs recommends acclimating your body again to eating. It might be difficult for the systems of some individuals to get used to food again after being denied it for a period.

His after-diet routine consists of orange juices straight for two days after the end of the cleansing. Afterwards, fruits and vegetables should be eaten raw on the third day. You may have to subsist on vegetable soup for a few days until the body gets used to taking solid food again.