The Master Cleanser: With Special Needs and Problems
by Stanley Burroughs
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Book Reviews of The Master Cleanser: With Special Needs and Problems
Book Review: I am dreaming of maple syrup
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished a 30 plus day cleanse. All I had was a brew of maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and water. The hardest part of the cleanse was not hunger. What I found hardest was the monotony of the above mentioned beverage. For the first 10 days it tasted fine. For the next 10 days it tasted less fine. For the 10 days after that it tasted horrible.
Why did I do the cleanse in the first place? I have bladder cancer. And as anybody knows who has cancer, there is no shortage of suggestions about how to cure cancer. Suggestions come from friends, family members, casual acquaintances, and even total strangers who overhear conversations. The suggestions range from the helpfully obvious, such as, "You should probably not make Doritos the mainstay of your diet," to the near cruel, "If you loved yourself more, you would be cured."
Now, before I continue, I want anyone who has read this far to know that I posted this review in my blog also. One of the reasons I am writing reviews is because it was suggested as a good way to market my book, "Letters to My Friends: A No Guarantees Guide to Awakening." I want to make every keystroke, so to speak, count. One thing I have learned from cancer is to make each move count. There may be no tomorrow. Also, I believe in full disclosure.
Anyway, like many people with cancer, I tend not to talk about it because I get tired of the suggestions. But two friends of mine repeatedly suggested this cleanse. They are both advocates of alternative healing. And, even though I find myself excusing myself to run urgent errands whenever they talk about my eating habits, I love and respect them both.
What sold me on the cleanse was what one of my friends said. We were driving in the car in the mountains near her home, chatting about this and that. Suddenly the tone of her voice changed, and I knew I would hear something about a healthy lifestyle. "That cleanse we were talking about the other day, your body will begin to digest itself, and the theory is that the cancer cells will be digested, literally."
She had me. I am not a scientist. But that made sense. I had pretty much decided that Bill must die, Bill being the cancer. So, off I went on the cleanse, pretty much feeling like an old-west, quasi-Buddhist gunslinger. My body wasn't big enough for me and the cancer. One of us had to go. Either I would starve or the cancer would starve. By day 20, people were really beginning to be impressed. By day 30, I was being deified. But, honestly, it wasn't that hard. I'm sure that those fellows who climbed that little mountain felt the same way. Mt Everest, I think it was.
I had been aiming for 40 days, but I quit on day 33. And the reason I quit was because I found my 40-day goal becoming a little bit of an obsession. To quit, believe it or not, took much more will than to continue. As I said, I am a quasi-Buddhist, if there is such a thing, and I practice relinquishing strong attachments. I am, as a rule, much happier when I am not ruled by my attachments. And the cleanse was quickly becoming my master. I was no longer doing the cleanse; it was doing me.
You can find many variations of The Master Cleanse, usually for sale, on the internet. My own advice is to listen to your body. Do not get stubborn. On the other hand, the first three days really is the hardest; although, day 29 was hard too. The key is to drink plenty of lemonade, as it is called, because it will keep you from getting hungry. If you're worried about doing something so drastic, then see your doctor. But do not be surprised if your doctor looks at you as though you are a new age, hippie, weirdo when you mention The Master Cleanse. When I investigated this cleanse on the internet, I found only negative comments about it from the medical establishment.
But, as my mother used to say, "The proof is in the pudding." Is the cancer gone? I do not know. Nor, will I until my next exam. But I know I lost weight, a lot of weight. And I know I have more energy than I have had in a long, long time. I feel great. I'm planning on doing it again soon. But first I need to implement a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and Doritos. And for some reason I want some pudding. Maybe chocolate pudding. Or maybe custard. How about rice pudding?
Blessings,
John C. Conley
Author of "Letters to My Friends: A No Guarantees Guide to Awakening"
Book Review: Good luck to you, but it didn't work for me
Summary: 1 Stars
After seeing the great reviews for this cleansing regimen, I decided to try it. I learned my lesson FAST. I followed the directions to a T. I do believe it definitely does something, and perhaps does release toxins, but it was TOO MUCH FOR MY SYSTEM, and I'm a hardy gal.
I took the laxative tea the night before as directed. No problemo. I did the salt water wash first thing the next morning. No immediate problemo. I drank one glass of lemonade before work and brought a container with three more servings with me to work. By the second glass, I found I had to almost RUN to the bathroom. I thought, well, at least it works, but unfortunately it worked TOO well. Once more during the day, I found I had to RUN to the bathroom. Later in the day, things seemed to regulate themselves and I was relieved (no pun intended). No more urgent bathroom runs. I continued the rest of the evening. By late evening I thought I felt a bit dizzy, but wasn't sure.
That night, I got a POUNDING HEADACHE. It persisted into the next day and made me nauseated whenever I moved. It felt like a hangover, only I hadn't been drinking. I figured I must be dehydrated, though I'd been drinking water as well. I drank some Aquafina, which is the purest water you can get, basically. Within about 5 minutes, I was wretching my guts out, all of the water plus some lemonade from the previous day. When you can't keep water down, there's a problem!
I consulted the book. It said that all problems on the diet are a result not of the diet, but the toxins it releases, and that the real problem is insufficient elimination. Okay, so after an hour or so I decided, since I hadn't had the morning herbal laxative tea or wash, to take the laxative tea to promote more elimination of toxins. Bad idea. Within 5 minutes, I was again running to the bathroom, to throw up.
I struggled to make my son's breakfast, having to sit down every few minutes feeling nauseated. I thought, "I can't do this. I have too many obligations. I can't afford to just be sick for days." Even the book says that some people experience a "terrible stirring up" for days. However, the real problem is, there's no way to tell if you are experiencing a normal "stirring up" that will go away or if you are seriously damaging yourself.
I realized that I trust my body's signals more than some guy who wrote a book many years ago and has never met me. I also realized that even if it was released toxins that were making me so sick and not the lemonade, I was still really sick, whereas I hadn't been sick at all previously. So sick that I couldn't function. Who'd think a day of just lemonade would do all of this? But it did. I also noticed that my urine was COMPLETELY CLEAR, so I must say that the potion does do something, and rather powerfully, but it is too much for my system.
I struggled to get my son to his soccer class and sat during it with my head in my hands. I felt robbed of a weekend with my son.
I realized that there's nothing more precious on earth than my health, and I prayed that I hadn't done my body any real damage. Later, I was able to keep down a little bit of food, and I felt grateful, thankful to feel better again.
If you are healthy, be thankful. The body is a glorious, wondrous machine. Most of the time, the parts work seamlessly, and for that we are lucky. Whatever reason I thought I needed to "cleanse" myself in this way has faded into the background. I have no desire to treat my body harshly. I believe if your body rejects the cleansing so forcefully, it really doesn't need it.
You can be healthy just eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat and getting regular exercise. Treat yourself with love, not with quick fixes.
Book Review: Not healthy in the long run.
Summary: 1 Stars
Update: April 1, 2010
I want to take the time to write a small note to the naysayers that keep leaving msgs in my box criticizing me. First, as I've stated I have already tried this diet. I am not a person criticizing this blindly. It did not work for me. I don't know what else to tell you. I will not continue to try something that is not working. If it worked for you then fine. I was so weak doing this diet that I could not function. I have a busy lifestyle and cannot afford to be that weak. A guy tried this diet for a long time and towards the end of it he noticed gray coming in his hair probably because he became vitamin b's deficient (his take and mine).
After a few days, people I've seen do this diet look weak and drained, then they go back to old eating habits. Plus, I've seen pictures of this author (AFTER he wrote the book) and he was not height weight proportionate and quite flabby to be honest; did not look the epitome of health.
Many of you writing me are mean and sarcastic. If this diet is supposed to help you physically and mentally then why the hateful mentality??? I am entitled to my opinions. All this and it is increasingly difficult to stay on this diet anyway more than about 3 or 4 days if you love to eat. It takes an incredible amt of self discipline for minimal results. I am better off just eating a raw fruit/veggie diet with occasional lean meats and I do a heavy metal cleanse and parasite cleanse from time to time and that helps better. If I want to take the "gunk" out of my colon, I mix up some Miralax, take an enema and I'm on my way. This is more practical and it works better for me. I even get better results mixing Chorella or Spirulina in water and they do a great job of detoxing and making me feel better.
Everyone body has their own specific body chemistry and that needs to be taken into consideration. What works for you as a healthy individual may not work for someone who is diabetic, or have Celiac or Crohns or have a high metabolism. Lastly, ppl keep saying "IT WORKS! I LOST WEIGHT!" My answer to that is, You will lose weight if you are not taking in any food with or w/out the MC. If you don't eat, you don't gain weight.
(Original Post)
I first heard about this diet as a teenager back in the '80's. It is ok for very short term say like a week or less than 2 weeks. You will probably feel better not taking in food/meats for a few days anyway whether it's with the help of the MC or not because your digestion is getting a much needed "rest". It's not requiring too much energy to digest hard foods like meats and starches, so you will feel and sleep better. Yet, I think people get carried away with this diet and take it past 2 weeks. You will put your body in starvation mode, slow down your metabolism, auto-digest (spelling?) lean muscle, damage your teeth (lemon acids damage tooth enamel) and feel very weak and tired. There's no protein in this diet, hardly any iron and simply not enough to keep you going especially if you live a pretty busy and hectic life. Most of what you lose on this diet is water trapped in the tissues anyway and then your body as stated starts to consume it's own muscle tissue for protein. Once you return to normal eating habits you will gain all the water back. So if you want to do this diet, you are best to totally change your regular diet to something of a vegetarian type. Once you go back to eating hard foods like meat and sugars, forget about it. All the placebo benefits you thought you received from the MC will be nil and void once you go back to old eating habits.
Book Review: 10 days of fasting - not a daily diet
Summary: 5 Stars
In my review, I also reference Peter Glickman's "Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition" which is a definite aide in doing Mr. Stanley Burrough's "Master Cleanser" program. REMEMBER that this is not a DIET but a CLEANSE. This means you only do this periodically, like yearly, for 10 days or more in a single cleanse.
THESE ARE THE MAIN THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- This is not a DIET that one can adopt. This is a TEMPORARY CLEANSE. Just as undergoing surgery is not a new way of life but a short-term treatment where you actually leave the operating table. Think of cleansing for a colonoscopy - you don't continually cleanse for the rest of your life - so don't use the excuse that this is a dangerous diet.
- This is very DIFFICULT IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW the instructions to the letter.
- The Salt Water Flush is horrible tasting but is ABSOLUTELY necessary in order to remove toxins quickly. Do it even if it is unpleasant for you.
- Buy organic. Use the products as directed. Why would you cleanse to remove toxins and simultaneously add toxins during the cleansing program!
- FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
I first tried the "Master Cleanser" diet in 2005 and then again in 2006. Both times, I only made it 3 days because I chose to do this diet on my vacation. That did not sit well with my family who wanted to go out and have nice dinners. So, I tried it this time while still working AND with the use of this book by Peter Glickman.
I highly recommend starting this on the night before starting a 3-day weekend or 3 full days off of work. This is only due to the requirement to be near a bathroom during the flushing phase after coming off of solid foods. I truly mean it when I say that you MUST be near (like 2 feet away) a bathroom the first 3 days. I started it at work and had to leave to go home since I was 50 feet away from the bathroom.
I am starting my fourth cleanse in August. During my cleanse in 2007, I made it the entire 10 days. I lost 16 pounds in these 10 days and could truly feel the detoxification. This book and Peter Glickman's book truly helped me with the symptoms that I would experience as the fast went on day to day. Peter includes a great section of questions and answers that address the majority of the issues that people have in conducting the Master Cleanser fast.
The goal is to detoxify the body to the point that one's tongue returns to a natural bright pink color, as most of us have polluted our bodies to the point that we have a whitish coating on our tongues. I did not make it until my tongue was bright pink, but I did gain the benefit of the 10 day fast. My skin became smooth and soft. My energy felt higher. My concentration was clearer in the second half of the fast.
By days 5, 6, 7, and 8, I must warn that you will definitely feel the effects of detoxification. I described it as having a "headache" over my entire body. As long as one has the Lemonade, one can satisfy any hunger. One will experience yearnings for food whenever one smells others eating.
I loan my multiple copies of the two publications "The Master Cleanser" by Stanley Burroughs and "Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition" by Peter Glickman to everyone I care about. These two books combined are truly the greatest self-healing guide that I have ever used. I highly recommend this if you are experiencing the effects of poor nutrition, such as obesity, HBP, type II diabetes, gout, etc.
Book Review: wonderful way to cleanse
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been doing the Master Cleanser regularly for about 10 years now and I have to say that despite the nay-sayers, I find it to be a lovely way to give my body a break and allow some deep healing and cleansing to happen.
Is it easy? No. But now I actually sense when my body wants this little vacation from digestion and it feels really good. I've done this for 3 days (after an initial longer fast) for a weekend tune-up, I used to do this every Monday as a one day per week body rest, and I've done it as long as 21 days. Ultimately, I'd love to do a 40 day version sometime.
I always find that when doing the MC I have loads of energy, sleep deeply and need less sleep and feel terrific in general. The detoxing does result in some not so pleasant symptoms, but knowing it's a sign that you're cleaning house makes it a positive thing.
I don't, however, see this as a weight loss technique, because obviously once you resume eating, even if it were to be obscenely healthy, you will certainly put some weight back on. Most likely all of the weight you lost, but I've observed a lot of these fasts and it seems that people with lots of excess weight to begin with are so loaded with toxins that when they do this some of that weight loss is permanent. A healthier person or someone for whom excess weight is more of an emotional shield might not see the same result. Still, I've seen many people do this purely for weight loss and they are almost always really disappointed at the end. This is, first and foremost, a cleanse.
I must also advise that like others, I can't even stomach the idea of the salt water flush so I turn to the use of Triphala, a gentle but very effective (and not habit forming) nutritional supplement you can take as capsules or tea to move the bowels during the fast. Most of the teas designed for that purpose are habit forming and downright uncomfortable. Triphala solves that dilemma for me because you don't feel any cramping but it does keep things moving.
I also highly recommend going out of your way if need be to find the Grade B maple syrup because I felt a huge difference between doing it with that and with the standard Grade A, which is lighter and has fewer minerals. I just felt less energetic and stable with the lighter syrup.
I've seen a lot of controversy about this cleanse but the bottom line is that there are many paths to wellness and not every path is for every person. if this doesn't appeal to you, chances are that's your body telling you something. Or you might not be ready. Believe it or not, major food cravings seem to diminish or outright disappear by day 3 or so and I've always been able to maintain full work energy and even continue to do yoga and run on this fast.
It's also worth doing this before making any major dietary changes to prepare for the shift. For example, if reducing your intake of meat, sugar, dairy, etc. The sugar part might seem counterintuitive, but on this fast you consume less sugar still than the average diet consists of, believe it or not.
All in all, this is a really great booklet to read and keep on hand. Trust your body's wisdom and when this calls to you, answer. ;)