of cayenne pepper or to taste
• 8 ounces of medium-hot (or cold if you prefer) spring, purified or distilled water
The enzymes in the lemon break down the layers of old waste in the colon. Although the lemon is acidic, it becomes alkaline when digested and the alkalinity helps neutralize the acidity of the toxic wastes. Try to get organic lemons from your local health food store, if possible, as they contain more minerals than non-organic ones. The lemon juice must be fresh squeezed, not bottled. The enzymes begin to break down within hours and heating (Pasteurizing) kills them completely. If you must prepare the drinks for most of the day—for taking to work, for example—prepare only that much and make fresh lemonade when you get home for the rest of the day. To make up more than one day’s lemonade at one time or to try to save the squeezed lemon juice for another day will lose a great deal of the potency of the lemons.
Burroughs says to never to vary the amount of lemon juice in each drink. You can increase or decrease the maple syrup, but not the amount of the lemon juice.
The maple syrup supplies the sugar for energy and more importantly, it supplies the needed minerals. Use the darkest organic maple syrup you can find, which in the U.S. is Grade B. A is lighter than B. The darker the syrup, the more minerals. So try to get B if possible, but any organic grade will do. There is no Grade C anymore. If you are buying Canadian syrup, just get the darkest organic maple syrup you can find. The reason for organic is that some companies use formaldehyde in the process of tapping the trees. Organic grade B maple syrup can be found in most health food stores.
If you cannot find maple syrup, freshly extracted sugar cane juice makes the ideal lemonade drink. See the previous page for the recipe. A less-than-optimum substitute is sorghum, but Burroughs says it does not produce results as good. Use two tablespoons, the same amount as maple syrup.
If you are diabetic see the section “For Those With Diabetes or High Blood Pressure” below.
Agave nector should not be used. Agave must be heated to make it sweet. The heating creates fructose and agave has more fructose than high fructose corn syrup, which was linked to obesity in a Princeton University study.47
Cayenne pepper contains Vitamin A, several B vitamins and Vitamin C and has been used by master herbalists for dilating blood vessels, dissolving mucus and feeding the heart. It is sold in several heat strengths as measured in heat units. If you do not usually eat hot food, buy the 30,000 heat unit cayenne. African Bird Pepper is 80,000 heat units. It is really hot.
I know I am repeating myself, but this is important. If you do not like cayenne pepper, you may be tempted to take capsules, leave it out or take a concentrated dose and then drink the lemonade without the pepper. Do not do these things. Cayenne acts like an accelerator pedal for the cleanse. It is a learned taste, meaning you have to try it a few times before you like it. So, if you do not like it, just add a tiny pinch to the first few drinks and gradually build up the amount as it is comfortable for you to do.
Another reason not to take cayenne in capsules is the body must digest the capsule to gain the benefit of the cayenne. You are not eating anything that requires digestion to give your digestive system a chance to rest as well as cleanse itself. Since digestion uses 30 percent of the body’s energy, you are gaining more usable energy by eliminating digestion. So, taking cayenne capsules should not be done.
5. Water/Mint Tea
In addition to the above, you may drink as much spring, distilled or purified water as you wish and occasionally some mint tea for a change. Do not use fluoridated water.
6. No Other Food or Drink
Nothing else is eaten or drunk on the Master Cleanse.
7. Breaking the Master Cleanse
Breaking the Master Cleanse diet correctly is very important! I have heard one second-hand story of someone coming off a long water fast, then going straight to overeating ribs and dessert, who then had serious medical problems. I do not know if this story is true, but I know personally that diving immediately back into a bad diet will make you feel very sick for a few hours. Correctly breaking the Master Cleanse is VERY important. I did it wrong once and had nausea and stomach pains for more than an hour. The longer your Master Cleanse is, the more important is how you break it.
I advise that you take one box or bottle of probiotics (following the directions on the bottle or box) after every cleanse to replace the good bacteria in your intestines that was eliminated on the cleanse. I discovered this after my third cleanse when I suddenly had intense cravings for “bad” food and taking probiotics eliminated the cravings for me. Probiotics make up 30 percent of the volume of your solid eliminations and so help to bring you back to regularity after the cleanse. They also produce vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B12, and K; kill some of the disease-causing germs in your intestines; prevent bad bacteria (the bacteria that cause candida, for example) from getting out of control; and—some recent studies report—lower cholesterol and help in cases of irritable bowel syndrome (diarrhea, pain, and heightened food sensitivities). Antibiotics, while they are good for curing infections, destroy both good and bad bacteria. People, after taking antibiotics, should take probiotics to re-establish the good bacteria so necessary to health
If you usually eat meat, Burroughs says to break the fast slowly by drinking several glasses of orange juice for the first day and through the afternoon of the second. You may dilute the juice if you like or if you have any digestive problems. For dinner on the second day, drink mostly the broth of a homemade vegetable soup you make that afternoon from several different vegetables, beans and grains, such as carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini, beans, peas, lentils, etc. No meat or meat stock. You may add brown rice and dehydrated veggies or spices, but use sea salt sparingly. The less you cook the soup, the better. You may have rye wafers with the soup, but not bread or crackers. Make enough for lunch the next day.
On the third day, drink orange juice in the morning. Have the rest of the soup for lunch. For dinner, eat whatever vegetarian salads, vegetables or fruit you wish. Begin eating your usual food the fourth day, although Burroughs recommends lemonade or fruit juice for breakfast on a continuing basis and a vegetarian diet as the best means of preserving life-long health.
If you are a vegetarian, drink fresh orange juice the first, second and morning of the third day. For lunch on the third day have raw fruit, with a raw fruit or vegetable salad for dinner. After that, eat normally. I used to find the orange juice too rich for me and chose to drink grapefruit juice instead when coming off the Master Cleanse.
If you have gas or digestive upset when breaking the fast, continue the Master Cleanse a few more days.
For Those With Diabetes or High Blood Pressure
I have seen the Master Cleanse work very well for diabetics and I have heard of a case where it did not appear to work for a person. So, I am faithfully passing along Stanley Burroughs’ instructions for diabetics as written in his book, Healing for the Age of Enlightenment. If you are a diabetic and wish to do the Master Cleanse, regularly test your blood sugar levels and do it in consulation with a licensed health care practitioner.
To start:
• 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
• Barely 1 tablespoon of molasses
•