The Master Cleanse

Seeing how me, my parents, and now my brother, have all recently done the Master Cleanse, I thought I'd post about it and educate the rest of you. My favorite website on the cleanse is http://therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm, where you can order a book that explains the whole process, why you are doing it, and what to expect during and after the cleanse.

In a nutshell, you drink a "lemonade" mixture for 10 days (or less or more as you see fit) that is made up of water, fresh squeezed lemons, maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne. It actually doesn't taste bad, and you can drink as much of it as it takes to make you feel full. You won't be hungry, but you may crave food. You can also have senna and peppermint tea during the cleanse.

I first learned of the cleanse from my friend Kelly, who has a masters in Nutrition and owns a personal training studio in Santa Monica. Kelly has done the cleanse for the past 10 years with great results.

I did the cleanse for 11 days in April, after getting clearance from my doctor who said it was a great cleanse to do (no more than twice a year, because it flushes a lot of good stuff from you, too). The main purpose of the cleanse is to detoxify your body of all the crap (literally and figuratively) you've built up over your lifetime. As the toxins leave you, each day you feel more energetic, your brain feels more alive, your senses are sharper, your hair and skin look healthier, and you just all-around feel better. You sleep better and wake up ready to go. At least, that was my experience. My parents just completed the cleanse and had the same results. My dad did it for 7 days and mama made it all 10 days. Jay is currently on day 2 after hearing of our success.

If you decide to try it out, here are a few tips:

- Order or buy the book on the above website and read it.

- Order the supplies kit off the website above, unless you have a good health store nearby, but either way the syrup is cheaper on the website, as they recommend organic grade B, which is hard to find and expensive in regular grocery stores

-Careful coming off the cleanse, you need to ease off slowly with fresh fruit juice then veggie soup, and make sure to take probiotics (which I learned the hard way are not multi-vitamins!)

The other upside of the cleanse, of course, is the weight and inches loss. Both my mom and I lost 10 pounds, while daddy lost 14 and 2 inches off his waist! I gained about 3 pounds back, but still feel better overall. I'll be happy to answer any questions if you have them. If you decide to try it, Happy Cleansing!!!