Dr. Keith Scott-Mumsby, in his book, Diet Wise, talks of a Venetian nobleman, Luigi Cornaro. By the age of 40, Luigi had a nearly continuous fever and thirst and was getting steadily worse. Consulting a physician, he was told in no uncertain terms that it was quantity of rich food he was eating that was causing his ill health and if he continued it would quickly lead him to the grave. (Most people only lived to about 40 at that time and place.)
Vowing to enjoy many more years of life, Luigi began to systematically observe and record what he ate and how it made him feel. After a while, he discovered which foods his body didn’t tolerate well and began to avoid those. In his case, it was fish, pork, melons, fruit, salad, cheap wine and pastry. Further observations and experiments determined that 12 oz. of food and 14 oz. of good wine made him healthy, vibrant and enjoy life.
Later in his life, his relatives persuaded him to eat more to maintain his strength. He increased his intake slightly and was unhappy and in ill humor for a week, then started to get sick with a pain and fever, which lasted five weeks. Realizing it was the change in his diet that began his ill health, Luigi went back to his previous diet and became vibrantly healthy again.
Luigi went on to write and publish pamphlets on diet at ages 86, 91 and 95!
What can we learn of this? Pay attention to what you eat and how you feel afterwards. You need to do this with a food diary because frequently the beneficial or ill effects aren’t immediate.
In doing the Master Cleanse more than 18 times, I’ve discovered that I sometimes crave foods that I’m detoxing. Eating again turns off any detox symptoms. So, it may be that foods you eat every time are not good for you, but by consuming them regularly you don’t get a chance to see what would happen if you didn’t eat them. So, try eating things you very rarely eat instead for a week and see if you feel better. Bread, sugar and diet drinks are good examples of that.
When it comes to food, less is generally better for you.
Interesting information,
I would like to know how long where your cleanses. I have done 4 times over 30 to 40 days each time of Master Cleanse and several times 10-15 dasys, I need to go back to another one, I have put back all my weight every time. I know that this is because I went back eating to all of my bad habits. Therefore, am I at risk because my family is worried. Doing the YO-YO with a diet this drastik over and over for so long. Is this health risk for me to do it again.
Lianne Bouchard = age 52.
I did from 10 to 28 days at a time always 3 to 4 months apart. I’m not aware of any problems as long as you don’t do them any closer than once every 3 months.,
Peter,
First of all, I want to thank you for you work about The Master Cleanse and the positive effect it has had in my life.
I have been in love with Luigi Cornaro and his writings for a few years with great benefit. Caloric restriction is the one thing that has be proven without doubt to increase longevity. You may be interested in this, if you do not know about it already, and may want to share it with your readers: Cornaro’s writings are available on-line from The Internet Archive (archive.org). Search “Luigi Cornaro” in texts. See also “Modern Methuselahs” by John Burn Bailey (1888). These books can be downloaded as PDF files and printed out or read on your computer.
Internet Archive is a tremendous resource. I am especially interested in the effect of thought on health and have found many useful books on this subject by searching “New Thought” in texts on this site.
Also, thanks for accepting my friend request on FaceBook.
Yours in Good Health and Long Life,
Robert Caldwell
Oxford, Mississippi
Dear Peter,
I totally understand the importance of cleansing and have done the Master Cleanse several times, but I’m hopelessly confused about what type of water is best. Distilled, spring, minerally enhanced, etc.? Does the plastic from gallon jugs of distilled water leach into the water to the extent that one is better off with fridge-filtered water? There is endless controversy on this topic and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels very frustrated about this issue.
You’re definitely right about the controversy on this. I’ve been researching this myself the last few weeks and am doing some testing myself right now. I’ll write an article with what I come up with.
WHEN AND IF YOU THINK IT’S NOT WORKING, OR YOUR FOOD STILL NEEDS FINE TUNING, READ
THE OXALATES & SALICYLATES FOODS LISTS BY MARI J. DIONNE
THIS SUBTLE FOOD SENSITIVITY CAN REALLY BE SLIPPERY AND HARD TO DISCOVER. IT ALSO CAN BE OVERCOME IN GOD’S TIME. IF IT WORKS FOR YOU, STICK WITH IT, UNTIL YOU COME FULL CIRCLE. YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND.
Just so you will know, there is an updated version of Luigi Cornaro’s book on Amazon that is called “Health, Beauty and a Long, Joyful Life.” It is written in modern 21st century English that is much easier to read than previous translations.