Although detoxifcation symptoms are unpleasant, they ought to be desired . No one wants the feelings associated with detoxifying, but that's the purpose of the cleanse. If you're not detoxifying, you're not making progress and won't feel better afterward!

I place detox symptoms into five classes. Knowing these will be gone in a day or two, it is MUCH easier to persevere and complete the cleanse.

1. Cravings. I've noticed I crave things for a few hours or a day. Usually after the next morning's elimination, the craving is gone and I feel better. As your body detoxifies (eliminates the toxic waste from) cooked meat, dairy products, etc. It craves the hamburger, pizza, ice cream, etc. that is being "peeled off" in layers.
2. Tiredness. When your body fights toxins, whether from detoxifying or an infection, it diverts energy into healing and away from the energy you use to work and play.
3. Irritability. This includes the desire to "just chew something solid."
4. Physical aches, pains, nausea, vomiting, etc. These are the most severe reactions and only occur where a person is severely toxic, only a small percentage of people experience these. Fortunately, these have gone away after only a day or two in every case I have heard about.
5. Burning eliminations. The toxins that are being eliminated are acidic. When a particularly toxic elimination passes, you can actually feel heat. Such an elimination usually occurs after a day of other strong detox symptoms. Some people believe that the heat comes from the cayenne, but my first experience of a hot elimination came on Day 17 of my first Master Cleanse. There was no heat on days 5 through 16, even though I drank the same amount of cayenne each day.

Now that you know that these are only temporary and milestones that you are becoming healthier, you will have the perspective to complete the cleanse and make it through. After you personally experience the gain you make after a detox day, you'll actually begin to look forward to them knowing that the next day will be a new plateau!

__________________

Peter

Others I've talked to have occasionally found that the first day or two of drinking the salt water didn't produce any elimination. Usually this is true of those that eat meat or dairy products regularly. Adjusting the salt (usually increasing it), often does the trick.

People have told me that 30 to 60 minutes after drinking the salt water they usually have an urgent and intense need to eliminate. This generally occurs several times over the next 45 to 90 minutes.

Some people gag on the taste. It's much easier to take if you use the uniodized sea salt that Burroughs says to use. My wife recommends using a straw so that the taste isn't so strong.

If all else fails, Burroughs does say on page 22, "If for some reason the salt water cannot be taken in the morning, then the herb laxative tea must be taken night and morning."

It's important to understand that there are two parts to this cleanse. Part one is the detox: mobilizing the "junk" from the part of the body where it's stored. Part two is elimination: ensuring the "junk" is washed out of the body quickly and regularly so that the toxins are not reabsorbed making you feel sick or miserable. The salt water flush is a powerful part of that elimination process.

__________________

Peter

From a recent question:

My girlfriend is planning to do the cleanse in January, she has read the book, but is planning on also taking diet supplements with ephedra in it (it is back on the market now.)

She thinks the ephedra will help her cut her cravings, and give her more energy, and make the cleanse easier, and the results better.

I told her not to to that, I don't think she will listen to me. Can you post something on it, or give me some words of wisdom to tell her, that she may listen to?

You're a good friend.

After coaching more than 500 people on the Master Cleanse in just the last 2 years, I can tell you with great certainty that adding anything to the Master Cleanse (other than items prescribed by licensed health care professionals) is A) unnecessary and B) reduces the gains.

The reason is to be found in studies on fasting. The Master Cleanse is a form of juice fasting and one of the most powerful forms of that. I would estimate it to be nearly as powerful as water fasting, but without the need for bed rest and less detox symptoms because water fasting typically doesn't include any additional elminination actions such as colonics or salt water flushes.

The truth, which is covered up by advertising of manufacturers, is that the body has its own reset button: fasting. Adding anything to the Master Cleanse just makes it less effective in letting the body heal itself.

I hope this helps and I hope your friend appreciates having such a good friend as you,

Peter

In his original book on the Master Cleanse, Stanley Burroughs says not to take vitamins or supplements while on the cleanse. He also talks about increased health from the Master Cleanse and eating a healthy vegetarian diet as reducing or eliminating the need for medicines, hospitals and/or nursing homes. He does not say don't take any medicines while on the Master Cleanse. However, many people misunderstand and wonder whether they can take medicines. Anything prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner should not be discontinued while on the Master Cleanse without consulting that licensed health care practitioner or another, if you want a second opinion. As to whether the Master Cleanse might cause problems for a current prescription, your best reference is the licensed health care practitioner who prescribed it. As your health improves, you may find that you need less of a prescription. For example, it is well known that fasting lowers blood pressure. If you are taking a prescription for high blood pressure, you may discover that you no longer need as much or any of that prescription during or after the Master Cleanse. Again, you should make your licensed health care practitioner aware of what is happening. So, she can adjust your prescription. Anything you are taking on your own decision, such as over the counter drug store items, should be discontinued while on the Master Cleanse.

Stanley Burroughs says the cayenne in the Master Cleanse dissolves mucus, strengthens the blood and supplies vitamin C and some B vitamins.

In addition, cayenne dilates blood vessels. The increased circulation then acts as an "accelerator pedal" to the cleanse. Master Herbalist, Dr. Richard Schulze, rates it as the #1 most important, useful herb! He also says that people who take it in capsules don't get the maximum healing effect because it bypasses the nerve endings in the mouth which react by sending blood throughout the body especially into blocked areas. (from Heal South Africa web page on cayenne)

Cayenne comes in several different degrees of heat. These are measured in "heat units". I recommend that people start with the lowest (30,000 or so) and learn to tolerate more.

Also, cayenne gets hotter as it sits in the drink! If you're going to make up enough for a whole day at work, try taking the cayenne to work separately and only adding it to each bottle before you drink it.

Finally, don't use capsules for two reasons. First, most capsules are made from gelatin (boiled hooves, tendons and sinews) which require digestion and thus defeat the fasting aspect of the Master Cleanse, which is what gives it its power. Secondly, it should be taken by mouth so you don't bypass the nerve endings in the mouth.

Most people who have problems taking cayenne by mouth once tried it by taking way too much at first. It is such a beneficial herb, it is worth learning to take it. (It is a learned food, just like celery or tomatoes.) So, start with whatever amount is comfortable and gradually increase it until you can use a 1/10 teaspoon in each 10 oz. lemonade drink...or more!

Here's another web page on it.

www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cayenne.htm

Enjoy,
Peter

The coating on the tongue is something Burroughs mentions briefly in his book, The Master Cleanser, on page 27. He says, "One of the best signals of the completed diet is when the formerly coated and fuzzy tongue is clear pink and clean looking. During the diet it becomes very badly coated."

In case you're interested, here is a link to traditional chinese medicine websites that talk about diagnosing the patient by tongue color and texture.

Before I send you there, I'd like to tell you I've gone through the furry tongue phase on the MC. I decided to do the cleanse until my tongue was pink. It took 20 days. A friend did it and it took him 26. The tongue does get coated with white cheezy stuff as you're detoxing. It does clear up if you continue.

http://www.beyondwellbeing.com/html/tongueform.htm

__________________

Peter

Breaking a long fast is very, very important. If you go right to solid food devouring everything in sight, you're going to feel very sick to your stomach :-[. You should ease your way back to solid food after at least one day of juice. Burroughs says fresh squeezed orange juice, but I find that too heavy. I like fresh grapefruit juice -- that's why I live in Florida.

If you are going to be eating raw fruits and vegetables, you may do so on the afternoon of the second day with a raw salad. (Many people naturally gravitate to healthier raw vegetables, fruit and juices to preserve the good feelings they gained on the cleanse.)

If you have been a meat eater and/or milk products consumer, shift to cooked vegetable soup on the afternoon of the second day and a salad for dinner. Keep the lemonade drink as your breakfast drink after that. Of course, you would do better with the least amount of meat and no milk products as they are very productive of mucus and hinder digestion and absorption of nutrients :'(.

See pages 25 - 27 of The Master Cleanser book for Burroughs' details on breaking the fast and congratulations for doing something really wonderful for yourself and your body!

__________________

Peter

Stanley Burroughs says on page 27 of The Master Cleanser in "How to Break the Lemonade Diet" in the section "FOURTH DAY" that a "clear pink and clean looking tongue" is "one of the best signals" that it is complete. In my book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, it's the third paragraph on page 20.

However, that assumes that the person has nutritional reserves. (mainly calcium and magnesium, alkaline minerals). This is because the body must neutralize the acidic toxins before it eliminates them. To do so, it needs alkaline minerals. These minerals are supplied in abundance in dark green leafy vegetables. So, the diet before the cleanse and between cleanses makes a big difference. That's why Burroughs and I both promote a diet of fresh raw fruits and vegetables.

Most people doing it for the first time need to detox in general and cleanse their colon and haven't depleted their nutritional reserves, but repeat Master Cleansers sometimes (1 out of 100?) want to do it more frequently than their nutritional reserves allow (Burroughs recommends doing it three or four times a year.) and they have problems like temporary hair loss (and possibly sensitive teeth?).

So, there is no set answer for everyone. It depends on the body's nutritional reserves. That's why I tell people to listen to their body. On my 12th cleanse (or thereabouts), I was going for 40 days, but the body said quit at 28 days. So, I did.

As of now (Dec 2006), I'm talking to two health care practitioners to see if we can find a low-cost test that would quickly tell people if they had enough nutritional reserves. So, far we don't have it. When and if we find one, I'll put it in the free newsletter and post it on this bulletin board.

So, if you don't run out of nutritional reserves, go for the clear pink tongue. (By the way, the three people I know took 20 days to get it.)

How will this Master Cleanse interfere with a womans' monthly cycle?... How many days should a person wait if at all?

On page 19, Stanley Burroughs says, "Blend a part of the lemon skin and pulp with the lemonade in a blender for further cleansing and laxative effect. (Note: commercially produced lemons may have had their skins dyed with yellow coloring and may have been subjected to poisonous insect sprays -- be sure to peel off the outer skin if you cannot get uncolored, organically grown lemons.) The properties in the lemon skin also act as a hemostatic to prevent excess bleeding and to prevent clotting internally should there be any such prevailing condition. (Don't worry -- normal conditions will continue during the menstrual periods.) [Parenthetical thoughts are those of Stanley Burroughs.]

__________________

Peter

Since the Master Cleanse is a detoxifying cleanse, it mobilizes toxins in the body. Pregnant and nursing mothers run the risk of these toxins going into their infants.

Although one nursing mother did have an ingenious solution to this problem. She pumped enough breast milk in advance to feed her infant while she was on the cleanse and coming off it.

Then while on the cleanse and coming off it, she pumped her breast milk and threw it out. So, there was no possibililty of passing toxins to her infant.

Peter

The body requires much more protein when it is healing from surgery or otherwise rebuilding flesh. Therefore, until a person is recovered, she or he should not do the Master Cleanse.

Peter

Chemotherapy chemicals are extremely toxic. (After all, their purpose is to kill the cancer cells.)

No one on chemotherapy should attempt the Master Cleanse while on chemo. After chemotherapy, such people should seek the advise of their licensed health care practitioner before starting the Master Cleanse.

Peter