Master Cleanse Dangers

The master cleanse diet, was founded by Stanley Burroughs in 1941. However, it was Beyonce Knowles who can be credited for popularizing it, when she confessed that, she used a master cleanse diet to get slim for a movie, on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Since then, the diet has become a popular choice of many people to lose weight quickly. Although, Beyonce herself discouraged people to go for such a diet program because of the horde of problems, people didn't pay much heed. The idea of losing weight, too much and too quick, was strong enough for people to forget about the safety standards of the diet.

Master Cleanse Diet

The diet, when invented, was used by people to clean the digestive system from harmful chemicals besides boosting the immune system. In a master cleanse diet, the person needs to fast for a 10 or 14 day period. During this detoxification period, the person is allowed only lemon juice, water, maple syrup, water with sea salt mixed with it, water with cayenne pepper and laxative tea. Since a person has to survive mostly on lemon juice during this period, it is also called lemonade diet. The idea behind this liquid diet is to help the body excrete toxic substances, accumulated due to the consumption of unhealthy food. However, the diet does not provide minerals, vitamins and proteins required by the body to function normally.

Downsides to the Master Cleanse

The promise that people will lose 2 pounds a day may be true, but the possible side effects cannot be ruled out.

Nutrient Deficiency
For the proper functioning of your body, essential vitamins and minerals are also required, which we get from our daily diet. Although there are claims that these nutrients are present in lemon juice and maple syrup, it isn't sufficient to ensure proper and smooth functioning of the body.

Metabolism Changes
When a person follows a detoxification diet, there is insufficient intake of calories required to perform daily tasks. Since the consumption of carbohydrates is reduced, some of the muscles are converted to generate energy. This disrupts the metabolism rate of the body, slowing it down considerately.

Diarrhea
There are chances that the person may suffer from chronic diarrhea because of starvation during the master cleanse diet.

Weight Gain and Over-eating
After completing the program, people have a tendency to over eat. As they haven't been able to eat for a long time, they immediately rush to eat all that they have missed. But this is again bad for health. People should ideally visit their dietitian and go in for a diet plan which helps the body restore itself. Also binge eating can result in the body gaining weight again, rendering the entire effort useless.

Other Possible Health Abnormalities
The master cleanse diet can also lead to certain kidney diseases, diabetes or even cardiac arrest. Since the program cleans the colon, there are possibilities that certain useful bacteria being destroyed. Dehydration is a common side effect of the master cleanse diet, as water content in the body is reduced. No new muscles are formed in the body as there is no intake of proteins or carbohydrates during the fast. Insomnia, nausea, depression and craving are other problems.

In spite of all these grim consequences, one might wonder why people do it. There is, of course, no denying to the fact that people lose weight during the program. The toxic chemicals which harm the body are not consumed during the fast, thus protecting the interior organs. It also helps in removing various toxins and chemicals form the colon, liver and kidney. Another incentive for people to undergo the master cleanse program is the fact that it helps to be away from alcohol and tobacco.

It is a good way to cleanse the body once in a while. However, it can be dangerous to undertake the master cleanse program to lose weight. There are other better alternatives to lose weight fast which do not pose a serious threat to one's overall health. Keep in mind the long term losses before pursuing short term benefits.