I am back from Chinese New Year, having had a great holiday in rural Hunan with my husband's family, filled with good food, the Chinese spirit "baijiu" and round upon round of mahjong. While I had a great time and opportunity to rest, my body and digestive system were a bit out of whack when I returned. The drinking, eating a diet of mostly meat and fat with almost no fresh vegetables or fruit, inhaling second-hand smoke everywhere and having little opportunity to exercise really took a toll on me and my digestive system.
I returned to Shanghai eager for some yoga and cleansing and, coincidentally, a friend of mine had just completed a 10-day master cleanse which he tweeted all over the social internetsphere, with photos of his newly skinny body. I have fasted for a few days at a time in the past but never so strictly, or following a regimen like the one in the master cleanse. Needless to say, I decided to give it a go!
What is the Master Cleanse?
The MC is a detox diet created by Stanley Burroughs in the late 1960's. It is basically a liquid diet consisting of teas and a lemonade drink that Burroughs claimed could clean out the system and prevent diseases. The cleansing aspect was what really appealed to me, but cleanse also took off in popularity when celebrities started using it to loose weight.
What do you drink/consume?
The lemonade is the main source of calories and nutrients in the program, and you are allowed 6-12 cups of it daily. Other than the lemonade, a salt water flush is taken each morning in order to clean out the digestive system, and a laxative tea is taken before bed. Throughout the day you are allowed to drink plenty of water and/or mint tea.
Lemonade Recipe:
2 tbsp. lemon juice (I basically just squeeze half a ripe lemon)
2 tbsp. grade B maple syrup
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup of water
The lemonade cannot be prepared in advance or else, according to Burroughs, the enzymes in it die. Grade B maple syrup has more nutrients and should be used rather than Grade A; the lemons should be organic and the water the best quality possible (not tap water, not distilled water). I don't know what they cayenne is for but assume it has some antioxidant properties; Burroughs doesn't recommend using any other kind of pepper.
My lemonade ended up being a bit different. Grade B maple syrup is simply impossible to find in Shanghai, so mine is Grade A. Also, my lemons are not organic and I didn't have cayenne, so I am using chili powder.
Salt Water Flush (SWF) Recipe:
2 tsp. non-iodized sea salt
1 liter of warm water
This is simple to make and sea salt is available in Shanghai. However, it is the most awful thing I have ever consumed (more on this later).
Mint and Laxative Teas:
I bought the mint tea at an import store for the convenience, rather than chopping up mint leaves every time. The laxative tea I bought at a Chinese drug store. Mine are not organic, though Burroughs recommends that they be.
I will write about my saga on this fast in the next few days!
I returned to Shanghai eager for some yoga and cleansing and, coincidentally, a friend of mine had just completed a 10-day master cleanse which he tweeted all over the social internetsphere, with photos of his newly skinny body. I have fasted for a few days at a time in the past but never so strictly, or following a regimen like the one in the master cleanse. Needless to say, I decided to give it a go!
What is the Master Cleanse?
The MC is a detox diet created by Stanley Burroughs in the late 1960's. It is basically a liquid diet consisting of teas and a lemonade drink that Burroughs claimed could clean out the system and prevent diseases. The cleansing aspect was what really appealed to me, but cleanse also took off in popularity when celebrities started using it to loose weight.
What do you drink/consume?
The lemonade is the main source of calories and nutrients in the program, and you are allowed 6-12 cups of it daily. Other than the lemonade, a salt water flush is taken each morning in order to clean out the digestive system, and a laxative tea is taken before bed. Throughout the day you are allowed to drink plenty of water and/or mint tea.
Lemonade Recipe:
2 tbsp. lemon juice (I basically just squeeze half a ripe lemon)
2 tbsp. grade B maple syrup
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup of water
The lemonade cannot be prepared in advance or else, according to Burroughs, the enzymes in it die. Grade B maple syrup has more nutrients and should be used rather than Grade A; the lemons should be organic and the water the best quality possible (not tap water, not distilled water). I don't know what they cayenne is for but assume it has some antioxidant properties; Burroughs doesn't recommend using any other kind of pepper.
My lemonade ended up being a bit different. Grade B maple syrup is simply impossible to find in Shanghai, so mine is Grade A. Also, my lemons are not organic and I didn't have cayenne, so I am using chili powder.
Salt Water Flush (SWF) Recipe:
2 tsp. non-iodized sea salt
1 liter of warm water
This is simple to make and sea salt is available in Shanghai. However, it is the most awful thing I have ever consumed (more on this later).
Mint and Laxative Teas:
I bought the mint tea at an import store for the convenience, rather than chopping up mint leaves every time. The laxative tea I bought at a Chinese drug store. Mine are not organic, though Burroughs recommends that they be.
I will write about my saga on this fast in the next few days!
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