Juice Fasting Vs. Master Cleanse

The debate over whether the Master Cleanse is safe and effective has come up a lot recently in my workshops and consultations, so I thought I would make my thoughts available for all.

The Master Cleanse has gotten so much hype and press in the past couple of years, thanks to celebrity endorsements, it is not surprising that people would think that this is the safest and best cleanse out there. And why not? It is easy in terms of preparation, cheap in terms of supplies and ingredients, makes a refreshing drink that most people find palatable, and you are guaranteed to lose weight and feel relatively good in just a few days. (Note that this is not every ones experience-- the feeling good part)

The Master Cleanse is also a pretty marketable and easy sell for busy people who want to do a cleanse but don't necessarily have the time or desire to put a lot of time into it. But quick, easy, tasty and cheap does not always mean it is good or right for you.

Juice cleanses are in my opinion the better choice, but are a harder sell because they require more time, money and understanding. After using myself as a human experiment, my better inner judgement told me very clearly that flooding my body with 4 quarts of freshly pressed veggie and fruit juices was by far a more effective, cleansing and nurturing cleanse. And here's why.

Freshly made juices, particularly those with at least 50 percent greens in them (kale, spinach, chard, parsley, collards, beet greens, dandelion greens, celery, cucumber, etc) are teeming with a diverse (our bodies just like nature thrives and grows on diversity) amount of nutrients that is quickly absorbed into the blood stream and delivered to the cells. Once in the cells, accumulated toxic matter and gasses begin to awaken and loosen up and are then released into the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is like our waste disposal system responsible for carrying cellular garbage to one of the many elimination organs, such as our skin, lungs and colon (large intestine).

In addition to the cleansing effects of the cells, these juices also loosen any compacted fecal matter that has been accumulating in our colons. Our colons are like the garbage can of the body and therefore need to be cleaned out every so often otherwise it overflows and reek havoc on our immune systems and our abilities to digest and eliminate.

While on a cleanse, cellular toxins get awakened and dumped into the colon at such a fast rate it is highly recommended that one gets regular gravitational style colonic irrigations to make sure that the toxins get flushed out in a timely manner. In many ways the colonics are the true cleanse, because unless these toxins get flushed out of your body they will just continue to recirculate and become more activated and more damaging the the long run.

So while all this loosening, awakening and elimination of toxins are accruing, the cells and tissues are being rebuilt with organic vitamins, minerals, proteins, and digestive enzymes, making you feel and look younger, more energetic, slimmer and A LIVE! :)

Your body is also getting super hydrated and alkaline from all the naturally distilled water from the vegetables and fruits.

You can also consider juice cleansing as more of a feast than a fast, because the goal is to flood your body with nutrients, while decompressing the cells of toxic material. Why would you want to deprive yourself of that?

The Master Cleanse, on the other hand, is less than ideal for the body because it is not as diverse in terms of ingredients and therefore very nutrient poor. It also has high amounts of sugar from the maple syrup, which is not good for stabilizing blood glucose or for diabetics. While it does do some cleansing of the cells, this cleanse mainly targets dissolving fatty deposits in the tissues and liver. This is good, but the juices do the same and much more! Also, because the Master Cleanse so low in calories and protein it can really slow down a persons metabolism making it harder to keep the weight off once you are back on solid foods.

But do you have choose on or the other?

The answer is yes and no. What I have done in the past is incorporated one or two quarts of spicy lemonade into my mostly juice cleanses, but replaced the maple syrup with stevia, a natural leaf sweetener that does not effect blood sugar but rather helps the body increase its glucose tolerance over time. This way you are getting all the nutrients you need from the juices and getting the best cleansing effects of the master cleanse without any compromises to your health.

Without a doubt, both cleanses give the body a much needed break from digestion so that it can repair any damages that have been done, dissolve nagging aches and pains, dissolve fatty tissues, cleanse the liver and give you more energy. But incorporating the best qualities of each and taking the time to take care of yourself in a way that honors your body, mind and spirit is the true essence of any cleanse.

For more information on both cleanses check out:

www.yourguidetodetox.com/YGD/home.html and www.therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm