The Lemon Cleanse Diet - Detox With Lemonade

60 years ago, a Californian natural healer called Stanley Burroughs devised a liquid mixture aimed at flushing out toxins from the body and leaving it clean and healthy. Thus began the Lemon cleanse diet, or lemonade diet; a way to detox with lemonade, which is still being used today and in fact is more popular than ever.

The lemonade mixture used for this diet is made up from fresh squeezed lemon juice, natural grade B Maple syrup and cayenne pepper, diluted with fresh water. The idea is to keep a bottle with you at all times, and sip from it at intervals throughout the day, especially when hunger pangs hit. A morning salt water flush and evening laxative tea are also recommended, to help remove unwanted matter from the colon, in a similar way to colonic irrigation but taken orally.

The Lemon cleanse diet mixture is to remove toxins from organs and cells, while the salt water or laxative tea flush them all the way out of the body.

Medical personnel and fitness advisers have mixed reactions to the Lemon cleanse diet, those opposed to it say it is not necessary as the organs like kidneys, liver, lungs, skin and digestive system are there to do just that; clean out the system of any waste.

Those who agree with the detox however, say that as long as it is only done for a few days at a time it won't do any harm, and if followed by a regular healthy diet, is probably a good idea.

Why This Mixture?

Each of the ingredients used in the Lemon cleanse diet have their own function and reasons for being there:

Lemons

Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C which works as a booster to energy and is of great help to the immune system. They are also recommended in homoeopathy and naturopathy to expel calcium deposits, clean out the colon and bladder and help to prevent or dissolve stones in the kidney and gall bladder.

Cayenne Pepper

A chemical called capsaicin which is found in cayenne pepper is what gives its medicinal importance. Cayenne is known to stimulate secretion and flow of saliva and stomach juices, thereby soothing our digestive tract. It also helps to regulate the flow of blood and is often used to reverse the symptoms of heart attack, in fact has been known to save lives when administered at the onset of a heart attack.

This ability to step up blood flow also helps in the release and ejection of toxins in the blood.

Grade B Maple Syrup

Grade B Maple syrup has vitamins B2, 5, 6, PP, Folic and Biotin, as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, iron and phosphorus. In the case of grade A syrup, this healthy content is greatly depleted during refinement, therefore it is necessary to choose grade B natural maple syrup in order to reap the benefits. As well as all these wonderful vitamins and minerals, the grade B is rich in amino acids, which are known as the "building blocks" of proteins.

These three ingredients along with abundant water, should give the body the nourishment that it needs over the duration of the diet, which is usually between 3 and 10 days. Three days should be enough to wash out the toxins from the body, but some people stay longer with the hope to losing weight, although 10 days is the maximum that should it be used in one go. At least a couple of weeks of healthy eating, beginning with soups and other liquids for a couple of days, then fish, vegetables, fruit and salad, can then be followed by another bout of the Lemon cleanse diet if required.

The salt water flush should consist of two teaspoons of non-iodised salt mixed into a quart of water, drunk as quickly as possible first thing in the morning, while the laxative tea is to be taken at night, as needed.

This diet has become quite popular with celebrities and with people all over the United States, with most people finding it very helpful and claiming it made them feel more healthy and vital. There are some detractors however, who claim that the Lemon cleanse diet does not provide the body with enough nutrition and the salt water flush is in fact introducing too much salt to the body in one go.

As with anything else, it is up to the individual to decide for themselves if the Lemon cleanse diet is good for them, while of course anyone with health problems or taking medication should certainly consult their doctor before embarking on this plan.