Day Ten: The Benefits of the Master Cleanse (Last day!!!)

I cannot believe Day 10 is over. It has been really strangely easy. Other than the last couple of days of negativity (probably spurred by a bad day at work) I have been able to function perfectly normally in the classroom, at work, and socially. I was not hungry except for a couple of times. Seriously, if I can do this, you can too. The only prerequisite is knowledge. Equipping yourself with knowledge about the benefits of this cleanse is imperative because it will motivate you to finish if you hit a bump in the road and it will arm you with ammunition when someone informs you that you're being unhealthy or makes you feel anorexic. Benefits include; the detoxification of your body, the stimulation of healthy tissue growth (this cleanse was originally used to cure stomach ulcers), the elimination of fatty tissue, the ingestion of minerals and vitamins as well as...

• "The Master Cleanser helps dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body

• The Master Cleanser also helps cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system in totality.

• The Master Cleanser helps purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body.

• The Master Cleanser helps eliminate unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles

• The Master Cleanser helps build a healthy blood stream

• The Master Cleanser helps relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries and blood vessels.

• The Master Cleanser helps preserve youth and vitality regardless of age.

• The Master Cleanser helps restore healthy skin as the rest of the body is cleansed. Boils, abscesses, carbuncles, and pimples may all disappear by adhering to the diet.

• The Master Cleanser does away with all mucus diseases such as colds, flu, asthma, hay fever, sinus and bronchial troubles as they are rapidly dissolved and eliminated from the body, leaving the system free from allergies which may cause difficult breathing and clogging of the sinus cavities." (1)

Reasons why this cleanse is so effective? The ingredients!

• "Lemons are known to be one of the richest sources of minerals and vitamins. Lemons also help loosen and break up mucus in the body.

• Maple Syrup is a balanced form of positive and negative sugars and must be used; no substitutes are to be included in the mixture. Grade B maple syrup is highly recommended for its taste and mineral content. The variety of vitamins and minerals in maple syrup include: potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine and silicon. Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, C, nicotinic acid and pantothenic acid are also present.

• Cayenne Pepper breaks up mucus and increases warmth by building blood and acts as a cleanser for the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. It has been popularly used by herbalists to treat a wide range of problems and to enhance the effectiveness of many other herbs." (1)

I wanted to share with you some recent facts I learned about dairy. Prepare yourself dairy-lovers.


There are 6 approved hormones which are injected into dairy cows to accelerate growth. These are estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate (3 of these 6 are natural sex hormones). RbGH is also injected into the cows to produce more milk. (2) The FDA approves of all these hormones which we then ingest when we drink or eat dairy products. There is no way to regulate these hormones because we cannot distinguish them from the many natural hormones which the cow makes (and which we also ingest through dairy products). There have been links to dairy and testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. (3) Milk is full of fat in order to make a calf grow into an incredible size- why is it ingrained in our American culture that humans should drink something like this?

Here's an excerpt from a VERY interesting website...

"*ALL* cow's milk (regular and 'organic') has 59 active hormones, scores of allergens, fat and cholesterol. Most cow's milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins (up to 200 times the safe levels), up to 52 powerful antibiotics (perhaps 53, with LS-50), blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses.[...]

Of those 59 hormones one is a powerful GROWTH hormone called Insulin- like Growth Factor ONE (IGF-1). By a freak of nature it is identical in cows and humans. Consider this hormone to be a "fuel cell" for any cancer... (the medical world says IGF-1 is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate and colon cancers, and we suspect that most likely it will be found to promote ALL cancers).[...]

Each bite of hard cheese has TEN TIMES whatever was in that sip of milk... because it takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Each bite of ice cream has 12 times ... and every swipe of butter 21 times whatever is contained in the fat molecules in a sip of milk. [...]

Cow's milk is allowed to have feces in it. This is a major source for bacteria. Milk is typically pasteurized more than once before it gets to your table... each time for only 15 seconds at 162 degrees Fahrenheit. To sanitize water one is told to boil it (212 degrees F) for several minutes." (4)


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On this last day I'd like to share with you a tea which I really loved called Laci Le Beau Super Dieter's Tea, a laxative tea which includes senna. It is necessary to use on the cleanse since you will not be receiving fiber from your diet and will need another facilitator to excrete waste. It tasted so good and worked better than the Traditional Medicinals Smooth Move tea I had bought. All in all I lost 5 kgs or 11.02 pounds on the cleanse although losing weight was not my goal nor did I even realize would be an effect of the cleanse until I was already started and a girl I told said, "OMG you're gonna lose SO much weight!" I expect some of the weight will return when I do start eating again. I am sure that with my new lifestyle choices my body will be cleaner and healthier than ever before and I am so excited to begin exploring this new way of life. =)

I can't wait to juice and drink my sweet, organic oranges tomorrow!

Live Long and Prosper!

(1) http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/articles/290/diet/master-cleanser-lemonade-diet.html
(2) http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Diet/fs37.hormones.cfm
(3) http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.07/11-dairy.html
(4) http://www.rense.com/general26/milk.htm

Day Nine: Almost there!

Today my negative feelings started back up where they left off from yesterday. Luckily, I was able to toss myself into academic studies and be excited to get check things off my study list. Tonight I visited with some people before I went to sleep and discussed eating habits after the cleanse. Someone asked if it would ruin the point of the whole cleanse to go back to the way I had eaten before as soon as I am off. My answer? Hell yes!! No way did I just cleanse my body of whatever toxins I could in 10 days just to resupply my body with toxins to replace them. This cleanse doesn't give you a superhuman gastrointestinal tract after you do it, it only detoxifies your body. Although it is a more intense cleanse than an all raw foods diet (a very, very health-rewarding lifestyle!!), it is not serious enough to cleanse you of everything. My friend told me about a man who went on the Master Cleanse for 26 days and shed a 25-inch slough of build-up in the shape of his intestines. Other people have had the same experience with shorter sessions. Anthony, my Master Cleanse mentor, has gone without eating for 55 days!

Something this cleanse has really highlighted for me are two unfortunate consequences of American food-culture. A) Americans eat way too much and B) Americans have most readily available to them foods which both cause cancer and facilitate cancer growth.

It is quite obvious to me, especially after this time spent without eating, that we do not HAVE to eat three dinner-plate-size meals a day. I remember when my dad used to say, 'skipping a meal won't KILL you' in joke if I was ever in a swivet about missing a family dinner. Of course I knew I wouldn't actually die but I was CONDITIONED to expect, want, and "need" three meals a day. I didn't know any different. Part of the problem is thirst is very, very often (more than I had even realized before) misinterpreted as hunger. Seeing how full and satisfied I could be on a light-calorie drink all day really made me understand the gravity of this statement.

I always believed myself to be a healthy eater. I would buy pretty much only vegetables, fruit, nuts, yogurt, and eggs and very seldom wheat cereal, milk, shrimp, chicken, and noodles from the supermarket. I would pair with those staples with sticky white rice from my 25-lb bulk bag and a little soy sauce. Even with this kind of a diet (rather than one of frozen, packaged, processed and fast foods) some very dangerous things are being ingested. Rice, wheat, corn, and soy are mostly always genetically modified (unless they were very carefully protected and thus should be labeled "organic") and are grown on mass-scales to be added into packaged and processed foods. Along with many environmental and ethical problems with GMOs, this is what we know about GMOs in the case of human health;

• there is little scientific study about their health risks
• safety test technology is inadequate to assess potential harm
• they can carry unpredictable toxins
• they may increase the risk of allergenic reactions

We do not know the full health effects on GMOs because they are protected from being tested and regulated by the government and huge agriculture companies. Studies have shown cancer and complications in rats from genetically modified products but they are STILL RELEASED to the public because negative results the company finds do not have to be published or announced. Because GMOs are not labeled we may be eating them in any non-organic food item. If health complications develop due to GMO consumption a lawsuit cannot be enacted because there would be no identifiable linkage.

Companies disturb the cell walls of a plant (its natural defense system) to inject it with whatever they want to make it more profitable (resistant to pesticides [=we eat those pesticides that will no longer kill the plant], faster growing, needing less nutrients [vastly lowers nutritional value for humans]) all without being mandated to have it tested. Humans are the guinea-pigs.

There are "voluntary consultations" however...

"The very first crop submitted to the FDA's voluntary consultation process, the FlavrSavr tomato, showed evidence of toxins. Out of 20 female rats fed the GM tomato, 7 developed stomach lesions.[4] The director of FDA's Office of Special Research Skills wrote that the tomatoes did not demonstrate a "reasonable certainty of no harm,"[5] which is their normal standard of safety. The Additives Evaluation Branch agreed that "unresolved questions still remain."[6] The political appointees, however, did not require that the tomato be withdrawn.[*]" (1)

*********Please watch Food Matters and The Future of Food for a more developed explanation of the horrible effects of GMOs.*********

So even in my "healthy" diet, I was not eating organic vegetables and so, could have been eating GMOs my whole life as they are LEGAL and UNLABELED in the United States (Europe and Japan would never allow this). Processed and packaged foods profit from the use of GMOs especially the four big ones (rice, wheat, corn, and soy). Even people who go vegan or vegetarian for health reasons are often tricked as these four (especially soy) are added to so many animal-free products (tofu, meat substitutes, milk substitutes, ice cream etc).

(1) http://arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/genetically_modified_foods.html
Good informational site on GMOs: http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html

Day Eight: The mental game

I had a hard night tonight. I was tired, I was emotional, I was no longer motivated to stick to the cleanse. I had no driving force and I didn't feel like there was any real reason to go through some weeks without the pleasure of food. I never thought I was an emotional eater but this feeling of being low and so, especially wanting to eat, shows me I might need to rethink this thought. I just want to slip one piece of popcorn in my mouth... or an almond. Just one!!! They say people need something to believe in during this cleanse to keep them going such as a religion or an ideology or what have you. I say what one really needs (after an understanding of the health benefits of this cleanse and an inspiration to be healthy) is a strong core of people around you, to lift you up when you are down. These past days have been a combination of dead and finals weeks which means most people are focused and studying. Tonight, I have no real drive to keep going. I don't feel inspired anymore, I just feel down. I wish I had my family around me tonight to encourage me. I will not break the cleanse because I have no real driving force to break it either (except for hunger I guess).

The reason I am hungry is because the last 'lemonade' I drank was over 5 hours ago. You should NEVER be uncomfortably hungry on this cleanse unless you do this to yourself. Please heed my warning; drink the lemonade solution all throughout the day and do not put yourself in a situation where you can't get to your drink for 5+ hours (like me in the library studying for finals!). Just FYI, I have lowered the salt-solution concentration to 1 tsp of salt instead of 2 since Day 5 because it is no longer necessary for it to be so strong. I keep drinking the senna tea although it felt like neither were working for Days 6 and 7. Today I had the desired effects from the drinks and it is really incredible to see that there are still semi-solids in my system. I am definitely riding myself of gunk which has been in my body for years.

Day Seven: Feelin a tinge hungry...

Today has been all about studying for finals in the darkness of the library from morning til late night. I made a very condensed (sour!) version of the drink to dilute all day as I drank it down. I have been super productive and motivated to study and complete my essays. I did have some food cravings for the first time today when I saw some tasty, plump almonds on my break to take the senna tea. I did get a bit hungry now and then which may have been because the lemons I juiced were not yet ripe. I had tons of energy which needed to be expelled so I did a light workout of push ups, crunches, etc.

Well, back to studying!

Day Six: Ready for my finals

Today was a totally typical day. I've realized that my actual brain function has not gone down at all even if I may feel low energy or lazy sometimes. Changes in brain concentration does not constitute changes in ability and is definitely amplified by me over-analyzing my situation, by me listening to people who think they know what is going on in my body (without ever having tried a cleanse themselves or even having researched into it), and from me worrying about my finals coming up.

The reality is, it makes sense that even though the brain takes up most of our caloric intake that it would not immediately decrease in function after some days without food. Imagine a body living off the land, not having a surplus of food from the invention of agriculture, depending only on hunting and gathering daily. Imagine, as early hominids, if a day without food went by and subsequently brain functioning decreased immediately. There is absolutely no way this reaction would be evolutionarily sustainable in our early environmental contexts; we would not have survived. Traveling peoples living off the ecology of the earth, battling the elements, protecting themselves from dangerous predators, raising children, all while intelligently gathering and hunting food could not possibly have survived if the brain could be so easily starved.

In the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, conducted in 1944-45 to understand the physiological and psychological effects of starvation as well as to determine successful ways to re-feed starved peoples from the concentration camps of WWII, patients were put on a semi-starvation period of 24 weeks. Now, I absolutely am not saying that this type of starvation is healthy to any extent of the imagination, but I do want to point out that even after such an expanse of time without food, "The participants reported a decline in concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities, although the standardized tests administered showed no actual signs of diminished capacity." (Wikipedia; Minnesota Starvation Experiment) Thus, through these tests and through my own self-tests, I deduce that it takes a very, very long time, and logically so, for the brain to have a significant reduction of ACTUAL capabilities in reaction to starvation.

And believe me, as a female whose body expects to need fat stores for reproduction (even in times of scarcity) I have an ample amount of energy saved just for this occasion ;).

Day Five: Feeling GREAT! Halfway there!

Today was wonderful; I had a boundless supply of energy, I was never hungry (even though I had drank only a cup of the solution the entire day due to busyness; I did drink the intended amount later), I was cheery and upbeat, and content in my body. My stomach has very obviously shrunk as chugging a canteen of water is impossible to finish in one sitting-there is just no room! My waste is now completely liquid (and has been since yesterday) and I am adding more and more cayenne pepper to my drinks (it does take some time to build up to the taste). On this cleanse one does have to brush their teeth very thoroughly more than twice a day as I do feel a faster build up from the solution.

I gave a tour of my school very successfully which shows my memory, my multitasking (walking backwards while talking facts), and my strategizing (condensing an hour and a half-long tour into 45 mins and finishing on time) has been unaffected. After the tour I was so excited and energized I called up my friend and went running around in the beautiful sun, throwing the football. I can say I did become slightly lazy in my throwing and catching of the football after awhile. It all depends on how motivated I am to keep my mind focused and my effort at a full level.Then I successfully learned "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from my cleanse buddy on the guitar in an, might I say, impressive amount of time.

I heard back today that I will most likely not make it into the documentary class as it is full and meant for journalism majors with much video storytelling experience. I will fight it but it doesn't look good. I will still do my best to make this documentary next term, however, it will take much more time, effort, and string-pulling than it would have in this class. Please keep your fingers crossed!

I have decided to do the senna tea only if I will be active for the following hour (just more than sleeping) and to steep it for only 30 seconds (or until there is enough color and taste). This way I will be more able to work out the cramps via movement and activity rather than laying still to sleep. I feel absolutely normal on day five of zero food, much to my amazement. It is absolutely incredible how easy this has been and how excited I am to try new vegan recipes. People close to me comment on how my new eating lifestyle is going to "suck" and ask questions like, "what will you even be able to eat?!". My plan is to cut out meat, dairy, gluten, peanuts, GMOs, MSG, salt, and packaged or processed foods.

Within the no GMOs (genetically modified organisms) goes the four largest crops grown and contaminated; rice, corn, soy, and wheat. Yes this means no tofu =(. I will make exceptions if the company promises the food has not been contaminated. I have found some very promising non-GMO corn tortillas... I will allow myself to eat seafood and eggs (organic and cage-free) because I am crazy in love with these things. I will eat wild and brown rice (sparingly since they are tough to break down) as these are gluten-free and not of the GMO kind (or less likely to be).

Gluten forms into glue (hence the name) in our gastrointestinal tract and sticks to the villi in our intestines. This makes nutrients unable to be absorbed into our bloodstreams. Our body's immune system attacks this glue and in the process damages the lining of our intestines by ripping off the villi. This happens to us all but more dangerously to people with Celiac disease. Everyone can benefit from a gluten-free diet and most people show weight loss and decreased bloating when they do. Gluten is in anything with wheat, rye, barley, and semolina and is added as a thickening agent in things like ice cream and ketchup. Yes, this means gluten is in beer and ale as well but hey, wine, vodka, and gin are still allowed whohoo!! I am excited to experiment with these gluten-free flours; oat, buckwheat, flax seed, garbanzo, potato, almond, mesquite, and coconut to create better options of breads, cookies, pizza doughs and the like. Grains which are gluten-free include (along with the ones listed in the flours) wild rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, and sorghum as long as the label says either "gluten-free" or does not say "may contain traces of wheat" etc. Anthony gave me the greatest tip to crush flax seeds and mix with water for a wonderful pizza dough! Be very careful if you are also going gluten-free that the company does not replace the gluten with three of the four no-nos (soy, corn, or rice) because GMOs are just as bad or worse in effects as gluten.

SALT ATTRACTS CANCER AND TUMORS!! Salt=death and that is exactly how it should be seen. I explained in a previous post about the terrors of salt but just to reiterate; salt is bad, very, very bad.

Peanuts unfortunately cannot be digested by the body but other nuts can. Peanuts are the fattiest nuts anyway, who needs 'em? Almond butter is a better option than peanut butter and is oh, so tasty.

Day Four: A slight bump in the road

Last night I had quite an effect from the senna in the lax tea. My intestines were contracting and cramping so intensely to force out invisible solids that I was in quite an extreme pain. I felt like I had to void so much waste; there was a full, heavy, burning sensation in my lower gut, but nothing could come out. It became so painful that I started violently shaking and actually threw up. The first two nights the senna had not caused such an extreme reaction and so far my friend has not felt these effects either. Basically, I had let it steep for too long and could not handle its potency. Steep the senna tea for about 30 seconds to avoid too high a dose. Adjust the steeping to be longer if you feel absolutely no flushing effects that night or when you wake up. The point of drinking senna at night is to encourage the bowels to flush out your system in the morning. If you do feel this adverse effect to the senna, you can use something similar (such as peppermint tea, chamomile tea, or the sea-salt cleanse- NOTHING caffeinated!!!) as long as it flushes your system. Tonight I used the sea-salt solution as in my experience it has been very efficient in the flushing department.

Today I felt a bit low-energy, tired, and unmotivated. I am very seldom hungry as big gulps of the lemonade fill my stomach surprisingly well. I have been seeing positivity and beauty in so many things. Today the weather and blooming flowers were so beautiful, the people I worked with were wonderful; I felt smiley and strong. In class I was sharp, I could connect authors names to their works and their ideas, I answered questions and I filtered through review discussions from classmates to prepare for the final exam.

Today I also spoke to my mentor who inspired me to begin this cleanse and to ultimately begin my new life of healthiness, Anthony. We spoke of so many inspiring things; the huge list of new foods I will explore with my healthy new lifestyle, the power I will feel by conquering something I never imagined I could (this cleanse), the importance of friendly support for someone living with a disease, as well as his success in his super easy seven-days-to-fitness experiment. He explained that by doing an easy 5 minutes of non-strenuous movements each hour (on the hour) in a succession of 5-6 hours each day for only one week, one could become strong and toned. The way he does it is the top of the hour is dedicated to these 5 minutes of movements which he does each new hour, five to six times. The movements consist of 5-10 push-ups, 10 lunges on each leg, 10-20 crunches (slight movements, not even full crunches), 10 leg raises on each side (laying down with hands under butt for support- slight movements only), 5 half pull ups (just lift yourself however you can without too much strain "nudge up" he said, "barely move"). Any time a muscle is contracted breathe out through your nose fast and hard-this will help prevent injury and release toxins at the same time! His before and after pictures from that 7 days are incredible!

I have been so inspired by this whole process that I hope to put together a documentary which will interview Anthony, my mentor and Gerson Therapy caretaker, cancer survivors who benefited from the changed diet, current fighters of disease using these methods, patients who have had to struggle with medical association practices, as well as showcase healthy diets for all humans, nutrition information which everyone should know, dangerous daily food practices, and how we can use diet to prevent and cure disease. Although the information is already out there, even already in video form, I want to do all I can to put the word out about these healthy practices which have been proven for decades but have not been marketed or advertised due to the UNPROFITABILITY of keeping people HEALTHY.

Peace and love!