The master cleanse diet was created in the 1940’s by Stanley Burroughs, a controversial nutrition and natural health guru. Burroughs created it as a treatment for ulcers. He later published a book, "The Master Cleanser," which enjoyed a tremendous amount of popularity when it was published.

Now, people are turning to the master cleanse diet as a way to shed pounds, cleanse their bodies of impurities, and increase their energy. But, is the master cleanse diet really the best solution for permanent and long-term weight loss?

Problems With The Master Cleanse

The most glaring problem with the master cleanse diet isn’t that it doesn’t work. In fact, it works quite well as a short-term fast and cleanse. However, the problem with the master cleanse program is that by design it can only be used safely as a short-term cleanse.

The reason why is because of the ridiculously low amount of calories and nutrients taken in during the cleanse. The master cleanse drink is really just a weak lemonade, with little if any nutritional value. And, while the benefits of fasting for health and weight loss are well-substantiated, participating in a long-term fasting cleanse without medical supervision can be hazardous to people who are already malnourished, as well as those with medical conditions.

Using the Master Cleanse Short-Term

While doing a fast for longer than 48 hours without medical supervision is not advised, it may be perfectly acceptable for healthy individuals to follow the master cleanse program for a day or two. Most healthy individuals have enough body fat to last them several days without food, as has been proven many times by people stranded without food in survival situations.

The benefit of doing such a short-term fasting cleanse may be found in giving the body a much-needed break from the demands of constantly digesting food. This can in turn allow the body to use energy that had formerly been used for digesting meals, and instead use those resources for healing the gut and cleaning out toxins and waste matter.

Final Thoughts on the Master Cleanse

Of course, there are better alternatives to following the master cleanse as a long-term weight loss solution. In fact, nutritional cleansing is a much more reliable way to cleanse the body long-term. It is also more effective in most cases for losing weight and keeping it off. In any case, if you decide to do a master cleanse to lose weight, just remember that it’s best used for short fasting cleanses.