If you’re like most of us at this time of year you’re looking for a healthier, fitter you to launch into the New Year. Maybe you feel a little sluggish after the holiday season and would like to do something nice for your body and maybe lose a few pounds in the process but don’t know where to start.

Master Cleanse

You may have heard about fasting as a way to give your digestive system a rest and help heal your body by flushing out toxins. One of the most popular methods is the Master Cleanse which is a liquid diet that provides a healthy amount of calories and nutrients specifically suited for cleansing, while resting the digestive system and allowing the body to heal naturally. The Master Cleanse has been tested and approved since 1940 by millions of people all around the world and is constantly reported as the most successful diet of its type. Over the years, The Master Cleanse has gone by many names such as The Lemonade Diet, The Cayenne Pepper Diet, The Maple Syrup Diet (all from ingredients in the Lemonade). It is also known as the Beyoncé Diet, thanks in part to the fame Beyoncé brought to the cleanse when she did the diet to lose weight for the movie Dreamgirls. Unlike other diets, the Master Cleanse doesn't require any exotic or expensive ingredients.

There are 3 Ingredients to the Lemonade Diet:

  1. First, squeeze fresh lemons to make 2T of lemon juice
  2. Then add 2 tablespoons of real maple syrup, and 1/16 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper into 8 oz. of pure water.
  3. Drink a minimum of six to 18 glasses throughout the day whenever one is hungry
Although the ingredients to the cleanse are simple, it’s important to know your ingredients beforehand and choose mindfully.

Use the purest water

The most important ingredient in this, or any cleanse is to use the cleanest purest water possible. I know people who will only eat organic fruits and vegetables, but they'll drink and cook with unfiltered tap water. That's crazy. If water came out of the tap with a list of ingredients this is what it might look like: fluoride, chorine, lead, mercury, PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, perchlorates, dioxins, HCB, or Hexachlorobenzene, dacthal and MtB. Top that up with a splash of Giardia and Cryptosporidium – these types of protozoa are responsible for widespread and severe outbreaks of gastro-intestinal diseases. They will make their way in the water system whenever here has been a sanitation breakdown. Trace pharmaceuticals are also emerging as a pollutant in our water supply. A high percentage of pharmaceuticals in wastewater enter the water supply when people dispose of medicines in the sink or toilet. Most, if not all, pharmaceutical products — whether used in animals or in humans — are used in doses at which some amounts are passed through the user and back into water systems. A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of many North American towns and cities. Most recently microplastics and microbeads have found their way into our water table and are showing up in our drinking water and even in tap water. Microplastics come from a variety of industrial and waste sources, including from larger plastic debris that degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. In addition, microbeads, a type of microplastic, are very tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene plastic that are added as exfoliants to health and beauty products, such as some cleansers and toothpastes. These tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems and pose serious health risks. The good news is that there are simple solutions to ensuring that the water that your body needs is clean and fresh and as free from chemical, organic and plastic contaminants as possible. Best Water filtration systems remove from 5 microns to as small as .1 microns of fibers. Since most of the fibers are 10 microns in size, these filters would remove almost all of the plastic fibers from tap water. Also our specialty filters such as the bone char fluoride removal filter can provide an additional level or filtration to any system. Bottled water is not an alternative to tap water. Purified bottled water is almost always acidic. It has been stripped of its healthy, naturally occurring minerals. It’s not healthy mineral water, it’s mineral-free water! It’s harder to absorb which may even make you feel bloated when you drink it. Check your labels. The majority of bottled water is simply treated and repackaged tap water.   And because bottled water is less regulated than tap water you may not know exactly what you are drinking. . A recent study found a flame retardant, disinfectant by-products, chloroform, and a rather notorious plastic additive. So now that you have the most important ingredient – clean purified water from a top of the line filtration system – what’s next? Use organic ingredients. The goal of the Master Cleanse is to remove toxic substances from your body, so stay away from ingredients that have been sprayed with pesticides. Citrus fruits are some of the most likely to be contaminated by pesticides. Don't use concentrated lemon juice. The lemon juice used must be fresh squeezed. This cannot be emphasized enough. It is necessary to use fresh produce. Canned juice won't work. Also, the maple syrup must be pure grade B maple syrup, not the processed syrup (which is usually high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring) that is used at the breakfast table. The cayenne pepper might seem unnecessary, but it's very important. Not only does add a bit of a kick, but the pepper helps to break up mucus and increases healthy blood flow. It's also a good source of B and C vitamins, commonly referred to as Super Vitamins due to their many benefits for the body. Mixing teas with the recipe is one way to help mix things up, just make sure it's decaffeinated tea because caffeine can restrict blood vessels and it’s important to keep your body passages as open as possible. Taking a laxative will speed up the detoxing process, and help your body eliminate waste. Using ingestible laxatives like, sea salts, and herbal tea are ideal methods for cleaning the colonic tract without the harmful effects of colonics and enemas. Drinking one teaspoon of unrefined non-iodized sea salt mixed with 25-35 ounces of water will flush out your system. It's best to use either of these laxatives (or both of them) 2 times a day. Give yourself about one hour before you go out when you do this. These laxatives will work fast, and you will discover why you should probably be at home near a bathroom when you use them. You have to know how to get your body ready. If it's your first time doing the Master Cleanse this part is crucial - you want to ease into the Master Cleanse for up to 3-days. Doing this allows your body to adjust to the detoxing process. Exiting the Master Cleanse is also where a lot of people mess up. You shouldn't go cold turkey and start eating solid foods right away. It's best to ease out of the cleanse by slowly introducing juices, soups and then solid food back into your diet over the course of three days. Consider this step as essential. You can become nauseated if you start to eat too soon. On the other hand, don't be scared of it either. You do risk some serious constipation or some of the worse complications of The Master Cleanse – but if you eat something too soon, you will likely be okay in the long run. If you are unsure at any time – consult a doctor.. Here is a quote from Tom Woloshyn's book The Complete Master Cleanse On the Easing – out :  ” The important transition period of moving from lemonade to food will prepare your digestive system for more and more complex foods so that it does not become overwhelmed. Just as you wouldn't try running a marathon after being a couch potato for three years, you wouldn't break a cleanse by launching into full-feasting mode. You want your digestive system to get well-deserved break so that your body can start back on the right track. ” How long should you do the fast for? Anywhere from two days to 10 days is average. Make sure that you ease back into eating and that you carefully consider eating wisely after the cleanse and you’re not just plunging back into your previous bad eating habits. Consider taking probiotics after you finished the cleanse. It is very important to replenish the good bacteria in your body that has been flushed out during the cleansing process. Make sure that you continue to take any prescription medication that you are on during the cleanse and most importantly, consult your healthcare practitioner in advance to ensure that a cleanse is the right thing for you at this time. Don’t forget that drinking clean purified water is one of the most important things that you can do for yourself. Give us at a call at Best Water to discuss the many options that we have to get you started on your plan towards a healthier you. 1-877-770-5247 or www.waterionizer.org.  
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