Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

Rich Maple Syrup is our primary source of energy while on The Lemonade Diet, but it isn’t only chosen to give us energy.

Usually the first thing I hear from people with whom I am talking to about The Master Cleanse is: “That can’t be healthy. You have to eat! Where will you get your energy from?”

Every first-grader knows we eat to get energy. But what most non-cleansers don’t immediately understand is that you don’t need a cheeseburger and coke to keep you going. You can get it from any food source (some say you can even get it from the sun –google sungazing for a real mind trip).

What is Rich Maple Syrup?

Most first-graders also know that Maple Syrup comes from trees. I like to call it “Tree Blood”. This term seems to somehow qualify the idea of the true nutritional value of the Pure Maple Syrup. I use the term Rich Maple Syrup so there is an immediate pause in people’s minds before an imaging of Aunt Jemima is conjured up –which is an assumption most of make when we are learning about the maple syrup element of The Master Cleanse. Aunt Jemima is highly refined table sugar. It is completely devitalized.

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Any other “imitation” syrup likely contains no Maple Syrup at all. Look at the label for clever allusions to Maple Syrup like: “Pancake Syrup”, “Waffle Syrup” or “Table Syrup”. These syrups usually contain no Maple Syrup at all, but are instead high fructose corn syrup or other highly refined white sugars which are, in my honest opinion, the leading cause of disease in modern society.

Labelling Laws prohibit these syrups from having the word “Maple” in their names, but they will still associate themselves with the source they imitate buy using related images like pancakes and waffles.

An interesting note I picked up from Wikipedia: “French Canadians sometimes refer to imitation maple syrup as sirop de poteau (“pole syrup”), a joke referring to the syrup as having been made by tapping telephone poles”

Why Rich Maple Syrup for The Master Cleanse?

Maple Syrup was chosen by Stanley Burroughs for specific reasons (as was every other ingredient –Fresh Lemon Juice, Cayenne Pepper and Pure Water).

It was chosen because it is a very high quality, concentrated source of energy when consumed in its purest state (as close to right-from-the-tree as possible) and is packed full of nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

The amount and variety of nutrients in the Maple Syrup depends on where it is from and the soil conditions of that location. The tree takes up nutrients from the earth and they “become” the tree. This is just one of life’s little miracles that we take for granted, and food for thought when we are considering the choices available to us with the syrups we buy. Somehow we forget that there are “green” choices; natural choices straight from Mother Earth.

Nutritional value of Maple Syrup

There are almost too many nutrients, vitamins and minerals to list. Here is a list from Wikipedia:

Maple syrup consists primarily of sucrose and water, with small amounts of other sugars such as fructose and glucose. Organic acids, the most notable one being malic acid, make the syrup slightly acidic. Maple syrup has a relatively low mineral content which consists largely of potassium and calcium, but maple syrup also contains nutritionally significant amounts of zinc and manganese. Maple syrup contains trace amounts of amino acids, which may contribute to the “buddy” flavour of syrup produced late in the season, as the amino acid content of sap increases at this time. Additionally, maple syrup contains a wide variety of volatile organic compounds, including vanillin, hydroxybutanone, and propionaldehyde.

Maple Syrup for Energy

1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup provides about 55 calories. Since we aim to average 8 glasses of Lemonade each day, we will consume 880 calories each day alone from Maple Syrup (8 glasses x 2 Tablespoons x 55 calories). There are 4 calories in each Tablespoon of Fresh Lemon Juice. That provides a daily calorie intake of 944 calories

Different Grades of Maple Syrup

Just to confuse everyone, there are 3 different grading systems for the 3 main regions of production: Canada, The U.S. and Vermont. The numbers range #1 – #3, and letter range from AA to D. Regardless of the label, they all refer to the darkness or the color of the Maple Syrup (and the strength of flavour). AA is lightest. D is darkest. #1 is lightest. #3 is darkest.

So Which Grade of Maple Syrup is right for The Master Cleanse?

The Darker the Maple Syrup the better. You CANNOT use imitation syrup. All natural forms of Maple Syrup are acceptable, but do your best to find the highest quality you can. Remember, the darker grades are D and #3.

These grades don’t directly refer to quality of the Maple Syrup, but the darker grades are collected later in the season (February – April) and so are said to have more nutrients on account of being a fresh product of the tree. The first harvest takes syrup out of the tree that was stored all winter. Later harvests are freshly produced from the nutrients in the soil. During the winter the stored syrup will lose minerals over time.

Alternatives to Maple Syrup

Inevitably someone always asks what an acceptable substitute might be. I will list the most common ones of note, but let me be clear: RICH MAPLE SYRUP IS BEST :)

1. Sorghum Syrup – Stanley Approved, but please use Rich Maple Syrup
2. Sugar Cane – Stanley Approved, but please use Rich Maple Syrup
3. Blackstrap Molasses – An alternative For Diabetics. See Stanley Burroughs’ book for more details

4. The newest addition to this list : Coconut Nectar – 100 % raw, vegan, low glycemic, low fructose, very nutritious as well as has neutral PH.

  Inappropriate alternatives for the Maple Syrup

1. Artificial Sweeteners (Spenda, Equal, Aspartame) – Contains no calories, you will be starving yourself and adding artificial toxins, counter productive to a detox.
2. Stevia – Contains no calories, so you will be starving yourself
3. Agave nectar – very controversial these days and in some cases made of inulin and processed to fructose and half-sugar which is a devitalized. High glycemic sugar.
4. Honey – A Pre-digested food that is disdained by Stanley Burroughs.

The Maple Syrup Diet or The Master Cleanse

People sometimes refer to the Master Cleanse or the Lemonade Diet as the Maple Syrup Diet (or the Cayenne Pepper Diet, the Beyonce Diet, etc…) They are the same thing.

Made famous by Beyonce, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, the Master Cleanse is one of the hottest cleanses in Hollywood. Beyonce even used it to slim down for her movie ‘Dreamgirls’.

The 3 main ingredients often get switched around, but don’t be confused; they are all referring to The Master Cleanse.

Read the full post here: Maple Syrup of The Lemonade Diet

Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

Cayenne pepper, water, lemon, and maple syrup are the entire ingredients for the Master Cleanse recipe, but which is the most important? The cayenne pepper loosens and the water is the greatest solvent. The lemon’s citrus is wonderful and the maple syrup is nutrient-packed tree blood!

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Cayenne Pepper, Water, Lemon, Or Maple Syrup?

Of all the ingredients, which one do you think is the most important – cayenne pepper, water, lemon or the maple syrup? Below, I place in order of importance each ingredient, starting with water and ending with maple syrup (bear with me and forget, for now, the sea salt for the Salt Water Flush. Although it’s not part of the Lemonade Diet recipe, it is part of the Master Cleanse – and, I believe, equally important).

1. Water
2. Cayenne Pepper
3. Lemon
4. Maple syrup

Pure Water, Kangen Water, Distilled Water and Purified Water

The most important ingredient in the Master Cleanse is the water – by far, IMHO. In fact, I believe the copious amounts of water we drink during the Cleanse are what helps us detox and feel so good. Although the cayenne pepper, lemon and maple syrup are important choices to support the overall objectives of this particular cleanse, the water remains the key. Stanley Burroughs chose the cayenne pepper, lemon and maple syrup to produce the right combination of vitamins and nutrients required to promote metabolic stimulation and as the catalysts for removing mucous, where he believed our toxins were stored. It makes sense. Think about how full of mucous you are when you get a cold. That is your body trapping the toxin and expelling it.

The water, however, is super important. If we added other juices to the water, and made a juice cleanse or juice diet (a Grapefruit Diet, for example) we could still have great results for weight loss (although not necessarily a great detox).

Best water for the master cleanse

So, what kind of water should we use. From what I understand, there are a few properties and aspects of water we can discuss: water purity, water molecule size, and water state – the latter being something I just made up (I like making up words).

Water purity should be easy enough to understand. What contaminants are in the water? Are they from nature or from man? How concentrated are they? How harmful are they? Ultimately we want to choose the most pure form of water we can. Pure water is important to the Master Cleanse recipe. It can be surprisingly hard to find, unfortunately. Experts seem to keep changing their minds on the benefits of bottled versus tap water. It seems we can’t win. Even if we do find a “pure” water source long enough for the Master Cleanse, we (or at least I do) end up drinking less than pure sources afterwards, and worse yet – far less water after the Master Cleanse. I truly believe that if our water consumption stayed as high after the Master Cleanse as it did during it, we would be thinner and healthier all year round.

Water molecule size is thought to be important because the water might not get taken up to our system as easily if it is larger than the “pores” of our system. Sometimes hydrogen and oxygen clump in large clusters to make a water molecule, and sometimes they are smaller. There is an argument that smaller is better, and I see that logic.

Water State is my new phrase to define how alive the water is. There is living water and dead water. Distilled water is dead. I will never drink distilled water again. Water purifiers, water alkalizers and water ionizers are becoming popular because they not only purify the water by removing contaminants, but also ionize it, making it alive with antioxidants. This leaves the healthy sub-particles in place – which are removed when the water is distilled. Kangen water is a brand of these purifiers. I will post an article about these products later.

Cayenne Pepper and Lemon – The core ingredients to the master cleanse recipe

These two foods are often called super foods on their own. Even outside the context of the Master Cleanse, cayenne pepper and lemons are described by so-called experts as “detoxifying” foods. They outline their chemical compounds and their effects on the body, claiming that the more fresh lemon you can add to your diet the better. Cayenne pepper, too, may be responsible for all kinds of health benefits. Oddly enough, when discussed in the context of the Master Cleanse, the cayenne pepper and lemon seem to lose their value, and the Lemonade Diet becomes a fad diet with no benefit whatsoever. Simple logic tells me that drinking lots of water, adding lots of vitamins and nutrients from clean, fresh organic super foods like cayenne pepper and lemons through a calorie-restricted diet (which has been proven to extend life – but that is another post, and maybe even a whole other website) should produce a wonderful effect on the body. The maple syrup is chosen to compliment the nutritious value, but is mostly present to control our calorie level. Which is why, of all the master cleanse ingredients, (cayenne-pepper-water-lemon-maple-syrup), the syrup is the least important.

Maple Syrup – The least important ingredient to the master cleanse recipe (But still important)

Because maple syrup is mostly about the calories, it can be substituted successfully for other ingredients such as agave nectar and molasses. There are arguments about why either of these ingredients are better choices, but I don’t want to get into that now. I just want to say the important factors in the choice are the nutrients the ingredient brings and its glycemic index. This is why Grade B maple syrup is so important. The lower grades are stripped of their value in the refining process. The glycemic index ranks the effect of a food type on your blood sugar. The lower the better. Straight refined sugar goes right to your blood sugar and will spike your insulin. This isn’t good, especially for diabetics, but for everyone really.

So is it Cayenne Pepper, Water, Lemon, Or Maple Syrup?

So which is it? Do you agree or disagree? Which one is most important? Cayenne pepper, water, lemon, or maple syrup?

Read the full post here: Cayenne Pepper, Water, Lemon, and Maple Syrup – Which Ingredient is the Most Important?

Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

Get all your maple syrup delivered by the reliable shipping from Amazon.com. You need the calories and nutrients in quality Grade B or higher maple syrup and this is it.

100% Pure Grade B Organic Maple Syrup.The Inside Scoop:Certified Kosher by KOF-K Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International.Nutrition Facts:Serving Size (tbsp.) 2 Calories 100 Sodium 3 mg Total Carbs 26 g Sugars 26 g

Ingredient Details:

• 100% Pure Grade B Organic Maple Syrup
• The Inside Scoop:Certified Kosher by KOF-K Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International
• Nutrition Facts: Serving Size – tbsp 2 Calories 100 Sodium 3 mg Total Carbs 26 g Sugars 26 g
• This syrup is organically grown in New England
• Grade B Maple Syrup has a deeper richer flavor than dark medium or light grade A syrup

Like this product? Check out these similar ones:

Read the full post here: Now Foods 100% Pure Maple Syrup 64 fl oz

Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

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Organic herbal teas may be consumed. You can also suck on the pulp of one of the lemons you use to make the juice. Try taking a small dose of maple syrup alone, just to get the sweet taste unaltered by the cayenne and the lemons. Sometimes, that can be all you need to fight off psychological cravings.

Read the full post here: What Cheating is Permitted?

Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

The keys to the maple syrup are the calories and the nutrients. If you are looking for a replacement, not only do you need to ensure you are getting the same caloric amounts from it, but also the same nutrients. Not all sugars are equal. Some have been refined so much that they no longer contain any nutrients whatsoever (such as white table sugar). Cane juice and molasses, however, have been widely considered as safe replacements.

Read the full post here: What Are the Alternatives to the Maple Syrup – Cane Juice, Molasses, Agave Nectar?

Latest posts from The Master Cleanse and Lemonade Diet

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Each grade represents the amount of processing the syrup has gone through. Grade A is more refined and less useful. Grade B is better and Grade C better yet. However, Grade C is not easy to find and realistically, Grade B will usually be your best choice. Other grading systems, such as Grade 1, 2, or 3, may be used in different countries, but the concept is the same. Just ask your grocer which of the choices is the least refined. Store candy syrup like Aunt Jemima is not acceptable; it is just flavored, empty sugar with no nutritional benefits.

Read the full post here: What is the Difference Between Grade A/B/C Syrups – Which Should I Use?