The lemon diet is a detoxification program designed by Stanley Burroughs during the 1940s. At that time, it was called “The Master Cleanser”, and the contemporary version has been released in 1976. This diet is based on a lemon beverage, with an addition of maple syrup and cayenne or chili peppers, of which 12 glasses per day is drank, while all other food is avoided.
A strict dietary regime is primarily intended for the cleansing of the body, which is why it is not recommended to continue this diet for more than a few days. Due to the minimal energetic intake (lemon and maple syrup), the fast weight loss inevitably occurs, which is why this program was implemented as a weight loss diet in the first place. Although weight loss is very sudden, it is mostly a consequence of the elimination of liquids from the body, rather than the fat tissue loss.
Detoxification of the body
According to the original program’s author, the lemon diet cleanses the body from toxins accumulated over the years, brings back vitality, and raises our energy levels. However, human body possesses the natural mechanisms through which it eliminates the harmful substances, and the main organ that constantly performs this function is the liver. During the lemon diet implementation, the beverage made of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne (chili) peppers, and purified water is consumed.
Maple syrup provides the energy from sugar, as well as certain vitamins and minerals, while the cayenne pepper encourages the degradation of the mucus in the body. Besides this lemon beverage, drinking the herbal laxative tea is also encouraged, while mint tea is allowed if the satiety with the monotonous taste occurs. In case of a hunger attack, the author recommends drinking one lemon beverage or a glass of water right away, which should eliminate the feeling of hunger.
6 do 12 lemon beverages per day
The night before the implementation of the detoxification plan, one cup of the herbal laxative tea is recommended, and one quarter of a glass of water mixed with two teaspoonfuls of sea salt is recommended every morning after waking up, which should additionally encourage the frequent bowel movements. During the day, it is necessary to drink six to 12 freshly made lemon beverages, if possible. When the detoxification cycle draws to an end and solid foods are being introduced into the diet, it is best to start with vegetable soups and smaller amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, and then gradually increase the palette and the quantity of nutrients.
Advantages of the lemon diet
The lemon diet implementation brings about a very fast weight loss, which is probably the most frequent cause of choosing this dietary plan. Considering that any solid food is barely being consumed, this diet is very simple to implement, because it doesn’t require thinking, grocery buying, or meal preparation. The only requirement is preparing sufficient amounts of lemon juice every day.
Disadvantages of the lemon diet
Due to a significantly lower than recommended calorie intake, certain physical symptoms occur, such as headache, fatigue, dizziness, inertness, diarrhea, nausea, or constipation. If the laxative tea is also consumed, it is necessary to be close to the toilet at all times.
The lemon diet does not provide the recommended daily amounts of micronutrients or macronutrients, which is why it can result in serious vitamin and mineral deficits if it is continued for more than a few days. This extreme way of dieting or food renunciation, does not emphasize the importance of physical exercise at any point, which is not surprising being that the allowed energetic intake does not satisfy the basal metabolism’s needs, much less the additional physical activity.
Experts’ opinion
Most experts will agree that this kind of an imbalanced diet is not only inappropriate in the weight loss process, but that it is also very dangerous for our health. The longer it is implemented, the greater the risk of harmful consequences. In addition, a long-term fast can significantly lower the number of the probiotic bacteria in the digestive system, which encourage the food digestion.
The extremely sudden weight loss is often followed by a muscle mass loss. Due to the protein insufficiency in the diet, the body degrades its own muscle tissue in order for the metabolic functions to flow smoothly.
The muscle mass loss slows down the basal metabolism, which is the exact opposite of what we are trying to achieve with a quality weight loss.
At the same time, each and every starvation period is often followed by an exaggerated food intake, which leads to the gain of the lost kilograms and encourages the unhealthy relationship with the food. The lemon diet implementation in the form of cleansing the body is also not based on any scientific grounds, being that there is no proof that the “cleansing“ from toxins improves our health in any way.
An example of the recommended preparation
One serving (glass) of the beverage contains:
• 2,8 dl of purified, filtered water
• 2 soup spoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 soup spoons of organic maple syrup
• 1/10 of a teaspoon of grounded chili pepper