My Experience with the Master Cleanser

Found this:

Detoxification Stages

Here is an overview of the detoxification stages during a juice fast. The time periods are a general estimation.

Stage 1 (Day 1 To Day 2)
On the first day of fasting, the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dl. To restore the blood to the normal glucose level, liver glycogen is converted to glucose and released into the blood. This reserve is enough for half a day. The body then reduces the basal metabolic rate (BMR). The rate of internal chemical activity in resting tissue is lowered to conserve energy. The heart slows and blood pressure is reduced. Glycogen is pulled from the muscle causing some weakness. The first wave of cleansing is usually the worst.

Headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger can be the most intense in this period unless the enema is used which quickly assists the body into the fasting state by ending digestion in the colon.

Stage 2 (Day 3 To Day 7)
Fats, composed of transformed fatty acids, are broken down to release glycerol from the gliceride molecules and are converted to glucose. The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem-free skin may have a few days of pimples or even a boil. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. Ketones are formed by the incomplete oxidation of fats. It is suspected that the ketones in the blood suppress the appetite by affecting the food-satiety center in the hypothalamus. You may feel hungry for the first few days of the fast. This effect is temporary. The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may last 40 to 60 days, depending on whether you are on water or juice.

The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases. You may feel pain in your lungs. The cleansing organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and impacted feces on the intestinal wall start to loosen.

Stage 3 (Day 8 to Day 15)
On the latter part of an extended fast, you can experience enhanced energy, clear-mindedness and feel better than you have felt since childhood. On the downside, old injuries may become irritated and painful. This is a result of the body's increased ability to heal during fasting. If you had broken your arm 10 years before, there is scar tissue around the break. At the time of the break, the body's ability to heal was directly related to lifestyle. If you lived on a junk-food diet, the body's natural healing ability was compromised.

During fasting, the body's healing process is at optimum efficiency. As the body scours for dead or damaged tissue, the lymphocytes enter the older, damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a reoccurrence of aches from previously injured areas that may have disappeared years earlier. The pain is good as the body is completing the healing process. The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected, as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth. Daily gargling with salt and water will prevent or heal cankers.

Stage 4 (Day 16 to Day 30)
The body is completely adapted to the fasting process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue is pink and the breath is fresh. The healing work of the organs is being completed. After the detoxification mechanisms have removed the causative agent or render it harmless, the body works at maximum capacity in tissue proliferation to replace damaged tissue. While a short fast will reduce the symptoms, a longer fast can completely heal. Homeostatic balance is at optimum levels. The lymphatic system is clean except for a rare discharge of mucus through the nose or throat. After day 20, the mind is affected. Heightened clarity and emotional balance are felt at this time. Memory and concentration improve.

Stage 5 (Breaking the Fast)
The sticky, toxic, mucoid coating on the intestinal wall is loose, and the first meal frees it from the intestinal wall. Toxins enter the blood through the colon. The gallbladder dumps its waste in a heavy discharge of bile. This can cause an instant bowel movement upon eating followed by intense diarrhea. If the symptoms are too uncomfortable, an enema will help.

from:

[link to curezone.com]

Maybe I'm not perfect (yet)... ;) Most doctors are not into cleansings or healing crisis & natural stuff. If you have a doctor who understands what you are doing that would be good, but if your doctor is unsympathetic to what you are going through then what will happen?

I just think that we are all learning about health and how our bodies work, and there is always more to learn, and the more we learn and observe the more faith and understanding we have in our bodies and the better we can work with our body to help it do what it is trying to do to get healthy.

When we are doing a cleanse it's common to have various health issues arise, and it's a good time for us to useour intuition to try to understand what is going on. I don't want to tell you to not see a doctor if you feel you need to, but if the doctor doesn't understand what is really going on with you then they can really mess you up...

Here's a page to read if you have time. The herpes zoster virus which causes shingles in older people (after their immune systems start to weaken) can strike in various parts of the body. This page is the story where it struck in the teeth and head area... The poor lady suffered a lot. The dentists did root canals and then pulled her teeth out... In my opinion they didn't understand what her problem was. What a mess...

[link to www.demonshand.com]

Sorry to repost, but it took me a long time to find the link I wanted & went I posted my message it came up as anonymous and seemed strange in other ways, so I'll repost and see what happens this time.

Maybe I'm not perfect (yet)... ;) Most doctors are not into cleansings or healing crisis & natural stuff. If you have a doctor who understands what you are doing that would be good, but if your doctor is unsympathetic to what you are going through then what will happen?

I just think that we are all learning about health and how our bodies work, and there is always more to learn, and the more we learn and observe the more faith and understanding we have in our bodies and the better we can work with our body to help it do what it is trying to do to get healthy.

When we are doing a cleanse it's common to have various health issues arise, and it's a good time for us to useour intuition to try to understand what is going on. I don't want to tell you to not see a doctor if you feel you need to, but if the doctor doesn't understand what is really going on with you then they can really mess you up...

Here's a page to read if you have time. The herpes zoster virus which causes shingles in older people (after their immune systems start to weaken) can strike in various parts of the body. This page is the story where it struck in the teeth and head area... The poor lady suffered a lot. The dentists did root canals and then pulled her teeth out... In my opinion they didn't understand what her problem was. What a mess...

[link to www.demonshand.com]

Juicefasting

[link to www.juicefasting.org]

is your master cleanser better than dazz ?

Juices are really tasty too. The downside is that this requires a lot of shopping for organic stuff depending what is in season, and then making the juices and the cleanup is time consuming too.

Tripp:

That fasting breakdown is really helpful, thank you! That makes me want to do forty days all the more!

Day 7:

All's good. Mood stabalizing and improving, though not all that big of a problem in the first place.

191 lbs, and will maybe even see 190 in the morning.

-Greg B.

Im an RN. I probably dont need to tell you that with any sort of liver disease it is IMPERATIVE to quit alcohol. Interferon is pointless if you are going to continue to amp your liver with drinking. Not judging you, I know addictions of any sort are a bitch, but that's the best first step you can take towards keeping yourself healthy.

And I just want to add this. Fasting for around 3 days or so is relatively safe and can help to detox the body. However, there are many people who should NOT attempt fasting, especially those who have problems with blood sugar. A drop in your glucose levels can lead to hypoglycemia which can be dangereous, if not scary.

Also to note, that if you are attempting a fast at the same time of kicking an addiction (IE, smoking) you are really putting a lot of stress onto your body. When people quit smoking, some of these symptoms such as constipation, low blood sugar, etc are common and to be expected. The body actually needs MORE nutrients as everything from your brain synapses to your central nervous system, etc, are affected by nicotine and the chemicals in smoke. While some will advocate using acidic based foods (which help nicotine stay in the blood longer, thus helping reduce cravings) the body also needs protein, and lots of it. Not neccesarly meat...protein can come in the form of beans, tofu, etc. My nursing advice would be to get thru the first 30 days of not smoking and then give yourself a fast. The body naturally does its own form of purging and detoxing and Greg, some of your symptoms and health annoyances may actually get worse before better during the withdrawling process.
I mean to each his own, and if its working for you, and encouraging others to be more health conscious, then bravo. But it should be said that everyone is different, and women in particular really need to consult with their doctor or a health professional, as many nutrients are already lost in the menstral cycle and if they use birth control pills. 10 days is an awfully long fast and typically is something you build up to, not attempt on your first fast ever. So, go ahead and have a v8, in my opinion.
Good luck to everyone!

This thread has come back to haunt me. It's about 1:30AM and can't get back to sleep. I fixed a nite-cap. I am not a face-down-in-the-gutter drunk, but a regular working stiff who happens to drink. Since my wife died not quite 2 years ago, I drink a little more regularly than in the past. I learned I was HCV+ this past October. I could have had it for years unknowingly.

Sorry to hear about your wife. But even if you arent at an alcoholic point of drinking, any alcohol at all is toxic to the liver, and thats with someone with a healthy liver. Im guessing you already know this though, so when you're ready, you will, stop that is. And also remember that alcohol is a depressant, causes most people to feel blue the next day, so if you are self-medicating for depression, you are only making it worse. I know, because my husband passed away and I did the same thing. God bless.

Greg,thanks for keeping us posted on how your fast is going. I've just been lurking, so don't get discouraged if no one responds as often.
I came across this information on the tongue, from Curezone. Very interesting! I thought it might be appropriate on this thread, and help others.I suspect a few things not right, and self diagnosed, and believe the tongue doesn't lie! Been sitting here staring at it and comparing to the pics, lol. Best wishes on this journey.
[link to curezone.com]



RN, Your post is what made me decide to post.Knowing how addicted I am to nicotine(trust me, more so than the average smoker, but I would never tell that to a doctor)I don't think I could wait 30 days to quit first before a fast. I am also in a situation I believe I have to fast,due to some serious issues I have medically. I am
considering asking my new doctor if it's possible for him to right a script for lower dosages of medicines, to gradually get me off TO fast. If you really are an RN, do you think a doctor would do this? I really would love for him to allow me to be checked periodically, but I don't know if they would "mess" with that. If not, I'll use older scripts I still have of lower, and do the best I can, but I am kind of set on going forward. I also want to do a water fast. I have only
fasted once, for two and a half days, a juice fast, and felt much better, but it wasn't enough.I would like to shoot for 14 days to possibly 21. I know it's kind of radical, but I am desperate, lol.Any suggestions to help me along? Thanks.

It is hard for me to answer this question correctly without knowing what your meds are and for what problem. Because of that, I can't guesstimate what your doctor would do, but chances are that no, they wouldn't lower the dosage...and depending on what the meds are, a fast shouldn't really interfer with you needing more or less of meds. You may need a lower dose and /or off the meds, if in fact you are able to fast your way to health. Now, if you are still smoking, when you do quit, then you might need meds readjusted. So DEFINITALY tell your doc when you are ready to quit. I too was a horredeously heavy smoker, it took me a year to finally quit, but it can be done. That is probably the best step to take towards fixin' whatever is ailing you. But again, not knowing the meds....some meds need to be taken with food, others do better on an empty stomach, but if you are planning on not eating for almost a month-you'd be hard pressed to find a doctor who would even accept that, much less tinker with your meds while you do it. Its your body, your choice, but I would find out what the dangers are for you of lowering/ending your meds. You might want to consult a holistic doc who specializes in fasting and nutrition to help you thru it.

Lyrica(recently replaced Nuerontin by a neurologist).
Effexor (depression, caused by chronic pain)
Generic Synthroid(recently diagnosed with low thyroid)
Seroquel (to sleep(I can stay up two days easily)
Allegra(which I don't take very often)
Tramadol(for pain, doctor doesn't want
me taking it, but increased it so I have enough for a month. It is to be taken as needed, and I do hold off as long as i can, knowing how addictive it is)
None of these are life altering, but I'm sure some I would need to be weaned off. This could be a tuffie. I thought you weren't supposed to take medicines and supplements on a fast?
I used to be very healthy, and active.
Brought to my knees with symptoms similar to MS, but that was ruled out.
I seldom go anywhere because I have so much trouble walking, which was the beginning of this problem, escalating from neck to toes. Have had burning, stinging, throbbing in my hands. Feel like electricity running through me.
I am aware I have four herniated discs, osteopenia in my hands (not the cause of the pain)degeneration of the spine, etc., very stiff, stumble and waver all over the place.I am finally
accepted for Medicaid and able to resume where I left off a few years ago. My urgency? Possibly due to medicines in the last two years, like Nuerontin,I have gained close to 50 pounds.I look like I am ten months pregnant.I know in my gut I have issues with needing to cleanse. Have tried over the last few years, but never saw much results. I actually eat
very little, and finally got scared, when I was showing one or two pounds heavier each visit to the doctor.

I have read and reread Dr. Bragg's book on fasting, and mentally ready to take the plunge.I also believe diseases start in the colon. I even have a colonic table, had to quit using it because of my back and hands.
If I fast, I will use it anyway, God willing. Can you see why i feel desperate? I have never taken medicines before, and now I look like a little ole lady with all these pills.
I can almost see toxins and tissues not needed being "eaten up" by fasting. Just a little concerned, have
blood pressure a little on the low side, and normal temperature is 97.
Good grief this is a long post! Sorry for that, but if anyone reads this, I'm listening. I want my health back...
Thanks again.

Thanks for the encouragement :)

To the RN: can't have the V8. It's not part of the fast, and I'm a purist. I'm on day 8 and am feeling better than ever, so the fast works as it is written, and I won't screw with it (and I've lost the cravings to do so).

To the Hep C: Way beyond my ability to comment, but concur above and beyond all else you gotta put down the drink and the smoke if you smoke.

To the Smoker: Quit first and let your body rebuild itself a bit from the smoking before you fast, otherwise you won't have enough energy, even with the MC forumla (I'm guessing) because recovering from Smoke takes a lot of time and energy.

-Greg B.

Ok. For Lyrica, you are taking it PRN, so that should not be an issue. drugs_are_bad you can wean the dose, as you should, this is not a med that should be abrubtly stopped as it can cause withdrawl, being a narcotic.

Your synthroid and effexor are the drugs I am concerned about. Funny, both of these drugs often have to have the dosages tweaked around to find optimum relieve, and with synthroid it takes a few weeks to even see improvement. I found a blurb on the net about these two drugs and fasting. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST you talk to your doctor. You know you can get the same health benefits doing short fasts consecutively as opposed to 3 weeks long. Without supervision, it can actually cause toxics to get INTO the tissues and not eliminated. In any event, here's some info for you. If you are going to go ahead with it, at least be aware of the synthroid and effexor.

I will tell you this honestly, it aint about "oh its bad for you" and "cancer" but smoking increases body and nerve pain. Especially if the origin of your pain is not clear.....DO IT. QUIT. I PROMISE you, you will feel LESS body pain. Seriously. Use the patch, use the gum or logenze with it, within 52 hours you will notice a huge decrease in pain throught your body. This is NO SHIT. Good luck, and heres the info on your meds.
# There are strong contraindications to even short-term fasting for anyone who is taking prescription drugs. If a health condition is such as to warrant regular intake of such medication then the condition should be treated in such a way as to avoid long fasts or unpredictable reactions could occur. This is particularly true of anyone taking steroid medication, or who has taken steroid medication in the past for long periods. A similar caution is required regarding anyone taking forms of hormone replacement, such as in cases of underactive thyroid.

In all such cases (where steroid - hormone medication is current of has been prolonged) supervision of the fast is essential, in a controlled environment - clinic, hospital etc. whether or not weaning from the medication has been possible prior to the fast.

Physician Joel Fuhrman MD explains his approach to patients on medication if he wishes to have them fast,

"Normally, I taper medication as the patient adopts a healthy diet and postpone the fast until it is safe to discontinue most medication.......If patients cannot reduce their dependency on such agents [toxic drugs which combined with fasting can cause toxic insult to the kidneys] through dietary and nutritional management prior to the fast, they are not suitable candidates for a fast."(10)

Among the forms of prescription medication which indicate that fasting should be avoided would be the current use of antidepressants, non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirin, oral hypoglycaemic drugs, anti-coagulant drugs, chemotherapeutic drugs, anti-hypertensive medication. Once these have been safely stopped, with a physicians approval, fasting can commence, however if the fast is to last for more than 48 hours supervision is suggested.

# Anyone habitually using 'social' drugs (alcohol, tobacco, street drugs etc) should be very carefully detoxified (as well as stopping the habit) before any long-term fasting is considered. All signs of withdrawal should be passed before fasting is used, and careful monitoring of their condition should be continued throughout long-fasts. Short fasts, interspersed with other detoxification method are preferable.

It sounds like you have some very non-trivial health concerns. I think cleansings are good for people who have more or less regular kinds of health problems, but people with more serious kinds of health problems might be biting off more than they will want to chew. If you could find a good herbalist or naturopath type of person to advise you then that might be better for you at this time. At the very least having an experienced person to help you if you do decide to start a cleanse would seem like a good idea. Also, you could dip your toes in a cleanse by starting off very cauiously with short cleanses. If you do a lot of short cleanses then hopefully you will have a lot of small healing crisis and will avoid having a major healing crisis. What you do not want to do is to trigger a major healing crisis unless you are willing to put up with a lot of pain and discomfort. However I think that would be dangerous. Your body will do the best it can to heal itself, but a healing crisis is a fight between your body and various micro-organisms, and if you push your body too far too fast your body might lose the war and in a worst case scenario is that you might die... So take it easy with any cleansings. I think you should be careful, do a lot of reading and thinking, and if you can find an experienced person in your area that might be wise... Because it seems your health problems are extensive and natural solutions will probably be rather slow and difficult.
Dr Schultz is very good I think
[link to www.herbdoc.com]

Hi guys. I too have been lurking...

Congrats on all your efforts, and good luck!

I've been wanting to try the MC for awhile...and I've found this thread to be very inspiring.

I'll be reading all the updates...

Evening 5.

I see alot more dreams and my senses are coming back (ancient khemits (=egyptians) knew that man had 360 senses).

Still pains, but by looking my tongue I saw things happening at both intestines, kidneys, spleen etc..

As I dropped alcohol (was a "regular drinker" before), cigarettes (12 years of smoking on daily basis), coffeine (3 cups of caffee each day)... so it's hard on my body, lot's of stress (that is my problem usually as well).

But I know this goes to the right direction.

After the fast I'll drop meat, chicken alltogether and start to eat more organic vegan-food.

I should also exercise.. I have this habit of sitting on my computer 6-8 hours/day minimum. Should keep in mind the electronic waste as I'm with the machines.

I bought organic birch sap today. What I read about it, it should do well for cleansing the body as well.

btw. I have read that MC is strict, ie you should not take any other ingredients that the ones mentioned.

How about tea? Of course not black tea etc.. How about one or two cups /day:

1. Organic Green tea ?
2. Organic Yogi tea (ginger, cinnamon, coriander, anis, fennel) ?

Is it too much? ;)

:osama: :elvis:

As I wrote before that I bought birch-sap. Here's some info of it from a finnish newspaper (for those interested..seems that the previous poster is still looking for his/her Elvis...):

[link to www.hs.fi]

"Birch sap accelerates the metabolism, and Maaranen recommends it for use while dieting."

"Among other things, birch sap contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin C. The substances are in a very diluted form in birch sap, which Kallio says is a good thing: "Trace elements are good stuff. The effect depends on what you drink it with.""

"Birch sap also contains amino acids and proteins - very good ones. It has very little sodium, which we generally get too much of."

btw..it tastes very good and fits perfectly for a diet :)

Day 8 (Yesterday)

No update last night. For the first time, I really felt run down. I had the following symptoms:

Stiff, sore calves
Lower back pain
Really Bad Breath
Tired

had a lot of noise in the abdomen too, and with the back pain my conclusion is that stones are/were trying to move.

All good signs, and I seem to feel better this morning. I keep having food dreams though, and I wish they'd stop!

190.4 on the scale. Seems like I didn't lose weight yesterday.

-Greg B.

Hi Greg!

<fx: knocks on screen door.>

man_50: Raises voice: Please don't shoot me. I am coming in.

<fx: door opens . . . footsteps on a wooden floor>

man_50: Hey, where are you?

GregB: Right here I am just finishing my shower.

<fx: sits down on a couch.>

man_50: Pets the cat laying on the couch.
man_50: Gosh dam nit ... your cat bit me!

Flash back to man_50's kitchen: He pops 2 caffiene tablets and chugs karo syrup.

Face it Greg: we are different but we are also similar.

Love, peace, light
man_50

Greg_B: you told that your psoriasis was getting better. How is it now?

I read about cayenne pepper this:

"All chili peppers, including cayenne, contain capsaicin, which in addition to giving cayenne its characteristic heat, is a potent inhibitor of substance P, a neuropeptide associated with inflammatory processes. The hotter the chili pepper, the more capsaicin it contains."

"Capsaicin is being studied as an effective treatment for sensory nerve fiber disorders, including pain associated with arthritis, psoriasis, and diabetic neuropathy."

So you should eat hot stuff like that to fight the psoriasis :)

EDIT: hmm..I read it second time and noticed that it's a pain reliefer.. well, good to know (and maybe it fights the psoriasis as well)

[link to www.whfoods.com]

113116,thanks for the advise you gave,and looking things up for me. You're right, I will take this to my doctor, instead of going it alone.

Day 9
---------------------

Psoriasis continues to smooth out, but still evident. Pain with Psoriasis? Never had any, and I always eat hot stuff, Indian, Thai, and hot sauce on everything.

--

The big question:

I am on the cusp of being finished with the recommended 10-day fasting period. It has been very smooth sailing, and my thoughts have been to press on and go for a longer period, perhaps even as much as 40 days to achieve maximum fasty goodness.

However, another part of me just wants to dine. To enjoy the activity of going out to eat.

Do I cave in and go hit the salad bar or do I go another 10 days? (I think contracting 10 days at a time sounds good)

Master Cleanser is really a lot more expensive than it might seem. Organic produce is insane, almost a dollar per lemon, and about a dollar for two limes (it takes one lime per drink, so that evens out there.)

In 10 days I will have gone through most of this giant jug of the Maple syrup that cost 35 dollars.

I mean, it's not breaking the bank, don't get me wrong. But factoring in all the expense, I'd say I'm fasting my way out of 12 dollars a day:

4.80 for Organic Citrus Fruit
3.50 for Grade B Maple Syrup
.90 for Distilled Water
1.00 for gas used to get to and fro Health food store
.75 for Mint and Laxative Tea
.50 for Cayenne Pepper Powder and Capsules
-----
11.45 per day

I'm pretty sure I spend less than that on food lol.

If I don't do forty days now, I do want to do it eventually, and this might be the best time to do it, since there's no holidays any time soon. Thanksgiving is my fave.

Also, I'm not at my target weight yet either, and I still have a million limes

I guess I press on for at least another 10 days!

-Greg B.

Gregg,

Your experience is very encouraging to everyone reading.

My cousins wife did the cleanse for about 20 days or so...she passed a long rubbery tube ....they say it was some kind of lining that develops over years...something that impedes assimilation of nutrients....or maybe it's the SNAKE itself?

Keep pressing on!!!...when you see worms, gunk and feel like you're about to loose your mind...that's when your close to the real benefit!

I am now considering the fast myself...

Hmm..I have it a lot cheaper:

0.60€ for Organic Citrus Fruit
2.00€ for Organic Grade [A?] Maple Syrup
0.00€ for Water (finnish tap water is ok)
0.40€ for Organic Laxative Tea
0.10€ for Cayenne Pepper Powder
-----

3.1€ per day (3.91872 USD)

Tripp