Day 225

Thoughts: Tomorrow, Monday, my husband and I are taking on The Master Cleanse. Sounds like a movie title! Hehe! A horror, comedy or drama? I guess we will find out! The Master Cleanse is detoxing the body of toxins by water with maple syrup, cayene pepper and lemon! Strange mixture? Or genius combination to eliminate toxins? Let our adventure be the test hehe! Why are we doing it? Andrew is slimming down for his next role and wants to detox the beer and processed foods from his last role 'Squid Man'! Me? I am taking on being a master of my own thoughts and doing something that takes strength of mind. My mind has already tried to talk me out of it today! How long? 7 days! 
I saw a friend do the cleanse a few years back, thinking how strange. According to the internet The Master Cleanse diet has been tried and tested for over 60 years, all over the world, as the best cleansing diet of all It is far superior to any other for toning, reducing and cleansing the body.
The cleanse claims it will allow the body to heal itself.
Since the ancient times, men and women have used fasting and cleansing techniques to heal their bodies. Jesus Christ fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. In the Essene Gospel of Peace, Jesus also describes to his follows how they should fast and cleanse their bodies by abstaining from food and using a hollow stick to perform enemas. Today we call them colonics, and don't worry no hollow sticks are used, clean surgical pipes to flush away the toxins in the bowels! 
The Master Cleanser philosophy is similar to most of the fasting, cleansing and detox programs. The digestive system and body are given a rest from the arduous task of digesting foods, so they can have a chance to throw off the toxins and poisons that have been lodged in the body. The Master Cleanse uses cayenne pepper and lemon as the cleansing agents, and maple syrup for minerals. The lemon and cayenne pepper are also high in vitamins and minerals.
Unfortunately in today’s society many people have been led to believe they would die if they do not eat enough food. I know my mind has become weak around food, dependent and attached. 
There are many different ways to cleanse the body:
* The Hygienists’ Method – Followers of Dr. Herbert Shelton, use pure distilled water fasting, nothing else, and no enemas. When not fasting they are strict vegans and eat raw food whilst employing food combining techniques* Dr. Walker and Dr. Airola use fruit and vegetable juice fasting* In Europe, naturopaths use vegetable broth and vegetable juice fast rather than the water fast.* The Herbal Methods – Originally made popular by Dr Bernard Jensen and now Dr. Richard Anderson. The cleanser takes a combination of cleansing and mucus dissolving herbs and also psyllium and liquid bentonite clay. They eat only vegan alkaline forming foods, if they do eat, and perform enemas.
Germ Theory
In the olden days, people believed that when they got sick it was a punishment from God, or the work of the devil. Today man believes that they get sick because they catch it from someone else. A complete turn around in opinion, with one age believing they got sick because they did someone wrong, and the modern age believing they got ill because they ‘caught’ it from someone else through no fault of their own.
We have turned responsibility outwards. How is it possible to get sick, and catch one of these nasty bugs if a person is strong and healthy? The immune system of a human is amazing, and to think that a little tiny bug can make its way in, multiply and then disrupt our whole organism is a bit strange really. Certainly the bugs do get in, but why? Could it not be because our systems have become weak and overloaded with toxins and stress from our unnatural lifestyle and diet? It is interesting to note that when many people start a detox they often feel as if they have the ‘flu’. Is it possible that the feelings we associate with the flu are indeed the feelings of the body cleaning itself.
In modern medicine when someone catches a “bug” the first thing they attempt to do is kill it. There is no question as to how the bug got through the bodies defense systems. In an attempt to ‘kill the bug’ more toxins are added to the body and the symptoms of disease are merely repressed until further notice.
The body then needs to store these toxins somewhere, to stop them overloading and toxifying the organs, thus lumps and fats develop all over the body which are used to store the toxins. It is interesting to note that many epidemics occur after holiday feasting.
Stanley Burroughs has designed his Master Cleanse to both cleanse and nourish the body at the same time; unlike water fasting which only cleanses the body, but could possibly leave it in short supply of minerals, vitamins and energy. The Master Cleanse assumes that all disease is one disease, which is a body that is not clean, a body of toxins. When we expel the cause of all disease, the body will become clean and healthy.
The Master Cleanse states that lemons and limes are the richest source of minerals and vitamins of any food known to man. They are also available year round, in all parts of the world. Maple syrup is also very high in minerals and sugar, which helps to sustain the body through the cleansing process. Cayenne pepper helps to stimulate the body’s cleansing process, and also breaks up the mucus that is clogging the body.
The Master Cleanser book highlights the disastrous effects of eating meat on the body; eating flesh robs the body of the vital organic sodium compound (not to be confused with sea salt or table salt, organic sodium is ONLY available from food), which helps to buffer acids and poison. Once the body becomes deficient in organic sodium and other minerals, the body loses its natural PH balance and become weak. At this point the body becomes susceptible to all kinds of diseases and infections. This is the primary cause of stomach ulcers, and almost all other diseases. The acid in the stomach needs organic minerals to create the mucous, which protects the precious stomach wall lining.
The Purpose of the Master Cleanse:
* To dissolve and remove toxins and mucous from the body.* To clean the kidneys and digestive system.* To cleanse the glands and cells of the body.* To remove waste and hardened matter in the joints and muscles.* To relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries and blood vessels.* To create a healthy blood stream.* To return youthfulness to everybody, even the elderly.
When to use the Master Cleanse:
* When sickness has developed.* When the digestive system needs a clean.* When a person has become overweight.* When the body needs to be rebuilt and better assimilation of nutrients and food is needed.
How often should one do the Master Cleanse?The Master Cleanse can be performed three or four times a year to keep the body in a normal healthy condition. But the diet may be undertaken more frequently for serious problems.
How long does one do the cleanse for?The diet should be followed for a minimum of 10 days or more. Up to 40 days and beyond, may be safely followed for extreme cases.
How to prepare the Master Cleanse
Ingredients-Two tablespoons of fresh organic lemon or lime juice, (approximately half a lemon). Do not use bottled or canned lemon juice.-Two tablespoons of genuine maple syrup . Not Maple flavored sugar syrup.-1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or to taste-8 ounces of water (250ml), at room temperature
Combine all the above ingredients in a jar and shake together. Drink the mixture.
How much should I drink?It is recommended to drink 6 to 12 glasses of the Cayenne , maple syrup and lemon mixture per day. 
No other food or juice should be taken during the time of the cleanse. The mixture contains all the vitamins, minerals, nutrients and energy your body requires. Do not take vitamin pills. Overweight people can use less maple syrup , and for people who are underweight they can use more. Never vary the amount of lemon juice per glass.
Elimination
Your body should be having three to four bowel movements a day, even though you are not eating any solid food. You would be passing the waste from your body, which was stored in the form of toxins and mucous. If you are not feeling well on the cleanse, it is probably because you are not going to the toilet enough. In this case it may be a good idea to take either some herbal laxative tea or use internal salt water bathing.
There are many excellent herbal laxative teas available, which contain ingredients such as senna and cascara sagrada bark. The herbal laxative tea can be taking each night before going to bed.
Challenges: My attachment to food, wants and needs will be a challenge. 
Triumphs: Mastering my own mind ;) - I have allowed it to become weak. "A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones." Lord Chesterfield
What I Ate Today:
Food fest 1: Orange and grapefruit juice
Food fest 2: 1/2 avocado and zuchetti - raw spaghetti like imitation. Made from raw zuchinni cut like pasta, with a blended sauce made from tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic, onion and a dash of himalayan salt! Mmm light and fresh :) 


Food fest 3: 1 avocado
Food fest 4: Macadamia nuts
Food fest 5: Pineapple and Rockmelon (cantaloupe) 
Food fest 6: Avocado Sweet Thai Salad! Absolutely delicious! Each mouthful is full of flavour - no bland mouthful!!! Ingredients: Baby spinach, kale and coriander (cilantro) from our garden, spring onion, green chilli, dates, garlic, coriander seeds, ginger, lemon, a dash of olive oil and himalayan salt, brazil nuts and cucumber! 


Kale and Dill growing in our garden :) 
Recipe: Recipes including the Avocado Sweet Thai Salad will be in The Earth Diet Book released this November. 
Exercise: 40 minutes dancing in the morning to my favourite music by Travis and walking in Manhattan