The Lemonade Diet is a short-term, cleansing diet that is similar to a juice fast in many ways. While you are following the diet (10 to 40 days), your sole source of energy and nutrients is a lemonade made with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, purified (non-fluoridated) water, grade-B maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. In addition, each morning, you drink a salt-water flush, and each evening you drink a laxative tea. The only other beverages allowed on the Lemonade Diet are pure (non-fluoridated) water and peppermint tea.

There is a strict regimen for ending the diet, beginning with fresh-squeezed citrus juices for approximately 36 hours, and then gradually moving to raw vegetables and fruits or to cooked vegetable soups over the course of three to five days after ending the regime.

What Does It Do?

The goal of the diet is to rest the digestive tract, cleanse the system of impurities, mobilize and eliminate toxins stored in various areas of the body, and burn excess fat stores.

History

The diet was first explained by Stanley Burroughs in The Master Cleanser, first published in 1976. It has been revived in recent years with the publication of Peter Glickman’s book Lose Weight, Have More Energy, and Be Happier in 10 Days, first published in 2004, and revised and expanded for a second edition in 2005.

An extensive website and bulletin board support group for those following the Lemonade Diet has popularized the diet, and there is a large group of people who do the 10-day diet each January. The bulletin board can be found here.

Raw Food adherents often use the Lemonade Diet to start or augment their raw lifestyle.

Side Effects

The first few days of the program can be tough. Like any other fast-type diet, learning to get along without your normal amount of food is difficult. And, like any juice fast, learning to get along without solid food can be a tremendous challenge.

In addition, because this diet is a cleansing fast, there are “detox” symptoms that may occur, including headaches, nausea and vomiting, cravings, fatigue and irritability. Most of these symptoms are short-lived. On rare occasions, they may be so severe that the dieter has to end the diet early.

Medical Considerations

Because it represents a tremendous change in eating habits, persons who wish to try it would be wise to discuss it with their physician first. In particular, individuals taking long-term medication that cannot be safely discontinued for the duration of the diet need to consult with their physician. The doctor may wish to monitor the dieter to ensure that the change in dietary habits does not alter the effects of the medication.

Persons who have followed the diet have reported changes in blood-pressure, blood-sugar / insulin levels, and depression, all of which required alteration of their normal dose of medication for these conditions.

Health Warnings

Persons following the Lemonade Diet should follow it exactly as written, and, ideally, under the supervision of their personal physician. Individuals should also be attuned to their body’s signals that it is time to transition back to eating. The recommended 10 days is sufficient for most people; higher numbers of days would not be recommended unless the person were under a physician’s care and had become accustomed to shorter-term fasts.

Drink at least the minimum amount of the lemonade each day; Burroughs and Glickman both state that one should drink 6 to 12 glasses of the lemonade per day. With 100 calories per 2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup, and 8 calories per 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1 calories per 1/6 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, each drink provides approximately 109 calories. Thus, it would be important to drink 11 to 12 glasses per day to ensure that at least 1200 calories were consumed.

To guard against dehydration, water should also be taken throughout the cleanse. Many cleansers drink a glass of water between glasses of lemonade.

Persons who wish to follow this program more than once a year are advised to wait three to six months between stints; the longer the time on the diet, the longer one should wait to repeat it. Three months between 10-day stints is the minimum recommended interval.