Can You Eat While on the Lemonade Diet?

The lemonade diet is designed to flush the body of toxins and cleanse the digestive system, the kidneys and all of the glands and cells in the body. The diet is meant to be used when the digestive system needs a rest from processed foods, there are chronic conditions (skin rashes, sinus congestion) that need to be disrupted, or weight has become a problem. The lemonade diet is similar to fasting except that it provides minerals and vitamins where water may not. Always consult your doctor before going on any type of diet.

What To Eat

Solid food is not used during the lemonade diet. Instead, the lemonade diet advocates the use of the following mixture in place of the plain water used in fasting: warm spring water, 2 tbsp. of lime or lemon juice, 1/10 tsp. of cayenne pepper and 2 tbsp. of grade B maple syrup. The lemon juice, cayenne and maple syrup are placed in a glass with enough warm water to create a 10-oz. drink. The lemonade is taken six to 12 times a day as the dieter gets hungry. According to the original lemonade diet book, The Master Cleanser, written by the naturopath Stanley Burroughs, the use of frozen lemonade or canned lemon juice will not work to flush the body the way fresh lemon juice will. Use organic lemons where available.

No Supplements

The lemonade diet does allow the user to drink mint tea during the course of the day. According to Burroughs, mint tea will purify and neutralize the mouth and body from odor released while the body is cleansing. Dietary supplements and vitamins should not be taken during the lemonade diet. They may interfere with the cleansing process set in motion by the lemonade mixture. Solid food is not eaten until the dieter is ready to break the diet.

Breaking The Diet

The first day of breaking the diet, only freshly squeezed orange juice should be taken along with the lemonade. An 8-oz. glass of orange juice can be consumed whenever the user desires it. The lemonade should be taken as before---six to 12 times a day when hungry. The second day continues the same as the first day of breaking the diet with the exception of a homemade vegetable soup that should be taken as the evening meal. Burroughs provides the recipe for the soup in his book, The Master Cleanser. He emphasizes that canned soup should not be taken to break the fast.

Resume Normal Eating

The third day orange juice is taken for breakfast and through the morning as desired. The vegetable soup is taken at lunch. Dinner on the third day is whatever combination of vegetables, salad or fruit the dieter wants. The fourth day the dieter is able to resume normal eating but the diet plan encourages a fruit, vegetable, seed and berry diet with the use of the lemonade drink for breakfast every morning. Returning to eating meat and dairy products and processed foods can cause digestive disruptions like nausea and bloating.

Ending The Diet

According to The Master Cleanser, the lemonade drink has the ability to flush the body of toxins. During this diet the tongue will coat and become fuzzy. When the tongue becomes pink and clean, the diet has run its course. Burroughs says that this process will need at least 10 days or more to work fully. He also states that the diet can be undertaken for as long as 40 days before reintroducing solid food.