Sept. 2004

Hi, Rhio –

I was wondering if you or anyone you know has had experience with the Master Cleanser cleanse.  I wrote to Frederic Patenaude, and he was extremely critical of it. The book makes it sound so good – I have heard that people swear by it, but haven’t been able to find someone I actually can talk to who has followed the cleanse.

I am re-printing what Frederic wrote back to me. What is your opinion? I appreciate the feedback – I feel that I badly need to do a cleanse – I’m very healthy, but just feel I need to clean out – and wanted to try this because you don’t have to take so much time off.  I, like a lot of people, have a very busy life, and just keep putting off a cleanse/fast because of it.

Thanks again –

ER

April, 2006

Dear ER,

My response to Frederic’s evaluation of the Master Cleanser program is interspersed with his comments below. I offer this strictly and only as an exchange of ideas and information and it is not to be interpreted as medical advice of any kind.

With blessings,

Rhio

Frederic:

I advice against the Master Cleanser.

Here is why:

The Master Cleanser recipe consists of warm water mixed with maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup.

It is claimed that the Master Cleanser “dissolves and eliminates toxins, cleanses the kidneys, purifies the glands and cells, and helps purify the liver.”

This affirmation is of course based on nothing solid whatsoever.

Please understand that there is no food that will cleanse the liver or purify the liver. Only the body has the ability to do so. Water is a carrying agent that is used to remove toxins out of the body. Lemon juice has no action on the body. Once it is digested, it doesn’t help cleanse anything. Cayenne pepper is an irritant. Maple syrup is a simple sugar that is inferior to fruit sugar.

All the benefits that you would get from the Master Cleanser come from simply refraining from eating solid food for a few days. You would get better results if you fasted 3-4 days in bed rather than doing this “cleanse” for 7-10 days.

Rhio:

The Master Cleanser program is a form of fasting. There are those that believe that the word fasting should only be applied to abstaining from every form of sustenance except water. For those, raw juice fasting, raw energy soup fasting, green coconut water fasting or the Master Cleanser are not good enough. However, for others, such as myself, who understand that in today’s world of rampant chemicals, pesticides, radiation and other human-made substances impacting our daily lives, these other forms of fasting are safer (for novice fasters) because while they allow the body to release toxicity, they do not do so in a damaging way. In other words, they mediate, buffer and/or slow down the release so that it is safer.

Out of all the raw food proponents, the ones, such as Dr. Norman Walker, who passionately advocated for raw juice fasting lived the longest and the healthiest lives.

Frederic says “All the benefits that you would get from the Master Cleanser come from simply refraining from eating solid food for a few days.”

Water fasting is certainly beneficial for experienced fasters, but I contend that people who are new to fasting or who don’t fast on a regular basis would do better to use one of these other forms of fasting for the reasons herebefore mentioned. Chemicals rapidly released into the blood stream of a faster can make them very sick, so it would be beneficial in the beginning to have the bulk of those stored chemicals released in a more buffered manner.

Frederic says that “there is no food that will cleanse the liver or purify the liver. Only the body has the ability to do so.” I believe that these statements are simply a play of semantics that don’t address the issue. Certainly the body is the one that has the ability to heal itself, BUT, in order to do so, certain circumstances or conditions have to be met. And one of them is that the body must receive real food, raw food, organic food. Raw foods have vitamin, mineral, enzyme, hormone, phytochemical, electric, oxygen and other properties within them that are beneficial to the liver and other organs of the body. Some foods have particular qualities that would make them more detoxifying and/or supportive of liver functions. So, the truer statement would be that raw foods and juices, energy soups, green coconut water and the Master Cleanser program assist the body to do its detoxifying more effectively and efficiently.

I do agree with Frederic that maple syrup is inferior to fruit sugar. When I have done the Master Cleanser program, I have substituted raw honey, but vegans may not want to do that. Maple syrup is a boiled product and is not raw.

Lemon juice is extremely alkalizing to the body. Some people think that because lemon juice is an acid juice that it is acid forming in the body, but the opposite is true, it actually promotes alkalinity. Any juice that alkalizes the system is extremely beneficial… so I do not agree with Frederic’s statement that “lemon juice has no action on the body.”

Frederic:

I do not recommend it also because I oppose to the use of cayenne pepper. I wrote in my book The Raw Secrets about cayenne pepper: “Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, which is a very poisonous substance. You can easily prove to yourself the toxicity of hot peppers by observing your body1s reactions after eating them. The mouth salivates and the nose often runs with clear mucus or water. These are ways for the body to dilute the poison. The warm feeling that we get is the irritation of the digestive tract and stomach. The body temperature often rises as the body tries to get rid of this strong, toxic substance. Another argument against hot peppers and spices, is that children will refuse them. No one would give a hot pepper to a child.”

Rhio:

The practitioner who has had the most practical experience with the effects of cayenne pepper as an extremely beneficial food, especially for the heart, is Dr. John Christopher. Dr. Christopher was an herbalist who lived in the last century and if you look up some of his work you would receive a completely different picture and idea about cayenne pepper from a practitioner who actually used it on his patients with excellent results. Dr. Christopher, in a videotape that I have of his, stated that he never once lost a heart attack victim because he always gave them cayenne pepper and the attack would be relieved in a matter of minutes because cayenne pepper is powerful heart food.

Frederic:

It is also claimed that the Master Cleanser  “eliminates all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles.” Again, this is simply hype. Only the body has the ability to remove unusable waste. The water is simply a carrying agent and the lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne are digested or rejected and have no part to play in this process. You would get the same results from drinking water only for a day or two.

It is claimed that the Master Cleanser “builds a healthy blood stream.” How is that possible? Blood stream is build by eating a variety of foods, and there is nothing special in maple syrup, cayenne pepper and lemon juice that will make that process better or faster.

It’s also said that the Master Cleanser “relieves pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries and blood vessels.” Again, this just comes from not eating solid food for a few days. You would get the same results with juices, water, or any other type of “cleanse”

There is nothing special about the Master Cleanser.

Yours,

Frederic

Rhio:

The Master Cleanser cleanse is beneficial for all the reasons that I stated before… because it is a form of fasting, and fasting releases toxins from any part of the body that is holding them, such as in the fat cells, tumors and cysts. First the toxins are released into the blood stream, and then as the blood circulates and goes through the liver, kidneys and lymph glands, it becomes divested of those toxins and as a result you have a cleaner body and a cleaner blood stream. A cleaner blood stream is a healthier blood stream.

For those, like ER who wrote to ask me about this, the Master Cleanser makes it possible for most people who attempt it to continue to work and function while doing it. I would still suggest that for the first couple of times on this program, that they not give themselves a very busy schedule. It is best to do it over a long weekend or when you have a few days to devote to rest, should it become necessary.

There are many forms and ways and means that help a body to detoxify itself and I am one teacher, and student, that is open to the possibilities of many different pathways.

FEEDBACK:

From: mitchelcohen@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: Raw Energy Hotline – May 2006
Date: June 8, 2006 12:40:12 AM EDT
To: rhotline@rawfoodinfo.com

Mitchel: Frederick wrote “Lemon juice has no action on the body. Once it is digested, it doesn’t help cleanse anything. Cayenne pepper is an irritant.”

Rhio, your newsletter is wonderful, and your answers to Frederick are right on target. Lemon juice alkalinizes the body, as you point out (though I would like to understand the mechanism by which this citric acidy fruit alone does this). And Cayenne is great for the heart, actually reduces blood pressure (exactly the opposite of black pepper). It could also be taken in capsules for those who want to bypass the mouth and esophagus.

Rhio: Frederic says that “there is no food that will cleanse the liver or purify the liver. Only the body has the ability to do so.” I believe that these statements are simply a play of semantics that don’t address the issue.

Mitchel: Exactly!

Rhio: Certainly the body is the one that has the ability to heal itself, BUT, in order to do so, certain circumstances or conditions have to be met. And one of them is that the body must receive real food, raw food, organic food. Raw foods have vitamin, mineral, enzyme, hormone, phytochemical, electric, oxygen and other properties within them that are beneficial to the liver and other organs of the body. Some foods have particular qualities that would make them more detoxifying and/or supportive of liver functions.

Mitchel: Especially good for the liver are dandelion greens (and teas & juices made from them), burdock root, and as an herb: Milk Thistle.