Lemon aid

“There’s real camaraderie on the group cleanse,” says one regular bulletin-board member, Christine Allsup, from San Diego, who is on the tenth day of her cleanse this month. “There is nothing better than having someone cheering you on when you are having a tough time, and being able to share your experiences with someone who has been there.”

But while those who have tried it say that the regimen will change your life, dietitians argue that it is an extreme fad which denies the body essential nutrients and could be dangerous. And, they say, there is no sound scientific reasoning behind it, let alone evidence that it works.

The Lemonade Diet instructs you to mix two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, two tablespoons of organic maple syrup and a tenth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper into a quarter of a litre of spring water. The result tastes “like nectar” according to those who have tried it — which is fortunate, as you are required to drink eight to twelve glasses of the stuff a day, along with similar measures of mineral water. And that’s all, except for a cup of laxative tea each evening and, hardest to stomach — literally — a morning saltwater “flush” in which you drink a litre of water mixed with two level teaspoons of non-iodised sea salt.

The formula was devised 60 years ago by a California-based “natural healer” named Stanley Burroughs, who believed that a build-up of toxins in the body was the main cause of disease. He theorised that a diet of over-processed foods, grown with chemical fertilisers and sprayed with toxic pesticides, causes malnourishment of many specialised cells in the body, causing them to die. Meanwhile, he claimed, a diet low in fibre and high in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products creates a gradual build-up of “toxic residue” as layers of waste matter accumulate on the walls of the colon.

“The theory behind fasting is that the body can heal itself if it is allowed,” says Peter Glickman, the author of a manual on the diet called Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days. He spends hours each day advising fellow cleansers on his bulletin board. “When the body is no longer given a constant diet of solid food to work on, it turns all that energy to housekeeping,” he says. “It begins to get rid of old cells and old waste.”

Lemon juice, a well-known cleanser, is said to loosen wastes in the body. Hot cayenne pepper is said to increase blood flow to the areas to be detoxified by dilating blood vessels. The maple syrup provides energy from an unprocessed sugar. The laxative tea and saltwater flush are said to help in removing waste from the colon — like colonic irrigation, but starting from the other end.

So the Lemonade Diet, Glickman explains, acts like a washing machine, first removing toxins from the cells and organs in which they are embedded, then rinsing them from the body with the laxative tea and flushes. Those who have tried it report a couple of days of misery and symptoms associated with “detoxing”, including cravings, irritability, headaches, tiredness — and lots of extraordinary bowel movements.

“You won’t believe the gunk that comes out,” says Adam Longworth, a TV comedy writer and voice-over artist, who tried the cleanse on friends’ recommendation and found it a “100 per cent positive experience”.

Contrary to the assumption that after days of living off lemonade you would be starving and faint, Longworth, 34, says that one swig of the juice quickly staves off hunger and ebbing energy. While on the fast he rode his pushbike and worked as normal, including hosting a weekly radio show on XFM on Friday and Saturday nights.

“The first couple of days it feels weird when you think ‘I’m not eating today’,” he says. “Then you really get into the juice. As long as you take a good glug every hour or so, it hits you really quickly.”

Longworth, who admits that he managed the saltwater flush only twice, started to feel “fantastic” after three days. “People told me that I looked great and I had a real spring in my step,” he says. “I felt lighter, as if my body had become incredibly efficient. I felt mentally sharp while at work and writing, and my producers said that I did my best radio show that week.”

Longworth, who even went to Sunday lunch with friends and resisted the temptation of roast lamb for his bottle of lemonade, lost 10kg (22lb) in weight although slimming was not his main motivation.

“For me, it was an experiment,” he says. “As you get older you realise that your body is a machine and that every now and then you need to give it a service. You flush out your radiators, so why not do the same with your body?” Susannah Phillips, a photoshoot producer, says that the diet, which colleagues recommended to her for a health boost, gave her the best “high” she has had in a long time. The 31-year-old, who weighs 53kg, put her social life on hold for a week to do it.

“For the first two days I was craving burgers, hot dogs and pizza and not feeling terrific,” she says. “On the third day I had a bad headache, then on the fourth day I felt incredible. I have a lot of stress in my shoulders and it was as if someone was breathing cool air on them, breaking down all the tension. By the fifth day I felt that everything in my body and mind was working together perfectly. My sense of humour was spot-on and I could bounce around while everyone else was sluggish.”

The placebo effect? Lightheadedness through lack of nutrients? Simply the benefits of a week of drinking water and no booze? Most doctors say that the concept of “detoxing” is basically hogwash and that if you feel better after a “detox regimen” it is simply because you have been leading a healthier lifestyle. Nutritional experts warn against diets that exclude any of the major food groups.

“The concept of a cleanse or detox is physiologically flawed because your body doesn’t need to rest,” says Dr Kevin Whelan, a dietitian and lecturer in nutritional sciences at Kings College London. “People find cleansing beneficial because, for a short length of time, they have a good think about their diet, cut out junk, get more sleep and are more hydrated. It’s not because there is some metabolic miracle in the juice they are drinking.”

Anna Denny, of the British Nutrition Foundation, agrees: “Elimination of toxins is a natural part of the body’s function so there is no need to go on detox diets. There are all sorts of fad diets like this and we wouldn’t recommend any of them. Restricting yourself to lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper means that you are not getting the essential protein you need, for a start.”

The saltwater flush also contains almost double the recommended daily intake for salt, which could cause increased blood pressure and the eventual risk of a heart attack, says Whelan. In his opinion, the notion that a saltwater drink flushes out the colon is scientifically incorrect and would be of no benefit even if it were.

“Westerners have developed an obsession with cleaning out the colon, but it is essential that the colon contains all the bacteria is does to fight infection, absorb nutrients and stimulate the immune system,” he says. “Contrary to popular belief, our colon is not full of processed food. This is an unscientific way of thinking about how food arrives in our colon which is incorrect.”

But devotees will not be put off, and believe that many doctors have a closed view of natural healing. Most who have done the Lemonade Diet once repeat the experience.

“I’m sure some of these folks think I’m way on the other side of the Moon — but if you listen your body and do something that makes you feel better, that has to be a good thing,” says Glickman.

Phillips, like Longworth, says that she is looking forward to getting back on the lemonade. “You realise that you don’t need all these materialistic things in life to make you feel good,” she says. “All you need is to take care of yourself — and once you have the willpower to do that, it’s simple to make yourself feel pretty amazing.”

The diet’s inventor

Stanley Burroughs, a naturopath, natural healer and teacher, developed the Lemonade Diet in the 1940s, while searching for a way to treat ulcers. His book The Master Cleanser was published in 1976.

He believed that the accumulation of toxins in the blood was the root cause of ill-health. He also published Healing for the Age of Enlightenment, which included chapters on pressure-point therapy and colour therapy. He died in 1991.