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Master Cleanse Garners Praise, Criticism
Weight loss was Beyonce's motivation; she told Oprah Winfrey that she dropped 20 pounds on the cleanse to prepare for "Dreamgirls."
Howard Stern's sidekick Robin Quivers told People magazine that she went from 218 to 145 pounds on the cleanse. She said the diet also helped ease joint pain and fatigue.
  Cayenne pepper and lemon juice sit in the apartment of Scott Campbell, who was undergoing an extreme "detoxifying" diet called the Master Cleanse, in New York, Thursday, April 19, 2007. Cleanse adherents swallow nothing but lemon juice mixed with maple syrup, bottled water and cayenne pepper, plus a daily dose of saltwater and laxative tea drink as part of the lemon juice cleanse. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig - AP) REPORTER'S QUERY The Washington Post is looking for challenging medical cases--ones that have been resolved but in which the patient's symptoms were puzzling to doctors or suggested an immediate diagnosis that would have been wrong.
Patients must have medical records documenting their care, and must be willing to share them with a reporter. Please include day and evening phone numbers and an e-mail address. E-mail medicalmysteries@washpost.com with your name and details. Please put "Medical Mystery" in the subject line.In Depth
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The diet has fans beyond celebrities and the hip neighborhoods of New York City.
Zoe Cochran, a 52-year-old in Navasota, Texas, is a hard-core master cleanser. She does an annual 30-day cleanse plus periodic shorter ones.
"After the cleanse I have great digestion and great elimination," she said. "People are chronically constipated."
Cochran said the cleanse also cured an injured knee that was so painful she couldn't get up from a sitting position.
Ted Damiecki, 55, of Bridgehampton, said he has gone on the cleanse twice and it has helped his chronic fatigue syndrome.
"I've been all over the East Coast trying to find cures for chronic fatigue syndrome," he said. "I went on the cleanse and I felt better within four or five days."
Campbell first tried the cleanse because a friend was doing it; he was pleasantly surprised. "I felt like I had a lot more energy, which I didn't expect," he said. "I was thinking I was going to be tired."
Neil Paz, 30, of Arlington, Va., considered the cleanse after actor-singer Jared Leto touted it. But in the end, he decided that "the whole detoxification aspect seemed very New Age-pet rock" and decided to eat more vegetables and drink more water instead.
"Doing that and exercising more is not going to be as fast but is the healthy way to go," he said.
