While his diet, the Master Cleanse, has become a household word, very little is known about the man who actually created the diet.
Many would be surprised that the diet plan was not actually devised primarily as a way to lose weight. If you read his book which includes the plan for the Master Cleanse Diet, you can get a feel for who the author of the plan was and how he functioned.
We know that Stanley Burroughs was a naturopath. According to MedicineNet.com, a naturopath is a person who “practices naturopathy, a drugless system of therapy based on the use of physical forces such as heat, water, light, air, and massage.”
During his lifetime, Burroughs wrote two books which have become popular manuals for those practicing alternative medicine. One of these books is called “Healing for the Age of Enlightenment”.
His next book “The Master Cleanse Diet with Special Needs and Purposes” is the book from which the plan for the Master Cleanse Diet comes.
While some think the Master Cleanse Diet is a relatively new idea, it was actually in 1941 that Burroughs introduced this diet plan. When people read the original Master Cleanse book, they learn that Burroughs was not trying to formulate a diet plan at all. According to a forward in this book Burroughs says, “I present this book so that you can help yourself and others. Make the most of this work and know that it is the finest of knowledge in healing.”
In fact, Burroughs goes on to explain he devised the Master Cleanse Diet as a way to heal stomach ulcers. He indicates in his book a close friend was a test case on the diet and indeed his ulcer was completely gone after 10 days on the diet.
While Burroughs does acknowledge the diet can hold the possibility of weight loss, this was never the sole intent of his diet plan.
As one reads his book, you will begin to notice the actual diet plan is only a small portion of the book. Most of the book is taken up in discussion of how toxins cause the majority of human sickness and the way in which to properly “come off” the Master Cleanse fast.
Burroughs provides meal plans to follow when you first start eating solid food again as well as recipes for healthy meals.
While common knowledge of Burroughs’ Master Cleanse Diet can make you think he was a diet fanatic, the diet plan was actually created by a doctor of alternative medicine who was looking for a natural way to heal stomach ulcers and other digestive disorders.
His original book does not claim to make one skinny or happy, only healthy, which he obviously felt was the best way to be.