After starting the Master Cleanse, I only began to realize the sheer quantity of lemons that are required to get the job done. In the beginning, I came home from the store with a bunch of organic lemons as suggested. These lemons seemed much smaller than the regular pesticide pills but proved to be much jucier.

Juicing-

I proceeded to lop off the end of the lemon to expose its various compartments. This was where all the juice was going to exit the lemon. So I squeezed with all my might until there was no more juice in the lemon. This got very old and exhausting after the third lemon. I decided to get something that would make the job easier, a hand lemon press. This thing was nice because it had small holes for the juice to exit while preventing seeds from passing through. It just didn't seem to produce the same amount of juice then the hand method. The major problem with this press was that it damaged the rind releasing oil into the juice. This oil is not beneficial to the cleanse. So I went the store and bought an old fasioned glass juicing bowl equiped with a pouring spout! This thing works great! I cut the lemon in half, then twist, press, repeat. This thing left almost nothing left inside the peel! Very nice! In addition, running the lemon under hot water and pressing/rolling it against a hard surface before cutting and jucing, makes the whole process a little easier.

Straining-

First I take a fork and remove the seeds. Then I pour the juice and pulp through a strainer. I mash the pulp with a measuring spoon to squeeze out any remaining juice and discard the pulp.

A note on pulp-

The first few days of the cleanse I was using the pulp but later learned that the pulp requires digestion. In digestion, hydrochloric acid is produced to break apart food. This hydrochloric acid counteracts with the lemon juice which throws off the effectivness of the whole process. Even though the lemon juice is an acid, it becomes alkaline as it is processed. Also, digestion requires the intestines to move the pulp through which hardly gives your system a rest. This is why I now use the strainer.

Keeping the lemons-

So I bought about 30 lemons for a few days worth of juice and placed them in a bowl on the counter. In the store, they sat on a non-refrigerated shelf so i fugured they would be okay. After making it through a few days of lemons, they started to get moldy. Some research proved that lemons will last 4-5 days at room temperature. It's best to keep them cool in the crisper section of the refrigerator. This will keep them fresh for a few weeks.

Ciao