This appeared in my local paper yesterday morning

It was an article about detoxing by Harvard Women's Health Watch and here is the section on the MC:

"Detox diets.

A seemingly infinite array of products and diets is available for detoxifying the entire body. One of the most popular is The Master Cleanse diet, favored by a number of Hollywood celebrities. Dieters take a quart of warm salt water in the morning; consume a 60 ounce concoction of water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper throughout the day; and finish with a cup of laxative tea in the evening.

Purpose. To restore energy, lose weight, and relieve symptoms of chronic conditions like Arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Evidence of effectiveness. There are no data on this particular diet in the medical literature. But many studies have sown that fasts and extremely low-calorie diets invariably lower the body's basal metabolic rate as it struggles to conserve energy. Once the dieter resumes normal eating, rapid weight gain follows. Much of the weight loss achieved through this diet results from fluid loss related to extremely low carbohydrate intake and frequent bowel movements.

Risks. The diet is lacking in protein, fatty acids and other essential nutrients. Carbohydrates supply all the calories-an extremely low 600. The daily laxative regimen can cause dehydration, deplete electrolytes and impair normal bowel function. It can also disrupt the native intestinal flora, microorganisms that perform useful digestive function. A person who goes on this diet repeatedly may run the risk of developing metabolic acidosis, a disruption of the body's acid-base balance, which results in excessive acidity in the blood. Severe metabolic acidosis can lead to coma and death.

Cost. The price of the book and a handful of food items."

The article went on to talk about other ways of detoxing but basically called all of them "of little value" and the bottom line seemed to be that the side effects are dangerous and therefore not worth the risk. I just wanted to see what you guys thought of this. I've done the Master-Cleanse many many times and I never feel anything but fantastic during and afterwards. I just finished one last week and I'm glad this article didn't run while I was doing it, I probably would have been really ticked off.