The Maple Syrup Diet

The Maple Syrup Diet or The Lemon Detox, to give the diet its proper name, was introduced over 30 years ago by naturopath Stanley Burroughs. It most notably came to light when singer Beyonce famously lost 14lbs during a fortnight while following the diet. Devotees claims that as well as losing lots of weight, you feel brighter, more alert, while benefiting from clearer skin and eyes. But what is this diet and is it worth trying out?

The Detox Plans

There are actually four versions of the diet: full detox whereby you exist on virtually nothing but the drink for 10 days; the relaxed detox where you substitute one or two meals with the drink; the once a week detox where you go one day existing on the drink and the master plan involving twice-yearly multi-day detoxing plus detoxing one day each week!

How Does it Work?

This is a detox diet which is supposed to help you eliminate toxins from your body at a faster rate. Because the calorie intake is so low on the full detox – just over 300 calories a day, you’ll lose weight speedily but you’d have to possess willpower made of steel to stick it out the full 10 days.

What Do You Eat?

The first ingredient sounds delicious – maple syrup, or - Madal Bal Natural Tree Syrup which is made from the sap of maple and palm trees. OK, maple syrup may be wonderful on a pancake, but in this case it’s mixed with lemon juice, cayenne pepper (or ginger) and half a pint of hot or cold water. That’s it.

Side Effects

With the amount of liquids you must consume, it’s advisable never to venture too far from a toilet. The first few days you are likely to feel extremely hungry and may find you have a headache for the first couple of days. By day 3 you may feel better but your breath could be unpleasant due to ketosis.

Is it Worth it?

This is a crash diet in the extreme. If you need to lose weight quickly for a special event and need a flat stomach, this does work. Sticking with it for a week could also net you a decent weight and inch loss. But you’ll feel starving, have little in the way of energy and more often than not, regain the weight once you come off it.

If you want to give this diet a try, you'll need the main ingredient - Madal Bal Tree Syrup which you can buy here, along with the Lemon Detox Diet book.