I’d never heard of The Master Cleanse until Jennie twittered about it today, so out of curiosity I started reading up on it. The whole process sounds like insanity but there’s a hefty comment battle going on in response to “Master Cleanse Diet = Master Scam” dating back to the end of 2006 and active up till 10 days ago with a huge number of advocates for the method.

I have absolutely no interest in the weight loss aspect. In fact, it’s a bit of a turn-off since I think I’m already at the lower end of a healthy weight range for my height. The only effect that has allure here is healthier skin. When my mom dragged me to a Chinese medicine doctor for my ever fickle complexion, the doctor did a whole diagnosis thing and gave me herbal medicine to expel “poison” inside my body that she thought was causing my skin problems. I don’t know, really. She only spoke extremely Shanghainese Mandarin. I’ve always been skeptical of certain eastern medicinal ideas, but it seemed to work after a few weeks. The amount of effort involved in cooking Chinese herbs that made my apartment reek of awful on top of the 45 minute drive to the doctor’s house made it ultimately unmanageable though. If a few days of detox on “Master Cleanse” has the same effect, I might give this a go. I feel a little daft for even considering it after reading the instructions and descriptions of what happens during the cleanse. It’ll be a battle between misplaced pride and testamonial draw. Damn infomercial-like tactics. Don’t judge me!