Promises to work but I can not imagine what it tastes like.


The syrup – Madal Bal Natural Tree Syrup – is made from the sap of maple and palm trees. Also known as The Lemon Detox, the diet was introduced more than 30 years ago by naturopath Stanley Burroughs. Many of the claimed benefits include weight loss, cleansing the body of toxins, greater resistance to illness, improved concentration, increased energy, clearer skin and eyes, shinier hair and stronger nails.

The detox drink itself is made by mixing 2 tablespoons of the Natural Tree Syrup (which they say is 20ml) with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, a pinch of cayenne pepper or ginger and half a pint of hot or cold water. It’s recommended you drink as much as you like, but ideally six to nine glasses daily.

There are also four detox plans to choose from:

• The Full Detox – this involves surviving solely on the detox drink for 10 days, although it’s recommended that beginners follow it for just 5–7 days. It can also be extended for up to 14 days, but should only be done so with the consent of a health professional.
  
• Relaxed Version – this involves substituting breakfast, dinner or both these meals with 2–3 glasses of the detox drink. But you should still avoid sweets, processed foods, red meat, fried food, white bread, dairy products, coffee and booze for the remaining meals.
  
• The Once a Week version – as the name suggests, you skip food and have the detox drinks on one day each week.
  
• The Master Plan – a hardcore plan that involves a twice-yearly multi-day detox combined with detoxing once a week!
  

WLR says:

Pop star Beyonce may have a figure that many of us envy, but it seems she believes in the ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra to get it that way. In fact, this is one of the most extreme diets ever and makes Carol Vorderman’s detox plans look like a positive food fest.

This diet is potentially dangerous. Effectively, it involves drinking nothing but sugared water for days on end. Of course you will lose weight, but that’s purely the result of limiting calories excessively.

A tablespoon (which they say is 10ml) of Natural Tree Syrup contains just 26 calories. That means if you have six drinks a day (each containing the recommended 2 tablespoons of syrup), your daily intake will be just 312 calories. Even nine drinks only provide 468 calories.