Reprint of 1957 Second Edition. Master Cleanse is a modified juice fast that permits no food, substituting tea and lemonade made with maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The diet was developed by Stanley Burroughs, who initially marketed it in the 1940s, and revived it his 1976 book The Master Cleanser . Proponents claim that the diet tones, reduces and cleanses the body, allowing the body to heal itself. Though controversial, the diet has many followers, some of whom are quite prominent and outspoken about its benefits.