A daily dose of lemon water. Why you should make this a daily thing.
We all have our daily morning routines - to make us look and feel our best, to wake ourselves up, and get ready for the day. Some are super beneficial like a morning yoga session or deep breathing, dry brushing and a nice cold shower and healthy breakfast. These can all help to set the stage for a great day. Here is another one to add to your repertoire that doesn't take too much time and has serious health benefits. It is worth a try!
5 Key Health Benefits of Drinking Warm Water With Lemon
1. Supports Digestion – Honestly, I think we underestimate the importance of this; healthy digestion is KEY! Warm water with lemon helps to flush out the digestive system first thing in the morning and rehydrate the body. In Ayurvedic medicine the sour lemon taste helps to stimulate your “agni”. A strong agni jump-starts the digestive system allowing you to digest food more easily and helps prevent the buildup of toxins.
2. Liver support – Helps wake up the liver and stimulates proper stomach acid and bile production. Lemon increases the production of bile which is essential for digestion and controls the flow of excess bile in the digestive tract, cleansing the liver. Citrus flavonoids in lemons can also protect the liver against damage caused by toxins.
3. Supports your Immune System – Lemons are high in Vit C. a powerful antioxidant which helps boost our immune system - it is both antiviral and antibacterial. Vitamin C helps to absorb iron and increase the production of white blood cells (key to our immune response).
4. Helps maintain the PH balance in the body – while lemons are acidic outside of the body, inside (once they have been metabolized), they have amazing alkalizing properties.
5. Younger, healthy looking skin – Lemon water helps to detoxify the body and helps cells regenerate faster - women all over the world pay big bucks for that! They are full of vitamins (including vitamin C, essential in the production of collagen), minerals (calcium, magnesium, magnesium etc.) and antioxidants (help remove free radicals from the body). All of which help to make the skin look more radiant and youthful.
Added Benefits
Maintain a healthy weight - Lemon water helps to increase your metabolic rate and, with other healthy habits, can help you maintain a healthy weight. Lemons contain pectin, a type of fiber found in fruits, which will help you feel fuller, longer.
It may help kick the coffee habit - Many people start their day with warm water and lemon instead of coffee or caffeinated tea. My husband, a 7-8 coffee a day guy, replaced coffee with warm water with lemon and ginger. He puts it in his travel coffee cup and drinks it all morning instead of coffee. He kicked the habit within a week and after two years , has not looked back! These results are not typical, I don’t think, but definitely worth a try for many beneficial reasons!
How to Make This Magical Concoction
It is really not that hard...2 easy steps!
Squeeze some lemon into an 8 oz glass of warm water (use the water just before your kettle starts to boil).
Work your way up to ½ lemon in the glass (too much too fast may make you feel a bit nauseous).
Pro Tips:
Use filtered water and organic lemons.
Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Make it part of your wake-up routine!
Other ingredients to add for taste and additional health benefits
Ginger - An anti-inflammatory (great for joint and muscle pain due to inflammation), antibacterial, antiviral and antibacterial and it also has antioxidant properties! Ginger eases nausea, supports digestion and lowers blood sugar levels.
Cinnamon - A powerful antioxidant with ant-inflammatory properties, cinnamon can improve sensitivity to insulin and can reduce blood sugar levels. The active ingredient cinnamaldehyde helps to fight bacterial and fungal infections.
Turmeric - A potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. New research with this spice is
showing promise in the areas of Alzheimer's disease, cancer and depression.
Raw honey - This phyto-nutrient powerhouse helps with digestive issues and helps to soothe a sore throat. It is a good source of antioxidants and is both antibacterial and antifungal. Plus, it tastes great!
Hot water, warm water, cold water? Does it really matter?
According to Chinese medicine, cold or hot beverages may cause an imbalance between yin and yang as it takes energy for your body to process drinks (and food) that are either cold or really hot. But warm water may help to extract more polyphenols from the lemons. So there appear to be some benefits to having it warm.
I boil my filtered water in the morning (but use the water just before it reaches boiling in the kettle), add it to my squeezed half of a lemon and then take a few sips, but realistically, as I am sipping it throughout the morning it gets colds - as would happen with my coffee in the old days and I would constantly put it in the microwave to heat it up (stay tuned for reasons to avoid the microwave like the plague in a Blog Post coming to you soon!) – even forget it there, often finding it the next morning when I go to heat up that morning's coffee. I have the best of intentions to drink it warm, but, inevitably, I often end up drinking it cold (which, honestly, I do like better in the summer). However, with the temperatures starting to drop and snow starting to fall, there is nothing better than sipping something warm as I drive the kids to school in the morning!
Bottom line - It is best to drink warm, but the important thing is to drink it. So, whichever way you choose to have it – try to drink it every day!
Tips and tricks!
Try making lemon ice cubes and drop a few cubes into a glass of cold or hot water as needed. This cuts down on the prep time in the morning which is pretty important!
Put warm lemon water in your coffee or tea cup/travel mug if you are trying to cut down on either. It is sometimes only the habit of having a warm drink in your favourite cup that you are addicted to. Sometimes.
Make a big pitcher of it in the morning and put in the fridge – add some mint and a bit of raw honey for a great lemonade for the whole family! Hey, pour that tasty, healthy concoction into popsicle molds and freeze for an afternoon treat on a hot sunny day - not this time of year, but summer dreamin'!
It is a great habit it get into for so many tasty reasons!
Enjoy and be well.