Starting your morning off with lemon water is a simple health habit that produces amazing results! Here are 7 benefits of Lemon Water that you won't want to miss!
In researching for this post, I found a lot of conflicting information about the benefits of lemon water. While I don't tout Lemon Water as a miracle cure, I have found it to be beneficial to my own, as well as my family's health - and I encourage you to try it for yourself!
Related recipe: Berry Spritzers with Lemon
Benefits of Lemon Water:
- Boosts your immune system
- Kick-starts your metabolism to assist in weight loss
- Helps keep your digestive system regular (prevents constipation)
- Reduces Craving
- Promotes Skin Clarity
- Aids Mental Health - mood and mental clarity
- Helps prevent kidney stones
1. Boosts your Immune System
We know that 55-60% of our bodies are made of water; it's the building block of the cell. So, starting your day off with water makes sense, and drinking water with a kick of Vitamin C added through lemon juice can really assist with fighting the common cold! Instead of just taking a vitamin C pill, you're letting the lemon come into contact with your throat where you can directly combat the germs - and feel the difference!
Related recipe: Strawberry Chia Lemonade
2. Kick-starts your Metabolism - can enhance weight loss
Sources say that drinking water itself can boost your metabolism up to 30% (according to an article in "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" in 2003) but combining it with lemon juice really seems to give a little energy burst and an 'awake' feeling. Perhaps it's somewhat related to the electrolytes that the lemon juice provides including potassium, magnesium, and calcium!
3. Keeps you Regular (Prevent Constipation)
A sluggish digestive system just isn't healthy!
Drinking 2 cups or a large glass of lemon water in the morning does wonders for keeping you regular - especially if you drink it warm! (We'll talk more about lemon water temperature later in this article.) Having regular system evacuation is both healthful and relieving!
Love lemony flavors? Try this Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf!
4. Use Lemon Water to reduce sugar and other cravings
When your palate has been cleansed and your taste-buds are zinging from lemon flavor, there just isn't that same desire to load up on sweets. Lemon water has also been found to assist in moderating blood sugar levels, preventing rapid spikes and decreasing insulin resistance.
5. Promotes Skin Clarity
Again, this benefit of lemon water can also be seen largely with plain water, but boosting water intake, especially first thing in the morning can help improve skin tone and clarity by hydrating your cells, reducing fine lines, and helping flush out toxins and wastes that can cause those unwanted pimples! Hello chocolate!
6. Uplifts Mood
After a nice full glass of lemon water, you'll find that you can think clearer and that your memory feels sharpened. Perhaps this is a bit psychological but if you try it, I think you'll agree! After all, your brain needs lots of water, not coffee to run on!
7. Lemon water for kidney stones
Even though lemon juice is generally considered acidic, it also contains Citrate, which actually makes your urine less acidic and is thought to reduce the possibility of kidney stones, even going so far as to say that it can help break up small stones! Wow.
There's real science behind this folks - and believe me, NONE of us want kidney stones!
How do you make Lemon Water? How much lemon juice to put in water?
Mix the juice of ½ lemon in about 16 oz. of water (or about 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice in 2 cups of water).
Stay away from the bottled lemon stuff - fresh is best! It's super easy to squeeze half a lemon with this citrus squeezer.
Should I drink my lemon water hot, cold, or warm?
There are really no specific benefits to any lemon water temperature. Try to drink lemon water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and drink it at a temperature most appealing to you!
Personally I drink warm lemon water in the morning because it's easy to drink quickly, doesn't chill me, and works quickly to get my digestive system going! If I'm looking for a quenching drink later in the day, chilled lemon water is lovely.
How to avoid the effects of lemon water on your teeth:
Use a straw to drink your lemon water to help decrease the acidic effects of lemon water on the enamel of your teeth. Also, take time for a quick rinse with a drink of plain water afterwards.
Did you enjoy this blog post on a practical way to improve your health? You might also enjoy these recipes:
- The Ultimate Green Smoothie (How to hide the green taste!)
- The Best Company Granola
- Cocoa Banana Chia Seed Pudding
If you’ve tried this simple Lemon Water idea or any other recipe on my blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
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Lemon Water
Ingredients
- ½ fresh squeezed lemon, (1-1.5 tablespoons)
- 16 oz water, (2 cups), use cold water if preferred
Special equipment
Instructions
- Squeeze ½ of a fresh lemon into two cups (16 oz) fresh distilled or spring water. Mix and enjoy. Serve over ice, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
jacquie
Interesting information. What kind of studies were done to support the above points? I would appreciate it if you could provide referneced articles that i could read? It ins't that i doubt what you are saying so much as i want to see exactly what type of studies were done and what the sample size was. Also if you could share why the morning is so much better than the rest of the day that would be appreciated as well. Many thanks.
jacquie
Rebecca
Jacquie, I hear you! I love research and science too, but I didn't reference articles this time for lack of direct shareable research that I could link to. I'm sorry! Perhaps I'll find a way to do this in the future!
Shama
I love this stuff! I find it to be very helpful to me as well. And I prefer mine hot, especially in the winter when you just want something warm in your system.
Rebecca
Thanks Shama! Hot is definitely nice in the winter!!