No matter how many diet guides or mama self-help guides I’ve read over the year, one consistent theme always seems to come up “drink warm lemon water to start your day”.
I’ll say it. I’m not the biggest fan of the taste. But every time I feel it’s time for a little bit of detox and self-care (I’m looking at you corona lockdown) one of the first habits I fall back into is starting my day with warm lemon water.
So here I am, starting my day with lemon juice again, instead of diving straight into my Special K or devouring a cuppa to get my bleary eyes to focus. But am I even doing it right? Is there are a reason it’s “warm” (not tepid, not hot, definitely not iced?) Is it juice or are slices OK? Oh crap, it’s bitter and sweet, does it have calories, am I ruining my overnight fast? What’s it doing to my teeth?
We all get it. Sugary cocktails, beer all no-nos when we’re trying to watch our weight and detox our body. But why am I still drinking this god forsaken lemon water every day? Is it THAT good for me? The truth here now mamas!
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Why drink lemon water?
Oh wow, well an initial Google gave me a TONNE of results – “7 Benefits”, “10 reasons”, “15 Benefits”…
But how many of these truly apply? I’ll paraphrase for you here some favourites!
- Hydration – ah duh. I think we get that one. And the lemon makes it takes nicer, hmmmmm.
- Lemons are packed full of essential vitamins and minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, citric acid, folate, phosphorus and many more
- A good source of vitamin C for protecting our immune system. Yep, we love an antioxidant helping protect our cells from those free radicals – and vitamin C may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and lower blood pressure.
- The citric acid helps supports digestive health – it interacts with other essential enzymes in your stomach and stimulates the secretion of gastric juices, eek!
- High levels of pectin can do wonder for your colon health
- It helps support weight loss as it increases digestion and increases the metabolic rate
- The pectin fibre present in lemon keeps cholesterol levels under control and curbs hunger, preventing you from overeating (though pectin is mostly in the rind)
- Lemon juice is effective at cleansing the liver as it promotes the liver to produce more enzymes to flush out toxins
- Lemon’s anti-inflammatory properties help fight respiratory infections and sore throats
- Lemon water hel