Online blogs, news articles, and medical posts make a number of claims about the benefits of lemon water, while I don't profess to have any medical evidence to support these claims but I can tell you about my personal experience with lemon water.
One of her suggestions was lemon water. Carla thought that drinking a glass of warm water with half of a lemon squeezed into it would help me for a couple of different reasons. One of the issues with my back was that my sciatic nerve was pinched and the area surrounding the pinched nerve was inflamed. I was taking some prescription medication to address this but Carla suggested that the lemon water would no only help with the inflammation but also work to clean my liver. As she explained to me, whenever we take medication, even though the medication is beneficial for us, it leaves some residue behind in the liver -- the lemon water would help flush this residue out of the body.
Carla also believed that a diet with processed foods especially refined sugar was contributing to the inflammation and she suggested reducing or ultimately removing process sugar and flour from my diet -- the lemon water would help with this as it works to reduce cravings. She also suggested cutting down on caffeine as it probably wasn't helping with my stress levels -- again the lemon water in the morning should help with removing that morning cup of coffee.
What lemon water is supposed to do:
1. Reduce inflammation - the theory behind this is that lemon water decreases the acidity in your body. For this reason it also helps with gout as it dilutes the uric acid.
2. Help fight cravings - reduces the desire for sweets and caffeine. This can be beneficial in making a dietary change, as I was, but also for losing weight. A side benefit is that by replacing your morning glass of orange or cup of coffee/tea with warm lemon water, you simply save calories. For example, an average cup of home brewed coffee with cream has approximately 110 calories, a Latte from your local coffee bar has over 200 calories, and an 8 oz. glass of orange juice has approximately 110 calories compared to the juice of half a lemon which is 6 calories. By calorie savings alone, you could save over 700 calories a week.
3. Clean the body of toxins - lemon water stimulates the liver which helps the body remove toxins such as the drug residue that Carla spoke of.
4. Helps with digestion - this is linked to the claim of cleansing the body, lemon water helps loosen the toxins in the body which leads to better digestion and helps the body process food slower therefore increasing the nutritional value of food. Claims suggest it helps with ailments such as heartburn, burping, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Research suggests this works best if the water is warm. Also the pectin found in the fibre of the lemon is linked to colon health.
5. Stimulates the production of insulin and helps to naturally balance blood sugar levels which also helps to reduce cravings especially for sugary foods.
6. Contains Citrus Bioflavonoids - bioflavonoids help to modify the body's reaction to things such as allergens, viruses, and carcinogens, are powerful antioxidants and help increase the antioxidant effects of some vitamins, including C. Citrus bioflavonoids have anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory properties and are beneficial for "capillary permeability and blood flow". Capillary permeability is defined as a condition of the wall structure that allows blood elements and waste products to pass through the capillary wall to tissue spaces".
7. Excellent source of Vitamin C - not only is natural, it's a fairly economical and easy to find source of Vitamin C. The juice of half a lemon contains 30% of your daily need for Vitamin C. Vitamin C is important for a number of reasons:
- It stimulates the production of white blood cells which help the immune system function properly;
- It helps the body produce collagen which is an essential element for smoother skin and can help reduce skin blemishes such as wrinkles, scars, and age spots;
- It has been shown to help reduce cardiovascular disease;
- It cures scurvy - now I know you're thinking, yeah 'cuz that's a big problem in today's society. Wasn't that the disease that pirates got. Well, here's the thing, scurvy is still a thing. It's still occurs in the elderly, alcoholics, and young children who are on special diets or lack proper nutrition for either economic or social reasons.
9. Helps with viral infections - likely due to the Vitamin C which is also an antioxidant and citrus bioflavonoids.
10. Excellent source of potassium - the juice of half a lemon contains 50mg of potassium, which is only 1% of your daily need, much lower than Vitamin C but still considered a good source. Potassium helps with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Potassium is said to be good for the brain but what exactly does that mean, well, a decrease in levels of potassium can interrupt the "electrical signals that drive the brain" creating what is commonly referred to as brain fog or confusion and slower thinking.
11. Boosts energy and mood - And it does this without the help of our friend, caffeine. The claim as an energy, mood booster likely is linked to the potassium and aid that it gives the brain (see above).
12. Freshens breath - this is linked to the cleansing of the liver. People suffering from liver disease develop bad breath, known as fetor hepaticus. This can often be one of the most overlooked initial signs of liver disease.
13. Assists your adrenals - anyone experiencing long-term stress will often find their adrenal system goes on the blitz and they develop Adrenal Stress Fatigue or Disorder which essentially means that your body has lived in the fight or flight mode for too long. This causes your hormones to go out of sync and leads to a number of digestive related issues but the biggest part of this disorder is the fatigue or a general overwhelming feeling of unwellness and exhaustion. It's common that people turn to caffeine to fight the fatigue but this actually exacerbates the problem as caffeine, a stimulant, often adds to the hormone and digestive problems. Lemon water assists your adrenals and therefore helps to fight the effects of stress.
14. Re-hydrates the body - this is especially important first thing in the morning, when your body hasn't taken in any fluid for 8 or so hours and yes, this can be done with plain water but think about everything you are adding with the juice of half a lemon.
And the lemon does this with no wasteful packaging, in an all-natural, low-fat way ...
Now, I said I had no medical proof but I can tell you -- if not quantitatively, qualitatively-- that after a month of lemon water in the morning, I had given up my morning cup of coffee, drastically reduced my cravings for sweets, and felt better. But most importantly, my back which was diagnosed as a chronic back condition and no been responding to drugs, massage treatments, physiotherapy treatments, acupuncture treatments, and exercises finally got better. Do I think it was completely the lemon juice -- no but I do believe that the lemon water was what took everything over the top.
The one drawback to lemon water that I could find is that it is purported to be hard on the enamel of your teeth, so research advises not to brush your teeth right before or right after drinking lemon water.
A couple of points to consider:
- Buy organic when possible
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best
- Drink it first thing in the morning and then wait approximately 30 minutes before eating or drinking
- The best tools for the job of squeezing the lemon are your own clean hands - you don't need any fancy tools or gadgets just cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out into a glass
What about all those seeds ... It felt wasteful to me to simply throw out the seeds. So I started collecting them in a little dish by the sink and when I got enough I planted them. Now I have beautiful plants to help clean the air and brighten up the place.
