Lemon and Water – My Morning Cleanser

There are so many thoughts and ideas buzzing around my head this morning on what I would like to post on my blog and today as I was going through my usual morning rituals it dawned on me that a key part of my morning routine, drinking warm lemon & water, was as good a place as any to start.

For as long as I can remember I have been drinking lemon and water, in fact I still remember like it was yesterday when dad made me have a sip of his when I was about 10 years old.

If you’re anything like me you will remember all the horrible things your good meaning parents did to you when you were young (and they are probably the things we have to thanks them for now :-)) and I clearly recall dad saying to me one day ‘here Sharon have a taste of Daddy’s morning drink’ and me screwing my face up like kids do!!

It’s really simple, I just take a whole lemon and squeeze it with my brightly coloured lemon squeezer - yes, best invention in the world - into a cup of warm/hot water and drink it before breakfast!

This simple yet powerful little drink does truly amazing things for my body and I was reminded of all those when I tried to convince hubby, Frank, to drink it.

He is a typical male and won’t try anything I say unless I have some proper information to back it up. Because I am terrible at lying he knows straight away if I’m fluffing the truth a little and so a few years back I decided to get the facts** on lemon and water to convince him.

All this in one simple lemon…

   

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds.  They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.

2. Balances pH: Drinking lemon water every day reduces your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon is essentially citric acid but somehow when we metabolise this acid our body makes it alkaline….I still can’t work out why but I know its good.

3. Helps with weight loss:   Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet (see #2) lose weight faster.

4. Aids digestion:  Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation. This is why it’s so effective drinking it first thing in the morning.

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin:  The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. Apparently you can also apply lemon directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.

7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis. The citric acid can apparently erode tooth enamel, so they recommend to monitor this. I admit, I’m always slightly worried about it so I drink water directly after and swish it around my mouth just to make sure.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs. It’s thought to be helpful to people with asthma and allergies too.

9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body to stress. As mentioned previously, lemons are chock full of vitamin C.

10. Helps kick the coffee habit:  After I have a glass of hot lemon water, some people don’t actually crave coffee in the morning. Well this one is weird; I can’t explain it, because I still have to have my one morning coffee.

The one thing I couldn’t find a concrete answer for is why the water has to be hot. I can only assume that cold water likely provides a shock or stress factor to the body. It takes energy for your body to process cold and really hot water, believe it or not.

Tip:  Start with a just a wedge of lemon if you have never done it before and then build up to a whole lemon over time

Tip:  Drink your warm lemon water in coffee cups that has coffee or tea stains.  The lemon water will help remove them.

Tip:  Grind the used lemon rinds in your garbage disposal to help deodorize it.

Shaz x

**http://lajollamom.com/2011/01/drink-warm-lemon-water-in-the-morning/