OPINION: A simple health drink: Lemon Water
Adding lemon to your water is a simple and revitalizing why to further increase your health. It will hydrate and oxygenate your body, leaving it feeling refreshed and restored.
Lemon has strong antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers and can be used as a weight loss aid because lemon juice is a digestive aid and liver cleanser. Lemons are high in vitamin C, which promotes immunity, fights infection and is great for fighting colds.
Lemon juice in water will help flush out unwanted materials and toxins from the body and relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, belching and bloating. Even the scent of lemon will enhance your mood and energise you.
Lemon has real and palpable weight-loss powers. Lemon water has zero calories and pectin fibre in lemon helps reduce your hunger and acts as a gentle, natural diuretic. Lemon water stimulates your liver and aids in detoxification and will help you maintain an alkaline diet to make it easier for you to lose weight. Don’t forget you still need to avoid fatty foods and get some good exercise to improve lemon water’s weight-loss potential.
It is said that the best time to drink lemon water is in the morning to help kick start your digestion process for the day. Its sharp taste will wake you up and get you going. Wait 30 minutes before eating breakfast to ensure your body gets the most energy and nutrients from your food. Use warm purified water (not hot as this will destroy some of its enzymatic properties, or cold as it is more difficult for the body to process).
Always use fresh lemons (not bottled lemon juice). Pour a half juiced lemon into an average- sized glass of water. It has a nice versatility of flavour so you can guzzle it down or slowly sip it throughout the day.
A few precautions to keep in mind; citrus seeds are not good for you so remove those from your drink. Try to avoid having any kind of sweeteners with your lemon water as this will reduce the benefits. Citric acid in lemon can affect tooth enamel so do not brush your teeth just after drinking your lemon water.
Try it for at least two weeks every morning, paying close attention to how your body reacts.
Claire Brown is a natural remedy expert based in Northcliff.
