I love lemons, I love lemons, I love lemons, hey hey hey hey! I recently held a living foods and cleansing retreat weekend. There were 12 of us in total and we went through 25 lemons in a day and a half! Like I said, I love these little yellow warriors of goodness. Sure, they add zing to many of our foods but the real reason I love them is because of their unwavering devotion to boosting my digestion and improving my overall health.
I often have people ask me about what can be done to boost digestion. While there are a number of things that can be done, one of the first things I often suggest is one litre of warm water with fresh lemon juice, first thing in the morning. Not at 10am after you have already had a full breakfast and perhaps grabbed one of those hard to resist treats from the staff room. You should get in the habit of rolling out of bed, drinking your warm water with fresh lemon juice, having your shower, getting ready, and then eating breakfast. I use this water with lemon trick myself and I have to tell you, my digestive system has been thanking me ever since!
Now you might be thinking… what’s a little lemon juice and water really going to do for me anyways? I’m happy to tell you that the answer is, LOTS!
Here is a list of some of the key benefits and reasons that I start my day off with this delectable beverage:
- Lemon juice in water first thing in the morning helps to stimulate healthy natural bowel movements!!!! Yippee!! Three cheers for healthy poo!
- You often wake up dehydrated, drinking this water will help to rehydrate your system.
- Your liver works very hard during the night to turn toxins into less harmful water-soluble substances, drinking water in the morning helps to flush these out of the system.
- Lemon juice tastes acidic but it actually has an alkalinizing effect on the body. Since most of our diets and bodies are very acidic, this helps to balance that acidity.
- Lemon juice helps to promote healthy stomach acid secretion which leads to better digestion.
- Lemon juice in water first thing in the morning helps to cleanse the body.
- Lemon juice in water may help to reduce bloating and flatulence.
- Lemons are high in vitamin C, which helps to boost our immune system and prevent us from getting sick.
- It is an antioxidant and helps to fight disease causing free radicals in the body.
- Lemon juice is antiseptic and antibacterial and helps to combat disease-causing bacteria in the digestive tract.
- Having the water warm allows the body to utilize it faster. When we drink cold water, our stomach has to work hard to heat that water up before it can be used. Warm water eliminates this step.
Wowee, who knew that the juice of this little fruit along with ample water could benefit us in so many ways!?! What a great way to start the day. Interested in giving this health tip a try? Here’s how it’s done.
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING THIS LEMON WATER POWER POTION
Water: 1 litre = roughly 4 cups = approximately 2 of the glasses in my house. I recommend measuring to see how much one of your glasses holds and calculating how many of those you would need to drink to obtain 1 litre.
Lemon: I use the juice from ½ a lemon. I spread it out evenly between my 2 glasses but do whatever works best for you.
If this isn’t part of your routine at the moment, I encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it goes!
