Is coffee the first thing that comes to your mind in the morning before your feet even hit the floor? Then, according to numerous studies, you’re probably hindering your body’s natural ability to wake up.
In other words, drinking coffee at peak cortisol times of the day, such as the early morning, reduces the energy-boosting effects of caffeine and increases your body’s tolerance to it.
Luckily, there are other, much smarter ways to start the day fresh and energized, such as by introducing lemon water – a simple healthy drink that has been found to pack some pretty amazing detoxing and energy-boosting benefits – into your morning ritual.
Chugging a glass or two of warm lemon water as soon as you wake up is a great way to get your body and your mind going. While it’s highly recommendable to keep your body well-hydrated at all times, this healthy habit is especially important in the mornings.
For starters, drinking water on an empty stomach will purify your colon, enabling better absorption of nutrients all throughout the day, encourage the production of hematopoiesis (the formation of blood cellular components) and fire up your metabolism, thereby priming your entire internal system for a great beginning of the new day.
On the other hand, lemon offers plenty of essential nutrients like calcium, iron, potassium, vitamins C, A and B-complex and pectin fiber, and has well-recognized immunity-boosting and antibacterial properties. Mixed together, water and lemon make up the perfect drink that will give you that morning feeling of wellness and provide you with multiple health benefits!
Here are the top 10 health benefits of lemon water:
1. Helps digestion
This is undoubtedly one of the biggest lemon water benefits. Drinking lemon water first thing in the morning will help flush toxins and other metabolic waste products from the digestive system, re-hydrate the body and encourage healthy bowel movements. It also helps keep your liver happy by stimulating an adequate production of stomach acid and bile.
The result? A highly efficient metabolism, smooth digestion and a minimized risk of constipation, diarrhea, bloating and heartburn.
2. Boosts immunity
Lemons are famous for their abundance with vitamin C, an important nutrient that has been found to improve components of the human immune system on multiple occasions.
Our bodies use a variety of antioxidant vitamins to stay healthy and ward off unwelcome visitors and vitamin C is one of the most efficient bacteria killer to be found. By acting as an antioxidant, it helps combat free radicals and improves the ability of the immune system to fight bacteria and microbes.
3. Revitalizes skin
One of the obvious benefits of a decent morning detox is cleaner, healthier skin. Thanks to its ability to purify internal organs and stimulate the growth of new blood cells, lemon water can help your skin become smooth and clear.
In addition, the antioxidants found in lemon will delay the appearance of wrinkles, blemishes and skin spots by reducing the skin damage caused by free radicals.
4. Helps maintain healthy weight
Regularly consuming warm lemon water can definitely accelerate your weight loss efforts and help you maintain a healthy weight, as long as you make sure to adopt a few other healthy habits as well.
For example, a group of German researchers found that an increased consumption of water can temporarily boost the metabolic rate up to 30% for both men and women. Furthermore, since lemon contains pectin fiber, it can help you curb hunger cravings and enjoy a prolonged feeling of satiety.
5. Controls blood pressure
Struggling to keep your blood pressure stable? Then step away from the coffee machine and treat yourself with a lemon-enriched glass of water instead. Among many things, lemon water has also been found to help control high blood pressure by hydrating and cleansing the lymphatic system.
The nutrients found in lemons help keep blood vessels soft and elastic, thereby reducing high blood pressure. Lemons are also abundant with potassium, a key mineral which helps lower blood pressure by reversing the negative effects of sodium.
6. Boosts energy levels
Unfortunately, the energy boost we usually get from caffeine is rather short-lived and can be accompanied by a variety of downsides, including a disrupted biological circadian clock, caffeine tolerance, sleep disorders and general nervousness. Plus, it’s dehydrating and stresses your adrenals.
On the other side, natural drinks such as lemon water treat our bodies well and can offer us ‘clean’ energy boosts and increased mental clarity. The nutrients contained in lemon water will naturally enhance your energy levels and improve your mood by hydrating and oxygenating the body, optimizing enzyme function and restoring the balance of essential minerals and electrolytes.
7. Combats throat infections
As the winter season unfolds, throat soreness becomes a frequent occurrence for many people. Most of the time, sore throats are caused by viral infections or colds, which causes the sinus and nasal passages to drain into the throat and irritate it.
When trying to alleviate this ailment, the powerful anti-bacterial and immunity-boosting properties of lemon water can be of great help. Lemon can effectively kill the bacteria or viruses in the throat, as well as lubricating it and reducing the mucus, thereby soothing throat tissue from pain and inflammation.
8. Eliminates bad breath
A rather cost-efficient way to make your breath smell good most of the time is by frequently drinking lemon water. The acidic contents present in lemon prevent the growth of bacteria, cleanse the mouth and stimulate the production of saliva, which will flush out any remaining bacteria in the mouth. Lemon will also remove the white coating which forms on the tongue during sleep and consists of food debris, bacteria and dead cells and is also responsible for causing bad breath.
9. Cleanses the urinary tract
As an acidic citrus fruit, lemon juice can alkalize the urinary and digestive tracts. Beginning the day with a glass of warm water enriched with freshly squeezed lemon juice will cleanse the urinary tract and change its pH value, preventing the proliferation of opportunistic bacteria which thrive in acid and sugary environment and reduce the chances of developing calcium oxalate stones. Therefore, doing this regularly will help you prevent reoccurring urinary tract infections and decrease kidney stones incidence.
10. Protects overall health
Almost all organs and body systems can benefit from the consumption of lemon water on an empty stomach. Besides stabilizing the blood pressure, the high levels of potassium aid brain and nerve function and have the ability to diminish the negative effects of stress and help battle depression.
The ascorbic acid content eliminates inflammation all throughout the body, promote wound healing and support bone health. On top of that, lemons also provide decent amounts of of vitamin P, which is actually a variety of bioflavonoids which are powerful antioxidants with the ability to minimize cancer risk, slow tumor growth and improve capillary permeability, among other things.
As you can see, the health benefits of lemon water are pretty much endless. And all you need to do in order to reap them is cut a lemon in halves, squeeze its juice in a glass of lukewarm water and perhaps add a bit of honey to enrich its taste and consume it at least half an hour before your breakfast.
Enjoy the new day!
Great information.
Thank you.
Great to know. Thank you for posting =)