How beneficial is the slice of lemon in the water that we drink?
I saw a meme yesterday that implied there is ZERO health benefit to adding lemon to your water -- though some experts say it has detoxification benefits. It certainly influences the flavor, which might have people hydrating and consuming more water during the day, which is healthy. So which is it? Pointless or beneficial?
Answers ( 1 )
Hi Karen,
There are some good benefits to drinking lemon water. I drink a cup of warm water with lemon any honey every morning.
Here are some noted benefits:
-Promotes Hydration (as you noted above): helps those who don't like the taste of water on its own, enhancing the taste which may help you drink more.
-Good Source of Vitamin C: the juice of one lemon provides 18.6mg of Vitamin C. The recommended daily amount is 65-90mg. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects cells from being damaged by free radicals and improves the quality of your skin (less wrinkles, more hydration, less sun damage).
-Promotes Weight Loss: polyphenol antioxidants reduces weight gain, improves insulin resistance, and manages blood glucose levels as well.
-Aids Digestion: prevents constipation, gets digestive system moving, helps to prevent the buildup of toxins.
-Freshens Breath: gets rid of bad breath by stimulating saliva and preventing dry mouth.
-Prevents kidney stones: citric acid (the citrate component) makes urine less acidic and breaks up small stones.
-Prevents Iron Deficiency (Anemia): lemons improve absorption of iron from plant foods (your gut already easily absorbs iron from meat products).
-Some studies have shown a reduction in risk factors for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and cholesterol levels.
Overall, you can't lose much drinking lemon water, so that's a plus!
My personal experience drinking lemon water with honey consistently every morning is that it acts as a my daily morning laxative to get my digestive system going and has helped me with weight loss (however, I also am consistent in my diet and exercise, lemon water is a small part of that regimen).