Trying to cut coffee out of your morning? A cup of hot water with fresh lemon juice is an ideal alternative that many nutritionists drink every day — and it’s not just because of its tangy flavor! Here are compelling reasons to make this quick concoction part of your morning ritual.
1. Cleans the body
Drinking hot lemon water on an empty stomach is a wonderful way to start the day.
Lemon helps balance the pH level in the body, and it helps to remove harmful toxins from the body.
2. Boosts your immune system
Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds. But the question I had was, why? When I looked into it further, I discovered that Vitamin C has been shown to increase white blood cell production.
Those white blood cells are the defender cells that attack bacteria and viruses. Vitamin C may also keep existing immune cells healthier and better produce enough of the kind of antibodies that attach to viruses and bacteria to mark them for destruction.
3. Gives energy
Coffee helps you stay awake for a few hours, but hot lemon water will give you energy for the rest of the day. Lemon water is known to keep the body saturated longer than regular water or other fluids do, and when the body doesn’t need fluids, it releases hormones of good feeling.
Those days when you feel exhausted and tired will be behind you as soon as you start incorporating this drink into your morning routine.
4. Aids digestion
Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile, which is an acid that is required for digestion. That’s important when you consider that a study showed that over 30% of men and women over age 60 had atrophic gastritis, a condition marked by little or no stomach acid.
Drinking warm lemon water is good for you because it can help get your digestive system get moving in the morning without overloading it. Plus, efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation, so you won’t have to worry about the acid in lemons giving you heartburn.
5. Helps with weight loss
When you feel good in the morning, you will probably also choose good and healthy food.
From my experience, I started drinking lemon water because I wanted to control my health. Once I got used to my hot drink, it was a mental reminder to make decisions that would benefit my overall health.
6. Lemon water is a diuretic
Drinking warm lemon water throughout the day will increase your urination rate, which will help you purify. Therefore, toxins are released from your body at a faster rate, which then keeps your urinary tract healthy.
Even better, their citric acid content may help prevent kidney stones by making the urine less acidic and giving your body the citrate it needs to break up or flush out small kidney stones. Lemons actually have the highest concentration of citrate of any citrus fruit. Studies have shown that one of the proven benefits of drinking lemon water in the morning is decreased stone formation.
7. Prevents colds
This ancient remedy works great! Lemons are a wonderful source of vitamin C, so consuming half a lemon once a day will help your body fight viruses before you get sick. Add some honey to the hot drink to maintain a healthy immune system.
I drink this drink every morning for a year, and haven’t been sick even once (even though everyone around me had the flu, colds or sore throats).
8. Freshens breath
Not only does warm lemon water make your breath nicer, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis.
But be careful about brushing your teeth after your warm lemon water in the morning. The citric acid in lemon juice can erode tooth enamel, so you should monitor this. You could always consult with your dentist for advice.
9. Heart-healthy
The potassium in lemons may help control blood pressure, but that’s not all. The vitamin C you’ll get from drinking warm lemon water in the morning may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
