How you start every day is so important and what you do first thing in the morning matters! The choices you make regarding your daily routine either build up resistance to disease or tear it down. I used to check email first thing, then before you know it, it’s 9AM and half my morning was gone. But now, the first thing I do is drink warm lemon water {well, ok after I tinkle of course, that’s really the very first thing most people do when they wake up, right!}.
Your current ritual may be to check emails, take the dog out, get the kids out the door, but if you can change your morning ritual to include one healthy thing – let it be this: start the day out with a mug of warm water and the juice of half a lemon. It’s so simple and the benefits are just too good to ignore. Here are just some benefits:
1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds and flu. They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.
2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon has citric acid but it does not create acidity in the body once metabolized.
3. Helps with weight loss: Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet lose weight faster. And my experience is that when I start the day off right, it’s easier to make the best choices for myself the rest of the day.
4. Aids digestion: Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation.
5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.
6. Clears skin: The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.
7. One of the best detoxifiers. Lemon water is good at treating infections of the throat, sore throats and tonsils. Lemon water can also help a toothache, swollen and bleeding gums and bad breath.
8. Promote healing: Vitamin C in lemons, promotes wound healing, and is an essential nutrient in the maintenance of healthy bones, connective tissue, and cartilage. Vitamin C also displays anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin C is also an essential nutrient in the maintenance of good health and recovery from stress and injury.
9. Relax anxiety, combat fatigue. Lemon has calming effects.
Adopting just this one practice of drinking a cup of warm water {not hot water} with lemon in the morning for a month can have a major impact on your overall health. So cheers to drinking your lemon water everyday!