Managing your health and focusing on your nutrition isn’t always easy. There are so many rules that seem to change depending on who you are talking to. Some advise cutting out meat, while others promote eating more meat through low-carb and Paleo diets. This happens with just about everything, from carbs and sugar, to how much protein you need and whether a vegetarian or vegan diet is a good idea.
However, one thing remains true for every new diet or lifestyle change: you need to drink more water. You are not going to find someone who argues with this fact. While it is good to have as much water as possible (within reason) throughout the day, adding fruits to your water, like lemons, is another thing to keep in mind.
Lemon water is good for you, tastes delicious, and can help you lose weight. If you are not trying to lose weight, it is still beneficial in many ways you might not have considered. Here is more information about lemon water.
Health Benefits of Lemon Water
Before you learn about the different ways to drink lemon water and provide some helpful tips for drinking it daily, let’s go over some of the main health benefits. The reason lemon water should be consumed regularly isn’t just because it is tasty – though it is! But lemon water is very good for you, providing many different health benefits. From helping you lose weight to improving your digestion, you will notice the positive impact it has on your body quickly. Here are some different health benefits to remember when deciding if lemon water is right for you.
Lemon Water Has Tons of Nutrition
The first thing you should know about lemon water is that it contains nutrients, including many vitamins and minerals. One of the best vitamins is vitamin CVitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin with a multitude of essential functions in the body. Renowned for its powerful antioxidant properties, Vitamin C helps protect, including over 100% of your daily amount in just one cup of lemon juice. Simply, a 1/4 of a cup of lemon water equates to 31.48% of your daily Vitamin C needs. However, vitamin C isn’t the only nutrient you should be aware of.
Lemon water is extremely low in fat (1.32 kcal) and calories (13 kcal). It also provides a host of other nutrients, such as potassiumPotassium is an essential mineral that plays a critical role in maintaining proper fluid balance, nerve signals, and muscle contractions within the body. As an electrolyte, potassium works in tandem (62.93 mg or 1.80% DRI/DV), copper (10.00 mcg or 1.11% DRI/DV)), and magnesiumMagnesium is a crucial mineral that plays a fundamental role in numerous biochemical processes essential for overall health. It is integral to muscle and nerve function, supporting proper muscle contractions (3.66 mcg or 0.92% DRI/DV), along with some vitamin B6Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, plays a crucial role in numerous biochemical reactions that are essential for maintaining optimal health. It is involved in the metabolism of amino acids, (0.03 mg or 1.76 %DRI/DV), and folateVitamin B9, also known as folate or folic acid, is crucial for several vital functions in the body. One of its primary roles is to support DNA synthesis and cell (12.20 mcg or 3.05% DRI/DV). These are all nutrients from the lemons themselves, so the more concentrated your lemon water is, the more vitamins and minerals you will consume each day.
It is Great For Digestion
If you have difficulties with your digestive system, lemon water is the perfect addition. Even drinking more regular water, in general, can help get things moving and decrease abdominal cramps and other digestion issues. However, when you add some lemons to your water, you are giving it an extra little boost. It helps so much because it’s digestive juices inside your stomach, similar to the structure of lemon juice. They work together well, so while you might be concerned that the acidity of lemons would make you feel ill, it usually has the opposite effect.
You Can Boost Your Immune System
Lemon water also happens to be ideal for giving your immune system a nice boost. Lemon water has a good amount of lemon juice, which, as you know, is an excellent source of vitamin C. This is the vitamin that helps keep you healthy and will help to prevent cold, flu, and other immune system illnesses. When people around you are ill, and you are afraid of catching their cold, start drinking more lemon water to boost your vitamin C, and hopefully, it will help to boost it enough to where you can fight the illness.
Lemon Water Gives You Fresh Breath
Believe it or not, just drinking a glass of warm lemon water in the morning can give your mouth a refreshing feeling, and others will notice it too. Lemons are great for getting rid of bad breath and can even help to relieve your toothaches. However, be careful and don’t brush your teeth directly before or after drinking it. Citric acid has the potential to wear away at your tooth enamel.
Your Skin Will Thank You
The vitamin C in lemon water isn’t just good for your immune system; it can also give you healthy, clear, glowing skin. Vitamin C can also boost the natural collagen production in your skin, making you look more youthful.
It Makes it Easier to Lose Weight.
While just drinking lemon water on its own won’t necessarily help you lose weight without other changes, it can boost your weight loss efforts when combined with other diet and exercise changes. Consider adding lemon water to your morning routine, and suddenly you are drinking more water because it tastes great. It also helps to raise your metabolic rate, which helps you burn fat much faster.
How to Buy Lemons
Conventionally grown lemons are coated with wax and other pesticides, whereas organically grown lemons have fewer pesticide residues on their skin. The most common lemon types in most grocery stores are Eureka or Lisbon and are considered sour lemons, but the Meyer Lemon (Citrus meyeri) has become more popular.
Lisbon has smoother, thinner skin and no neck at the stem, while Eureka has a shorter neck and thicker skin, and the Meyer Lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange and thus has a thinner rind, darker hue, and sweeter taste. It’s best to buy yellow lemons with no green tinges as these are not fully ripe. You also want to hold and slightly squeeze the lemon. Select those that feel heavy in size with smooth, thin skin as these provide more lemon juice. Avoid lemons that are soft or wrinkled, hard or dull in color.
How to Store Lemons
Many factors affect the shelf-life of lemons. Typically, fresh lemons can last up to 10 days when refrigerated; however, lemons are fresher if stored at room temperature. If you won’t use your lemons soon after purchase, it’s best to loosely store them in the refrigerator. Keeping them in plastic bags or nearby will escalate them, causing them to rot quicker. In the case of Meyer Lemon, they only keep for 5 days, whether at room temperature or refrigerated. <#dphealer>
CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES:
- Quick & Simple Lemon Water Recipe – prepare and drink immediately
- Infused Lemon Water Recipe – prepare and allow it to extract nutrients overnight
[…] For more vitamin C, which you know is amazing for raising your immunity naturally, try some citrus fruit like lemons. Lemons are great in the winter because it provides a little bit of tarty sweetness to different dishes. You can squeeze a little lemon on your fish or chicken and have it with superfoods like sweet potatoes or butternut squash, or make a delicious pomegranate and berry smoothie with a little lemon added. But also be check out Benefits of Lemon Water! […]