The Benefits of Drinking Warm Lemon Water in the Morning

I recently did a post about replacing your plain water with cucumber lemon water {found here} and have had a few friends and readers try it and they have reported that they love it.  You should continue to drink your cucumber lemon water daily, but there’s one more thing you can add to your diet in the morning that will greatly benefit your health.

Drink a cup of warm lemon water first thing in the morning. Why?

First of all, lemons are power-packed with nutrients, including vitamins C and B-complex, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber (yep, fiber). Lemons actually contain more potassium than apples or grapes!

Here are just a few benefits you will gain by adopting this healthy habit:

• It boosts your immune system.  Vitamin C is the first thing to plummet when you are stressed, and we could all use a vitamin C boost during the holiday season.

• It’s an excellent source of potassium (discussed above)

• It aids digestion.  Lemon juice encourages healthy digestion by loosening toxins in your digestive tract.  It also helps relieve heartburn, burping and bloating.

• It flushes out toxins in your body by stimulating your liver.

• It keeps your skin blemish free (and wrinkle free) by detoxifying your blood.

• It reduces inflammation.  This is hands down the single most important benefit of lemon water. Disease thrives on inflammation in the body.

The holidays are approaching and let’s face it -no matter how hard we try, we are bound to be eating things we don’t normally indulge in on a day-to-day basis. That, coupled with the daily stress that comes with this time of year, makes it the perfect time for beginning this healthy routine.  Start now and when the New Year rolls around you will have one less resolution to keep.

How much lemon water should I drink?  If you weigh less than 150 pounds, use the juice of half a lemon.  If over 150 pounds, use the juice from a whole lemon. You can always add more water to adjust the taste, but I have found that you get used to it very quickly. Drink it and wait 15 minutes before your first cup of coffee and breakfast.   I add a half mug of warm water to the juice of 1/2 lemon. Yes, it is tart, but I actually look forward to it each day.

The benefits of warm lemon water are endless, and it’s one of the most substantial yet simple changes you can make for your health.

Is lemon water part of your daily routine?