When restaurant wait staff members ask if we’d like “something to drink”, our standard reply is “hot water with a wedge of lemon, please.” It started several years ago as an easy alternative to coffee, ice water, a cocktail, or a soft drink. We dine out often, and servers in our places are accustomed to our preference. Hot water with fresh lemon tastes good and it’s refreshing. But there’s more.
Lemon helps boost the acids in the stomach and aid in digestion. It can stimulate the production of digestive fluids that help it break down food more effectively. It can encourage the liver to produce bile, which assists in breaking down fats.
Lemon can improve skin tone and quality. Even the small amounts of vitamins in lemons can help increase the production of collagen which is a protein that builds skin cells.
Regular consumption of fresh lemon can be a natural diuretic. It helps dissolve gallstones.
One of the most annoying aspects of colds and flu is the buildup that phlegm that can cause coughs, sneezes, and stuffy noses. There are plenty of over-the-counter drugs that can get rid of phlegm, but most of them carry significant side effects. You can save money and avoid the issues with traditional medication by drinking lemon water hot or cold (in warmer months we ask for water without ice – and a slice of lemon). The citric acid in lemons can help cut through the phlegm. In addition, vitamin C and A in citrus juice can boost your immunity to keep colds from happening in the first place. If you already have a cold, the vitamins in lemon juice can help you feel better fast. Contrary to popular belief, massive doses of vitamins are not necessary.
Mild lemon drinks can dampen nausea and, often, relieve constipation. The citric acid in the lemon juice can help move bowels for optimal functioning.
There are frequent discussions about the benefits of an alkalized body. Lemon juice can help achieve this situation, too. The minerals in fresh lemon recombine to change pH because the juice is digested.
Vitamin C is known to help improve immunity.
Lemons contain potassium, which helps regulate the beating of the heart and nourishes the muscle that is essential for proper cardiac functioning
Foods rich in bioflavonoids were found to have beneficial effects on glucose metabolism. Bioflavonoids can increase insulin sensitivity which can give a boost to the management of glucose in the body. Lemons contain bioflavonoids.
Drinking lemon water can prevent or eliminate bad breath because it attacks the bacteria that make our breath less than sweet. Because lemon can boost liver functioning, it may enable the liver to purify the blood and remove toxins that could be detected in the breath.
Drugs have their place, but the evidence is overwhelming, much of it is anecdotal, that good eating habits can serve us well by helping us stay healthy and live a vital life. Fresh lemon in water is easy, readily available, and most restaurants have the “ingredients” always on hand. As we say often, “Too Many People Take Too Many Drugs.” Lemon in water can help everyone use fewer drugs.
Larry Frieders is a pharmacist in Aurora who had a book published, The Undruggist: Book One, A Tale of Modern Apothecary and Wellness. He can be reached at thecompounder.com/ask-larry or www.facebook.com/thecompounder.