By now you have probably heard, read or been told to drink warm lemon water as part of your weight loss plan and for a healthy life in general, but do you really know why? Just 12 oz of hot or warm water with lemon each day can offer you a long list of benefits that will keep you body healthy inside and out.
When you think lemon, the first thing that may come to mind is Vitamin C. Lemons are an excellent and rich source of this vitamin that is essential to the body in so many ways. Firstly, Vitamin C is vital to the function of a strong immune system. This nutrient helps protect from deficiencies that can get you sick, and it can help fight off colds, flues and even recurrent ear infections. Vitamin C also neutralizes free radicals as it travels throughout your body. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons, and in their mission to find another electron they can cause damage to the surrounding molecules in your body. Free radicals can interact with healthy cells of the body, damaging them and their membranes, and can also cause inflammation, or painful swelling, in the body. This is one of the reasons that Vitamin C has been shown to be helpful for reducing the symptoms of some types of arthritis by reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees. Vitamin C helps with maintenance of healthy bones, connective tissue and cartilage. Free radicals can damage blood vessels and can change cholesterol to make it more likely to build up artery walls, which is why Vitamin C can be helpful in preventing the development and progression of diabetic heart disease and atherosclerosis (a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries).
Lemons offer not only a high level of vitamin C, but is also a great source of nutrients like citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Citric acid is an antioxidant that plays a role in fighting free radicals. It also helps prevent the build up of mineral compounds that can cause kidney stones. Potassium helps nourish brain and nerve cells, and also helps control blood pressure.
You will also get digestive benefits from lemons. They stimulate and purify the liver, and aid in the production of digestive juices. They are also great at cleansing the body of toxins and can help reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in your body.
They also offer some external benefits: lemons can keep your skin healthy and clear by preventing the formation of wrinkles and acne.
So what are you waiting for? Next time you are at the grocery store, look for lemons that are heavy for their size. This means they have a thinner skin and more meat to them. They should be fully yellow in color with no green, soft or hard patches. They will stay fresh at room temperature for about a week.
This season when you are looking for something warm to drink, treat your body to a simple, healthy cup of lemon water.
~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11730
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018
