Doing something healthy first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day. For some people, this might involve meditating or exercise. Others journal, count their blessings, or read positive affirmations.
If you’re looking to create a healthier morning routine, you may want to consider drinking lemon water before breakfast. This one simple action provides a variety of benefits. Here are just a few.
1. More Stable Energy and Mood
Some of the most common breakfast foods are starches. Oatmeal, whole-grain toast, cereal, and fruit all fall into this category. Drinking lemon water before consuming these foods helps slow their digestion, reducing their effect on your blood glucose levels. (1) The more stable your blood sugar, the more stable your energy and mood.
2. Improved Digestion
Most people think only of their stomachs when talking about digestion. However, a large majority of the nutrients in foods are broken down and absorbed in the intestines. The epithelial barrier is a layer of cells that helps protect the intestinal walls. What helps protect the epithelial barrier? Lemon pectin. (2) Natural Wellness’s Super Probiotics also supports healthy bacteria in the stomach and intestines, improving digestion as well.
3. Clearer Skin
Lemon helps fight against both inflammation and bacteria. (3) This makes it beneficial for people with skin issues. It also contains vitamin C, a nutrient that is connected to greater skin health. (4) In fact, if you read the label on your skincare products or cosmetics, you just might see lemon in the list of ingredients.
4. Reduced Vitamin C Deficiency
One medium-sized lemon contains approximately 53 milligrams of vitamin C, which is approximately 88% of the amount you should consume daily. (5) Start your day by drinking lemon water before breakfast and you can spend the rest of the day consuming all of the other vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health.
5. Fights Off Colds and Flus
The vitamin C in lemons is also good for boosting your immune system, making it easier to fight off the latest cold or flu bug. (6) And if you already feel under the weather, lemon can help you start to feel better, giving your body the push it needs to get on the mend. Natural Wellness’s Immune System Support also boosts immunity. It includes a combination of vitamins, zinc, and mushrooms to support your body in creating optimal immune function.
6. Assists with Weight Loss
Research shows that adding lemon juice to your diet can help you lose more weight, partly by increasing your insulin sensitivity. (7) So, if you want to shed some of your extra pounds, beginning your morning with lemon water is one way to help you achieve this goal.
7. Reduced Kidney Stone Risk
If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you know how painful it can be. While many of today’s dietary trends can increase your risk of stones—such as eating more calories and fat, as well as eating a lot of flour or corn products—citrus fruits have the opposite effect, decreasing your kidney stone risk. (8)
8. Better Oral Health
One of the most common morning habits is brushing our teeth. This helps remove the bacteria that has built up in our mouth overnight, which can keep cavities at bay. Research indicates that lemon offers the same effect. (9) So, doing both as part of your morning routine may reduce your need for a dental visit between cleanings.
9. Detoxifies Your Body
We’re around toxins every day. They can be found in the foods we eat, the air we breathe, the medications we take, the cleaning products we use, and more. If their levels get too high, poor health can result. Some studies have found that lemon helps with detoxification, which subsequently helps reduce inflammation in the body. (10) Natural Wellness’s Liver Support & Detox assists with detoxification as well.
10. Eases Joint Pain
When you wake up, do you feel pain or discomfort in your hands, knees, or ankles? Joint pain can make it harder to complete everyday activities like brushing your hair, washing dishes, and walking. Yet, one piece of research found that adding lemon to the diet “cured’ joint pain in 69.23% of the study’s participants. (5) This means that two out of three people receiving lemon had complete resolution of their joint-related discomfort.
11. Keeps You Hydrated
Water serves many valuable purposes for our bodies. It protects our tissues and bones, lubricates our joints, enables us to better regulate our body temperature, and assists with the elimination of both solid and liquid wastes. (11) Drinking lemon water before breakfast is a great way to start the day hydrated, giving your body the fluids it needs to take all of these important actions.
How to Start a Morning Lemon Water Habit
One of the easiest ways to make drinking lemon water a part of your morning routine is to do it when you first get up. This keeps you from getting distracted by your other morning activities and reduces the odds that you’ll forget.
To make your lemon water, simply cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a glass. Next, fill the rest of the glass with tap or bottled water. If you don’t mind some pulp in your water, use a fork to help pull out some of the juices.
Start with half of a lemon and see how you feel about the taste. If it is too light or you want more lemon, juice the whole fruit. Your body will thank you for it either way.
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