• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Traffic Light Cook
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Wellness
    • Meal Planning
  • Subscribe
    • Email
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Wellness
      • Meal Planning
    • Subscribe
    • Email
  • ×

    Home » 15 Minutes or less

    Morning Lemon Water--Benefits & Myths (and recipe)

    March 15, 2019 by Garima@TLC Leave a Comment This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    The world of the wide web is replete with articles on the benefits of drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning. Is it a healthy practice? Read on to find the answers.

    If the proof were to be found in celebrity lifestyle, a few actors/models--Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce, and Gisele Bündchen to name a few-- confess starting their day with warm lemon water in the morning. My own introduction to the morning lemon water started more than a decade ago, out of curiosity after reading an article in some magazine. After following the practice religiously for two weeks, I noticed a significant increase in energy throughout the day. Ever since, I have traded my morning cup of tea with a tall, warm glass of lemon water.

    A spotlight on lemon

    Lemon is a hardy citrus, known to be originated in India and China. The fruit made its way to the West with Christofer Columbus, when he carried the seed to the West Indies on his second voyage in 1493. In the U.S., Florida was the first state to grow lemons when the fruit made its way from Haiti [1]. The use of lemons to remedy certain health conditions and general wellness is documented in 5000-years-old Ayurvedic texts where the fruit is said to have digestive and laxative properties and stimulate salivation and digestive juices. In a scientific study, the consumption of citric acid--found in most citrus fruits including lemons--was linked to anti-inflammatory effect on brain in rats.

    Benefits of drinking lemon water first thing in the morning

    • Rehydrate: During sleep at night, around  7-8 hours, the body gets dehydrated. Drinking water, with or without lemons, first in thing in the morning helps body hydrate and reenergize. Remember that dehydration makes our minds a bit foggy. This is why drinking water first thing in the morning boosts our brain power as well. It is important to keep the water temperature to lukewarm as the body needs to work hard to bring cold water to the body temperature and hence may lose energy instead of gaining. 
    • Rejuvenate skin (aka make it glow): Skin is the biggest organ in our bodies, which needs to hydrate frequently. Drinking a glass of lemon water not only hydrates the skin, it also offers a little boost of vitamin C--an essential vitamin needed to make collagen--the structural backbone of skin.
    • Stimulate digestive system: As stated above, lemons can stimulate the digestive system, starting the body on a right note in the morning. As we age, our digestive system slows down. Therefore, over age 40, drinking lemon water can help fire up the digestive tract.

    Myths around drinking lemon water

    • It detoxifies the body: Drinking plenty of water helps eliminate waste from our bodies (aka pee and poop). However, there are no studies that have proven that lemon water eliminates waste at the cellular level.
    • It prevents cancer by alkalizing the body: Nope! If you have read that drinking lemon water creates alkaline environment, which prevents the growth of cancer cells, then that claim remains scientifically unproven.
    • Lemon is a natural diuretic: No. Any foods with potassium tend to make you pee more. That would mean most fruits and vegetables, including lemons. However, lemons don't have any special diuretic properties. Just the act of drinking more water will make you pee more.

    How to make the morning lemon water?

    1. Take around 12-17 ounce of filtered water. If you are not used to drinking water in the morning, start by 8 ounce of water first.
    2. Warm the water. Most of the time I use a pan, but if in a hurry I just microwave for 25-30 seconds. The water should be warm to touch not hot and definitely not boiling. Adding lemon to boiling water can diminish its vitamin C. Add about half a lemon to 12-17 ounce of water. If you are starting out with 8 ounce, add quarter of a lemon.
    3. Wait for about 20-30 minutes before eating or drinking anything else.

    Protect your teeth enamel, use a straw to drink lemon water

    Lemons tend to be acidic. If you drink lemon water every morning, it may wear away the teeth enamel. By the way, drinking acidic soda or fruit juice, i.e. orange juice, has the same effect on your teeth. Here are a couple of tricks to keep your teeth happy.

    1. Use a straw: I use a steel straw to drink lemon water, most of the time. You can use a plastic straw as well, but I have been trying to minimize plastic in my house. Moreover, most plastic straws have BPA--a chemical found in plastic that can disrupt hormones. I have included the link to the steel straws I have been using. These come with a nifty cleaning brush.


    2. Don't brush your teeth right after drinking lemon water: Brushing right after eating a citrus fruit or drinking citrus juice (or soda) can harm teeth enamel. Wait for at least 20-30 minutes to your teeth after drinking or eating acidic foods.

    Morning Lemon Water  Benefits Myths

    Morning Lemon Water

    Author: Traffic Light Cook
    Morning lemon water: Get energized for the rest of the day. 
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Course Beverage
    Servings 1
    Calories 15 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 12 ounce water (filtered)
    • 1/2 lemon* (fresh, preferably organic)

    Instructions
     

    • Warm the water and squeeze the lemon. Drink immediately with a straw. 

    Notes

    *Please don't use pre-bottled lemon juice. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 12ounceCalories: 15kcalCarbohydrates: 5gSodium: 18mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin C: 28.9mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 0.4mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Resources and Recommendations

    1. Book: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, & Herbs by Chartwell Books
    2. Picture source--www.pexel.com

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Recent Posts

    • Niçoise Salad (vegan)
    • Easy Gazpacho: Antioxidants in a soup bowl
    • Best Ever Guacamole
    • Indian Red Lentil & Spinach Dal (Stovetop)
    • Indian Tamarind (imli) Chutney

    Recent Comments

    1. Garima@TLC on Beet Energy Juice
    2. Garima@TLC on West African Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup (with nut-free version)
    3. Kristy on West African Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup (with nut-free version)
    4. Traffic Light Cook on Cream of Broccoli Soup
    5. Traffic Light Cook on West African Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup (with nut-free version)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer

    Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    SUBSCRIBE

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Traffic Light Cook(Garima Lal, LLC). All rights reserved.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant
    and best experience on our website. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. please read our Privacy Policy
    Do not sell my personal information.
    Cookie SettingsAccept
    Read More
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT