Health Benefits of Lemon and Water

Hi everyone, Joy McCarthy here, a holistic nutritionist, so I've done many videos where I talk about ways to improve your digestion, reduce bloating, get a flat belly, and I always talk about the benefits of lemon and water. So I thought it would be a great idea to do one video solely dedicated to the benefits of this wonderful fruit. So here are eight health benefits of drinking freshly squeezed lemon and water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The first health habit for lemon and water is that it improves digestion and this is because lemons help to stimulate your digestive fire because they increase hydrochloric acid and hydrochloric acid helps to activate enzymes for example pepsin which is a protein digesting enzyme so really does help you better digest your food. The other thing is that hydrochloric acid helps to destroy bacteria and viruses and parasites that can come into your gut from the food that you're eating. The second health benefit of lemon and water is that it decreases constipation for the exact reasons that I just mentioned. A lot of people have a really slow-moving gut due to lack of HCL, lack of enzymes, causes things to get backed up and causes them to be constipated so lemon and water one of the simplest things that it can do is help you have better and more regular bowel movements. The next health benefit of lemon and water is that increases bile. Now I know this sounds totally gross but bile along with fiber is a carrier of toxins so when you drink lemon and water it helps you have better bowel movements and it helps you eliminate waste products more effectively. My next health benefit of lemon and water is that it reduces bloating and everybody loves that because it really works so you know you don't necessarily just have to have it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach but if ever you feel that you're bloated mid-afternoon lemon and water fantastic add in there some freshly grated ginger which is so great for reducing inflammation in the gut and it is truly an anti bloat drink. Next up is detoxification. Everybody loves to talk about how you can better detox your body and one of the simplest ways is to drink lemon and water. Lemon is a product from floor cleaning agents to furniture polish but lemon has a the same effect on our body because it helps to stimulate our livers detoxifying enzymes. Our liver has over 500 functions many of them are to neutralize and help our body better eliminate waste products and toxins so lemons are super detoxifying. The next health benefit of lemons are that they increase your body's alkalinity. Now a lot of people find this very confusing because yes the pH of lemons are acidic but what you want to remember is the effect that it has on your body in your digestive system when you consume this amazing fruit. So an acidic body is basically a magnet for disease and research has shown that cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment so you want to take in more alkaline foods so not just things like lemon and water but also leafy green vegetables because they are fantastically alkaline for the body. One of my favorite uses for lemon and water that I tell all my clients is that it is a natural cure for heartburn. I know it sounds totally counterintuitive and you might be surprised to know that the large majority of people who have heartburn are actually under producing acid and so their food and the sugars are fermenting and this causes gaseous byproducts that push up and cause things like heartburn and cause bloating. So because lemon helps to strengthen your gut fire it helps you have better digestion and food moves through at a more efficient manner. So it can be such a wonderful cure for people who do have heartburn and I've seen so many people have great success who suffer from heartburn using something like lemon and water on a daily basis. And the final reason I love lemon and water is that it makes your skin glow and you may find that after just a week your skin is brighter, you may find that if you have blemishes or acne it starts to improve and that's because lemon and water helps to improve your digestion and your liver health and your digestive system and liver health is outwardly reflected on your skin. This is why it really does make your skin glow. So now I'm going to quickly go through some frequently asked questions I get about lemon and water. So I'm going to try and answer all of them right here but of course if you have more questions please feel free to comment below. So how much lemon is enough? So as you can see in this mason jar here you want the you want the water to be cloudy that's ideal. So I've used about a quarter of a lemon. Some people like to use more they like half of a lemon but maybe just start out with a quarter and increase from there and see how you like it. My next question is can I use pre-squeezed lemon in those you know those little plastic bottles in the produce section? Well first of all that's not even real food. Lemons are acidic so they're gonna pull things like plastic molecules into the liquid so please avoid the plastic squeezy bottles of lemon just buy the real food. So my next comment that I often get is what if I feel unwell when I drink it? So my suggestion is don't drink it. Some people do have citrus allergies so in that case if you are sensitive to it say you get a tingly feeling on your tongue or really makes you feel unwell then you could use something like raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and water that's a fantastic option as well that has many of the same benefits. Another popular comment I get is my dentist told me it would erode the enamel on my teeth. So what I would say to you is there are far there are so many other foods and liquids that erode your teeth like coffee and pop horrible for your teeth. However that being said yes a lemons are lemons are acidic don't be sucking on a lemon you're probably not going to do that anyhow but you know what you can do if you are worried use a straw or simply squish your mouth around with plain water after or you can brush your teeth. And the final question that people always ask me if I haven't talked about it already is what temperature should the water be your lemon and water? So I always recommend you want your water to be body temperature. It's going to be the easiest for your body to digest and assimilate so body temperature means room temperature so not freezing cold and not boiling hot just a comfortable drinkable temperature. So I hope you enjoyed learning about the health benefits of this wonderful fruit. I'm going to try my lemon and water. Make sure you subscribe below and if you have any questions for me please do comment below. Have a joyous day!