IF you love the tangy taste of fresh lemon in water, that may be reason enough to squeeze in a few drops every time you pour a glass.
But what many people don't know is how many health benefits they'll get from this simple, tasty addition. Just make sure you're using the juice of a fresh lemon, not the stuff from concentrate.
If you sometimes have trouble after meals, you might be interested to learn that lemon juice mixed with warm water is helpful with a variety of digestion problems, including nausea, heartburn, bloating, belching and parasites. Furthermore, regularly drinking lemon juice can take care of constipation problems by aiding in regular bowel movements.
Lemon juice can even speed up the digestion process as it helps the liver produce more bile. It also helps to regulate and liquefy bile flow, which adds to the overall health of the liver.
The importance of your liver function is often overlooked, but it plays an integral role in detoxifying the blood of alcohol and drugs, in maintaining energy between meals, and maintaining weight.
The liver controls the metabolism of fat, which means it breaks down fat as needed by your body. This is why keeping your liver healthy is important for maintaining weight and helping with weight loss.
The potassium found in lemon juice is an excellent source of energy. If you're feeling a bit lethargic you can give your brain and nerve cells a boost with a few drops in your water. If you worry about your blood pressure, you might also find some comfort in the potassium content.
It helps to lower blood pressure, and thus is helpful for people with hypertension. The potassium also keeps dizziness and nausea from occurring, and reduces mental stress and depression. But potassium isn't the only helpful vitamin, calcium, magnesium and vitamin C are all abundant in this citrus fruit.
The calcium helps you build and maintain healthy bones, the magnesium helps to keep your blood healthy, and vitamin C increases the immunity power in your body.
It can seem like there's no limit to the advantages of this simple drink. People with breathing difficulties, like asthma or other respiratory diseases, can benefit from the regular intake of warm water and lemon juice, as it works to clear chest congestion by loosening the accumulated mucous in the respiratory tract. If you want to fight wrinkles and blackheads, you'll be interested in the anti-aging benefits of lemon. The juice helps to detoxify your body, which can often be seen through healthy, glowing skin.
Fresh lemon also works to fight bacteria, so if you have a sore throat or tonsillitis, drinking some will help you beat your infection.
Finally, lemon juice can even benefit an unborn child as it will help to build their bones when an expectant mother drinks it regularly.
Regularly drinking lemon water is one of the easiest - and tastiest - ways to look after your health. For taste, one lemon per litre is perfect.
To reap the numerous benefits of lemon, make sure to squeeze the juice of the lemon into your water before enjoying.
As always, make sure to drink at least two litres of water per day to keep your system clean and to keep your body hydrated.
Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604420-7800 or visit his website, www.karpfitness.com.
