Real Life Experiment: A Month of Drinking Lemon Water

Cute lemon image courtesy of cuddle_for_peace

Aim: To test whether adding lemon juice to water produces any notable changes in health, appearance or general well being as all the hype suggests it may.

Hypothesis: Drinking lemon juice in my water in the mornings will make me feel approximately ten percent more awesome. Fingers are in the crossed position.

Requirements:

•  Lemons!
• Water!
• Cup or other liquid receptacle
•  Knife
• Plate (if you’re getting fancy)

Method

I like to keep things simple*, so here is the routine I’ve stuck to for the past month:

1. Wake up! It’s morning!

2. Pour a large glass of water. I go for the tap; you might be fancy and head for something filtered. General advice is to keep it room temperature at best, warmish is even better.

3. Pick your lemon. I like to go for the one that looks like it’s ready for its next stage of life. After all, this is not only a big moment for you but also for the lemon; a lemon only gets one chance in life to be made into a delicious beverage or pie, so choose wisely and gratefully.

4. Gently roll lucky lemon around for a minute or two on your bench/table/between palms to help squash out the juices, then cut in two. Squeeze half the lemon’s juice into the water.

5. Drink.

6. Repeat with the second half of the lemon and a fresh glass of water.

7. Feel awesome!

*Okay, so this could be put simpler, but then where would be the fun?

Observations:

Physical: My skin is notably clearer and appears more evenly toned, crazy food allergy rash that I have is calmed and stomach flattens somewhat…(un-bloating?). I cease craving unhealthy foods, especially those high in sugar and grease. I actually even lose a little weight.

Mental: Taking time out before breakfast to sit, drink and usually do some news reading is nicely meditative and I find I am much more organised throughout the remainder of the day. Because I feel like I begin the day taking a step in a healthy direction, I also feel compelled to make ongoing healthy choices throughout the day.

Discussion:

There are many purported advantages to taking lemon juice in one’s water and so I will aim to address a few in seeing whether this practice actually works in the way we’re being told it does.

Firstly there is the big ‘D’. Did I feel like drinking lemon juice in my water every morning helped me to detox? Well, because I’ve never been on any kind of detoxification plan, I don’t know exactly what ‘detoxing’ should feel like. What I’ve noticed, however, is how good my skin looks and how much less irritated (as I said, crazy food allergies ahoy here) my body seems in general. These certainly look like signs of detoxing to me. Also (beware, some details are not for the faint hearted) I noticed on mornings when I have forgone my juice habit for the day or two previously that I wake up quite sinus-ey and congested. Mucus build up is one of the signs that detoxing is needed, and so I’d say that this gives an indication that something good is happening with all the lemon drinking.

Next there is the not as big but getting bigger every day ‘A’. Alkalising my system is actually much more interesting to me and higher on my agenda than the idea of detoxing. There are many reasons why having an alkalised system is important and more and more it’s becoming a frequent topic of chatter in health circles. Not only does alkalisation help with weight loss, fatigue and general well-being, but, and here’s the big one, cancer can’t survive in an alkaline environment. With that knowledge I’m happy to throw all the alkalising stuff at my system that I can get, aren’t you? Funnily enough, it just so happens that lemon juice is alkalising itself, even though most would think it acidic. Now, you can get your PH levels tested to see just how alkaline your body is, but I haven’t. At the moment I’m happy enough to know that I’m working at making a difference for now and one day in the future I might get a bit more technical about it.

Vitamin C, of course, is also one of the reasons why adding lemon juice to water is touted as a fine habit. While I try to eat a fair share of raw vegetables in order to get my needed nutrients, I am quite aware that I probably don’t always get there. Vitamin C has always been an especial concern for me as I’m not a huge fan of eating fruit (please beware of all the shock and horror going around right now) and so I’m again glad to think that I’m doing something to combat this.

Results:

Overall review? I think it’s safe to say that adding lemon juice to my water has made me at least ten percent more awesome than before, if not a little more. Of course, some of the benefits I think I’ve encountered can also be linked to drinking the two glasses of water in the morning or the yoga or meditation I’ve also been trying out this month, but I do believe the lemons have been a help. Most convincing is how I feel on the days when I don’t drink the lemons; sluggish and sleepy, compared to the days when I do; alert, calm, clear.

Conclusion:

It’s a habit I’ll be keeping: Yay to the Lemon!