34 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

If you read our previous article about the “Japanese Water Cure,” you are already familiar with some of the many advantages of drinking water first thing in the morning, but the benefits don’t stop there. Just by adding a squeeze of fresh, organic lemon juice to your water glass, you can realize 34 additional ways to aid your body, brain, and nervous system.

You may be asking yourself – why lemon? Well, for the same amount of Vitamin C and traces of potassium, as well as the fact that one glass of lemon water has about 1 gram of (natural) sugar – it beats out oranges, and many other citrus fruits that you might add to your water. A single orange wedge, for example, would double the calories and sugar, without providing any additional nutrition.

Vitamin C has also been studied extensively, and researchers are still finding new benefits. Researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan says,

“Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason. Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health. The more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health, and immunity to living longer.”

Here are just some of the benefits that are well documented:

1. Lemon juice and water are great brain food: Our brains love Vitamin C. It is a vital antioxidant molecule that participates in many enzyme reactions, including collagen production and the regulation of HIF-1a. It’s called an ascorbate transporter that helps the brain accumulate the vitamin into the cells as a concentrated ingredient which protects cells from degradation.
2. It’s a great caffeine replacement: Caffeine in small doses can be beneficial, but if you are chugging down double espressos all day to keep your energy up, you’re going about it all wrong. One of the things caffeine does is put your adrenal glands into a state of over-work, just like cigarettes or other stimulants. There are many additional risks associated with ingesting too much caffeine, but with lemon water – none.
3. Lemon juice and water detoxifies the entire digestive system: This combination is a powerful way to move debris through the intestinal tract. In fact, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that people who drink less water are more likely to develop colorectal cancer, than people who drink it more frequently.
4. Reduces phlegm: Got a nasty cold and killer phlegm. Drink some lemon water. It starts to dissolve it on contact.
5. Lemon juice and water balances the body’s pH levels: In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is thought that drinking lemon water regularly can help with allergies, fatigue, diabetes type II, multiple sclerosis, obesity, gout, gastritis and more. That’s because these diseases develop in a body that it too acidic. It may seem odd, since lemons contain citric acid, but when the juice of a lemon is combined with water, and it is fully metabolized in the body, with the minerals being absorbed by the bloodstream. The effect is balancing the pH at an alkaline level of around 7.
6. Aids recovery from strenuous exercise: when we workout strenuously we lose fluids in the form of sweat. Lemon water is much better to drink post-workout to replace those liquids and it hasn’t got all the sugar and artificial flavors of Gator-Aid, Power-Aid, and other common sports drinks. To also replace the electrolytes that are also lost during your workout, simply sprinkle in a tiny bit of Himalayan salt in your lemon-water.
7. Hydrates the lymph system: If our lymph system is sluggish, it can’t remove toxins from our body. This means we’ll get sick more frequently because the lymph system is one of the foremost proponents of our immune system. Lemon water keeps the lymph flowing (and it’s even better if you throw in some exercise.)
8. Helps feed the heart: Cleaner blood, provided by the detoxifying benefits of lemon water means that the heart gets more nutrients that it needs to stay healthy.
9. Reduces food cravings: By preventing dips in your blood sugar levels, you can stop yourself from reaching for that bag of chips, or a huge slice of cake. How so? Citric acid in lemon juice is a powerful palate cleaner, and also invigorates the digestive system. This also means we will be less likely to crave things that are bad for us because we aren’t “feeding” the unhealthy bacteria that form in a clogged intestinal tract.
10. Slows the aging process: Vitamin C changes the way your skin ages. It slows the breakdown of collagen, and repairs damage for UV exposure.
11. When taken warm, can help reduce the incidence of colds and other viruses: 200 milligrams or more of Vitamin C can help kick a cold out of your system. The warmth of a glass of lemon water can also warm the body. In Chinese Medicine, a cold means you may have too much damp coolness in the body and it needs to be warmed.
12. Boosts the immune system: Vitamin C protects against immune deficiencies, and staying hydrated has a huge positive effect on your immune system. It oxygenates your blood, helps to move lymph, and treats many chronic ailments including depression and arthritis.
13. Improves eyesight: Vitamin C has a protective role for the eyes. It can even reduceVi the incidence of cataract.
14. Can boost prenatal and postnatal health in women:  Vitamin C consumption can help prevent early rupturing of the membranes, which can lead to premature births. Postnatal, Vitamin C can help increase energy levels for tired moms, and boost antioxidant levels of breast milk for baby.
15. Balances glucose levels: Adding lemon to water is a great way to keep your blood sugar levels from dipping or spiking throughout the day.
16. Helps move the bowels; removes constipation: Drinking hot lemon water can greatly increase the movement of the bowels, decreasing bloating, gas, blockage, and constipation.
17. Treats Scurvy, and other diseases caused by Vitamin C deficiency: Once Vitamin C is digested, it is dispersed throughout the body and accumulates in varying concentrations in different cells and organs. The highest levels of vitamin C accumulation in the body are in the eye lens, adrenal gland, pituitary gland, leukocytes, and brain, while saliva and plasma have very little vitamin C content. The body self-regulates where the Vitamin C is needed. A prolonged deficiency of Vitamin C causes scurvy (marked by profound weakness) but it doesn’t take much to prevent his disease, and many others.
18. Kills intestinal parasites and worms: You’d be surprised what Vitamin C can flush out of your system – parasites, intestinal worms, flukes, and more!
19. Cleanses the blood: One of the easiest ways to clean your blood and reduce toxins is by drinking plenty of water and Vitamin C.
20. Can possibly lengthen our life span: Youth seekers need look no further than a little lemon-water for a well substantiated, anti-aging compound – Vitamin C. it has a compelling anti-aging affect in humans.
21. Boosts our metabolism: Want to burn more calories and more fat with less effort? Lemon water boosts the metabolism, especially if you drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
22. Encourages release of fecal fat which holds toxins: American (or those who eat the standard American diet) typically have pound after pound of fecal matter stored in their colons that shouldn’t be hanging out in there. Lemon water helps to flush it out, and with that matter goes the toxins that are held within the fecal fat that is clogging you up.
23. Lowers stress: The link between water and stress reduction is well documented. Our organs, including our brains, need water to function properly. If you’re dehydrated, your body isn’t running well — and that can lead to more stress. Vitamin C also helps the body to clear out cortisol – a stress hormone that makes us feel frazzled.
24. Reduces Uric Acid: Uric acid is a product of metabolic breakdown of purine nucleotides. And, high serum uric acid can lead to a condition called gout. The chemical is associated with other medical conditions including kidney stones and diabetes. By drinking water with lemon, we can flush uric acid form our system.
25. Reduces Inflammation: (and thereby the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, cancer, bowel disease, liver disease, joint pain, acne, allergies, and more)
26. Helps lighten the liver’s load: Want to dramatically improve your liver’s ability to detox your body? Drink more lemon water!
27. Improves our skin tone and brightness: Flushing out toxins leads to greater skin health. Thank you lemon-water.
28. Treats halitosis, and plaque in the mouth: Lemon water helps to remove bad bacteria from our mouths that cause bad breath and plaque build-up.
29. Prevents Urinary Tract Infections: UTIs caused by bad bacteria are flushed out of the system when we sip lemon water throughout the day. It also makes us more alkaline so that the bacteria can’t flourish.
30. Keeps us hydrated: Harvard says we need around 50 ounces of water a day to stay hydrated. Water benefits our brains, our muscles, and carries nutrients to our cells, while flushing bacteria from our bladders, and preventing constipation, fatigue and depression.
31. Lowers high blood pressure: This one drink lowers high blood pressure.
32. Reduces the incidence of stroke: Fatal heart disease doesn’t have a chance when we drink lemon water daily, and reduce our body’s acidity while improving our blood viscosity.
33. Treats and prevents kidney stones: Lemon juice contains both, citric acid sand ascorbic acid, which seems to reduce the chances of developing calcium oxalate stones. In clinical studies, citric acid from lemon juice has been shown to reduce urine acidity, thereby reducing kidney stone incidence.
34. Reduces free radicals: Free radicals are no good for our health. They are reduced by antioxidants like those in Vitamin C. When antioxidant levels in the body are lower than those of free radicals, due to factors like poor nutrition or lots of incoming toxins, the immune system is overloaded and aging occurs more rapidly. When we drink lemon water, we reduce that free radical load.

How to Make Lemon Water

To make lemon water you simply squeeze one part lemon juice to one part water, and drink it up. You can also add mint or other herbs if you like, and simply infuse the water by placing it in the refrigerator to sip on throughout the day.