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If you follow any fitness influencers , you’ve probably heard that drinking water with lemon on an empty stomach can help you lose weight and bring many other health and beauty benefits. But does this fruit, so common in our daily lives, really have all this power?
As is usually the case with any miracle tip, it’s a good idea to be cautious to understand what the real effects of lemon water are for the body – and which of them are nothing more than a myth.
What lemon water advocates say
Many people claim that drinking water with lemon daily before breakfast brings incredible results that can be seen on the scale, with an average weight loss of 2 to 8 kg per month.
According to the proponents of this tip, this effect would be possible because the combination would have the ability to detoxify the body, helping to eliminate impurities from cells and blood.
Furthermore, lemon could be incorporated into the diet in order to alkalize the body, which would supposedly be beneficial to health. However, this is not exactly how things happen.
There is no miracle recipe for losing weight
Whenever you come across a magic tip for losing weight, be suspicious: it is very likely that it will have no effect or, even worse, that it is even dangerous for the body.
With lemon water, stating that this mixture aids in weight loss is an overstatement. Actually, lemon contains pectin, which is a form of fiber that delays satiety and thus aids in weight loss. This will only occur if other actions are taken, including embracing a healthy diet and a workout routine.
Regarding the other benefits commonly attributed to lemon, we must clarify that our body does not need to go through any type of “detox” induced by an external substance. In fact, the elimination of toxins is already done by the liver and kidneys – and they are much more powerful than any extra trick.
Furthermore, it makes no sense to say that lemon can alkalize the body (i.e., raise the pH), since no acid can reduce the acidity level of gastric juice. Not to mention that, if lemon water were able to modify the degree of alkalinity or acidity of the body, its consumption could lead to death, since human survival is conditioned by a very narrow pH range.
As with the “detox” effect, the physiological mechanisms for maintaining acid-base balance are much more powerful than any trick, and only a very serious external influence would be able to modify it – something like poisoning, and not just water with lemon.
Real benefits of lemon
Drinking lemon water on an empty stomach will not make it easier to lose weight by itself, but that does not mean that this fruit does not offer anything good for the body. In fact, lemon does have many advantages, regardless of whether it is consumed on an empty stomach or not. Here are the main ones:
– Improves iron absorption and combats anemia
Rich in vitamin C, a vitamin the body needs to absorb the iron we eat—especially from plant-based foods—lemon are like other citrus fruits. Lemons thus assist avoid iron deficiency anemia by regular ingestion.
– Strengthening the immune system
Once more, this health advantage of lemon comes from its vitamin C concentration, which helps our defense system to function as it should and increases bodily resistance against viral diseases as flu and colds.
– Combats aging
The secret once more is vitamin C, which has antioxidant qualities and helps to lessen the impacts of free radicals and stop wrinkles and blemish development. Lemon enables us to have young and healthy skin for longer.
Moreover, this vitamin helps collagen to develop, the protein that maintains the skin and stops drooping.
– Improved digestion
The lemon acidity activates the secretion of saliva, the secretion of the liver’s bile, the activity of the stomach enzymes and intestinal peristalsis. Therefore, the intake of the fruit primarily facilitates protein digestion and subsequent waste elimination.
As we can observe, to say that drinking lemon water in the morning can cause you to lose weight is maybe an exaggeration, but there are some definite advantages of this fruit. That is why it is always beneficial to add it to your menu!
