When life hands you lemons, detox that bitterness away with … no, not lemonade — that’s got way too much sugar — lemon juice and water. It’s so simple, but it’s the easiest way to support your body’s natural detoxification process. Learn about the research-backed health benefits of lemon juice and the other best and easiest thing you can do to become a highly-efficient fat-burning machine….
I get the meaning of the maxim, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
Lemons are associated with being sour, bitter, and pessimistic in the common expression.
Kind of like bitter beer face – But I love lemons, bitterness and all.
And every morning, first thing after I wake up, I squeeze a little bit of lemon juice in a cup of warm or hot water. It doesn’t just make the water taste better. I do it because it’s the easiest way to kick-start cleansing and detoxing.
Don’t just take my work for it. Research proves that lemon juice assists in the body’s detoxification process….
Health Benefits of Lemon Juice
This study in Nutrition Research suggests that lemon juice can help you lose both weight and body fat.
Most studies involving natural, plant-based ingredients use animals as test subjects. But in this study, the participants were 84 women. The ladies were given a drink containing lemon juice and organic syrups (maple and palm) for 7 days.
I’m not a fan of ultra low-protein, no-food diets lasting longer than one or two days. (Which is why in my Cleanse programs, you get high-protein vegan-friendly shakes.)
Nonetheless, the lemon-sipping ladies in the study also experienced lower blood sugar levels. Another benefit of drinking lemon juice, according to the study, is lower levels of leptin.
Leptin is a hunger hormone. In people who are overweight or have obesity, leptin levels are very high. As a consequence, the brain doesn’t receive the signal to stop eating.
The cherry on top from the study was that the women’s immune systems were stronger and they had lower levels of inflammation.
Feeling Backed Up? Drink Lemon Juice!
There are lots of studies proving that lemon juice helps the body shed fat. But all I can say is that if you start drinking water with some lemon juice every morning, you’ll notice some cool things happen.
If you drink a cup of water with lemon juice and wait about 20-30 minutes and then have my Organic Green Drink (7 of the planet’s best leafy green veggies for detoxing), you’re going to experience:
- Healthier looking skin
- Better digestion and elimination (less constipation)
- More energy
- Less hunger
- Sharper concentration and focus
But make sure you don’t eat right away after having the lemon juice and water. In fact, for optimal fat-burning and detoxing, drink 16 oz. of Green Drink after the lemon water, and don’t eat your first meal of the day until 11 a.m. or later. This is one of the easiest tips for successful cleansing.
Got High Blood Sugar? Drink Lemon Juice
Green leafy veggies, like the 7 different kinds in my Green Drink, are the absolute best thing for supporting the body’s detoxification process.
But in my opinion, the next best thing is drinking water with lemon juice every day. It’s so easy to do.
And for the almost 90 million people with prediabetes and additional 30 million people with type 2 diabetes, drinking lemon juice is an easy way to manage blood sugar levels.
In fact, the American Diabetes Association includes lemons on its list of beneficial foods for diabetes. The vitamin C in lemons can help improve your fasting blood sugar levels as well as the amount of fats circulating in your blood (triglycerides).
Studies on vitamin C also link the antioxidant to lower insulin resistance. When your body is more resistant to insulin, your body needs to produce more of it to lower your blood sugar levels. That’s not good. Over time, your body may not be able to produce insulin and type 2 diabetes develops.
