What are the benefits of drinking lemon water? Lemon water is all the rage these days. Many restaurants serve it routinely, and some people start their day with lemon water instead of coffee or tea. There’s no doubt benefits of lime and ginger water are great for adding citrus flavor to food and drinks, but are there any benefits to adding lemon juice to your water?
Much of the evidence supporting lemon water’s health benefits is anecdotal. While lemons contain nutrients, like vitamin C and antioxidants, the nutritional value of a glass of lemon water depends on how much lemon juice it contains. Here’s how your body may benefit. Making sure you’re drinking enough water every day is crucial for overall health — but not everyone likes the taste of plain water. According to the Institute of Medicine, general guidelines say women should get at least 91 ounces of water per day and men should get at least 125 ounces. This includes water from food and drinks.
Citrus fruits like lemons contain vitamin C, a primary antioxidant that helps protect cells from damaging free radicals. On top of that, vitamin C also plays a role in helping your body synthesize collagen, absorb iron, and produce hormones. While lemons don’t top the list of citrus fruits high in vitamin C, they’re still a good source. Drinking lemon water may help you increase your water intake, which is often recommended as a weight-loss strategy. However, there’s limited evidence to justify this. When participants drank water before eating a test meal, they did not feel significantly less satiated, despite eating less food. The study’s authors concluded that pre-meal water consumption may be an effective weight-loss strategy, although the mechanism of action is unknown.
If you regularly reach for sweetened, fruit-flavored beverages to quench your thirst, switching to lemon water could help you cut back on sugar without sacrificing flavor. The citric acid in lemons may help prevent kidney stones. Citrate, a component of citric acid, paradoxically makes urine less acidic and may even break up small stones. Lemon juice contains citric acid, however large amounts may be needed to increase your urine’s pH. The National Kidney Foundation suggests mixing 4 oz of lemon juice concentrate with water as a complementary dietary remedy alongside other medication for kidney stone prevention. Drinking lemon water before meals may help promote and improve digestion. The study’s authors found that pre-meal intake of lemon water appeared to promote digestion and peristalsis, or the wave-like contractions that help move food through the digestive tract.
To make lemon water, squeeze half a lemon into 8 ounces of warm or cold water. You can also add slices of other fresh produce, such as limes, oranges, or cucumber slices. Always wash them well before slicing. Having lemon ice cubes on hand is a great way to add lemon to your water fast. Simply squeeze fresh lemon juice into ice cube trays and freeze. Drop a few cubes into a glass of cold or warm water as needed.