Who doesn’t love lemons with their vibrant yellow exterior and the scent of freshly grated lemon rind that uplifts the mood in an instant?
It may not come as a surprise to many of us that lemons are high in vitamin C which helps to fight infection as well as helping the body to absorb more iron, but lemons are made up of so much more. Lemons also contain potassium, magnesium, fibre, iron, calcium, copper, and some B vitamins. Not bad for these juicy delights!
So what can we do to get some lemons into our diet each day?
Start the day with the juice of half a lemon in a glass of warm water, half an hour before eating breakfast. But please, please, (yes, I will say it again) please use the juice from a real lemon – not the stuff sold as ‘lemon juice’ in those little yellow plastic bottles in our supermarkets!
Having this powerful drink first thing in the morning kick-starts and cleanses our liver. Our liver is then better able to process nutrients as well as filtering toxins that our body has accumulated. Toxins include alcohol, food additives, pollutants, insecticides and pesticides.
Lemon juice also stimulates digestive juice production in the stomach, so for those who never feel like eating breakfast in the morning, give lemon juice in warm water a try. This may then help you to cope with eating a healthy breakfast before heading out the door.
Rinse your mouth with water as soon as you finish drinking it as the lemon juice, being an acid, can erode the tooth enamel. I don’t brush my teeth until at least one hour after drinking this, as the immediate brushing can erode the already softened enamel.
Unless you’re lucky enough to have your own lemon tree, most of us know someone who has one and is happy to get rid of their abundant supply of lemons, whether it be a relative, friend, or work colleague. When you have plenty of lemons on hand, one tip that I use is to squeeze the juice out of all the lemons, pour the lemon juice in ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, remove the lemon juice cubes from the ice cube trays, pop them in a plastic zip-lock bag and store in the freezer until ready to use.
Lemon juice in warm water has so many health benefits and is so quick and easy to prepare. Try it each morning and over the coming weeks, you’ll be sure to notice a difference.
Interested in using lemons in a recipe? Then see my Lemon Curd recipe here.
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