If you have been on the internet at all in the last few months this trend has made a serious resurgence on lifestyle, health, and even beauty sites. The trend claims everything from improved cognitive function, aids in digestion, to the cure for the common cold (and on some crazy holistic hippie websites the ability to prevent cancer and every disease known to man). Where as I don't know about the latter, some of the former seemed to be legit. All the articles I've read seemed to have the same key aspects though:
Aids in digestion
Helps weight loss
Boosts metabolism
I need to start by making it very clear, I am not a freakin doctor, this is all my opinion and how I felt after adding a cup of warm lemon water to my morning routine for a week. Now that we have that out of the way, lets dive in shall we?
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| I can already feel healthier! |
How I did it:
To prep, I cut up one large lemon and squeezed the juice into a Nalgene bottle, tossed the chunks in and added warm water. I removed the seeds but left the peels on
And shit. It tastes just like you'd imagine. Strong lemon flavor and bitter. I longed for country time powdered lemonade, but made do with this.
I adjusted nothing else to my meal plan, my training/recovery plan or anything else. The only thing I did differently last week, was that I drank a cup of this magic elixir every morning.
How it affected me:
If you are a coffee drinker and can't seem to start your day without that caffeine jolt, you clearly have not tried this. Maybe it was the taste, or the intense sour flavor, but I was awake and alert shortly after the mug was empty. Unforeseen bonus right there.
Digestion
They go into depth about the benefits of the acidity being similar to our own stomach acids, producing more bile and breaking food down more slowly. I didn't get bloated once last week (and with a high protein/fiber diet that tends to happen) and lemons are also packed pectin fiber so (without getting into details) I was kept regular and clean. Thankfully all my meetings are in the afternoon
Weight Loss
I maintain a solid weight of 150-155 lbs. During serious race training I'm taking in excess of 3000 calories and burning even more (my last ride I torched 2,172 cals alone). So I eat. A ton. I weighed myself everyday in the mornings to try and get an accurate reading but never dipped below 150 pounds. Maybe over time it would come down, but weightloss isn't a concern of mine.
Metabolism Booster
Packed with vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants it seems like the perfect fruit for your metabolism and immune system. If only it wasn't so damn sour. Needless to say, during a time of year when it seems like everyone at work is reaching for the cold meds, I spent the last week alert, healthy and energized (even more so than usual)
The conclusion:
It definitely was a way to jolt awake in the wee hours of a chilly morning and kickstarted my day (more so than coffee). It curbed bloating and kept me regular almost down to the minutes every day (that last bit is an extreme exaggeration). Seeing how I lack weight to lose or the desire to do so, the jury is still out on that one. And for the week I did this test (and after) I felt alert and healthy everyday.
It might not be the super cure you are looking for or the holy grail to super athlete status, but hell, it can't hurt to add it to your daily routine. I kept this up and still feel its benefits and I plan on turning this trend into a part of my meal plan.
It was pointed out that since I store my lemon water in a plastic bottle, the acid may break it down and I could be ingesting it...I guess whatever cancer fighting properties it had just got negated
