What drink is insanely inexpensive to make, keeps skin glowing, aids in digestion, can help you lose weight and is packed with vitamin C?
Lemon water!
Lemon juice’s atomic structure is similar to the digestive juices found in the stomach. This means that it can trick the liver into producing bile, which helps keep food moving through your body and gastrointestinal tract smoothly. Lemon water also helps relieve indigestion or ease an upset stomach.
The acids found in lemon juice also encourage your body to process the good stuff in foods more slowly. This drawn-out absorption means insulin levels remain steady and you get more nutrients out of the foods you consume. Better nutrient absorption means less bloating. Lemon water benefits the enzyme functions in your body, stimulating the liver and flushing out toxins. Because it’s a mild diuretic, you might find yourself using the bathroom more often, helping the urinary tract get rid of any unwanted elements. All of this helps detox body and skin.
Since your body doesn’t make vitamin C on its own, it’s important to get enough of it from the foods and drinks you ingest. Luckily, lemons are chock-full of the vitamin.
What are the benefits of getting enough vitamin C? It stimulates white blood cell production, vital for your immune system to function properly. As an antioxidant, vitamin C also protects cells from oxidative damage. Plus, getting enough vitamin C helps the immune system keep colds and flu at bay. Drinking lemon water daily ensures your body gets a sizable amount of vitamin C daily.
The antioxidants found in vitamin C do double duty in lemon water. They fight damage caused by free radicals, keeping your skin looking fresh. Getting enough vitamin C from your lemon water also keeps the body producing collagen, essential in smoothing out lines in the face. And, in one recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, regularly consuming vitamin C led to younger-looking skin and less wrinkles.
Skip the morning cup of coffee — lemon water can boost energy levels without the caffeine crash. Our bodies get energy from the atoms and molecules in foods. When negative-charged ions, like those found in lemons, enter your digestive tract, the result is an increase in energy levels au naturel.
Additionally, just the scent of a lemon has been found to reduce stress levels and improve moods. Don’t forget to offer a glass to grumpy co-workers or family members.
Enjoy this week’s $5 “Star Burst’ juiced special at Juiced @ The Wicket, knowing that it contains that nutritional squeeze of lemon juice.
