LEMON-GINGER BLEND ON WAKING
You’ve probably heard the health claims that drinking Lemon juice in warm water first thing in the morning… balances pH, helps with weight loss and helps digestion. But are these substantiated health claims?
Well… I have looked into the science behind it.
Does it balance the body’s pH?
It does NOT balance pH. Your body naturally keeps you in a pH range of 7.35-7.45 through a number of buffering processes.
Does it help with weight loss?
It does NOT help with weight loss directly but the act of starting your day with this, instead of a coffee and tea, helps set you up with making better ‘healthier’ choices throughout the day. The act of making better choices (food and lifestyle) naturally helps you maintain a healthy weight.
Does it help with digestion?
YES… every glass of WATER (even if it has lemon and ginger in it) is hydrating your body. Water is VITAL for digestion. In fact, 9 litres of water enters the digestive tract every day, to help assist with digestion and most importantly peristalsis - movement of food through the intestines. That doesn’t mean you have to drink 9-ltrs a day… but that’s how much your body utilizes.
However, what is CONCLUSIVE is that the REAL benefits come from…
The LEMON PEEL, not the lemon juice.
Here’s the substantiated science-backed benefits…
Lemon PEEL is packed with Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and bioflavonoids. In fact it is the PEEL that provides the REAL benefits. The peel (its Bioflavonoids) enhance Vitamin C absorption. It also contains Hesperidin which helps capillary function and can help relieve leg cramps. It is also high in Rutin and Quercetin, antioxidants that have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits. Quercetin is a great antihistamine that has been proven to reduce allergies.
Add to the mix GINGER, which has been repeatedly confirmed through scientific studies, to being highly effective for pain relief and reducing inflammation, amongst its other powerful therapeutic and preventive effects such as its… anti-allergic, anti-viral, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiemetic, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, anti-nematode, antioxidant, antiseptic, anxiolytic, carminative and diaphoretic properties. In addition, it exerts beneficial gastrointestinal activity by stimulating the flow of saliva, bile and gastric secretions which increases gastrointestinal motility without affecting gastric emptying. It can assist with relieving indigestion, poor appetite and spasms of the GI tract.
“Ginger exerts potential protective effects on the gastrointestinal membrane and lowers the chances of mucosal injury.”
“It has been reported that dietary ginger altered the permeability and fluidity of the intestinal membrane, resulting in increased absorptive surface of the small intestine with an increase in microvilli length.”
“Ginger also increased the absorption of zinc, iron, β-carotene and calcium in the intestines.”
So… instead of juicing a lemon a day (which is frankly a pain to do every morning) MAKE your LEMON-GINGER BLEND and get ALL the benefits.
You’ll need…
220g of fresh ginger (organic is best)
300g of fresh lemons.
Let’s get started…
Peel ginger and roughly cut into small pieces, add to blender/food processor.
Scrub lemon(s) with a scrubbing brush under running water. Dry with a clean towel then roughly cut into chunks and add to blender/food processor. Be sure to include the seeds too as they have potent antioxidant activity.
Process on high, until it looks like a smoothie.
Pour mix into – 1 teaspoon sized – silicon ice-cube trays and freeze. Once frozen pop into a sealed bag in the freezer.
Keeps in the freezer for 6-mths
Every morning on waking, put one frozen lemon-ginger bomb into a 300ml (10oz) heat proof glass or cup and fill with lukewarm water 37°C (98°F), NOT boiling water, and stir well until the cube dissolves. Top up with cold water, or an ice block, if you wish. Drink on waking and follow with another 300ml (10oz) glass of lukewarm water.
Now you are ready for breakfast and after that you morning coffee or tea. Another benefit of starting your day like this, is that you no longer start the day with a (caffeine) coffee/tea which raises already high morning Cortisol levels and can dehydrate you further!
I hope this helps… And… if you want to know more about how your INNER GARDEN can flourish then check out my programs HERE or if you want to eat your way back to health — one meal at a time — check out my Gut Health Recipe Compendium. Nat xx
REFERENCES
2022. Effect of Ginger on Inflammatory Diseases.
2022. A review of nutritional implications of bioactive compounds of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), their biological activities and nano-formulations.
2020. A Review on Medicinal Uses of Zingiber officinale (Ginger).
2016. Comparison of anti‑inflammatory and analgesic effects of Ginger powder and Ibuprofen in postsurgical pain model.
2013. The Role of GABA in Anxiety Disorders.
2012. Evaluation of chemopreventive and cytotoxic effect of lemon seed extracts on human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells.