{"id":57798,"date":"2017-04-18T07:15:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T11:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=57798"},"modified":"2017-04-19T16:54:11","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T20:54:11","slug":"drinking-lemon-water-benefits-weight-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/drinking-lemon-water-benefits-weight-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Why\u2019s Everyone Drinking Lemon Water? Experts Weigh In"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Drinking
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ve heard that drinking lemon water on the daily has seemingly limitless health benefits, right? The simple beverage is said to aid in weight loss<\/a>, liver function and healthy digestion. It reduces stress and inflammation<\/a>, and boosts energy levels, mood and immunity. It gives you fresh breath and glowing skin<\/a>. And, allegedly, it may even lower blood pressure and risk of stroke.<\/p>\n

No wonder Gwyneth Paltrow, Miranda Kerr and practically every wellness guru on Instagram swear by starting the day with a mug of warm water and a squeeze of lemon. Lemon water is practically miraculous!<\/p>\n

Or is it?<\/p>\n

Because the healing powers of lemon water, frankly, sound too good be true, we asked two health and nutrition experts to weigh in. Here\u2019s what they had to say about the benefits of the sour stuff\u00a0and whether it truly is a cure for, well, almost everything.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>The Pros and Cons of 6 Popular Weight Loss Diets<\/a><\/p>\n

Lemon Water: Just the Facts<\/h2>\n

Lemon water absolutely has health benefits, according to Dr. Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, MS, a physician who specializes in general preventive medicine at Cleveland Clinic\u2019s Wellness Institute. \u201cAcidic substances such as lemon juice and vinegar may help reduce acid reflux and heartburn by maintaining sphincter tone between the esophagus and stomach and improving the health of the stomach lining,\u201d Dr. Sukol says.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Gillean Barkyoumb, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and the creator of Millennial Nutrition<\/a>, says some research<\/a> shows lemons \u2014 or, more specifically, the citrate found in lemons \u2014 may delay the development of kidney stones.<\/p>\n

And, of course, lemons provide vitamin C<\/a>. This vitamin is\u00a0important for immune health, the formation of collagen, wound healing and bone tissue maintenance. \u201cBut you need to drink about a \u00be-cup of pure lemon juice per day to get the recommended daily intake for vitamin C (75-90 mg for women and men, respectively),\u201d Barkyoumb says. A typical medium-sized lemon yields three tablespoons of juice, so that\u2019s nearly two to three lemons a day!<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Will Apple Cider Vinegar Really Help You Lose Weight?<\/a><\/p>\n

Sour Note: Disproving the Weight Loss Myths<\/h3>\n

In addition to the researched-backed health benefits, many proponents of lemon water maintain that lemons contain a fiber (called pectin) that aids in weight loss, as well as flavonoids, which act as powerful antioxidants. But Dr. Sukol and Barkyoumb aren\u2019t convinced. \u201cThe amount of pectin and flavonoids you get from lemon water is very minimal and would not be enough to support either of these claims,\u201d Barkyoumb says.<\/p>\n

Similarly, lemon water is purported to help alkalinize your body and flush away toxins. But it turns out these claims are baseless, too. As Barkyoumb explains, the pH of your blood and cells cannot be altered by what you eat. And though water alone supports the body\u2019s natural detoxification processes, there\u2019s little evidence that adding lemon improves this process further.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the health benefits associated with lemon water \u2014 weight loss, mood, digestive health, exercise performance \u2014 can be achieved by staying hydrated with plain old water,\u201d Barkyoumb says. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to believe that adding lemon to water boosts these health perks.”<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Hot or Hype? 5 Crazy-Expensive New Health Food Trends<\/a><\/p>\n

Bottom Line: Should You Drink Lemon Water?<\/h3>\n

When it comes to hydration<\/a>, it\u00a0can\u2019t hurt to give it a squeeze. \u201cAny opportunity to increase fluid intake \u2014 absent of sugar \u2014 is generally useful,\u201d says Dr. Sukol. Even if lemon water isn\u2019t the magic potion its proponents tout it to be, it\u2019s a tasty way to stay hydrated and get a boost of vitamin C.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not all: Both Dr. Sukol and Barkyoumb agree that drinking two liters of water a day, with or without lemon, can help promote weight loss simply by increasing feelings of fullness (and thus reducing calorie intake). Also, because water is so low in calories and\u00a0sugar<\/a>, it can assist in weight loss when swapped for\u00a0high-calorie beverages<\/a> like soda or juice. (Just be sure that if you drink excessive amounts of lemon water or any acidic beverage, use a straw and rinse your mouth after to prevent degrading tooth enamel.)<\/p>\n

So, if you think a hint of citrus\u00a0makes regular old water taste better \u2014 and ultimately helps you drink more \u2014 then you\u2019ve found yourself a new main squeeze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebs and wellness gurus swear by starting their day on a sour note. Here\u2019s what exerts say about lemon water and those miraculous weight loss claims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":57803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,11,18],"tags":[31,41,44,161,71,341,352,215],"class_list":["post-57798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-health-hacks","category-weight-loss","tag-beverages","tag-diets","tag-drinks","tag-hydration","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-loss","tag-vitamins"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}