Doctors are championing a simple and cost-effective beverage that could significantly boost your health.
Experts suggest that a glass of water with lemon slices can have numerous benefits for your body, including lowering high cholesterol, improving fatty liver conditions, and potentially aiding weight loss.
You can easily find fresh lemons in any supermarket. One of the most affordable options is at Aldi, where an unwaxed lemon costs just 15p. This means you can whip up a glass of lemon water for mere pennies.
Dr Eric Berg DC, who specialises in healthy ketosis and intermittent fasting, has detailed the benefits of daily lemon water consumption on his YouTube channel, which boasts a whopping 12 million subscribers. He regularly shares informative videos online.
According to Dr Berg, not only is lemon water refreshing and delicious, but it also “has some incredible health benefits.” He further adds: “Especially when paired with healthy keto and intermittent fasting.”
At a glance, the expert suggests that daily consumption of lemon water could:
- reduce liver fat
- reduce high cholesterol
- help with weight loss
- fight signs of aging
- fight cancer
- reduce kidney stones
- supply phytonutrients
In explaining how lemon water could potentially reduce a fatty liver, Dr Berg attributes this to the phytonutrients in lemon water that can greatly improve a condition known as hepatic steatosis. He elaborates: “Now, what does hepatic steatosis mean?
“It means the infiltration of fat into the liver, so hepatic steatosis means a fatty liver. Lemon water has the ability to dissolve the fat in the liver. There’s other things as well, like purify bile salts and choline.”
Choline aids your liver, brain and cells, and influences how your body utilises fats.
He went on to say: “A low-fat diet, such as a ketogenic diet, can also reduce up to 50% of the fat in your liver within 14 days. But if you add a bit of lemon to your water you can actually speed things up.”
When it comes to potentially reducing high cholesterol, Dr Berg suggests: “Let’s say your liver and gallbladder is sluggish, and you’re not producing enough bile and that’s kind of backing up in the system. Lemon water can help increase the flow of bile through the bile ducts and help remove some of the excess cholesterol that’s kind of backing up in the system.”
The health guru also claims that drinking a glass of lemon water a day could ‘indirectly’ aid weight loss. He clarified: “Lemon water does not directly help you lose weight, it can indirectly help you lose weight.
“Certain phytonutrients in lemon water significantly lower blood sugars and reduce insulin resistance. And that is the reason why someone can lose weight. In fact, if you really want to know how to lose weight, what I would do is not try to research ‘how to lose weight’, I would research how to lower insulin.
“Anything that lowers insulin is going to help you lose weight. It’s impossible for a fat cell to shrink without lowering insulin despite your calories.”
Dr Berg also highlighted animal studies suggesting that lemon water could extend lifespan and combat ageing. He cited a study where animals given the drink for five weeks lived three weeks longer.
“Now you might be saying, ‘well that’s not a long time’, but that’s only five weeks,” he noted. “Imagine if you started drinking lemon water regularly for the rest of your life, it could add up.”
The researchers also discovered that lemon water boosted the longevity of beneficial gut bacteria, which Dr Berg found “pretty interesting.”
Lemon water may also possess anti-cancer properties. “I’m not claiming that lemon water will cure your cancer. But it’s something you can incorporate to help inhibit cancer,” the expert advised.
“Studies have revealed that certain phytonutrients in lemon water were able to kill malignant cancer of the tongue, lung, and colon.”
For his final point, Dr Berg explained how lemon juice can aid in preventing kidney stones. He stated: “Citrate in lemon juice binds with this substance called oxalate, now the most common type of kidney stone are calcium oxalate stones, and so if you have citrate in your body it can bind with the oxalates to prevent the stone from forming.”
Lemons are packed with phytonutrients, natural chemicals that shield plants from germs, fungi, and pests. According to Dr Berg, these phytonutrients can aid in the treatment of various conditions in humans, such as haemorrhoids, leg ulcers, circulation issues, spider veins, and varicose veins.
“In fact one of the phytonutrients, naringin, is being tested as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also very antibacterial it has antiviral properties, as well as anti-fungal properties.”
Dr Berg also says lemons are a good source of vitamin C. Vitamin C plays a crucial role as both a vitamin and an antioxidant, supporting immune function and promoting healthy skin.
