Can Lemon Water Lower Fasting Sugar Levels?

by Usha Sridhar
(Tamil Nadu, India)

I find my fasting sugar to be around 140 and pp to be around 150. I don't want to medicate myself.

Will a regular intake of warm lemon water first thing in the morning help to lower fasting sugar?

Should I also take it last thing at night to help my pre-diabetic condition? Thanks, Usha Sridhar


Nancy's response: I encourage all of my nutrition clients (including diabetics) to drink lemon water once or twice a day, preferably first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night.

The numerous health benefits of drinking lemon water may help with a pre-diabetic condition, especially the alkalizing effect, the liver and blood cleansing, and the gastrointestinal benefits.

I can't say whether drinking lemon water will lower your fasting blood sugar levels. I am not aware of any clinical studies to that effect.

However, drinking lemon water will aid in the overall health of your body but will not override any dietary or lifestyle factors that may be contributing to your pre-diabetic condition.

In my experience, eating too much starchy carbohydrates (breads, pastas, cereals, snack foods, and other processed grains) and sugars are the main food culprits that contribute to diabetes.

If you start drinking lemon water to help cleanse the body and significantly reduce your intake of starches and sugars, while eating moderate amounts of lean protein, healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocadoes, olives, olive oil, wild salmon, etc.) and LOTS of fresh vegetables, you can reverse the pre-diabetic condition.

Daily exercise (15 min. walk), proper hydration, deep breathing, and stress management will also help.

In summary, as long as you don't have any ulcers or citrus allergies, drinking lemon water twice a day certainly could not hurt and you will most likely notice the benefits to your health and well being.