Lemon Water vs Pure Water

by ZiggY
(Lebanon)

QUESTION:

Great website and interesting information.

Ok, so there's a lot of talk about the benefits of drinking water first thing in the morning, but there's also a lot of talk about drinking lemon water (also lots of benefits).

Question is: Which one?!? If I drink lemon water instead of pure water, does that encompass more benefits?

Or does the lemon content reduce some of the benefits of pure water drinking?

In other words, should I go for lemon water instead of pure water every morning? Regards,

ANSWER:

Great question and I don’t believe there is a single right answer for everyone. It kind of depends on your current health condition and what you are trying to do. It also depends on the type of water you are drinking.

So, here are some points to consider:

1. Drink enough water. The most important thing is to drink enough clean water daily to stay fully hydrated, which means drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water. You can read more here on how much water to drink.

2. Adding lemon juice. There really is no other beverage that takes the place of clean water in the body, so I do believe that most of our daily water quota should be plain water. However, to answer one part of your question, I believe that adding the juice of ¼ to ½ fresh-squeezed lemon to your water once or twice a day is not going to reduce the benefits of the water, as long as you are still getting close to half your body weight in ounces of plain water daily.

3. The type of water is important. I am not a big fan of drinking purified water for long-term daily use. Just to be clear, “purified water” is the term used for water that has been purified usually with a reverse osmosis system or a distiller. These purification systems also remove the minerals from the water along with certain water contaminants. I believe the healthiest water to drink is filtered of numerous contaminants but still contains natural occurring minerals in water. You can read more of my comments about filtered water vs purified water here.

4. Alkalizing benefits of lemon water. If someone is drinking mainly reverse osmosis or distilled water on a daily basis, then I believe drinking lemon water every day would be beneficial, mainly because the lemon water is alkalizing in the body and the de-mineralized water is believed to be acidifying in the body.

5. Drinking mineral-rich water. If someone is drinking mineral-rich water, such as spring water or filtered tap or well water, then drinking lemon water is not as important for the alkalizing effect.

6. Specific reasons for lemon water. Also, if someone has any type of gastrointestinal problem, is prone to colds and flus, or has an overly acidic body, with symptoms of pain and inflammation, then I believe drinking lemon water every morning is going to be more beneficial than just plain water, as long as he/she does not have a citrus allergy.

In summary, I will tell you when and how much lemon water I am drinking. Perhaps this will be helpful to you.

Sometimes I drink lemon water every morning and other times I don’t. I drink it if I know I am exposed to people with colds and flus because of lemon water’s antibacterial and alkalizing properties.

I also drink lemon water when I feel my digestive/eliminative system is not working up to par.

I drink lemon water if I feel like my body needs additional cleansing. Lemon water is known to tone the liver and purify the blood.

I would also drink warm lemon water with honey and a touch of cayenne in the morning if I had a scratchy throat, nasal congestion, or any other potential cold-like or allergy symptoms.

When I do add lemon juice in water, I usually squeeze ¼ to ½ lemon and add it to about 12 to 16 ounces of water and drink it right away to get the full enzymatic properties of the lemon.

I agree that it is very important to drink clean water or lemon water first thing in the morning. After a night of sleep, our bodies have fasted from water for 8 to 12 hours or so. Thus, replenishing water at that time is important for every bodily function.

We can only absorb about 12 to 16 ounces at a time, so that is how much I drink first thing when I wake up. Sometimes I drink just water and other times I drink lemon water.

Most importantly, I kind of rely on my body’s intuition to tell me when to add lemon juice to my water or not. I think it is important to not do the same thing every single day. I always change up and add variety to my diet and supplements.

P.S. I also drink ionized alkaline water on a regular basis so I do not feel the need for drinking as much lemon water for the alkalizing benefits. Whereas other people might benefit from drinking more lemon water daily for that purpose if they are not drinking alkaline or mineral-rich clean water.


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