Drink
Morning detox drink
The simplest recipe in the whole apothecary. The juice of half a lemon in a glass of lukewarm water, drunk on an empty stomach.
Let me be honest about what it does and does not do: it does not detoxify anything. The liver and kidneys handle that themselves, and they need no help from a lemon. The word detox is marketing.
But that does not make it pointless. You get fluid after eight hours of sleep, in which you lost half a litre simply by breathing. You get vitamin C. And you get a moment where you stand in a kitchen and do something for yourself before the day starts demanding.
The last is probably the most important.
Ingredients
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 250 ml lukewarm water
Equipment
- Glass
- Lemon squeezer
- A straw, if you want to spare your teeth
Method
- 1
The juice of ½ lemon in a glass of lukewarm water on an empty stomach in the morning.
Dosage
One glass in the morning on an empty stomach.
Lukewarm rather than cold. Not because it is healthier, but because it is nicer to drink just after getting up.
Drink through a straw and rinse your mouth afterwards.
Shelf life
Make it fresh each morning. Squeezed lemon juice loses vitamin C within hours.
Safety
Citric acid wears at tooth enamel, and that is the only real risk in this drink. Drink through a straw, rinse your mouth with plain water afterwards, and wait at least half an hour before brushing. Brushing straight after grinds away the softened enamel.
If you have reflux, acid indigestion or ulcers, lemon on an empty stomach can make it worse. Drink it with food instead, or leave it be.
If you have sores or ulcers in your mouth, it will sting.
And a note on the word detox: the body does not need to be cleansed by a lemon. If you have symptoms you believe come from accumulated toxins, that is a conversation with your doctor, not a morning drink.
How the herbs work
Lemon contains vitamin C and citric acid. Vitamin C is necessary for the immune system and for building collagen, and citric acid can to some degree inhibit the formation of certain kidney stones.
What actually happens in the morning, though, is fluid. You lose around half a litre of water over a night''s sleep through breathing and skin, and replacing it before the coffee is a sensible start.
And then there is the habit. A small, fixed action in the morning, done for your own sake, has a value that appears in no nutrition table. It is not medicine. It is not nothing either.
The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.