The healing power of lemons
For many years the healing powers and detoxing affects of lemons have been known and preached in the natural health world. In fact the age old saying “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade,” has more of a life lesson than you might have thought.
When lemons are mixed with hot water this juice becomes a natural medicine with ability to combat multiple health issues.
To start with, lemon juice helps the digestive process, reduces nausea, heartburn, and constipation.
It is also a powerful antibacterial preventing infection in the digestion, intestine and urinary tracts; and it has been proved by experiments that the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases are destroyed in lemon-juice.
Furthermore, lemon juice is known to stimulate bile production in the liver, making the day’s digestion much more efficient. And its highly acidic content even helps to dissolve gallstones (a by-product of bile build-up).
The Lemon Detox Diet
With its undeniable health benefits lemon juice has been incorporated into many current detox and weight loss diets.
The Lemon Detox Diet, also known to many as the Master cleanse diet, is the most popular of such diets, thanks to the rapid weight loss experienced by renowned singer Beyonce Knowles while using this 10-day plan. (She lost 20 pounds in just 2 weeks).
This detox diet consists solely of fresh water, pure lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and Natural Maple Syrup. Experts say that the acid in the lemons assists the cleansing process, and the cayenne pepper helps speed up your metabolism, promoting circulation and a greater release of toxins from our bodies.
The syrup contained in the lemon detox drink is rich in sugar. This serves as the source of energy and helps in curbing hunger. The drink has shown to be rich in zinc and calcium which are important elements for the cleansing action.
I know what you are thinking… NO FOOD! While a fasting regime such as this one is undoubtedly difficult to embark on, advocates of the diet say this break from solid foods is just what the body needs to be able to properly cleanse itself.
Simply concentrate on the task at hand and remember that fasting is important to get rid of all that waste build up. Even Beyonce was reported as having to really test her willpower. “I lived on water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days. It was tough; everyone was eating and I was dying,” she said. She did, however, say that in the end it was all worth it.
Lemonade Diet Sample
A typical day on this 10-day diet includes the following 8 oz drink concoction (served hot or cold), consumed approximately 6 to 8 times per day:
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon. Do not use concentrate or a drink mix, as these contain preservatives.
- 2 tablespoons of Organic or natural maple syrup. Again, no maple flavored syrups, for reasons above.
- 1/10th of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, more or less to taste.
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