Did you know that a seemingly ordinary substance, lemon juice can help to detox your liver? The liver is one of the most essential organs in the body. Liver failure is often fatal. It is well known that drinking excessive alcohol will damage the liver. But do you know why this is so? The liver is the organ that cleanses the body of toxins. Having a well functioning liver means that potentially harmful substances can pass out of your body. So when we think about detoxifying the body, we have to think about the liver, since this organ is what actually does the detoxifying.
Lemons are not often thought of as a fruit, or even a food. Most people would not sit down and eat a lemon they way they might an orange or apple –too bitter. We tend to think of lemons as a flavoring, maybe something to add as a garnish on top of a salad, or mixed alcoholic beverage. Or perhaps lemonade, with enough sugar to offset the bitterness. Lemons, however, are one of the most beneficial fruits, or foods of any sort, that nature has provided for us.
One interesting fact about lemons is that, although they taste very acidic, they actually have an alkalizing effect on the body. When we speak of food being acidic or alkaline, the important thing is how they effect the body after digestion. Lemons, along with some other apparently acidic substances, such as apple cider vinegar, has an alkalizing effect, which is usually beneficial in terms of detoxing the body. I say “usually,” because most people’s diets are overly acidic and it helps to balance this out with alkaline foods. In the rare cases of people whose diets are overly alkaline, consuming additional lemons would not be beneficial. But, unless you have an extremely spartan health food diet, such as eating strictly raw foods, vegan or fruitarian, your diet is most likely overly acidic.
There are several ways to consume lemon, given that you probably don’t want to eat whole lemons. You can drink lemon teas. There are prepared herbal teas with lemon, but it’s better to supplement this by squeezing fresh lemon into it or adding lemon juice. You can similarly add lemon to water. Drinking more water is another fundamental principle of detoxing, so if you drink, say eight glasses of water per day and squeeze a slice of lemon into each one, you’ll be multiplying the detoxifying effect. You can also squeeze fresh lemon, or lemon juice into homemade salad dressings.
Lemon juice, or fresh lemon, can indeed help detox the liver and the whole body. Don’t underestimate the power of this under-appreciated fruit.