Lemon water is a beverage made from water mixed with fresh lemon juice. It can be enjoyed either hot or cold. It benefits, including improving digestion, enhancing focus and increasing energy levels.
It’s also said to help promote weight loss and is a popular part of many diets. Though lemon water is not calorie-free, it is low enough in calories that it could produce a similar effect and help decrease calorie intake.
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Lemon Water Is Low in Calories
Lemon water is generally a very low-calorie beverage. Assuming you squeeze the juice from half a lemon into water, each glass of lemon water will contain just six calories. For this reason, if you swap out higher-calorie beverages like orange juice and soda for lemon water, then this can be an excellent way to cut calories and help with weight loss.
They found that drinking calorie-containing beverages like sugar-sweetened soda, milk and juice with a meal did not make people compensate by eating less. Instead, the total calories consumed increased, due to the calories from the beverage.
Helps in keeping- Hydrated
From carrying nutrients to cells to transporting waste out of the body, drinking enough water to stay hydrated is a critical component of health. Maintaining adequate hydration is essential in everything from regulating body temperature to improving physical performance.
Some evidence also suggests that staying hydrated can aid in weight loss.Since the majority of lemon water is made up of water, it can help with maintaining adequate hydration.
Drinking Lemon Water May Boost Metabolism
Good hydration enhances the function of mitochondria, a type of organelle found in cells that helps generate energy for the body. This leads to an increase in metabolism, which may lead to subsequent weight loss.
Drinking water has also been shown to increase metabolism by inducing thermogenesis, a metabolic process in which calories are burned to produce heat.
Lemon Water Can Make You Feel More Full
Drinking water is often recommended as a fundamental part of any weight loss regimen, as it can promote satiety and fullness without adding calories. Another study found that drinking water with a meal decreased hunger and increased satiety during the meal.
Because lemon water is low in calories and can promote fullness in the same way as regular water, it can be an effective way to help reduce calorie intake.
Lemon Water Is Not Necessarily Better Than Regular Water
Lemon water comes with a lot of potential benefits, from promoting hydration to increasing satiety. However, it’s important to note that these benefits all come from its main ingredient — water.
Lemon water does contain some additional nutrients from the lemon juice, such as vitamin C and antioxidants, but these are unlikely to have any effect on your weight. Additionally, the alkalizing effect of lemon juice has no clear effects on weight.
The Bottom Line
Lemon water can promote fullness, support hydration, boost metabolism and increase weight loss. However, lemon water is no better than regular water when it comes to losing fat.
That being said, it is tasty, easy to make and can be used as a low-calorie replacement for higher-calorie beverages. In this way, it could potentially help promote weight loss and improve health.
