Drinking lemon water is the most common way to consume it, and it's a great choice for many people. Do you like drinking lemon water? What are the benefits and methods of making it? Let's find out together.
The Benefits of Lemon Water
Lemon is an appetite-fruit: Lemon promotes saliva production, relieves summer heat, and stimulates the appetite. Don't be fooled by its sour and slightly bitter taste, which means you can't eat it like other fruits. The peel is rich in aromatic volatile components that can promote saliva production, relieve summer heat, and stimulate the appetite. In summer, when heat and dampness are heavy, many people feel tired and listless, and their appetite often decreases after long hours of work or study. A glass of lemon water, with its fresh and sour taste, can be refreshing and stimulate your appetite. In Western cuisine, lemon is often used as a seasoning for seafood to remove fishy odors, while in Southeast Asian cuisine, it's used directly in cooking to highlight its sweet and sour flavor. It's also an indispensable seasoning for roast duck and roast goose, which are beloved by people in southern China.
Lemon is a blood pressure-lowering fruit: It helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. Lemons are rich in vitamin C and vitamin P, which can enhance the elasticity and toughness of blood vessels, helping to prevent and treat high blood pressure and symptoms of myocardial infarction. In recent years, foreign research has also found that green lemons contain a component similar to insulin, which can lower abnormal blood sugar levels.
Lemon is a phlegm-resolving fruit: It helps clear heat and resolve phlegm. Lemons can also help expel phlegm. The phlegm-resolving effect of lemon peel is even stronger than that of citrus. In the hot and humid summer, if your diet is not careful, the internal dampness of the body and the external dampness of the climate can interact, and over time, this can lead to phlegm formation. Therefore, when you have excess phlegm and a sore throat in the summer, adding lemon juice to warm water with a little salt can help you expel the phlegm accumulated in your throat.
Lemon is an anti-inflammatory fruit: It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Rich in vitamin C, lemon acts like a natural antibiotic for the body, offering multiple benefits such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting properties. You can drink hot lemon water regularly to maintain your health.
Lemon is a beauty fruit: It delays aging and inhibits pigmentation. Lemons contain a variety of nutrients, including vitamins B1, B2, and C, as well as rich organic acids and citric acid. Lemons are highly alkaline foods with strong antioxidant effects, making them very effective for promoting skin metabolism, delaying aging, and inhibiting pigmentation.
Next, let's teach you how to make lemon water.
How to Make Lemon Water
If you're using lemon water as a substitute for plain water to quench your thirst, it must be light. One large slice of lemon with the peel can be used to make 1 liter of water, which can yield 3-4 small cups. Generally, you can steep it 2-3 times, and just replace the slice when the lemon flavor is gone. This way, the lemon water won't be too sour or astringent and will have a light fragrance. You can drink it without adding sugar or honey, and the calorie content is almost negligible. If you use more lemon slices, you may need to add sugar or honey to balance the sourness.
Finally, a little tip: lemon water tastes better with a bit of honey or sugar. However, a lightly sweetened lemon water contains about 5% sugar. A 200g cup of sweetened lemon water contains 40 kilocalories. Drinking two cups is equivalent to eating a quarter bowl of rice, so people who need to control their weight should limit their intake. Lemon water has many benefits, but it's important to prepare it correctly.