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Lemon Water
Good morning B. & Daniel,
For the very first time and after much reluctance, I’m trying lemon water. I’ve used an unwaxed lemon, about one teaspoon’s worth, in a 200ml glass.
The reason I was hesitant is because of my gastritis, but I decided to test it anyway. I keep hearing that lemon water enters the body it somehow becomes “alkaline”, is that true, or is it a myth?
I’d love to know your thoughts as the experts. And if there are any other real benefits to drinking lemon water, I’d be grateful to hear them. For now, I’m just slowly sipping away.
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2 Replies
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Hi @naslam1603 – great question. There is a lot of confusion around acidic vs. alkaline foods. I actually discuss this in the 10-Day Cleanse Program here (~3min 10sec mark).
To help you understand this better, please view this handout which shows various foods and whether they are alkalizing or more acid producing in the body once they are metabolized.
As you can see, the foods on the right hand side are foods that are classified as “acid producing” which has nothing to do with whether they are acidic when you swallow them or not. It’s about the dominant types of minerals in those foods and whether they present more chloride/sodium or more potassium/magnesium in the body AFTER they are digested and metabolized.
So even though lemon is acidic in nature when you swallow it, once it is metabolized, the minerals are more alkaline. Does that make sense?
Also note that neither lemon nor any other food can drastically change your blood pH. This remains tightly regulated between 7.3-7.45. What changes however is the urine pH, which reflects how the kidneys excrete acids or bases.
So lemon water doesn’t literally change your body’s pH to more alkaline, but its metabolic effect is considered to have an alkalizing function and shows up in urine. That’s the nuance and mistake most people make.
Now putting pH aside, lemon water has many other benefits if you can tolerate it. It helps you drink more water. It helps provide a small dose of vitamin C. It’s helps prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones (due to the citric acid). And if tolerated, it can offer mild digestive support by stimulating digestive secretions before meals.
So if it’s not bothering you on an empty stomach, I would encourage you to time it before meals so you can get the added digestive benefit. But if you notice that it’s starting to aggravate your condition, definitely avoid it.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you for your detailed response. I don’t have access to the course, but I have downloaded the PDF file.
See attached course message.
Yes, I think understand in that despite lemon contain contains citric acid, the underlying minerals are alkaline once digested.
I tried a glass of water with 1 tsp of lemon juice extracted from the lemon. Unfortunately, it did cause a little heartburn. I’ll tray again later.
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