Contrary to popular belief, there are things in this world that have long been existing prior to any 'celebrities' discovery of them.
To illustrate, drinking hot water with freshly squeezed lemon juice first thing in the morning is nothing new. However, over the past few years there has been much ado about the health and weight loss benefits of drinking hot lemon tea.
This resurgence of lemon tea drinking arose as a result of a popular singer claiming that she had successfully lost twenty pounds after fasting for two weeks and living on nothing but lemon tea infused with cayenne pepper.
As is most often the case, immediately almost everyone then jumped on the lemon tea bandwagon, with magazine articles all around the globe praising the merits of lemon, as if the humble fruit had not existed prior to this celebrity's 'discovery' of it...
At the tme, one thing I also noticed along with the rising trend in drinking lemon tea was the introduction of all manner of 'herbal' varieties/alternatives/formulas. From cayenne pepper versions to apple cider vinegar versions, there are now dozens of lemon tea formula's, pills and supplements promising to help you reach your perfect weight and dress size.
I personally don't know about any of these shop bought concoctions and their promises as I personally wouldn't touch any of them with a barge pole. Why would anyone, for that matter?
The properties in hot pepper have also long been known to cause weight loss. Taken naturally, these things can indeed assist in weight loss.
However, no added complications, concoctions, gimmicks or ready, man-made formula's are necessary to eat clean and be healthy.
To me, buying ready made lemon detox drinks/tablets/sachets/whatever is akin to buying vitamin tablets when you already have a bowl of fresh fruit in your kitchen.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice drank in hot water first thing is ALL that is required for a detoxifying and refreshing morning tea. No bottled peppers, powders or added man made extras.
Lemon and water.
Just simplicity at its best.
Lemon has long been known for its cleansing properties. It contains a fair amount of vitamin C, is less than 25 calories and is also a natural diuretic. Drinking hot water with lemon is extremely good for cleansing the liver and flushing out waste and toxins, as well as aid digestion and thus, can assist in weight loss.
I always add ginger, passion fruit and honey (my sweet tooth wouldn't have it any other way!) to my morning lemon tea as I love the taste I get when these are all combined.
However, as well as tasting great ginger, passion fruit and honey are all also beneficial for the body. Honey includes a wealth of benefits that help to boost the immune system, assist weight loss and help the digestive system.
Recent studies have shown that increasing the amount of honey into your diet causes the body to burn fat at an increased level, which equates to weight loss!
This is because honey is thought to increase the body's metabolism causing you to burn more fat than usual, even when sleeping.
Honey -- nature's liquid sugar. Liquid gold!
Ginger contains gingerol which is known to aid digestion and reduce symptoms such as nausea. Ginger is also known to be an appetite suppressant.
Ginger is known to aid in digestion, increase energy, speed up the metabolism and have a high fibre content. It is this combination of fat busting goodness that makes this spicy root quite magical for weight loss.
Another natural diuretic, passion fruit is also thought to aid in weight loss as it also has a high fibre content.
So refuse to jump on any bandwagon and forget about all those ridiculous man made, shop bought formula's and concoctions when looking for ways to eat clean and instead go back to nature by using all that is readily provided for us to use... naturally!
Juice of half a fresh lemon
Flesh of half a fresh passion fruit
Approx. a thumb size of fresh ginger, grated
Organic honey, to taste
Get your favourite mug/teacup and put in the above contents. Add hot (not quite boiling) water, stir, put your feet up and enjoy!
You can add the juice (or even juice pieces) of any fruit you desire.