The Best Thing You Can Do to Start the Day

Greetings Cool Healthy Lifers!

Thanks for all the comments over the last few weeks!  I appreciate your stories and I’m always looking for additional topics that peak your interest.  Keep the comments and suggestions coming and stay tuned for more Cool Healthy Life tips!

Last time, we focused on identifying some toxins we unexpectedly encounter on a daily basis –  and what to do about them.  Today we’re going to keep things simple. What is the one thing you need to do first thing in the morning – the minute you get out of bed?  Not five minutes after.  Not ten minutes after.  But as soon as you wake up … Any guesses???

So, trying to get out of bed in the morning is a drag you say?  No longer.  When the alarm goes off, instead of hitting snooze for the fourth time, walk your zombie legs to the kitchen.  Pour yourself a glass of room-temperature water and squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the glass  … then gulp it down.  And Enjoy.

That’s it!  That’s all I want you to do.  I’m not asking you to spend 15 minutes cutting vegetables for your juicer or to go run 3 miles before brushing your teeth.  Just drink a tall glass of  water with some fresh squeezed lemon.  Why in the world should we do this, you ask?  Well, there are several great reasons to start your day with a glass of fresh lemon water.

1.  Boost your immune system

Lemons are a great source of natural folate (think folic acid), potassium and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).  Vitamin C, in particular, is an important nutrient to help fend off sickness and infection.  There is a multi-billion dollar industry centered around vitamin C supplements, but drink your daily glass of lemon water and you won’t ever need to spend a cent on vitamin C supplements!

2. Flush toxins from your body

Lemon contains citric acid which helps to flush calcium deposits and kidney stones from the body.  Calcium deposits, in particular, can be troublesome, as they play a role in creating blockages in your arteries.  We all know that blocked arteries is one of the leading causes of heart attacks.  Lemons also help improve liver function by increasing the level of detoxifying enzymes in the liver.

3.  Fight inflammation

Lemons can pack a punch against those swollen joints and muscles because they contain a high level of inflammation-fighting antioxidants. Lemons also help to break up uric acid, which is a chemical buildup in the body that can lead to gout and/or kidney disease.

4.  Balance your pH

Even though you may think lemons taste acidic, they possess strong alkaline properties.  Foods high in alkalinity help to balance your inner pH levels, which helps improve sleep, digestion and mental alertness (among other things).  Lemons are actually one of the most ph neutralizing foods you can eat!

5. Fight Cancer

While lemons aren’t going to replace traditional cancer treatments, lemons have been found to contain 11 anti-cancer compounds, including limonene, an oil which has shown to slow or halt growth of tumors in animals.

So tomorrow I want you to do the best thing possible to start your day.  I want you to wake up, grab yourself a fresh lemon and a glass of water and wake up the natural way!  Try this for a week and then let me know how it’s going by posting in the comments section.

A quick note – A few of you have asked if you can get the same benefits from those lemon juice concentrates that you can keep in your fridge for six months at a time.  As I’m sure you’d expect, the answer is “not quite.”  Almost all lemon juice concentrates, even those labeled “all natural,” tend to be filled with sulfites (sulfur dioxide).  While I’m sure there are worse things to put into your body, spend the extra 60 seconds and cut/squeeze a fresh lemon and stay sulfite-free on this one!

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Cool Healthy Top Tip

Do you try to squeeze lemons by hand and end up with a glass of lemon seed water and a counter top full of lemon juice?   Do yourself a favor: spend less than $10 and purchase a lemon squeezer.  I’ve added a link below to the squeezer we love, but you can’t go wrong with most models.  Please don’t be tricked into spending $50 on a lemon juicer.  The $8 models work fine.

Heavy Cast Aluminum Lemon Squeezer

Until next time…

Brent