Here is a recipe from Elson Haas, MD that is easy and quick:
2 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup (up to 2Tbsp is you want to drop less weight)
A pinch of cayene pepper
8 oz pure spring water
Mix and drink 8-12 glasses throughout the day. Eat or drink nothing else except water, laxative herb tea and peppermint or chamomile tea. Keep lemonade on glass container (not plastic) or make it fresh each time. Rinse your mouth with water after each glass to prevent lemon juice from hurting enamel in your teeth.
Prep time = 5 minutes Serving size = 1
Happy detox!
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I do not agree with Anon's posting about the "body detoxifies" on its own. Try that with environmental toxins and an overwhelmed, overwork liver....in today's world, the bodies need some help. There are many detoxying protocols including those for heavy metals, but giving your liver a good cleansing once in a while it is not asking much. We spend more money getting our cars tune up, changing oil etc, why not your own body. If you are breathing and eating the wrong stuff, you better have a detoxifying plan at hand. The one I posted could be done for a couple of days twice a year at a minimum!!!
March 18, 2009 - 8:59pmThis Comment
I just have hot water and fresh lemon juice every morning before I get started and before I eat. It is easy, tasty and replaces my coffee or tea. In fact I quit caffeine totally. I find that the hot water and lemon keep my skin clear and my body healthy combined with good eating habits. I have been doing it for about two years now. The beauty of lemon water is that it is tasty, refreshing and best of all, alkalising. The lemon juice raises the alkalising effect of the water so even with standard tap water you can make your drink nice and alkalising.
However, for the full lemon water effect: distilled/ionised water with a pH booster and lemon, creates the ultimate alkaline water. The trick however, is to have the water lukewarm. If the water is too hot or too cold then it will cause the body to expand energy in order to process it. Lukewarm water also has that comforting feeling to it.Apart from being an amazing body alkalizer, lemon water also gives the following health benefits:
Lemons are antiseptic
Lemon water has excellent digestive properties and can ease heartburn, bloating and other digestion problems
Lemon water cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys
Lemon juice contains calcium, magnesium and potassium
Lemon juice has been known to relieve asthma
Lemon water (hot) offers relief from cold and flu symptoms while providing some much needed Vitamin C
Lemon juice is a great skin cleanser
So if you do not do anything else - start every single day with a glass of lovely lemon water!
Also, and more importantly, unless you have REALLY washed the lemons or have bought organic fruit, then the pesticides and chemicals could leach out of the rind and into your water if they are left soaking for too long.
Yes, it is fine to add some cayenne pepper to your lemon water for a bit of a kick, but PLEASE DO NOT ADD MAPLE SYRUP - this will make it have an acidic effect on the body! Sugars like this are acidic!
March 17, 2009 - 3:08pmThis Comment
These "detox" diets are so silly! Your body naturally cleanses itself, and drinking this much lime or lemon juice can also have negative effects.
Reader beware whenever you see these types of claims, especially when they do not provide any real information on the pros and cons (there are side effects to drastically changing your diet, and any diet that claims otherwise deserves a quick press of the delete key), as well as any modifications for specific health conditions, etc.
March 17, 2009 - 2:24pmThis Comment
I often brew a cup of hot lemon water in the morning, and have been doing this for years. It's not a matter of detoxing, but a matter of keeping the kidneys and liver in balanced health. I also like to brew fresh ginger tea.
There's nothing "silly" about this, nor is it part of a "detox diet." Lemon is Mother Nature's "natural antiseptic" and helps flush out the toxins that your body naturally produces and promotes good bowel health.
An ounce of lemon juice - roughly what 1/2 a squeezed lemon produces - is not going to hurt you. The calcium and magnesium from lemon and lime juice help prevent a dangerous liver condition called biliousness, and can have a hand in preventing gall stones. Without citrus, sailors would suffer from scurvy on long sea voyages. My younger sister had her gall bladder removed, and this after years of not maintaining a balanced eating regimen or getting enough citrus in her diet.
The practice of making hot lemon water or ginger tea is thousands of years old, historians believe going back as far as ancient Egypt, and even Julius Caesar reportedly took a hot lemon tonic every day.
Frankly, our bodies can use a little natural help, since our foods are full of unnatural substances like pesticides, coloring agents and ingredients you can't spell or pronounce. Before you pooh-pooh someone's very sensible suggestions for maintaining or improving your health and that have absolutely nothing to do with some fad diet, I recommend a little research and understanding of what could very well be part of someone's ancient heritage or family traditions -
like hot lemon water and ginger tea are part of mine.
March 17, 2009 - 4:40pmThis Comment
How long are you supposed to do this for?
March 17, 2009 - 9:51amThis Comment