Start Your Day With A Gentle Detox

Hot water with lemon first thing in the morning before breakfast is a refreshing way to clear your digestive tract of any toxins that remain after the resting and digesting during the night. The lemon and citric acid are mildly anti-microbial and will support liver function and stimulate digestion. In traditional Chinese medicine, hot or warm drinks are thought to aid digestion, as well.

I first encountered this practice several decades ago in Paris on my first trip to Europe. At first it tasted like very tart, slightly diluted lemonade. I wasn’t too wild about it. I later learned that the tart, mildly bitter taste actually stimulates the digestive process too. The drink started to grow on me when I noticed some improvement in how I felt on the trip. In those days I was still suffering from migraine headaches and it was a few more years before I identified several food allergies and started to adjust my diet. Nevertheless, drinking this beverage in lieu of hot tea or coffee helped me feel better.

The drink is made up of 1 part freshly squeezed lemon and 1 part hot water. I also like to add a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger or cinnamon, or a couple of sprigs of mint or rosemary, all of which are good for digestion too. If you must add a tiny bit of sweetener, then add little honey. Do not add sugar!