Fancy losing weight? Try warm water and lemon

After the birth of my first child, I realised that I had gained a lot of weight,” says Rose Nakate, a mother of two.
Nakate narrates that she wanted to lose the baby weight but had no idea how. “I just know what weight feels best for me. I was already on a very healthy diet and exercised but, my weight was just increasing,” she recounts. She then met a friend who advised her to drink lemon in warm water before anything else in the morning.
“This sounded simple enough so I decided to give it a shot. I bought a bag of lemons, and made myself a nice big mug of lemon water. I happen to love the sour taste of lemons so to me it was quite refreshing,” she narrates.
A few months later she started to drop kilograms.
Jamiru Mpiima, a nutritionist at Family Nutritionist Uganda, says lemons are known to be vitamin C rich citrus fruits. We always advise people who want to trim their weight to drink lemon water because it kick-starts the digestion process of the day and makes the process of eliminating waste products from the body easier.
Lemon is also known for its strong anti-bacterial, anti-viral, immune-boosting and body cleansing ingredients. Lemon water flushes out toxins and is beneficial to the body.
According to Dr Cranmer Kay ofFont of Hope Medical Centre in Wakiso district, drinking lemon water each morning helps to cleanse the liver. The acidity in lemon produces bile juice, which helps break down food easily. It also helps the liver ease digestion throughout the day.
Dr Kay notes that other important elements in lemon are Vitamin B, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, and a large amount of carbohydrates as well as proteins.
He says cold lemon water is also good. “It is hard to overstate the importance of hydration. The fluid in your body helps maintain your blood volume, plays a role in nutrient transport and even supports body temperature regulation. If you are bored with cold plain water, adding a squeeze of lemon might encourage you to drink more,” he adds.
Other known benefits of drinking warm lemon water or juice include, helping prevent common colds and flu, removing blackheads on the skin and other forms of acne and raising the rate of urination in the body thus forcing out all unwanted toxins at a faster rate.
Dr Catherine Nanozi however, cautions against drinking concentrated lemon juice because of their negative effects on the teeth enamel. She always warns those with an over reactive bladder to proceed carefully.