No article or research needed to convince me about this one, as I have been using lemon juice in one form or another for as long as I remember. But little did I know about the amazing health benefits of drinking water-diluted lemon juice daily!



In his classic 1939 book "Back to Eden", Jethro Kloss, the father of herbalists points out:

"Lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dissolvent of uric acid and other poisons, liquefies the bile, and is very good in cases of malaria. Sufferers of chronic rheumatism and gout will benefit by taking lemon juice, also those who have a tendency to bleed, uterine haemorrhaging

He goes on to add: "Lemon is an antiseptic, or is an agent that prevents sepsis [the presence of pathogenic bacteria] or putrefaction [decomposition of tissue]. It is also anti-scorbutic, a term meaning a remedy which will prevent disease and assist in cleansing the system of impurities".

A lot has been said lately about the lemon detox fast, which seems to yield great benefits. The fast consists in drinking lemon juice mixed with water and either maple syrup or honey with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, for a week or 10 days. If your health allows it, you can add to that a laxative tea at night and you're guaranteed a total cleansing effect, which must be done under the supervision of a qualified naturopath or herbalist.

Most of those who I know have tried it, managed to put up with this extreme regime for maximum 4 days. I, for one, recommend a gentler lemon detox that I have been using daily for the last 8 months. It consists of drinking the juice of half a lemon, diluted in lukewarm water, every night just before going to bed.

I have been drinking the lemon water every single night for the past eight months and the results are truly amazing. I live in a city where winters are harsh and long (Montreal, Canada) and I generally suffer from recurrent flu and cold symptoms all winter long... Not this winter!

I've also had to have my gallbladder removed and drinking the lemon juice has helped maintain my liver healthy. I no longer wake-up feeling tired and sluggish in the morning.

Lemon is not only a vitamin C rich citrus fruit and an immune system booster, it also acts as blood purifier and improves the body's ability to get rid of toxins. When taken regularly it acts as a tonic to the liver and stimulates it to fulfil its daily digestive and cleansing functions. Lemon is also believed to help dissolve gallstones.

My grandfather used to add a squeeze of lemon to his coffee and I remember thinking: How weird! Little did I know then that when lemon is mixed with coffee, it is thought to help treat malaria. It is also an effective headache remedy.

Some people drink the diluted lemon juice first thing in the morning. I used to do that too, and found it quite effective. However, a naturopath once told me that the body cleanses while at rest, so drinking the lemon water at night makes more sense, as it supports our inherent ability to detox.

For optimum health, I practice the Detox Bath daily alongside the lemon water cleanse. The Detox Bath is based on an ancestral bath technique created by Louis Kuhne of Leipzig in 1883 and is known to encourage toxin and waste elimination.

The Detox Bath's working principle is to refresh the core area of the body during 10 minutes daily or longer, depending on your initial condition, and the results you seek to achieve. This process creates a vibration in the fascia (Interconnecting tissue covering all internal organs), which sets in motion a roll-back effect that transports waste and deposited toxins back to the intestines, where they are later eliminated.

As in all natural remedies, my only recommendation is be disciplined and regular. Don't expect overnight miracles, they won't happen. However, these natural additions to your lifestyle, like drinking the lemon juice water and practicing the Detox Bath, will surely support your body's elimination capacity and enhance your health for a lifetime.