5 Lemon Water Recipe Ideas to Help You Alkalize Your Body

A good lemon water recipe is the perfect way to give your morning a fresh start, help you feel energized, and alkalize your body with healthy benefits. Some of these benefits include detoxing your body, aiding your digestive system, and giving your immune system a boost of vitamin C.

Lemons are a great way to boost alkalinity

First of all, lemons are very sour and acidic to the taste buds, so you might think that they won’t benefit you much on an alkaline diet, but they’re actually great for this! In spite of their outward acidity, they’re one of the more alkaline fruits you can eat. Remember, not everything is immediately obvious when it comes to the alkaline diet. What makes a food alkaline or acidic depends on the effect it has on your body alkalinity AFTER it has been metabolized (not before). In the case of lemons, they have a wonderful alkalizing effect! For more alkalizing foods, check out our alkaline/acidic food list here.

When making your lemon water, there are a couple of things to keep in mind, which we will explore below.

The Ratio of Lemon to Water

Now, you may wonder how much juice is in one lemon. Typically, there are about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in one lemon. The ratio for lemon water is usually half a lemon to about 8 ounces of water. If you want a stronger taste, you can add a bit more lemon.

As an alternative, you can also add 3 or 4 lemon slices to your water and let the lemons infuse the water. This will have a similar effect on the taste of your water. There are a host of different infusion water bottles to choose from. This is a great way of taking your lemon water on the go!

What Not to Do

Don’t add anything sweet to the lemon water!

You may be tempted to add sugar to make lemonade, but don’t do this! Sugar substitutes may interfere with your body’s alkalinity just as much as real sugar. Even if something is labeled as “natural,” like organic honey or agave nectar, it can be problematic. If it is a type of sweetener, then it is probably made up of mostly simple sugars . Those sugars are typically acidic. Consuming many acidic foods can throw off your pH balance and make your overall body pH too acidic. This is an unhealthy state for your body to be in. Your body works at its optimum level at a slightly alkaline body pH between 6.5 and 7.5. So, if you are concerned about what your overall body pH is, you can use some simple pH test strips to find out where you are on the pH scale.

So since sugar isn’t a good idea, what should you do? If you don’t like the sour taste of lemon juice, that’s perfectly fine. You can try it diluted with more water, or you can just forgo it completely and try to flavor your water with something else. Just don’t defeat the purpose of the alkaline diet by introducing additives to your lemon water!

What to Do Instead

Luckily, forgoing the sugar doesn’t mean that you can’t still add interesting things to your water! Something fun that you can try is sliced cucumbers. These go well with lemon water, especially in the summer because they add a refreshing, subtle flavor.

5 Simple Lemon Water Recipes

The following are 5 very simple lemon water recipe ideas that you can try. We will start with a basic lemon water recipe and then share a few more ideas (with a little twist to make things more interesting!)

Basic Lemon Water Recipe:

· 1 lemon

· 8 oz of water

Squeeze half a lemon (approximately 2 tablespoons) into a glass and add 8 ounces of water. Enjoy!

NOTE: It is best to drink the lemon water at room temperature. This will allow the enzymatic properties of the lemon to work optimally and provide the most health benefits. However, you can also drink it as a soothing hot drink for a cold day or a cold, refreshing drink on a hot summer day. Just keep in mind that the heat and cold do decrease its enzymatic activity and hinder some of its digestive benefits.

Lemon Water with Mint:

· 3–4 slices of lemon

· 2 or 3 sprigs of mint

· 8 oz of water

Combine ingredients and enjoy!

Lemon Water with Ginger:

· 3–4 slices of lemon

· 3 slices of fresh ginger root (about 1/4″ slices with the skin on)

· 8 oz of water

Combine ingredients and enjoy!

Lemon Water with Cucumbers:

· 3–4 slices of lemon

· 4 slices of cucumber

· 8 oz of water

Combine ingredients and enjoy!

Lemon Water with Blueberries:

· 3–4 slices of lemon

· 10 fresh blueberries

· 8 oz of water

Combine ingredients and enjoy!

So regardless of how you drink your lemon water, remember that you’ll enjoy the benefits most if you choose natural, unprocessed ingredients. Get a fresh lemon today, cut it in half, and give this very simple alkaline drink a try!