It even helps lower the overall glycemic index of a meal.
Ultra popular, the lemon “is one of the foods that I can easily recommend” supports micro-nutritionist Angélique Houlbert from the outset. It is often recommended to drink your juice in a glass of water to properly start the day. But what are the health effects? Is it really good? For our interlocutor, yes. “Drinking water with lemon juice in the morning first of all helps to hydrate people who do not drink enough water” answers our interlocutor. Dehydration can manifest itself through dizziness, headaches or even fatigue. Flavoring your water with lemon then makes these moments of hydration more pleasant for people who might not think about it enough.
Another important benefit is that lemon is very rich in vitamin C: a vitamin that acts as a natural defense by stimulating energy, which allows better assimilation of iron and which promotes the health of the skin by fighting against its premature aging since it helps to produce collagen. Lemon also contains phenolic acids and flavonoids giving it anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties: “We use it on apples, bananas, artichokes and avocados to prevent them from oxidizing in the open air, so lemon is an antioxidant that we can also benefit from.” argues the micro-nutritionist without forgetting that “The flavonoids present in lemon have antioxidant properties that help protect the cells of our body.”
The caloric density of lemon is also very low, it can be consumed at will without having an impact on weight gain. It even helps to lower the overall glycemic index of a meal and facilitate digestion: “Lemon has organic acids like citric acid for example. Every time you add acids to your diet, you improve digestion. For people who don’t produce enough, it’s interesting because the stomach is supposed to produce hydrochloric acid to assimilate proteins,” adds Angélique Houlbert. Drinking lemon juice in the morning will improve the digestion of breakfast while giving a good boost to start the day.
Lemon is ideal “to flavor still or sparkling water, I recommend it of course in the morning but also at noon or in the evening”, specifies Angélique Houlbert. Be careful, however, to drink it cold rather than hot because “Vitamin C is heat-sensitive. If we take lemon juice in hot water, for example in tea, we will lose vitamin C. On the other hand, organic acids such as citric acid will still be present despite the heat.” Finally, it is equally interesting to use it in culinary preparations: “It can be used in vinaigrette, on raw vegetables, on a fish fillet, in a fruit salad or even on a dessert.” concludes the micro-nutritionist.
Thanks to Angélique Houlbert, micro-nutritionist and author of “100 GI foods at will” published by Thierry Souccar.
