Take your warm water with lemon up a notch! Delish fresh ginger lemon tea
Warm water with lemon is a staple for me that I have most days and recommend often for clients. When I want to take it up a notch I add warming and delicious fresh ginger tea.
Click the image above for a video about why I love both versions of these drinks and how to make them — it’s super easy :). Look below for a text version with more detail!
Warm water with lemon: a staple drink
How warm water with lemon serves us
Many clients take to warm water with lemon with ease, and no wonder. It feels refreshing, soothing, and balancing in the morning, hydrating us and gently waking up the digestive system. While warm water with lemon can be enjoyed at any time, its shining moment seems to be first thing in the morning before any other beverages (excluding water) or breakfast. There are many benefits to this cleansing and rejuvenating beverage, including:
Digestive support
Lemon juice may enhance production of stomach acid (hydrochloric acid or HCL), enzymes and bile that we need to support healthy digestion, or the breakdown and assimilation of our food. After resting and fasting overnight, the lemon juice also gives our digestive system and metabolism a gentle kick start. By giving our body something small that’s also easy to digest, we help get the gears turning in our liver and digestive system (without putting a large burden on them), even before we have breakfast.
The warm temperature of the water is also supportive of digestion. This is an established principle articulated in the ancient Indian medical system called Ayurveda, which teaches that warm water supports your “digestive fire,” while cold water puts out your fire. Remembering that digestion takes energy, if we put ice cold water into our about 98 degree bodies, we have to direct energy away from digestion and toward warming up the water and body before digestion can proceed most efficiently. This isn’t to say that you can’t ever have cold drinks or treats if you want to have healthy digestion. It just means that we recognize warm water as a ritual we welcome in to support digestion, and when we’re being more cognizant of and want to be more supportive of our digestion, we choose warm water as opposed to cold.
Elimination and detoxification
The warm water and lemon both help us keep things moving by stimulating peristalsis, or a contraction of muscles in your digestive tract that help push waste out. You may find that shortly after having your lemon water, you have a nice, easy bowel movement. :)
Lemon is also associated with support for and cleansing of the liver, helping it effectively process and eliminate toxins.
Beauty and immunity
Lemon juice is a rich source of the antioxidant vitamin C, which helps us neutralize the free radicals that lead to cell damage, inflammation, aging and disease. Vitamin C’s support for a strong immune system is well documented, helping to set you up for success to defend yourself from illnesses like the common cold.
Vitamin C is key for the production and maintenance of collagen, an important building block for strong bones, skin, hair and nails that supports taut, elastic, plump and youthful skin.
Hydration
When we wake up, we tend to be slightly dehydrated, and warm lemon water is wonderful way to hydrate efficiently. The warm temperature makes it easier for us to absorb and assimilate the water, and the lemon provides natural electrolytes like potassium, calcium and magnesium that also help with absorption and assimilation, as well as re-mineralizing the body and maintaining fluid balance. I also like to add another electrolyte to lemon water, sodium, in the form of a quality salt like pink himalayan or sea salt.
pH balance
Even though lemon juice is acidic, it has an alkalizing effect on the body when metabolized. For optimal health, we want the pH balance of our bodies to be slightly alkaline versus acidic. With the Standard American Diet, many people are getting in way more acidic foods like highly processed and fried foods, meat, and sugar, rather than more alkaline foods like veggies and fruits. This isn’t to say that eating acidic foods is necessarily bad (I love organic and grassfed meat), just that we want to balance them out with an abundance of alkaline foods. That’s why pushing in an alkaline food in the morning is a good idea.
Warm water with lemon: how to make it
Start by heating up filtered water in a kettle on the stove. In your mug or glass, add:
The juice of half a fresh, preferably organic, lemon. I use a squeezer like this to avoid seeds and make it a little easier to get all of the juice.
A small dash of quality salt (pink himalayan or sea salt). For more info on salt, click here.
A little bit of room temp or cold filtered water (say a third of the cup), topped with hot water from the stove, so that the drink is still warm but not so hot as to burn your mouth or effect the integrity of the lemon.
Take it up a notch — add ginger!
I love adding ginger tea to my lemon water to create ginger tea with lemon, one of my favorite teas. The spiciness of the ginger mixes with the tanginess of the lemon and we add a touch of quality salt and sweetness — it’s divine! If you’re already drinking warm lemon water, adding fresh ginger tea to it is a great way to spice up your regular lemon water and try something different. (And in my opinion, make it more delicious.)
How ginger serves us
For hundreds if not thousands of years, ginger root has been recognized as a digestive aid and all around medicinal and health promoting food, with perks including:
Digestive relief
Ginger provides great support for digestive distress or complaints and is classified as a carminative herb, which means it can help prevent cramping, gas and bloating. If you eat too much or are experiencing tummy trouble, ginger is a great thing to reach for.
Reduction of nausea
Reach for ginger for car sickness, and if pregnant, morning sickness in moderation.
Mucus and cough relief
Ginger is a known expectorant and antitussive herb, which means it can help break up mucus in the lungs or soothe a cough. If you have a respiratory infection or feel like you’re getting sick, ginger is your friend.
Circulation and blood flow
The warming and spicy nature of this herb can help warm the body and relieve cold hands or feet.
Pain relief
Ginger can be used to help reduce muscle and joint pain, from menstrual and arthritic pain to headaches.
Blood sugar balance
Studies show that ginger is associated with reduced fasting blood sugar. Blood sugar balance is important for the health of the whole body and the reduction of risk for chronic diseases, such as diabetes.
Anti-inflammatory
Ginger is linked to reduced inflammation, general health promotion and cancer prevention.
So if you are having digestive distress, you eat too much, you feel chilled, have cold hands or feet, you feel like you’re getting sick, you feel pain or you want to be proactive about supporting your overall health, ginger tea could be a fab drink for you to try. If you’re loving ginger, you can also enjoy it in food (it’s great in Asian inspired meals) or smoothies, or you can juice it.
Ginger tea with lemon: how to make it
Ingredients
2- 3 TB fresh ginger
3 cups filtered water
Dash quality salt (pink himalayan or sea salt)
1-2 drops monk fruit (or stevia)
Find some fresh ginger (organic if possible). Rinse and cut about 2-3 TB into pieces. You can cut the skin off if you would like, but you really don’t have to to get a nice, richly brewed tea. You can simply cut it into slices and leave the skin on, which is much simpler!
In a saucepan, add about 3 cups of filtered water and the ginger, cover, bring to a boil and simmer for at least 15-20 minutes. You’ll know your tea is ready and the ginger has infused into the water when it’s a warm brown color.
Assemble your tea. Pour into a cup (you can use a strainer or let some pieces fall in), add the juice of half a lemon, a dash salt., and a drop or two of monk fruit (or stevia).
That’s it! If I’m going to be home all day I make a big batch and leave it on the stove and keep filling up my cup with it. If you don’t drink it all you can refrigerate and it will keep for about 3 days. I do have to say the fresh tea is much better, but if you want a shortcut, you can try an organic bagged tea like this one.
I hope you enjoy the warm water with lemon and the ginger tea. It can be so comforting to have some go to warm beverages we know are nourishing us and serving us well. Please let me know if you try them and if you have any questions or comments. :)
Sending lots of love!
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4277626/