What Are the Benefits of Lime Juice in Water?

What Are the Benefits of Lime Juice in Water?
Photo Credit water pouring into a tall glass iwth ice and lime image by Tamara Kulikova from Fotolia.com

The juice from limes is a common culinary ingredient in salads, soups and sauces. It's also a healthy source of natural sugar, citric acid, phosphorus and calcium. Plus, it has more vitamin C than its tart counterpart, the lemon. Lime juice, when mixed with water, can also provide numerous benefits outside the culinary world, including digestive relief and weight loss assistance. Before using any food or herb as a medicinal agent, consult with your heath care practitioner to ensure there will be no harmful interactions with medications you are taking.

Help with Digestive Issues

Drinking lime water can remedy stomach discomfort associated with excessive acid in the stomach. In addition, because lime is a carminative, drinking lime water can provide relief from the urge to release gas and prevent future gas in the gastrointestinal tract, says the Best Home Remedies site. Combine a teaspoon of lime juice with a glass of water. To that, add a pinch of regular baking soda and ingest, the site says. You can also drink lime water to promote healthy digestion and ward against constipation, because the acid in limes help break down food molecules, while lime's molecular compounds increase the release of digestive juices in your body, says the Organic Facts site. Combine the juice from a lime with one glass of warm water and drink in the morning.

Help with Illness

Lime water can ease symptoms associated with the common cold, such as sore throat and dry cough. It's able to do this via its large quantities of vitamin C, which helps increase your resistance to the illness and acts to stop the illness in its tracks, says the Best Home Remedies site. For relief of symptoms, combine juice from a lime with a teaspoonful of honey. In addition, you can use lime water to treat acute tonsillitis, the inflammation of the tonsils that causes swollen tonsils and painful swallowing. Drink lime water infused with four teaspoons of honey and a quarter-teaspoonful of salt and sip slowly, says the site.

Help in Weight Loss

The citric acid in limes works to burn fat in your body. Thus, it can be used in conjunction with diet and exercise to help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Add the juice from a lime to a glass of warm water and ingest two glasses of this mixture a day. Drink this mixture every morning on an empty stomach--sweeten with honey to taste, if necessary. You may see results in as little as two to three months.

References

Article reviewed by GayleZorrilla Last updated on: Sep 28, 2010

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