Do you regularly have lemon tea? Then you are probably one of the luckiest individuals out there – because lemon tea comes with a host of health benefits! It is known for cleansing your body from within and also refreshes and energizes you.
Would you like to know more? Keep reading!
Lemon Tea – An Overview:
Lemon tea is nothing but a form of black tea or green tea liquor to which lemon juice has been added to impart a unique flavour. Lemon tea simply contains hot tea with lemon juice and sugar. Masala lemon tea contains hot tea with roasted cumin seed powder, lemon juice, black salt and sugar, which gives it a tangy, spicy taste (1). The addition of lemon juice not only makes its colour more pronounced, but also improves its taste. For a perfect taste, the right quantity of lemon juice should be added to it.
The combined benefits of lemon juice and honey make lemon tea a healthy alternative to various carbonated drinks and coffee. The various health benefits of lemon tea are as follows.
1. A Good Cleanser And Detoxifier:
Most of the health benefits of lemon tea attribute to the fact that it cleanses your body by removing toxins from the system. These toxins invite various kinds of diseases and infections. An excellent detoxifier, lemon tea helps prevent these diseases and infections.
2. Treatment Of Cold And Flu:
Lemon tea is helpful in relieving cold and flu symptoms. In case of cold and flu, you can add ginger to the tea and drink it 3 to 4 times daily. It will not only give relief from a sore throat, but also boost your immune system and keep you warm during winters. The liquid helps thin the mucus in your throat. Warm liquids, such as broth, tea or lemon juice and honey in warm water, can soothe your throat (2).
3. Psychological Benefits:
Lemon tea removes toxins from the blood, and hence, it energizes your body, refreshes your mind and improves mental clarity. Stress is responsible for generating toxins in the blood that trigger various mental health issues. Lemon tea is a great remedy for headaches, weakness, low vitality, lethargy and fatigue. It keeps you active and healthy by cleansing your blood.
4. Cardiovascular Benefits:
According to the Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, tea provides protection against cardiovascular diseases. Lemon tea contains flavonoids that reduce lipids and inflammation and prevent the formation of blood clots in arteries. Thus, drinking lemon tea is a great way of combating heart disease.
5. Natural Antiseptic:
As we all know, lemon is nature’s antiseptic. Lemon tea possesses anti-bacterial and antiviral properties, and so, regular consumption helps in treating and healing infections and diseases.
6. Digestive Health:
Lemon tea facilitates healthy digestion through its calming effect. This is because it eliminates toxins and waste products, and enables your body to absorb more of the beneficial substances present in it. The citric acid in lemons aids in digestion and helps to dissolve kidney stones, while the ascorbic acid is a natural antioxidant that prevents the sailor’s dread – scurvy.
7. Treatment Of Surgical Swelling:
Surgical swelling or edema is a common post-operative condition and is caused by injections, dead cells of fat and pooled fluid blood. The fluids get accumulated in between the body tissues, causing pain and discomfort. Lemon tea is often recommended by doctors for reducing and alleviating the condition of edema. Apart from this, lemon tea also eliminates the toxic effects of anaesthesia and reduces the pain during the menstrual cycle of women.
8. Improves Insulin Activity:
Our body requires insulin for the conversion of glucose or sugar to energy. Tea has been found to increase insulin activity according to a research study conducted by the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry”, and the same benefits are provided by lemon tea.
9. Facilitates Iron Absorption:
Tea, in general, can interfere with the absorption of non-heme iron by your body. However, in the case of lemon tea, the vitamin C can boost non-heme iron absorption. Thus, adding lemon juice to tea can counteract this adverse effect of tea.
10. Benefits For Skin:
We all are aware of the benefits of vitamin C for the skin. Lemon possesses astringent properties that help reduce acne and other skin disorders internally. Thus, consumption of lemon tea can help combat acne and various skin disorders.
11. Anti-Cancer Properties:
Both tea and lemon contain strong antioxidant properties. This can be attributed to the presence of polyphenols in tea and an abundant amount of antioxidant vitamin C in lemons. The antioxidants not only prevent damage to healthy cells but also promote the death of unhealthy cells and prevent the growth of cancerous cells. The anti-cancer properties of lemon tea help reduce the chances of skin cancer. Besides, lemons contain compounds called limonoids in abundance that help fight mouth, lung, breast, and stomach and colon cancers.
12. Benefits Of Green Tea With Lemon:
Green tea, when taken with lemon juice, can provide a range of health benefits. Lemon juice enhances the effectiveness and absorption of green tea’s antioxidants. When our small and large intestines become alkaline, catechins become degraded in our stomach during nutrient absorption. Lemon juice can greatly increase the amount of catechins extracted by our body from green tea.
13. Other Benefits:
The benefits of lemon are readily available in lemon tea. Being a natural diuretic, intake of lemon juice helps promote urine production. Similarly, it is also a great remedy for gingivitis or inflamed gums. The essential oils present in lemon contain antimicrobial properties.
How To Prepare Lemon Tea?
Preparation of lemon tea is no big deal provided you add the ingredients in the right amount. Given below is the simple method of preparing lemon tea.
Ingredients:
Procedure:
You can make this tea more flavourful by adding fresh ginger, or you can add some mint leaves for enhanced health benefits and appearance of your tea. If you want a more exciting taste, you can try adding a pinch of rock salt or ‘kala namak.’ Lemon grass is also a good ingredient for your lemon tea.
Precautions With Lemon Tea:
In spite of the various benefits of lemon tea, it is not suitable for certain people. Certain precautions need to be taken for the consumption of lemon tea.
Hence, if you want a combo of health benefits and refreshing taste and aroma, lemon tea is the right option. With the onset of summers, you can comfortably replace those sodas and aerated drinks with refreshing iced lemon tea!
