Myth-squash: Is warm lemon-honey water really helpful for weight loss?

Weight loss that is constantly trending — that is possibly the biggest marketing gimmick of the ages.

If there is something that has the words ‘weight loss’, it quite instantly catches your eyes, right?

I would recommend to all readers to stop obsessing about the weight on the scale and instead channel that energy toward fitness. For anyone to have a fit body and balanced mind, the most essential ingredient is mindfulness. It is imperative to make mental or physical notes of your hunger pangs, thirst signals, cravings, most importantly your mental presence when you are sitting with your plate and enjoying every bite. It all relates to our body-mind synchronisation that responds well to a sustainable nutritious meal rather than any fad diet aimed solely at weight loss. 

Let me tell you about a fad everyone seems to be following quite blindly these days — Lemon honey water! It seems like everyone proudly claims to be perfect for weight loss. 

In fact, a patient who came into my clinic said that they started the day with warm water with lemon and honey. I smiled and asked if the patient knew its real benefits. They responded with an instant smile stating do you really not know its benefits? I got a prompt reply that it was the best thing for weight loss, and asked did I not know about this. I then responded with a simple question, “Why are you here, if it’s so good for losing weight”?

It takes a moment and then the hack finally unravels, that is the effect of following this herd mentality. We all want to be slim with quick fixes without knowing how harmful it could actually be to our bodies.

Allow me to explain. Do you know your honey lemon water is nothing short of poison if you are having it with warm water? As per ayurvedic principles, honey should never be warmed, cooked or heated under any condition. Warm honey increases ‘Ama’  which is a kind of toxic substance giving rise to gastric disorders and gradually affects our other organs too. When we enter any grocery store there are a variety of honey on the shelves which are usually preheated under extreme temperatures and that itself makes it toxic to have. In addition to it, this so-called beneficial honey is mostly stored in plastic containers.  

Heating anything that contains sugar can release a chemical called 5-hydroxymethylfurfural or HMF which is believed to be carcinogenic in nature and selling it in a plastic container adds only more. Knowing this, would you still like to walk on this path?

All the MasterChef’s out in the world have also followed the trend and have started using honey to glaze their recipes and attract more consumers. If you visit any spa or come out of the gym, the first thing people consume is green tea with honey in lukewarm water.

1 tablespoon of honey (21 grams) contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, including fructose, glucose, maltose and sucrose. 

Quit shocking? Especially for those calorie watchers! 

For many fad followers according to them, one glass is not sufficient as 3-4 glasses of green tea with lemon honey might help in their weight loss. It’s quite fascinating, how we all follow our own version of these fad diets and #trends, isn’t it?

I would like to leave a special message to all blind followers to please spare your kidneys and stomach as all such things that only create more acid in our system, harms our oesophagal lining and gradually puts pressure on the kidneys.

Apart from this, lemon honey water harms our tooth enamel due to its high citric acid content.

After having read all of these disadvantages you might be wondering, are there no advantages at all?

Yes, definitely lemon and honey have their own individual properties which can be quite helpful. 

Lemon being a rich source of vitamin c, flavonoids, potassium and citric acid is beneficial in preventing kidney stones, reducing high triglycerides and helping in secreting digestive juices.

Honey is a healer in itself as it has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

The best combination of honey and lemon is to have it in plain water to avail of all of its benefits. One can also take one teaspoon of honey to add a few drops of lemon and ginger juice to reduce congestion in the chest.

If you have a cough tendency then and only then have lukewarm water with honey. That works well as it helps to remove phlegm from the chest.

I conclude my article by saying that it is all about balance and moderation that’s the key to handling food while taking in all of its benefits. Also, listen to your body as it speaks every single minute. It’s all about being mindful to hear those specific moments and taking preventative measures to say goodbye to major diseases.

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