4 Surprising Reasons to Drink Hot Water With Lemon Every Morning

Trying to cut coffee out of your morning? A cup of hot water with fresh lemon juice is an ideal alternative that many nutritionists drink every day — and it’s not just because of its tangy flavor! Here are four compelling reasons to make this quick concoction part of your morning ritual.

Related: 10 Healthy Reasons to Start Squeezing Lemons

1. It helps you detox every day: While lemons may seem quite acidic, they’re a surprisingly good source of an alkaline food that can help balance your body’s pH; internist and doctor of integrative medicine Dr. Frank Lipman is a big proponent of a hot water with lemon habit, since the combination wakes up your liver and flushes out nasty toxins.
2. It wakes up your digestive tract: This simple yet powerful beverage stimulates your gastrointestinal tract — improving your body’s ability to absorb nutrients all day and helping food pass through your system with ease.
3. It supports weight loss: Lemon juice contains pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown to aid in weight-loss struggles. And if you’ve been sipping on a cup of tea loaded with sugar or honey every morning, this beverage will slash calories from your daily diet.
4. It soothes an upset tummy: When you go to bed on a full stomach, pesky heartburn or a bloated belly can get in the way of your morning. Hot water cleanses your system, while the flavonoids from lemon juice may help reduce acidity in your stomach, so you feel like yourself sooner.