The diet of choice in North America consists principally of processed food with little or no nutritional value. This common regimen of food puts quite a bit of stress on our elimination systems, because there is so much more waste than our bodies are designed to cope with. One way to give the body a much needed help is to undergo a lemon detox diet for cleansing the body and allowing our systems to recover from the strain of a processed food diet.

The lemon detox diet involces substituting a mixture of water, lemon and other ingredients for solid food over a period of time. The specific time frame can be varied depending on your previous experience with detoxifying your body, and the results you are hoping to attain.

Lemon Detox Diet Recipe

To prepare a glass of the lemon beverage that is used in the lemon detox diet, you will need two tablespoons of natural sweetener, such as blackstrap molasses or brown rice syrup, two tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne pepper or ginger to taste. Fill your glass containing these ingredients with hot or cold water and enjoy! Whenever you feel the urge to grab something to munch, mix yourself a glass of lemon drink instead. For most effective results, aim to consume six to nine glasses each day.

How long to follow the Lemon Detox Diet?

The length of the lemon detox diet will vary, based on your health, prior experience detoxing, and personal preference. A full detox would take at least seven to ten days. If you prefer a less stringent version of the diet, you may substitute only two meals a day with the lemon drink, and eat one full meal at lunch time.

If you opt for this more lenient approach, your detox program can continue for up to one month. You can also go on a maintenance plan that includes a detox day for each week. This program can be the easiest for many people to follow, and will give satisfacory results.

The toughest part of the lemon detox diet is usually the mental component. It is hard enough to think about going for any period of time without solid food. Nevertheless, if you can keep positive and stick to your lemon detox diet, you will see good results that will hearten you to continue. Don’t forget, by the end of the process, your body will be cleansed and renewed and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you set yourself on the road to better health.

By Antoinette Boulay - medopedia.com

Is the Lemon Detox Diet Effective?

Yes! A lemon detox diet IS effective for both cleansing and weight loss.

Here’s the idea:

Consuming anything sour makes the liver and gallbladder purge stored toxins. The liver is especially important for weight loss and overall health. When the liver is filled with toxins, it cannot do its critical tasks in metabolizing fat. So that is why it is essential to keep your liver in top working condition.

In a lemon detox diet, you use the juice of a fresh lemon in a cup of hot water in the morning. The morning is when our bodies are in a natural cleansing phase, so it is a good time to consume cleansing foods and juices.

Then, you also use either fresh lemon juice or a slice of a lemon in water that you drink throughout the day. In the lemon detox diet, water is a key component. You should drink at least 64 ounces a day.

Lemon juice provides an added benefit: it also supplies the body with a good dose of vitamin C.

But don’t use lemon juice as your sole method of cleansing or weight loss.

Although a lemon detox diet is beneficial, it will not be as effective as a more thorough detox. You will lose more weight and gain more energy by going through a more thorough detox.

In a more thorough detox, you will consume vegetables, fruits, spices, and herbs that are known for their cleansing and fat-burning abilities. Fresh lemon juice is a part of a more thorough detox diet.

But most detox diets (such as Ann Louise Gittleman’s Fat Flush Diet) incorporate a detox period of at least two weeks.