My ‘Good-Morning-Sunshine’ Drink: Honey & Lemons In Warm Water

Every body needs a morning drink to really get going.

For some, it’s coffee (or the Mexican Cocoa my husband loves). It may be a nourishing, stimulating tea; chugging several hydrating glasses of pure water, and juice for others.

During the night, we typically haven’t been drinking anything, so our cells, particularly brain cells, are dehydrated and will require energy and sufficient fluids to function optimally in the morning.

I have habitually consumed lemon water first thing in the morning for years. But both lemon and raw honey together contain greater therapeutic properties that folk medicine says, when combined, make a powerful, healthy restorative medicine.

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Lemons, First Thing In the Morning

I recommend beginning each day…first thing in the morning, before any other food or drink…with a glass of honeyed lemon water. Why you ask?

The benefits are remarkable:

• After a night’s sleep, lemons provide an ideal flush/detox of the body’s hepatic and biliary systems.
• The lemon juice in particular is a great cleanser and purifier of blood, liver and kidney’s.
• Lemon juice (although acidic in nature) is anionic and therefore produces an alkalizing effect on the body. This is important because the more alkaline your body is, the healthier it is. Disease states only occur when the body pH is acidic. Being alkaline also helps further the detoxification processes.
• Lemon juice is a great source of Vitamin C: supports immune function. Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron and B-vitamins are also in lemon juice
• Lemon juice supports digestive function and can relieve conditions such as heartburn, indigestion, flatulence diarrhea and constipation.

Raw Honey & Lemons

Ingredients  

Honeyed Lemons are so simple. All you need are:

• One or two small glass jar(s) with lid(s)
• A sunny window
• Lemons – enough to fill jars you’ve chosen
• Local raw honey (for all the live goodness it contains) or Y.S. Eco Bee Farms Raw
• Knobs of raw ginger (optional) to make up 1/8th or less of the total mass
• (optional) add a couple TBSP organic ACV (apple cider vinegar). With wonderful health benefits and it will keep longer, too!

Not all honey is suitable for medicinal purposes. Honey found in supermarkets is often processed and has therefore lost its antimicrobial qualities. Manuka honey, from New Zealand, is considered a medical grade honey.

Directions 

• Wash/cut thin slices of lemons and optional ginger
• Start by placing a tsp or 2 of honey at the bottom of the jar.
• Add slices and more honey, more slices and more honey until the jar is filled to 3/4 inch from the top.
• Your goal is to completely immerse the slices into honey and not leave airspaces
• Cap tightly.
• Place in a sunny window for 3-4 days to infuse the honey with properties of lemons. The raw honey should NOT get hot, only warm.
• As a precaution, refrigerate it after that short period of infusion

Note: anything sliced thin enough and packed in honey will store well for a very long time. Unprocessed honey will never rot! “A slew of factors—its acidity, its lack of water and the presence of hydrogen peroxide—work in perfect harmony, allowing the sticky treat to last forever.” ~Smithsonian

My Good Morning Sunshine Drink Recipe

1.  Warm water in kettle till just warm to touch [or] use cool water. Do not overheat!
2.  Add several Honeyed Lemon slices and 1 tsp-1 TBSP syrup
3.  Enjoy immediately, preferably on an empty stomach
4. Swish and swallow with plain water to remove any traces of sugars and acid from the lemons. We always do this after eating or drinking anything but water, anyway!
5.  If you are a brave-heart and really want to cleanse or help alkalinize, you can eat the lightly sweetened lemon slices!

Research states raw honey contains:

• high levels of amino acids
• Trace minerals in quantity
• active enzymes
• fatty acids
• carbohydrates
• antimicrobial properties
• some antioxidant properties

Unfortunately, many of these nutritive qualities are lost by if the honey is heated.

Honey and lemon both possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and they are good sources of nutrients. Lemons are especially loaded with Vitamin C.

A Generational Remedy

This remedy goes back generations and is known by traditional healers for benefiting several body systems. It is known to:

1. Aid in digestion. This drink increases stomach acid production and bile secretion.
2. Detoxify and flush. It helps the liver, improving its function of neutralizing toxins. Its diuretic effect helps in flushing out toxins through urine.
3. Promote bowel regularity and relieve constipation, probably also part of detoxification.
4. Be slightly alkalinizing. Lemon juice is acidic due to its citric acid content, but to some degree it gets converted to alkalinizing sodium citrate in the body.
5. Help clear skin from acne (probably due to detoxification).
6. Help clear air passageways. It has the property of reducing mucus production and drying up the respiratory tract.
7. Help with weight loss. Accumulation of toxins is one of the major reasons for obesity. The body takes toxins out of circulation by trapping them in fat.

Get your printable elderberry syrup recipes!

Lemons are a Mood Elevator

Additionally, just the scent of a lemon has been found to scientifically reduce stress levels and improve moods. Don’t forget to offer a glass in the morning to sleepy, grumpy family members.

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