Recently we had our oldest son home from college and he brought his new girlfriend. She was a wonderful, beautiful girl, inside and out. One thing that really impressed me was how health conscience she was, especially for a 22 year old. Each morning she would make this ginger lemon detox tea and I talked to her about it…
I later looked further into the benefits of this tea. I was excited to work this into my morning routine after learning more about it…it has amazing health benefits!
It is now my morning ritual that I look forward to each day. It is the very first thing I do each morning. Having a ritual like this helps you feel like you are on the right track for the rest of the day. I know, you're probably thinking, "What, no coffee??" I understand, coffee used to be the very first thing I had each morning, but this tea makes me feel SO much better than coffee ever did. Coffee actually has you starting out your day dehydrated…and dehydration makes you feel hungry. Also, for most people, coffee includes sugar and dairy. I sometimes have an Espresso as a treat later in the day…but sometimes not. It feels better to not depend on it.
It's essentially a "daily detox" that has 5 main health benefits...
1. Lemon water is alkalizing…disease thrives in an acidic environment, so keeping your body in an alkaline state is healthier. Remember, cancer can't live in an alkaline environment. Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant.
2. Warm lemon water hydrates you and jump starts the lymphatic system to help remove toxins. Ginger helps elimination of those toxins through the colon. Both lemon and ginger cleanse the liver. Together, they flush toxins and boost your metabolism.
3. Ginger helps break up mucous in the body that can be built up by grains. Both have healthy enzymes, so together they help with proper digestion. Ginger also helps digest protein, so that's perfect before your protein smoothie!
4. Your skin will glow! This tea is better than an anti-aging cream...with Vitamins B & C, and healthy minerals that help stimulate collagen. Skin cannot glow when it's acidic and toxic.
5. Weight loss…Alkaline people lose weight more efficiently than those in an acidic state. Sugars and grains cause insulin spikes leading to glycogen being stored as fat. Ginger, being an anti-inflammatory…people with chronic inflammation hold onto bloat because the body is trying to fight the inflammation. Lemon is a diuretic and stimulates production of bile which helps emulsify fats. An alkaline, toxic free body equals a lean body.
How to make the ginger lemon detox tea:
Start your tea kettle filled with water, while it's heating...
Grate about 1/2 inch of ginger with a zester into a small cup. Pour steaming, but not boiling water into the cup and let it steep for 3-5 mins. Add the juice 1/2 a lemon…(1 tbsp). If you like it as is, great…but I like to add a tsp of raw honey. Raw honey has health benefits, so that or stevia are ok.
Note: I do one other step as I don't like a lot of pulp…I steep the ginger in one cup and add the lemon to another cup. When the ginger has steeped I use a small strainer to pour it through into the lemon. I then really push it through with my finger to make sure I get all the "good pulp", it's just not thick:)
Note: Short on time? This is a great Ginger Juice to keep on hand!!
Try a 30-Day Discipline and commit to trying this ginger lemon detox tea daily for 30 days and see what happens to your energy, watch your skin glow, and feel lighter! It just might become your new ritual too!