Nasal mucus alone isn’t typically used to diagnose disease, but it can be a helpful tool to determine what’s happening in your nasal passages. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the things the various possible shades of snot might mean for your health. A special thank you goes out to otolaryngologist Raj Sindwani, MD, Cleveland Clinic Head & Neck Institute, who checked our facts (and kept our noses clean).
Adding lemon to water not only quenches thirst better than any other beverage, but it also nourishes our body with vitamins, minerals and trace elements which we absolutely need. Lemon with water can be considered the best natural energy booster. When we wake up in the morning, our bodily tissues are dehydrated and are in need of water to push out toxins and rejuvenate the cells. In other words, this homemade “lemonade” helps eliminate internal toxins, regulating proper kidney and digestive tract functions by forcing them to work as smoothly as possible.
20 Unbelievable Reasons To Start Your Day With Water and Lemon
- Water with lemon provides the body with electrolytes which hydrate your body. As lemons contain good amount of electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
- Water with lemon is good for the joints, reducing pain in the joints and muscles.
- Warm water with lemon helps digestion as lemon contains citric acid. It interacts with other enzymes and acids which easily stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and digestion.
- The liver produces more enzymes from water with lemon than from any other food.
- Water with lemon cleanses the liver. Lemon juice stimulates the liver to release toxins.
- Water with Lemon helps fight infections of the respiratory tract, sore throats and inflammation of the tonsils. This is due to the anti-inflammatory properties of lemon.
- Warm water with lemon helps regulate natural bowel movement.
- Water with lemon is indispensable for the normal work of metabolism. Since lemon is a powerful antioxidant, it protects the body from free radicals and strengthens the immune system.
- Water with lemon aids in proper functioning of the nervous system (as lemon has a high content of potassium). Depression and anxiety are often the result of low levels of potassium in the blood. The nervous system needs a sufficient amount of potassium to ensure sustainable signals to the heart.
- Water with lemon cleanses blood, blood vessels and arteries.
- Water with lemon can help lower blood pressure. A daily intake of one lemon can reduce high blood pressure by 10%.
- Water with lemon creates an alkalizing effect in the body. Even if you drink it immediately before a meal, it can help your body maintain a higher level of pH. The higher the pH, the more your body is able to fight diseases.
- Water with lemon is good for the skin. Vitamin C in lemon, improves our skin by rejuvenating the body. Drinking water with lemon regularly (every morning) will improve the condition of your skin.
- Water with lemon helps to dilute uric acid, the built up of which leads to pain in the joints and gout.
- Water with lemon is beneficial for pregnant women. Since lemons are loaded with Vitamin C, it acts as an adaptogen helping the body cope with viruses such as colds. Furthermore, vitamin C helps the formation of bone tissue of the unborn baby. At the same time, due to the high content of potassium, a mixture of water with lemon helps forming cells of the brain and nervous system of the baby.
- Water with lemon relieves heartburn. For this, mix a teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water.
- Water with lemon helps dissolve gallstones, kidney stones, pancreatic stones, and calcium deposits.
- Water with lemon helps with weight loss. Lemons contain pectin fiber, which helps suppress hunger cravings. Studies have proven people with a better alkaline diet have lost weight faster.
- Water with lemon helps with tooth pain and gingivitis.
- Water with lemon prevents cancer. This is due to the fact that lemons are a highly alkaline food. Multiple studies have found that cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline environment.
The body can’t store alcohol so it metabolizes it right away. Since the alcohol becomes priority in the metabolic process, your body won’t metabolize other fats and sugars as efficiently which ultimately slows your metabolism down over time and as such, can contribute to weight gain.
Here is an infographic from Lucas James Celebrity Trainer that looks at alcohol and weight gain.
Mental Floss host Elliott Morgan discusses a series of common misconceptions about exercise.
Whether you’re exercising to lose weight or just to be healthy, it’s important you do it right. This video takes on some of the most popular myths around exercise and clears things up for you.
How long should you hold on to your running shoes? Is there a magical heart rate level for fat burning? Mental Floss YouTube host Elliott Morgan is here to demystify some popular old wives’ tales you may have heard before. Things like running on a treadmill isn’t necessarily better for your knees, you don’t need to be sweating a waterfall to be getting a good workout, sit-ups won’t get you a six pack, and that most fitness machines in the gym can’t accurately count how many calories you’ve burned. We’ve covered a few these before, like the fact that stretching before exercise doesn’t necessarily lower the risk of injury and that “no pain, no gain” is terrible device, but when it comes to exercise, incorrect knowledge can lead to you doing more work than you need or worse, injury.
