It’s difficult to consistently drink water throughout the day. Without any flavor it’s plain and boring. This Simple 2-Ingredient Daily Water Detox gives you the perfect blend of flavor, hydration, and a daily dose of detoxing to keep your skin glowing, your immune system efficient, and your digestive tract healthy to properly get rid of toxins that harm the body.
Water is life. Your body is 60 percent water, your muscles are 75 percent water, and your brain is 85 percent water. Chances are you aren’t filling up either of those to 50 percent on a daily basis. Growing up I remember how frowned upon getting up to get water or use the bathroom was. School tends to condition us not to get water: you have to sit still for 45 minutes; you’re not allowed to drink anything; you’re not allowed to go to the bathroom during class; and in between classes you only have a few minutes to avoid being late to your next class, so you never stop by the water fountain. Naturally, as adults, we don’t think we need to drink water because we didn’t as kids and we’re perfectly fine and healthy now, right?
You need water and you need it bad. And not just any water but a blend of water that’s refreshing, tasteful, and beneficial to your health. The old eight 8 oz glasses a day recommendation is nonsense. No minimum solution will ever work for everyone. How much water you drink varies depending on your body type, how active you are (if you exercise you need more water), and where you live (people who live in warmer climates should drink more). I try to drink 3/4 to 1 gallon of water a day. And the only way I get through this is by adding 2 simple ingredients: lemon and honey.
Benefits of A Lemon
Lemons are a fun and versatile fruit that can offer a lot of health benefits internally and externally. Adding lemon to your water can help with the following:
- Boosting immunity from Vitamin C
- Boosting stomach acid and bile production for better digestion
- Promoting liver cleansing to properly detox while sleeping
- Promoting collagen production for healthier and younger-looking skin
- Boosting anti-inflammatory properties
- Providing electrolytes to the body
- Regulating bowel movement
- Reducing bloating
Benefits of Raw Honey
What can’t honey do? Honey is one of the most all-purpose all-natural health products available — and not the regular honey from the squeeze bottle. In order to get the true benefits of honey, you need raw unfiltered honey. This is usually available in jars and is a thick substance that needs a spoon to break off. Consuming raw honey daily helps with:
- Curbing sugar cravings
- Anti-bacterial boosting to promote healthy skin
- Powering antioxidants to destroy free radicals
- Calming allergies if the raw honey is local
- Suppressing colds and coughs
- Promoting healthy weight management
- Promoting healthy digestion
- Boosting energy levels
- Promoting healthy skin
To start, the water you drink should be filtered. So you’ll need three additional components: a water filter, a water jug, and a water bottle. Ideally, having a large stainless steel water bottle is great. Plastic water bottles are dangerous to the environment and most importantly they can release harmful toxins called BPA’s that can cause adverse effects on the brain, and on the behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. Stainless steel water bottles are safer, plus having a large bottle makes drinking convenient. You can fill it up from your filter at home or from a water fountain if you’re on the go.
What’s Needed:
- 1 lemon
- raw honey
- water jug (ideally hold 32+ oz of water)
- water bottle (ideally stainless steel and 26+ oz)
For Work
There are two ways to enjoy this water detox. One for home use and one for work or being out all day. Regardless of your daily plan, to start you’ll need to do the following:
- Fill your water jug with filtered water.
- Thoroughly wash your lemon skin to remove any pesticides or residue.
- Slice your whole lemon into 2 halves.
- Take one half and place it in the fridge for later
- Gently stab through the rind of the other half until the knife slightly pierces through.
- Toss your holed lemon half into the water jug.
- Keep the water jug in the fridge, especially in the summertime. The heat will spoil the water and cause it to go rancid.
This needs to sit for a bit to allow the water to seep through and naturally break apart the lemon and spread the lemon “juice” throughout the entire water jug. The water jug will be the main place you get water from.
At Home
- Follow steps 1-6 above.
- Add a tablespoon of raw honey into your water bottle.
- Pour the water-lemon mix into the water bottle.
- Seal the bottle tight and shake it slightly so that the honey dissolves throughout the water.
- Drink as you want and refill the water bottle using water from the water jug as needed.
Traveling
- Follow steps 1-6 above.
- Grab the half lemon from the fridge and slice it in half (Be mindful of how wide your water bottle lip is. If the lemon is too large it’ll be difficult to take out.).
- Gently stab through the rind of the other half until the knife slightly pierces through.
- Toss the lemon quarter into your water bottle.
- Pour a tablespoon of raw honey into your water bottle
- Pour the lemon water mix into your water bottle.
- Seal the bottle tight and shake it slightly so that the honey dissolves throughout the water.
(P.S. Have fun with other ingredients. I like to add mint mostly. But you can add oranges, berries, kiwis, and even cucumbers. Have fun and find the right taste and balance for you!)
Cleaning
It is extremely important for you to clean your water jug and water bottle periodically. I only drink warm water, so this means my water jug and water bottle stay out all day. If you live in a humid area, the lemon in the water jug will begin to naturally decay within 2 days, and if left too long the water will turn sour and unhealthy bacteria will begin to grow (you’ll notice a foggy color). If this happens do not drink the water anymore.
The same rule applies to your water bottle. If you place a lemon wedge inside and leave it for more than two days. you’ll begin to see bacteria lining up against the walls of your bottle. Again, do not drink the water if you see this.
I try to limit using soap on home products I drink from. Instead, I use boiling hot water and kosher salt. You can also purchase a bottle cleaner that's long enough to reach the bottom of your bottle and jug. Add 1 cup of hot water and a tablespoon of salt and scrub everywhere. Pour the water out, rinse, and repeat.
The Simple 2-Ingredient Daily Water Detox isn’t simple initially. But once you get into a rhythm of swapping out lemons and cleaning, it’ll be the perfect daily dose of health you need to stay focused, energized, and toxin-free.
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