Читать книгу 100 Ways to Boost Your Immune System - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 26

Drinking a glass of lemon juice diluted with filtered water every morning is the perfect way to kick-start your digestion and boost your immunity at the same time.

Lemons contain bioflavonoids, a group of nutrients that boosts immunity by protecting the cells of your body against environmental pollutants. Along the membrane of each cell there are microscopic parking spaces, called receptor sites. Pollutants, toxins or germs can park here and gradually eat their way into the membrane of the cell, but when bioflavonoids fill up these parking spots there is no room for toxins to park. Bioflavonoids also reduce cholesterol’s ability to form plaques in arteries and lessen the formation of microscopic arterial blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Studies have shown that people who eat the most bioflavonoids have less cardiovascular disease.

Lemon is also the ideal food for restoring the acid–alkali balance in your body. Drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in water first thing in the morning or adding it to tea, salad dressings (in place of vinegar), baking or cooking, helps maintain your body’s internal balance at a pH that supports healthy bacteria, instead of the viruses and harmful bacteria that thrive in more acidic environments. Apple cider vinegar is another great way to improve your body’s alkalinity, but the taste of lemons is much more pleasant!

Fresh lemon juice drink

To make a glass of fresh lemon juice, squeeze the juice of one lemon into a glass, add 300 ml (10 fl oz) pure, filtered, slightly warm water and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for sweetness. Stir and drink immediately. Remember, first thing in the morning about fifteen minutes before breakfast is the optimum time to drink lemon juice.