Lemon Tea (Nimbu Chai) benefits and side effects

Talking about lemon tea benefits, it is only fair to begin with the effects of this tea on body weight and fat deposits, after all, that’s what all the hype is about. Right? Drinking lemon tea in the morning is believed to promote weight loss and help burn all those extra pounds. But how true is that? You would be happy to know that this belief is scientifically proven. Studies indicate that lemon contains several polyphenols (a chemical compound) which prevent weight gain and fat accumulation in your body. They also help melt away existing fat deposits, assisting in weight loss. In recent studies, lemon, when taken with honey has been found to facilitate weight reduction along with reducing excess cholesterol.

Additionally, tea leaves also contain active ingredients which promote weight loss. According to a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, tea drinkers have a lower BMI and much lesser waist circumference than non-tea drinkers. Not only this but also the water present in lemon tea would help you shed some more kilos. This is due to the fact that water cleanses your body of toxins, thereby, promoting BMI and organ function.

Being a good source of antioxidants, both tea leaves and lemons reduce oxidative stress in your body, which is one of the primary culprits behind obesity and overweight problems.

So, add a cup of lemon tea to your morning routine and drink your way to weight loss.

(Read more: Diet chart for weight loss)

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Lemons are one of the best sources of vitamin C in the plant kingdom, which makes it an excellent immunity-boosting fruit. Enriched with the essence of lemons, lemon tea inherits all of its benefits. Vitamin C is needed for the development, maturation and function of most of the immune system cells. In various studies, administration of vitamin C has been found to be associated with a significantly enhanced immune function. Not only this but also it strengthens skin barriers against the entry of harmful pathogens and assists in quick healing of wounds, thereby, reducing the risk of infections. Further, it ensures that your immune system doesn’t get overexcited and start killing your own body cells. As an antioxidant, it mitigates oxidative stress, which, in turn, improves immune system function.

Laboratory-based studies suggest that black tea suppresses the production of certain pro-inflammatory molecules which are otherwise responsible for causing pain and swelling on injury site.

Like to have your lemon tea along with green tea leaves? No worries! Research evidence reports that green tea enhances immune function quite efficiently.

(Read more: Immunity boosting foods)

Lemon tea is known to be effective in detoxifying your body by removing all the excess toxins. But what are these toxins and how does it detoxify? Well for starters, you don’t really need anything from outside to detoxify or cleanse yourself your body has liver, kidneys and spleen for that. These so-called toxins comprise an assortment of compounds such as harmful fats, heavy metals, free radicals, excess salts or metabolic waste. Unhealthy lifestyle, stress and poor diet make these toxins to pile up in your system due to the inability of your body to cleanse them out quickly.

Lemon tea can save your system from all this hassle. Lemons are rich in antioxidants, this means they clear the excess free radicals from your blood and improve natural detoxification process. Further, lemon tea has an alkalising effect on the body since it is a good source of potassium and citric acid. Both these components reduce uric acid accumulation in the body and improve kidney function and prevent kidney stone formation. Better functioning kidneys are then able to filter out the impurities in your blood more efficiently. Being mostly comprised of water, it helps increase urine output, which, in itself, is good for cleaning out toxins from the body.

Using green tea to prepare your morning lemon would just boost up its detoxifying benefits.

(Read more: How to purify blood)

To maintain body function and fluid balance in body, one should take about 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. While a cup of lemon tea may not do much, it certainly helps you achieve that target quickly. Clinical studies demonstrate the positive effect of lemon tea on electrolyte balance and dehydration. While it was not found to be better than electrolyte drinks, it is certainly a good option over sweetened or carbonated beverages.

Being a good source of potassium, lemon helps maintain the salt balance in your body which is easily disrupted by excessive consumption of salty and junk food.

But what about tea? Isn’t it dehydrating?

Though caffeine is popularly known to promote dehydration, you might be amazed to know that black tea is actually as hydrating as water. Clinical studies report no perceivable reduction in total salts, urea or creatinine levels upon black tea consumption.

(Read more: How many glasses of water to drink in a day)

Did you know your daily cup of lemon tea can protect you from the symptoms of cough and cold? Research evidence suggests that taking enough vitamin C in your diet helps to alleviate cold and cough symptoms quickly rather than totally preventing common cold.  Also, vitamin C has been found to keep off cough and wheezing. While none of these studies mentions the exact mechanism of action, it may be due to the immunity boosting properties of this vitamin.

Lemon tea soothes the throat and provides much-needed warmth to the body in case of common cold. As a metabolism booster, green tea adds to this warmth, which, in turn, improves your body’s capacity to fight infection (Read more: How to boost metabolism).

Additionally, the hydrating properties of water would assist in flushing out pathogens and toxins from your body. Studies indicate that consuming hot water or any hot liquid increases the flow of nasal mucus. This means that lemon tea can help relieve congestion.

So a single cup of this tea not only helps fight cough and cold but also it helps to clear out phlegm. What else do you need?

(Read more: Foods to eat when you have fever)

Lemon tea is an excellent beverage for the heart. Between water, lemon and green tea, it improves heart health, fights heart damage and reduces the risk of most cardiovascular conditions. In fact, there is no end to scientific evidence concluding and reporting the benefits of all of these components for the heart. Let us have a look at each of these properties in detail:

• Vitamin C plays an important part in collagen synthesis, a protein required to maintain the tissue structure. It strengthens heart valves, blood vessels and heart muscles, making your heart function better and less prone to damage.
• Both vitamin C and green tea catechins have been found to reduce excess cholesterol from the body, which is one of the primary risk factors of heart disease. Also, the aforementioned compounds act as potent antioxidants and prevent lipid peroxidation, which is the major cause of atherosclerosis (Read more: High cholesterol treatment).
• The antioxidant properties of lemon tea also reduce oxidative stress and prolong the life span of heart cells and improve overall heart function.
• As a hydrating liquid, lemon tea helps maintain proper blood volume and as a good source of potassium, it helps maintain salt balance. Both of these help in maintaining optimum blood pressure levels.
• Green tea contains active compounds that prevent the formation of blood clots inside your arteries and dilate blood vessels, which, along with reducing high blood pressure, also assists in preventing haemorrhage.

Our diet plays an important role in maintaining skin health. A glowing and healthy looking skin is evidence of a healthy and well-balanced diet and lemon tea can help you achieve it with ease.

First, it provides hydration to your skin, which is important for maintaining skin barrier function and alleviating dry and damaged skin conditions. Well-hydrated skin also looks more supple. Second, the vitamin C content of lemon tea improves collagen and elastin, proteins responsible for maintaining the structure and elasticity of your skin. It also keeps your skin from sagging. 

(Read more: How to tighten face skin).

Furthermore, the antioxidants present in lemons and tea would help improve ageing signs. So no more wrinkles and fine lines and while you are at it, say goodbye to dark spots too. Studies indicate that green tea antioxidants reach into the skin and become easily available to skin cells, which may be helpful in assisting sunscreens to prevent UV damage. Though, it is in no way a substitute for conventional sunscreens.

Finally, through series of evidence, it is concluded that lemon, black tea and honey have a better antioxidant effect together than alone and tea, whether black or green exhibits stronger antioxidant potential when consumed without milk.

(Read more: Home remedies for dry skin)