Wellness Wednesday :: This simple habit can pay huge dividends for health and beauty

If you do a search on the internet, you will find a myriad number of websites touting the benefits of drinking lemon water. Many of them are unsubstantiated by research. When I began drinking lemon water every morning (a few months ago), I started because:
a) I was impressed by what topical application of ascorbic acid was doing to my skin (see here for details)
b) I have a lemon tree in my backyard and figured why not use them and see what happens?
Drinking warm lemon water is legendary in the practice of Ayurveda. The fact that this is an age old practice and has consistently been praised for it's detoxifying abilities is a good start to why it might be worthwhile to cultivate this habit. However, I wanted to see what modern  science has to say on this subject. I found this excellent summary by Dr. Alison Chen which looks pretty thorough in the vast body of papers and research that she has summarized in her article. 
I think making this change has added a new dimension to wellness for me. I drink the juice of about a quarter of a lemon diluted with warm water. Everyday (unless I am traveling). Below are the daily short term benefits I realize:

• Elimination - being regular
• Regulating appetite - I don't feel desperate for food by noon. 

If you read the article by Dr. Chen, there are other innumerable long term benefits  - regulating cholesterol, blood pressure, help relieve joint aches and pain, etc. etc. And of course, there are benefits for skin as well: "The ascorbic acid and vitamin C content from lemons is also an effective vulnerary, which nourishes the skin and connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, and muscles) to speed up healing for wounds and injuries [27]."

Final words: skin health is very tangibly linked with overall wellness, of both body and mind despite what most skin care companies would have you believe. There are no miracle drugs or products that can give you glowing skin. You need to cultivate good habits and discipline to enjoy great skin and I believe ascorbic acid is a good tool to have in your toolbox.