Many Americans and people around the world start their day off with a hot cup of coffee. The smell alone is enough to wake some people up.
It is well known that the caffeine in coffee combats adenosine in the brain and makes you feel more energetic after consuming it.
This is the main reason why many people drink coffee in the morning.
There are also people who swear by drinking a refreshing glass of lemon water in the morning to start their days off right.
What would happen if we combined these two tasty morning drinks to create one ultimate morning drink? This is where the trend of lemon coffee started.
Let’s understand this drink and how it can have massive health benefits for you according to nutritionists and science.
What is lemon coffee and why do people drink it
Well, lemon coffee is as simple as it sounds. You just mix coffee and lemon together and that’s it. So what’s all the hubbub about?
Lemon in coffee actually has a lot of history and may even be the original iced coffee!
There is a European coffee drink called Mazagran with coffee (usually espresso), lemon, and sugar.
This drink comes from Algeria and is very popular in Portugal and is thought to be the original iced coffee. According to Wikipedia the history of this drink dates all the way back to the 1830s during the French Invasion of Algeria.
There are many health benefits that are attributed to coffee and lemons.
People think that by adding lemon to their coffee they can receive health benefits, lose weight and be healthier.
While it is true that both coffee and lemon are known for their high amounts of antioxidants, which can help the body, there are too many health benefits attributed to this drink to just be antioxidants.
Coffee also contains vitamins such as B12, B5, manganese, potassium, magnesium, and niacin.
Continue reading if you want to find out if lemon coffee can actually help you lose weight, and be healthier!
Lemon coffee weight loss, health benefits, and side effects
While there are many claims that individually coffee and lemons are healthy there are a lot of unfounded claims about lemon coffee that can make you scratch your head.
To be honest, a lot of these claims don’t hold up and are actually straight-up untrue.
Does lemon coffee help you lose weight?
No, drinking lemon coffee cannot actually help you lose weight.
However, coffee can actually help you lose weight and you don’t need to add lemon to get this benefit.
So it isn’t lemon coffee that helps you lose weight but just the coffee. This is because the caffeine in the coffee boosts your metabolic rate and helps you burn more calories throughout the day.
Coffee also has appetite suppressing effects which can help you become calorie deficient. This combined with the metabolism boost can cause you to lose weight.
This is because you will eat fewer calories than what your body needs to function so it will break down some of your body’s stored fats over time to create energy. If this sounds scary, don’t worry this is a natural process and is part of losing weight!
Does lemon coffee give you better skin?
This one might be true. Coffee and lemon both have several factors that can contribute to better skin.
There are no proven medical studies that prove that drinking lemon coffee will improve your skin, but individually there are things that can help with your beauty routine.
First, lemon can improve collagen production in your skin due to its vitamin C content. Citrus fruits are usually high in vitamin C and can give you a lot of benefits.
One of the benefits of vitamin C is improved skin health. Your skin will become more elastic and tight, something everyone should try to achieve.
Coffee can also help due to the caffeine inside the beans. Caffeine improves circulation and is often used as a scrub for this reason. Drinking coffee can improve blood flow improving skin health and promoting new skin growth.
There are also anti-aging effects that can be attributed to coffee. This study shows how coffee is a large source of polyphenols that supplies antioxidants to the body. This is proved to mediate skin photoaging, which is when your skin forms pigmented spots and wrinkles.
With these two pieces of evidence, it would be easy to assume that by drinking lemon and coffee together you should gain the benefits from both of these drinks.
Does lemon coffee help with migraines?
Have you ever heard of the saying:
“Coffee makes the headache go away”.
Well, there may be some science behind this saying!
Coffee combined with lemon has a mild analgesic effect that can help relieve headaches and even migraines.
From a scientific point of view caffeine and lemon juice, specifically citric acid is a winning combination.
The caffeine in the coffee causes a vasoconstrictive effect which constricts blood vessels, and this can reverse the widening of blood vessels which is usually the cause of migraines. Citric acid turns caffeine into a salt that is easily absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream.
This combination can give relief against headaches and may even help with migraines.
Side effects of drinking lemon coffee
While there are no real side effects to drinking lemon coffee there are a few things that you should keep in mind when consuming this drink.
Lemon juice and coffee are both really acidic drinks so if you continue drinking lemon coffee you may suffer from acidity.
One side effect of acidic drinks, in general, is tooth damage. Many acidic beverages can damage teeth over time. Keep an eye out for these things:
Enamel Erosion
Enamel is the hard outer layer of your teeth and does not grow back. Acid can slowly strip away the enamel of your teeth and can cause your teeth to look discolored or even have indentations.
Dentin Exposure
Once the enamel of your teeth is eroded there is the dentin that becomes exposed. This makes your teeth look yellow and can be unappealing.
Sensitive Teeth
Once your dentin is exposed your teeth will become more sensitive to heat, cold, and even sweets. This is extremely unpleasant so make sure to stop drinking acidic drinks as frequently if you see the previous side effects.
How do you make lemon coffee?
This drink is extremely simple to make and I highly encourage anyone reading this article to try this at home. You don’t need any special ingredients and you will be left with a tasty drink that is healthy and has tons of history.
What you need to make lemon coffee
- Ice
- 1 cup of black coffee brewed however you prefer
- 1 lemon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
- A sweetener such as sugar, syrup, or honey
- 1 lemon wedge (optional)
- Cinnamon or vanilla (optional)
How to make lemon coffee at home
- Fill a glass with ice, larger pieces of ice are preferred because they will melt slower and make your drink less diluted. The best ice to use would be one big piece of ice made in a special ice tray.
- Brew one cup of black coffee through your preferred method. I love using stovetop espresso coffee with this recipe because it is simple, quick, and is perfect for making lemon coffee.
- Pour the hot coffee over the ice and let it chill
- Prepare your lemon juice by juicing 1 whole lemon
- Mix in your lemon juice and sweeteners to taste
- Garnish the cup with a slice of lemon or some lemon peel (optional)
Conclusion
That’s it that’s all you need to know about this amazing drink. All that’s left to do now is to make this tasty beverage at home.
I enjoy this drink in the morning with a light roasted coffee because the lemon cuts through the bitterness of the coffee and lets the bright flavors come through. It also makes the coffee lighter which is a good fit for the mornings when you want something fresh to pick you up.