Many people start their day drinking herbal cleansers which they have been convinced would ‘cleanse’ their system of all wastes and toxic substances.
Even though their efficacy and safety still remain a subject of hot debate in the medical world, millions of people keep downing herbal cleansers in quantities that could pose great danger to their health.
More so, a recent study of 30 herbal cleansers by the Food and Drugs Administration in the United States revealed that they did not contain active ingredients or any medicinal substance that is beneficial to the body.
The study also showed that 40 percent of the random samples collected in the markets were adulterated. Another laboratory analysis conducted on samples of some herbal cleansers and ‘blood purifiers’ bought in open markets in Nigeria also revealed that many of them contained more alcohol than any of the herbal ingredients listed on their bottles.
Scientists note that because of the high patronage they attract, herbal cleansers remain one of the most adulterated products in the country [really! Nigerians please take note]. This being the case, why expose yourself to the antics of counterfeiters who put suspicious substances in bottles and label them whatever they deem pleased, to the detriment of your health?
Family physician, Dr. Segun Agbaje, advises that instead of ingesting substances that could predispose one to liver, kidney and other organ failure, one should rather consider simple but highly efficacious natural cleansers that you can make right in your kitchen that would improve your health.
Agbaje states that natural cleansers such as water and lemon, when taken in reasonable quantity first thing in the morning, have been known not to only cleanse the body system but also detoxifies the body.
“Warm water and lemon juice is a natural energiser and cleanser that is at the acceptable temperature and state with the body. Analysing them individually, experts say water is the fluid that takes nutrients and blood around the body. It is the medium in which toxins and wastes are excreted out of the body. So, if you want to cleanse your system or purify your blood, drinking more water than you do now should be the first step.
“Lemon also has one of the highest concentrations of Vitamin C, a nutrient that must be derived from food because the body does not produce it. But the biggest benefit of drinking warm water and lemon is that it helps to maintain your body in an alkaline state.
“When other foods such as rice, meat, yam, sugar and bread raise the acidic levels in the body, which allows bacteria and viruses to thrive in the body, water and lime, whose pH levels are alkaline, help to neutralise the toxic effects, reducing one’s chance of falling sick.
However, the experts warn that one must not take lemon juice without water, as lemon is acidic and only becomes an alkaline fluid when water is added to it.
Consultant Nutritionist, Tosin Akinsanya, says drinking warm water and lemon every morning keeps diseases at bay.
Akinsanya notes that lemon is loaded with amazing quantities of potassium, folate, Vitamin B6 and thiamin, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous and vitamins A and E – nutrients that the expert says boost immunity levels and fortify the body to fight free radical cells that could cause cancer and other degenerative diseases.
“There is no better cleanser or good morning drink comparable to the combination of warm water and lemon, as opposed to coffee and some ginseng or herbal teas that we have in the market these days.
“Lemon has disease-fighting nutrients, something we all need at a time when the incidences of cancer and other non communicable diseases are rising. If you eat a lot of fatty foods or high calorie foods such as bread and rice; or solid foods such as fufu, eba, amala, pounded yam, etc., regularly, you need to cleanse your system often in order to remove the acidic wastes.
“A diet overhaul is clearly in order if you fall into the above category; but a good first step is a daily regimen of a cup of warm water and the juice of half a lemon, first thing in the morning, to increase your metabolism,” Akinsanya counsels.
The expert says that those who suffer from constipation and other digestive problems should incorporate this wonderful fluid combination into their breakfast routine.
According to Akinsanya, lemon juice works wonders on the digestive system, relieving people of symptoms ranging from heartburn, belching and bloating in a natural and cost-effective manner.
He adds, “The citric acid in this fruit contains enzymes that stimulate the liver to process all foods and detoxify the body.
“Lemon juice is a friendly and natural solvent that absolves uric acid that causes joint pain and inflammation of some organs,” he concludes.
BY BUKOLA ADEBAYO [Punchng.com]
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