Drinking a cup of hot water and lemon is a morning ritual for millions of people, including Beyoncé and Jennifer Aniston.
They do this in the belief that it is ‘good’ for the liver and promotes the digestive system.
Dentist Hannah Woolnow, a spokeswoman for the British Dental Association, explained: “The habit of drinking hot water and limes is frequently mismarketed as a cure-all for a multitude of health conditions. But what is most worrying is the damage this habit can do to your teeth – which in many cases is permanent. cases and cannot be reversed,” as reported by “Russia Today”, quoting the “Daily Mail”.
Dentist Nilesh Parmar, who runs Parmar Dental in Essex, agrees: “I know a lot of patients who drink lime water and I really wish they didn’t. They do it in the false belief that they are choosing a healthy option because that’s what they hear.”
There is no support for the notion that drinking hot water and lemon will ‘cleanse or detoxify the liver’ as purportedly, says Professor David Lloyd, Consultant Hepatologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary, to ‘detoxify’ the liver or rather heal damage done to the liver. You need to stop doing the things that make him work so hard and cause problems in the first place like drinking alcohol or doing drugs.
This, in addition to drinking about two liters of water per day, will keep the liver healthy. A cup of hot water and lemon can’t do that. Furthermore, the function of the liver is to detoxify, and there is no such thing as “detoxing” the liver itself.
Dr Stephen Mann, consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, says there is equally little evidence to support the use of hot water and lemon as a digestive aid.
He vehemently rejects the notion, proposed by some ‘natural health experts’, that hot water and lemon will stimulate gastric juice, helping to push things forward (by stimulating wave-like muscle contractions).
“The only thing that water and lemons do is replace fluids, which is essential to maintaining hydration – but that’s because of the water, not the lemons,” he says.
Furthermore, people who are prone to reflux — where acid and other stomach contents are backed up into the throat — will find that lemon water exacerbates the problem because it is acidic.
Hot water and lemon may sound like a social media-inspired trend, but it first became popular in 1941 when US dietitian Stanley Burroughs created The Master Cleanser, a diet that formulated “liquid cleanses” – including water and lemon – As a natural way to flush out toxins and other impurities.
However, the drink’s enduring popularity is partly due to the fact that lemons provide vitamin C – needed to protect cells from damage, aid wound healing and maintain healthy blood vessels and cartilage.
But when it comes to teeth, hot water with lemon isn’t healthy — not least because lemon juice is highly acidic and can dissolve the hard, protective enamel surface over time.
Enamel damage can also cause pain and sensitivity as it exposes nerve endings.
Once the enamel has worn away, the only option is to treat the damage with some form of covering such as fillings.
If the decay is so extensive that it reaches the pulp – the innermost layer of the tooth – and especially if there is an infection, it may lead to a root canal treatment or even removal of the tooth.
Dentist Alan Clarke, of Paste Dental in Belfast, explains: “Hot water can exacerbate this effect by causing the enamel to expand and contract rapidly, increasing the risk of enamel erosion and leading to sensitivity, decay and even tooth loss.”
And saliva can act as a buffer for acid to some extent, not least because it contains a form of calcium that can mitigate some of the damage caused by the acid – essentially ‘remineralizing’ the enamel.
“The problem is that since it is seen as a healthy drink, people will also fill a water bottle with lemon slices and drink it throughout the day,” says Nilesh Parmar.
However, they are constantly exposing their teeth to acidic water – and it is this prolonged exposure that does most of the damage.
And if you really have to drink water and lemons,” reduce the damage by mixing lemons with cold or lukewarm water instead [الماء الساخن]”.
After consuming your drink, rinse your mouth immediately with plain water.
2023-07-12 06:00:26
#common #morning #drink #damages #teeth #doesnt #promote #digestion
