For me, every day is citrus season, and I hope it will be for you, too. As we move into the holiday season, we also move into the season when the grocery is well stocked with oranges, mandarins, and grapefruit. But it's lemon or lime juice that I drink early in the morning every single day. But I definitely don't want to cut and squeeze a lemon every single morning! When I buy lemons and limes, I buy LOTS of them.....at least 4 or 5 pounds. Every few weeks, I cut them, squeeze out the juice and fill about 4 ice cube trays with lemon and lime juice. One ice cube of lemon juice is about 1 tablespoon. That's super handy for my morning lemon water which is made with one cube but it's also handy for so many recipes that call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Great time-saver!
For the past few years, I've been starting my day with a cup of warm lemon water. You don't have to add a lot of lemon juice to the cup......about a tablespoonful is plenty. The benefit of starting each day with warm lemon (or lime) water is to flush the liver BEFORE I eat or drink anything else. All night as I slept, my liver was filtering my blood as it came through the digestive tract. Drinking warm lemon water the first thing in the morning flushes the liver and allows it to dump out the toxins it filtered as I slept. The liver filters over 1 liter of blood per minute. That's a lot of work it's doing while I'm sleeping! The body heals and restores itself while we sleep so sleep is critical to healing and good health.
It's amazing to see how God multiplies one small improvement in nutrition bringing about an exponential benefit. Jesus told his disciples after healing a boy who was demon possessed, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed (which is so tiny), you can say to this mountain....." (Matthew 17:14-23). Jesus reassures each of us every day that He is in control. He loves us enough that He died for us. He created our bodies so He's got this!
God has brought three new family members into the Shepard family in just over two years. It's such a blessing to see how God gifted each of my newly married children with His chosen spouse for them. Caitlin, Jonathan, and Alisha are all amazing answered prayers for me! Recently, my daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Jonathan were in town for Daniel & Alisha's end of September wedding. Elizabeth, Jonathan, and I were sitting around the kitchen table talking about our body's need for omega-3s. Jonathan shared that he could take one omega-3 gelcap but when he took two of them, he burped the fish oil all morning. That's not an enjoyable aftertaste! That discussion led us to a warm lemon water discussion and his realization that his body would probably benefit from warm lemon water EVERY morning to prepare his body to digest the oils. After returning home and obediently starting his day with warm lemon water, Jonathan has been able to take two omega-3 gelcaps each morning without burping the fish oil all morning! God is such an amazing creator and healer.
When I give my body one squeeze of lemon juice, my body uses that citrus for lots of benefits. Not only does the warm lemon water assist the liver but this morning ritual also THINS BILE which is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile is the key to your body's ability to digest and use fats. Bile is also responsible for helping remove toxins from your body. By thinning the bile before eating breakfast (or any meal), the body is prepared to digest and utilize the good fats and oils it will receive.
There are other foods that are a great boost to bile: Apple cider vinegar (Braggs is a great brand) thins bile and beets thin and move bile. Adding some raw sunflower seeds to your diet is a great food because the seeds will help your body break down fats and make them easy to digest. Every seed God gave us has wonderful nutrition and aids the body in digestion. God loves each of us so much and only wants what's good for us!
When I eat out, most restaurants will offer a lemon wedge on my glass of water. That's such a wonderful gift to receive. Any and all citrus is fabulous for our bodies. Squirting that lemon juice into my glass before I begin my meal prepares my body for the food I'm about to eat. The lemon juice will thin the bile and help my body digest any fats and oils. Take a lemon or lime slice whenever it's offered.....that's a definite gift God provided for your body!
No Gallbladder......please read this paragraph!
Removal of the gallbladder is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S. By removing the gallbladder, your body has lost its ability to regulate bile flow. Without the gallbladder, there is still a steady release of bile from the liver, but it is not properly matched with the amount of oil or fat you are consuming. Please don't shake your head in frustration knowing that you can't go back in time. Maybe you just need to do the "next best thing" since you can't go back to having a gallbladder. Taking a bile extract (bile salts) can provide the bile in a timely way to help your body emulsify fats. That addition should bring improvements to your digestion as well as improved absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
Below are a couple of recipes that include some wonderful lemon juice. Enjoy!
