Lemons

Congratulations to Andrea for guessing this correctly!!

Thanks for playing eveyone, there were a lot of you who were almost right.......then there was Tom and Craig. LOL!!

Did you know that a seemingly ordinary substance, lemon juice can help to detox your liver? The liver is one of the most essential organs in the body. Liver failure is often fatal. It is well known that drinking excessive alcohol will damage the liver. But do you know why this is so? The liver is the organ that cleanses the body of toxins. Having a well functioning liver means that potentially harmful substances can pass out of your body. So when we think about detoxifying the body, we have to think about the liver, since this organ is what actually does the detoxifying.

Lemons are not often thought of as a fruit, or even a food. Most people would not sit down and eat a lemon they way they might an orange or apple --too bitter. We tend to think of lemons as a flavoring, maybe something to add as a garnish on top of a salad, or mixed alcoholic beverage. Or perhaps lemonade, with enough sugar to offset the bitterness. Lemons, however, are one of the most beneficial fruits, or foods of any sort, that nature has provided for us.
One interesting fact about lemons is that, although they taste very acidic, they actually have an alkalizing effect on the body. When we speak of food being acidic or alkaline, the important thing is how they effect the body after digestion. Lemons, along with some other apparently acidic substances, such as apple cider vinegar, has an alkalizing effect, which is usually beneficial in terms of detoxing the body. I say "usually," because most people's diets are overly acidic and it helps to balance this out with alkaline foods. In the rare cases of people whose diets are overly alkaline, consuming additional lemons would not be beneficial. But, unless you have an extremely spartan health food diet, such as eating strictly raw foods, vegan or fruitarian, your diet is most likely overly acidic.

There are several ways to consume lemon, given that you probably don't want to eat whole lemons. You can drink lemon teas. There are prepared herbal teas with lemon, but it's better to supplement this by squeezing fresh lemon into it or adding lemon juice. You can similarly add lemon to water. Drinking more water is another fundamental principle of detoxing, so if you drink, say eight glasses of water per day and squeeze a slice of lemon into each one, you'll be multiplying the detoxifying effect. You can also squeeze fresh lemon, or lemon juice into homemade salad dressings.

Lemon juice, or fresh lemon, can indeed help detox the liver and the whole body. Don't underestimate the power of this under-appreciated fruit.
The following article was copied from a website. Whether it is true or not, I do not know:

The Lemon Detox Diet - Used by Beyonce, Among Other Hollywood Stars

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/219304/the_lemon_detox_diet_used_by_beyonce.html?cat=51

Natural Maple Syrup. The acid in the lemons assists the cleansing process, and the cayenne pepper helps speed up your metabolism, promoting circulation and a greater release of toxins from our bodies. This Detox will help you cleanse your body, lose weight quickly, and make you feel better overall.This detox was largely promoted by singer Beyonce, who was quoted as saying, "I lived on water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days. It was tough; everyone was eating and I was dying." But, in two weeks she reportedly lost 20 pounds.

That we add very little nutrition to our bodies. Therefore, our bodies end up worker so much harder to get rid of the waste that is generated from such low, nutritional value food. Also, we breathe and ingest numerous chemicals and toxins each day, which does nothing for the health of our bodies. What the Lemon Detox Diet does is allow our bodies to naturally cleanse themselves, while we take a break from solid food.It's hard to give up the comfort of food, and the caffeine in pop and coffee. This diet will present a mental challenge to you as well. Look at it as a challenge, rather than a chore, to get you through the rough parts. Remember, you WILL eat again. When hunger pains strike, fix yourself another glass of the Lemon Drink and visualize the rewards you will receive once you complete the detox.

The Detox drink is quite simple to make. Take: 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon. Do not use concentrate or a drink mix, as these contain preservatives. 2 tablespoons of Organic or natural maple syrup. Again, no maple flavored syrups, for reasons above. 1/10th of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, more or less to taste. Mix above ingredients in 8 oz. of fresh spring water, hot or cold. Enjoy!

For an excellent article on Maple Sugar, please follow this link to Steve's post on it.