So I'm a very lucky person that gets to spend every day in some amount of pain. Sometimes it's barely there, others I can't do much but spend all day drugged up in bed, but most of the time it's just plain exhausting. Some people say that exercise helps, some people say changing your sleeping pattern helps, others still say change your diet. Now while I've invoked the power of natural therapies centred around essential oils and aromatherapies, I'd like to share with you something that has helped me to improve my mood and get through the days with a little less frustration.
It all comes down to a lemon.
I'm not a morning person. I don't like to get up early and I don't like to eat early. So I've been mixing in the juice of a lemon (I'll get into the benefits shortly) with a generous spoon of raw honey (I'll go over this too) with lukewarm water to make it up to fill my 750ml water bottle. This is also a great, more natural, healthier alternative to lemon cordial for any health conscious out there :)
So a few weeks ago I spent two weeks mustering cattle. They were 6 or 7am starts and 14-16 hour days. After the two weeks I was still feeling exhausted, I was even having three square meals a day plus morning and afternoon tea so not getting enough energy from food wasn't really an excuse for it either.
I got an email one day about lemon water. While I already knew that lemons were high in vitamin C and great for digestion, I did a bit more reading and found a bounty of benefits from this oft under looked fruit. Not only is it great for the immune system with its high vitamin C content (vit C also helps the body use iron), it's quite high in potassium (more even than apples or grapes) and also contains B vitamins, calcium, iron and magnesium. Lemon juice is also a fantastic way to fight off viruses and sore throats, aids digestion, gives a great energy boost and can be used to replace your morning coffee without the dreadful caffeine 'down.' It contains antioxidants which reportedly can help to reduce skin blemishes and wrinkles as it helps to clean toxins from your blood. Lemons surprisingly have an alkalising effect on the body and can help remove uric acid from joints, a common cause of joint pain and inflammation. To add to the list, lemon juice can stimulate enzyme function in your liver and contains a type of fibre called 'pectin' which can help to control hunger and craving.
So that's lemons, now onto raw honey. What does it mean to be raw? It means that the honey is not pasteurised, heated above 70 degrees Celsius. Honey in stores is pasteurised to improve the colour, prevent crystallisation making it smoother and to kill any yeast that may be present to prevent fermentation on the shelf. Fermented honey is not harmful and widely consumed throughout the world, you may know it better as mead. Unfortunately, pasteurising honey destroys all the enzymes in honey which give it its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties as well as amylase which is responsible for digesting starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta. Raw honey has all of these properties as well as being a very easily digestible form of energy. After pasteurisation honey is simply a refined sugar and not good for much else.
I get my honey from a fellow at the farmers market held across the road from my house every Saturday. Okay, it crystallises a little after a week or so but after it's dissolved you can't even tell, after it's spread on bread or crackers it's not an issue. The different flavours you can get from different plants that the bees collect from are just a whole new way to enjoy honey. I prefer red gum honey, it's not as sweet as, say banksia honey, but still has a great flavour.
After about two weeks of my lemon and honey water breakfast I've noticed myself getting through the days a little easier, being and staying happier for longer. I feel like my pain is not as bad and I haven't even felt a little bit sniffly. Not to mention that I LOVE the taste! I've even made some lemon and honey chicken and it is to DIE for ;)
Whether you love the sour of lemon or the sweet of honey, this is a quick, easy, low-cost habit that is definitely worth a try for anyone wanting a breakfast alternative :)
I'd love to hear from any one who has tried this, let me know how you went!
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