Drinking a glass of lemon water every morning has been credited with all sorts of health benefits, but can it help rosacea? We take a critical look at the facts behind the claims!

Lemons are certainly healthy fruits for most people! Drinking your daily glass of warm water and a slice or three of lemon is said to be good for digestive issues, acne and overall health. The internet is full of people who see lemon water as some kind of elixir of life, which has helped their wellbeing in countless ways.

So why might such a simple thing as lemon and water be so good for you? We’ve got a few ideas:

Lemons are super rich in vitamin C, which helps support your immune system. Immune system functioning has a clear effect on skin health, so getting enough vitamin C could certainly help your skin! Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, which are the substances responsible for fighting cell damage from free radicals.

Lemons also contain a host of other nutrients: B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are needed to maintain a healthy immune-system and keep your body functioning well. 

There are also suggestions that, although lemons are acidic, they can act as an alkalising agent in the body, neutralising the uric acid that can contribute towards inflammation. 

However, despite all these claims, the truth seems to be that you’d need to drink a huge amount of lemon juice to get enough of the good stuff in lemons to make a difference! There’s no clear evidence to show that lemon water helps rosacea at all. The amount of nutrients you’d get from half a lemon is minimal compared to what you’re likely to get from a healthy diet, rich in fruit and vegetables. Most vitamin C is contained in the lemon’s peel, not the juice, so it’s doubtful you’d get much in a morning glass of lemon water.

Additionally, a significant proportion of rosacea-sufferers find that citrus is a trigger for rosacea, not a cure. Citrus is high in cinnamaldehyde, which is known to dilate blood vessels, which is the root of the problem with rosacea.

Is there anything good about drinking lemon water?!

Well, that’s up for debate… certainly, many people find that starting the day with a warm glass of lemon water does help their overall wellbeing and improve their skin, so there’s certainly something going on!

It could be swapping their usual caffeinated drink for water that is responsible for the benefits, or it could be the increased hydration they’re getting from the extra water. And not everyone with rosacea has the same triggers, so for some people lemons might not be the inflammatory problem they are for others. The only way to know whether you’d benefit from drinking lemon water is to try it for yourself - with the proviso that if you think citrus might be a trigger for you, it might be best to steer well clear!

 For more information about rosacea and how to manage it, see our blog on Rosacea Awareness.

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