The Lemon Juice Diet explained

The Lemon Juice Diet claims to boost your digestion, balance your blood sugar and help you burn fat, while – amazingly – letting you pretty much eat what you like.

Author of the book The Lemon Juice Diet Theresa Cheung explains: “Research seems to show that if your digestive system isn’t working correctly, healthy weight loss is almost impossible.” She continues: “When it comes to boosting the body’s digestive and detox systems, lemon is a natural powerhouse.”

Celeb fans: None yet - the book comes out in January 2008 so it remains to be seen whether it will get the celebs’ vote of confidence. However, Beyoncé Knowles lost 1½ stone for her role in Dreamgirls by following the Maple Syrup Diet, which involved eating nothing for a fortnight, instead surviving on detox drinks consisting of maple syrup mixed with water, cayenne pepper and… lemon juice.

How does it work? Don’t worry, the Lemon Juice Diet doesn’t advocate you eat nothing but lemons. It works on the principle that lemons boosts digestion and help  make your digestive system work more effectively, thus aiding weight loss.

All you need to do is follow a healthy-eating plan and ensure that at least one meal a day includes lemon, whether it’s a squirt of juice or a piece of zest. The healthy-eating plan is based on seven principles that’ll help you lose weight and burn fat.

The seven principles of the diet are:

• Drink lemon juice with warm water every morning – this helps jump-start your digestive system.
• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Keep your blood sugar levels balanced to avoid sugar cravings - that means eating little and often  and using lemon in your cooking.
• Cut down on sugar-rich foods. The easiest way to do this is to swap refined foods like white bread, white rice and pasta for wholegrain alternatives.
• Avoid saturated fats and increase your consumption of good fats, like omega 3 and omega 6 which are found in nuts, seeds, oily fish and extra virgin olive oil.
• Eat more fresh whole foods, including beans, pulses and lentils. These contain plenty of fibre, which can help to stimulate your digestive system and slow down the conversion of carbs into glucose.
• Slow it down! It takes your brain 20 minutes to realise that you’re full. If you take your time eating you’re less likely to overeat and this in turn will help with your weight-loss mission.

Combine these principles with a recommended 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, five times a week and within a week you should start to feel the difference.

Advantages: With easy meal plans, eating guidelines and exercise tips, The Lemon Juice Diet is simple to follow. It’s basically a low-fat meal plan with a squeeze of lemon for good measure to help kick-start your digestive system into working more efficiently. It also gives you helpful advice for maintaining a stable blood sugar level to avoid any of those nasty sweet cravings.

Disadvantages: There don’t seem to be any – unless of course you don’t like lemons or you have citrus allergy. If you suffer from heartburn, kidney or gall-bladder problems, you’re also advised to consult your GP before going on the diet.

What the experts say: At first glance, this seems like yet another quirky diet – drinking lemon juice with warm water every morning sounds a bit faddy. But when you look into it and realise that studies suggest lemons may help dieters in a number of ways, suddenly it doesn’t sound so quirky. One US study found that the pectin in lemons can eliminate the urge to eat for up to four hours, as well as helping to balance blood sugar levels by preventing absorption of sugar too quickly. Lemon juice also makes the digestive system more acidic which indirectly helps cells to burn more fat. In addition to drinking lemon juice, this diet works on good, sound weight-loss principles found in many diets, including avoiding saturated fats, eating more whole foods and reducing your sugar intake. I’m pleased to see this diet isn’t faddy and I wouldn’t have a problem recommending this diet.

Martha Roberts, Nutritional Therapist (DipION, mBANT) and author of Sugar Addicts Diet - buy it from amazon for £5.24 

Buy The Lemon Juice Diet from Amazon for only £6.64

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