01/17/2022
What if I told you I start my morning with a glass of lemon water? Maybe you’d think: ‘Who cares?! Why does it matter what Berardi drinks first thing in the morning?’ You wouldn’t be wrong.
But if you’re a certain type of person—the kind who loves to geek out on nutrition science—it might spark your curiosity (and maybe a little FOMO). Perhaps you’d ask: “Why add lemon? For digestion? Liver detoxification? Antioxidant protection?”
In other words: “Does lemon contain some sort of biochemical superpower I haven’t yet learned about? And, if so, should I be including it myself?”
If you’re another type of person—more skeptical in nature—you might be less curious and more annoyed: “Ugh—more detoxing BS?!? Detoxing isn’t even a thing. I thought you were evidence-based!”
If you’re super up-to-date on the latest research, you might even say: “Lemons, really? Haven’t you done your research? Don’t you know that [enter nutrient/supplement du jour] has proven to be more effective?”
So, just in case you’re wondering, here’s the real reason I drink lemon water in the morning: I wake up thirsty. And I like the taste of lemon in my water.
(Cue anti-climactic music.)
That’s the big secret behind my beverage choice.
I’m not trying to support liver detoxification or digestion. Nor am I trying to add antioxidant power or alter my body’s pH. (I’m also not an industry shill for Big Lemon. Promise.)
Once upon a time someone served me water with lemon in it. I thought it tasted good. Now, I drink it that way when I can.
Yet every time I show a meal with a glass of water with lemon, people are deeply concerned with the “health value” of the lemon.
Everything the nutritionist eats MUST have a scientific reason for its inclusion.
Similarly, if I don’t include a particular food on a given day, folks get wrapped up in whether the missing food is somehow “bad for you.”
Everything the nutritionist doesn’t eat MUST ALSO have a scientific reason for its exclusion.
But sometimes I eat foods because I like them and they make me feel good. Likewise, I often avoid foods that I don’t like and make me feel bad.
You can too.
Regardless of what "science" or the gurus say.