Detox Your Body with Strawberry and Lemon Water

You don't need to be on a strict diet to enjoy this strawberry water. Try it for breakfast to detox your body and also enjoy its many other health benefits.

Reviewed and approved by the doctor Maricela Jiménez López.

Written by Carolina Betancourth

Last update: 11 July, 2022

Strawberries aren’t only those delicious fruits that add so much flavor to your desserts. In fact, these small red fruits also contain enormous benefits for your body.

Strawberries help detox and nourish with their vitamins and antioxidants and, as if this weren’t enough, they can also help you lose weight. Find out more here.

Strawberries: a highly nutritious fruit

The fruits of this plant of the Rosaceae family are native to Europe. Although they were found in the wild in ancient times, their cultivation seems to date back to the 18th century.

Along with blueberries, strawberries are one of the most popular berries worldwide, both fresh and frozen. Many of us can’t resist their fragrance, color, and juicy texture.

Furthermore, they’re extremely nutritious. Among their principal ingredients are vitamin C, folate, and a small amount of vitamin K.

They also contain some minerals (potassium, manganese, and a little iron) and other compounds such as antioxidants, organic acids, polyphenols, and fiber.

As well as being many people’s favorite fruit, they also form the basis of many jams, jellies, drinks, yogurts, and all kinds of desserts, both manufactured and homemade.

Some people also use strawberries in an extremely restrictive diet plan in which, for three days, they eat nothing but this fruit. However, although the strawberry has many health benefits, it’s not advisable to carry out these kinds of diets to obtain health benefits.

Indeed, we don’t recommend such extreme diets as they’re too unbalanced. Nevertheless, we do suggest you try strawberry water for its various health benefits. Next, we’ll explain how to prepare it and how it can help you.

Is it necessary to detox?

In recent years, there’s been a huge increase in the number of diets and detox programs. Defenders claim that this type of diet allows the elimination of toxins that accumulate in the body and prevent its proper functioning.

This could be due to several reasons. They include unhealthy diets, waste from the metabolism itself, alcohol, tobacco, and other contaminants found in food and the environment.

It’s true that all these elements mentioned are harmful. However, your body has its own purifying organs that are responsible for metabolizing and eliminating them. More particularly, your liver and kidneys.

Detox diets can assist in keeping these organs healthy and help them perform their functions correctly. They’re usually made up of a large amount of fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods that are beneficial for the body.

That said, to date, it hasn’t been possible to scientifically verify the ability of these eating plans to eliminate toxins. Nor to improve health conditions such as tiredness, skin problems, headaches, etc.

In fact, the best way to help detox your body is to introduce some of these health aids like strawberry water, green smoothies, detox salads, etc. in conjunction with a healthy diet. You certainly shouldn’t expect any rejuvenating effect or the disappearance of any kind of discomfort if you use them on their own.

The health benefits of strawberries

As we mentioned earlier, strawberries have a high content of fiber, minerals, vitamins, and other organic compounds. It means they’re a really healthy option that can provide certain health benefits to your body:

• Eating foods that provide fiber helps fight constipation. This promotes the movement of the intestines and gives volume to the stool, which can be evacuated more easily. Through them, waste products from the body, toxins, and bacteria are eliminated.
• Strawberries can help increase diuresis due to the amount of water and potassium they contain. This helps the kidneys, in addition to improving swelling caused by fluid retention.
• Polyphenols and flavonoids help protect the liver from damage caused by oxidative stress, thus maintaining its health and functional capacity. To date, these findings have been verified in animals.
• Strawberries contain anti-inflammatory properties which can have a positive impact on general health.
• They also contain anthocyanins and soluble fiber. Both compounds help lower the blood glucose spike after meals and improve insulin sensitivity. Therefore, they’re a good choice for controlling body weight and keeping blood sugar levels balanced.

How to make strawberry water

This strawberry water is ideal to drink for breakfast for at least ten days a month to help detox your body. It’s a really simple recipe to make, with health benefits for the whole family.

Don’t add any sweeteners to this recipe, it’s refreshing and tasty as it is.

Ingredients for one glass

• 5-10 strawberries.
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 glass of water.
• 2 mint leaves.

Method

• Wash the strawberries well and halve them. Then, submerge them into boiling water. Make sure that they’re in good condition. They must be fresh if you want to take advantage of their health benefits.
• Put the strawberries, lemon juice, and mint in a blender and blend until you have a homogeneous mixture.
• Add the water and blend again to mix well.
• If you include a couple of ice cubes, the drink will be even more pleasant and refreshing.

More information about strawberry water

Drinking strawberry water to detox your body doesn’t mean you should see these fruits as a cure or follow a diet based on them alone. They must only be seen as a complement to a healthy diet and this recipe is simply a different way of enjoying them every day for a while.

For this reason, and to help your detoxifying organs, you must follow a balanced diet. It should be based on:

• Plenty of vegetables and fruits.
• Lean sources of protein such as white meat, fish, eggs, tofu, or legumes.
• Healthy fats: nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado.
• Whole grains.
• Water as the main hydrating drink.

In addition, you must avoid those more toxic or harmful components such as alcohol and tobacco. Also, take note that processed foods, fast foods, and pastries make it difficult for your digestion and liver to work properly.

Strawberries are considered a safe and suitable food for all people. Therefore, strawberry water is generally positive as long as the recommended amounts aren’t exceeded and it’s not used to replace a meal.

However, detox drinks aren’t recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, young children, or people suffering from any disease even if they’re taking medication. This is especially relevant if other ingredients or supplements are to be included in them.

Some of the main problems are being allergic to strawberries, suffering from IBS, or having an intolerance to fructose and sorbitol.

Add strawberry water as a complement to your diet

This drink can form part of your daily diet as long as you consume it in moderation and don’t use it in substitution for other foods (especially fruit). Naturally, you should also follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Doing this will help your organs to function properly and will give you the necessary nutrients to stay healthy.

However, if you suffer from skin problems, headaches, or fatigue you must consult a doctor.

These kinds of manifestations could be related to multiple health problems. Therefore you’d be advised not to use this drink as a cure and certainly not without first consulting a health professional.