Lemon-Honey Juice Fasting Can Reduce BMI and Fat Levels In The Blood

When combined, lemon, honey, and fasting were touted to be effective for alcoholic disorders, weight loss, and other health conditions. However, their short-term effects on body composition and lipid profile are less known to other. Researchers from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana and SDM College of Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences, Ujire have uncovered those effects and discovered it to be very promising.

The team recruited 50 healthy individuals (18 males and 32 females) between 18 to 29 years of age. Their lipid profiles and body compositions were assessed before they went through the four-day fast. A lipid profile is a medical screening tool for lipid (like cholesterol and triglycerides) abnormalities. Body composition is the ratio of body fat and fat-free mass, or lean tissue.

Between 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., participants were gathered into a hall and tasked to avoid their daily routines for the duration of the fast. Each participant was given four times each day of 300 ml serving of lemon-honey juice (half a lemon and teaspoon of honey mixed with 290 ml of water). Participants were allowed to drink water whenever they were thirsty and were discouraged from doing rigorous physical activities in order to prevent hypoglycemia.

One day after the four-day fast, participants were given more food. Each of them received 300-milliliter glasses of sweet lime juice in the morning, and 200 grams serving of papaya for their afternoon meal. The final meal of the day was considered to be a “raw diet” – consisting of 100 g of raw vegetables, a 100-gram fruit salad serving, and 50 g of sprouts. Participants returned to their normal routines and diets the day after.

After the fast, the researchers measured the participants’ lipid profiles and body index. Six out of the 50 participants dropped out before completing the fast. Highly positive results were gathered from the 44 remaining volunteers,

Analysis of the results revealed that there were significant reductions on the participants’ fat mass, muscle mass, fat-free mass, weight, body mass index (BMI), total serum triglycerides, and total body water. Furthermore, results show that only the female participants had experienced notable changes in all these categories. While on the other hand, male participants had only lost their BMI, weight, muscle mass, and fat-free mass.

With these findings, researchers believed that these changes were because of the combination of lemon-honey juice and fasting. Muscle tissues and body fluids were utilized for energy production due to the lack of food. These all lead to the dropping-out of fat-free mass, which includes total body water and muscle mass. Likewise, fats were also used which results in the loss of fat mass and lowered total serum triglycerides. Additionally, the changes in weight and BMI was attributed to vitamin C content of lemon-honey juice.

According to the researchers, a four-day fast with lemon-honey juice would be a great way to change your body composition and lipid profiles.

Here’s how to make lemon-honey juice:

All you need is a teaspoon of honey, half a lemon, and a hot water.

Begin by boiling a cup of water. Let it cool and stir in a teaspoon of honey until it dissolves into the water. Squeeze in the juice of a half a lemon. Immediately drink in on an empty stomach. Do not reheat.