When life gives you lemons…

I tried the cayenne, lemon and Celtic salt combo drink for a week.

I have reached an age where I am quite suspicious of anything described as a “morning elixir”. I’ve seen enough wellness trends come and go to know that a drink can be given a rather grand name without necessarily doing anything to your energy levels. Still, the crazy side of my brain wants to find out more, and that’s the problem.

So when my husband, H, suggested drinking warm lemon water with cayenne pepper and Celtic salt, I thought, why not? It costs very little, takes about two minutes to make and Cyrus will love helping with the juicing … until he gets bored and sacks it off for Roblox.

Of course, H takes things one step further and adds apple cider vinegar. I don’t. You have to draw the line somewhere!

Does this ACTUALLY make me feel better in the morning, or have we just found another way to make drinking water more fancy?

THE EXPERIMENT

I make the drink with warm water, the juice of two lemons, a small pinch of Celtic salt and a shake of cayenne and that last bit is apparently important. I am not brave enough to tip half the spice cupboard into a glass at 7am though as I have a child, a job and things to do. I certainly don’t need heartburn joining my morning schedule.

The idea behind the drink is straightforward enough. Lemon adds vitamin C and flavour, and vitamin C can help the body absorb iron. Cayenne contains capsaicin, which has been studied for possible effects on metabolism and appetite. Salt provides sodium, an essential electrolyte involved in fluid balance and normal nerve and muscle function. None of which makes this particular drink a detox.

There are so many social posts and articles online promising this combo will “detox your body”, “burn fat” and completely “reset your system” and that really makes me reach for my sceptical face.

THE COST

Very little.

A pack of lemons, jar of cayenne pepper, salt and water are not going to dent the household budget. Which I like because I’ve spent enough money over the years on things that promised to improve me. Gym memberships I absolutely use, admittedly. Bags of supplements, skincare, and the occasional pair of gym leggings that cost a small fortune and then develop a hole between the legs after only a few months of wearing it. Bang goes any form of squat exercise.

Soooo a drink made from things already in my kitchen … what can go wrong?

THE EXPERIENCE

It tastes exactly as you would expect.

Lemony, salty and hot on the tongue. There really is no getting around the cayenne.

The first morning, I drink it before my coffee and that is major because I REALLY like coffee. I don’t suddenly feel transformed or have a dramatic urge to clean the kitchen. I just gulp it down. And, the only thing I can truthfully say about it is that now I’ve drunk it, I have started the day hydrated.

I know, that’s the least exciting finding in the history of wellness experiments, but it is also probably the most honest one … and that’s what I promised now didn’t I?

Over the next few mornings, I keep making it.

I enjoy the ritual of squeezing my lemons more than I initially expected and decide lemon makes water interesting. The cayenne gives me the little kick I need to make our bed, and the whole ritual suddenly feels like something I’ve chosen to do rather than something H has nagged me into doing. That distinction is more important to me as I get older.

What actually happened?

Celtic salt

Then there is the salt. Not any old salt though as H points out. This is French sea salt from the salt marshes of Guérande in Brittany.

Celtic salt has acquired quite the reputation in wellness circles and is often raved about by the sauna crowd of our local gym. But realistically, salt is salt in the sense that sodium is sodium.

Yes, sodium is important as it helps our bodies maintain fluid balance and supports normal nerve and muscle function. But that doesn’t mean we need to start adding generous amounts of salt to every glass of water.

A pinch is definitely plenty. UK guidance recommends adults consume no more than 6g of salt a day from all sources.

And the lemon?

The lemon is the easy sell.

It tastes good. It contains vitamin C and makes water considerably more appealing. That’s enough for me.

I don’t need it to balance my pH, cleanse my organs or turn me into a glowing version of myself before the morning school run. I am just happy with lemon doing the job it actually does.

I am no longer looking for a perfect body. I’m looking for habits that make living in this one a little easier.

How to make it

There isn’t much to it.

Stir and drink.

THE SURPRISE

The surprising thing is that the drink itself isn’t really the point. The ritual is.

It’s nice to be able to just do one small thing for yourself as a mum before the day gets noisy, and it only takes two minutes. It costs very little and nobody is asking me to download an app, buy a machine that I don’t think I’ll ever use or photograph my breakfast. So I’ll take that.

I would make it again.

There, I’ve said it.

Not because it is a detox or because it burns belly fat. I’ve not seen any evidence of that. And it’s also not because I think I have discovered the secret that Gwyneth has been hiding from us. I just like it because I enjoy drinking it.

It gets water into me first thing in a morning before I disappear into coffee and school runs and whatever else the day has decided to throw at me. Sometimes that’s enough.

Four out of five.

It is cheap, it tastes surprisingly good and it makes me drink water when I wake up. The cayenne definitely gives me a little extra morning wake-up call.

But anyone touting this as a miracle cure for weight loss, detoxification or eternal youth really needs to sit down and have a word with themselves.

Would I spend my money on it again?

Yes. Although technically, I’m spending very little money on it, which is rather the point.

I like experiments that don’t require a financial recovery plan afterwards.

I’ll keep drinking it when I fancy it and I’ll also keep drinking coffee, because I am a reasonable woman and I know my limits.

Would you try it, or does the thought of adding cayenne to the mix make you feel sick?