Lemon lemonade
For it, prepare 2 liters of water, 6 lemons and 150 grams of sugar. This is how we will make homemade lemonade.
Rub the lemons with a brush under running water. Thinly zest three of them. It is better to do this with a potato peeler. Then it is cut very thin. Remove the white part of the lemons with a knife. If you don't remove it, the lemonade will taste bitter. Place the finely peeled zest in an enamel bowl, squeeze the juice from all six lemons into it, and add sugar. Throw away the remainder of the squeezed lemons. Pour in 1.5 liters of boiling water, stir, cover and let it brew for 8-10 hours in a cool place.
The next day, mix, add more sugar, but to taste, if you think it’s not enough. Stir until sugar dissolves, if added. Strain through one layer of gauze or a large sieve so that a little lemon pulp remains in the drink. This is piquant and indicates the naturalness of the product. We seal the lemonade into bottles. We cool it in the refrigerator and drink it with great pleasure in the summer heat, take it with us on picnics and to the country house. You can, by the way, dilute the lemonade before serving with highly carbonated water and add ice to it. It will turn out like a real carbonated lemonade drink.
Lemonade-tarragon
Half a lemon (how would lemonade be without it?);
half a lime;
mint leaves;
tarragon leaves;
5-6 garden strawberries;
medium-sized sugar to taste;
ice.
Cut the citrus fruits into pieces and squeeze the juice out of them into a jug. We throw the crusts from them there too. We also put herbs, berries, and sugar in the jug. Pour in hot water (cooled boiling water, but do not pour it too hot so that the glass jug does not crack). You need to pour just enough water to cover the contents of the jug. Literally ¼ of the entire capacity. Let the future lemonade brew.
Add the rest of the cold water to the jug. Throw in ice cubes. Serve the drink chilled with ice to the summer dinner table.
We asked doctor Artemy Okhotin to tell us how much sweet carbonated drinks you can drink without harm to your health.
Can cola (not the brand, but the type of drink) really make a hole in your stomach?
No. It is a myth that cola can corrode the stomach wall. The acidity of cola is lower than that of gastric juice. And there is also no evidence that stomach ulcers or gastritis are associated with cola consumption.
So cola doesn't actually dissolve anything?
No, it really dissolves. It contains phosphoric acid and can leach calcium from teeth, corroding the enamel. And sugar contributes to the development of caries. Cases of severe dental damage have been described with long-term consumption of cola in large quantities. This is what the teeth of a man who drank one and a half liters of cola every day for several years turned into.
But he did not brush his teeth well and had a habit of rinsing cola in his mouth before swallowing it. If you don’t abuse cola, brush your teeth and go to the dentist, this won’t happen to you.
What then is the main harm of cola? In preservatives?
No. The main harm is that it is very high in calories.. A 330 ml can of cola contains 35 grams of sugar - nine teaspoons. Sugar is an easily digestible carbohydrate. A connection has been established between the consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates, including those found in soda, and the risk of obesity and diabetes.
They say scientists have already refuted this connection.
Yes, there is work that questions the link between sugar consumption and the obesity epidemic. The authors of these works consider a sedentary lifestyle to be the main cause of obesity. The problem, in their opinion, is not how many calories to consume, but how many to spend. But recently it turned out that some of the scientists who defend this point of view are quite closely associated with the Coca-Cola company. This undermines the credibility of their work.
Are diet sodas safe?
To date, there are no studies that link diet soda consumption to long-term health risks.
Diet sodas (defined as no- or low-calorie carbonated drinks sweetened with aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, or other low-calorie sweeteners) are not harmful to a person's health, well-being, or appearance. Moreover, there is no evidence that drinking soda prevents weight loss or increases insulin to levels that are detrimental to our health. we have already written a large and detailed article about this.
Is it true that cola helps with stomach pain?
In many countries, warm or settled cola serves as a home remedy for indigestion. But there is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness. Doctors do not recommend using cola if you are dehydrated due to intestinal infections, especially in children: it contains too little sodium and too much sugar. The only disease for which cola is truly effective is phytobezoars - balls of plant fibers that form in the stomach when eating certain fruits, for example, unripe persimmons.
So how much can you drink sweet soda without harming your health?
According to most recommendations, simple carbohydrates should make up no more than 10% of the total calorie intake. This means that the average man can consume up to nine spoons of sugar per day, a woman up to six spoons, and a child up to three. It turns out that a man can drink a can of cola (330 ml), a woman can drink a glass (200 ml) - and this is provided that they do not add sugar to tea and coffee and do not eat sweets. And it is better to protect children from sugary drinks altogether.
So, in general, all sweets are harmful?
No, not all. The so-called added sugar is considered harmful, that is, it is not naturally found in foods. Carbohydrates contained in sweet fruits and vegetables are not considered harmful. Honey, brown sugar and fructose are no healthier than regular sugar.
What should I do if I really like soda? Give up completely?
No. You just need to maintain a balance between the benefits and joys of life. We hope that after reading our article, you will not stop enjoying sugary carbonated drinks, but will exercise moderation and maybe start doing physical exercise. And most importantly: never drink Mentos with cola.
The days of sweet lemonade machines are long gone, but the nostalgia remains. Moreover, the true reason for nostalgia is not entirely clear: either the ritual of obtaining the drink through a series of simple manipulations, or taste. The most delicious lemonade for post-Soviet people is tarragon and duchess. But time mercilessly erases them from the picture of the population’s food priorities. Why did this happen and what can modern manufacturers offer in return?
The main problem of lemonade
The main problem of all lemonades, which are served both in Michelin-starred restaurants and sold in stalls at the entrance, is the composition. It will definitely contain either flavorings or flavor enhancers. Children and adults who are accustomed to swallowing liters of sugary drinks will definitely feel or have already felt their destructive power. Metabolism becomes slower, taste buds refuse to accept any food products without a huge amount of sugar, the skin becomes covered in rashes and tries with all its might to show how it suffers. We stubbornly ignore the problem, forget about the glycemic index, near-term diabetes and, of course, obesity, pouring another glass of foaming liquid. So harmful, but so loved.
How to solve the main problem of lemonade
The problem has 2 possible solutions. The first says that manufacturers should take the side of consumers, exclude all kinds of harmful substances from the composition, think about people, not about earnings, and sell us an organic product. It sounds utopian, so let's move on to a more realistic option. The only way to protect yourself from chemical fragrances, emerald dyes and gases is to take matters into your own hands and make your own lemonade. It may sound unconvincing, but in practice it works great. To create your own lemonade, you don’t need to graduate from a culinary college or Kenwood course; you just need to know how to cut fruit and screw the lid on the containers tightly.
How to drink lemonade correctly
As Paracelsus stated, “Everything is poison, everything is medicine; both are determined by the dose.” The Swiss alchemist was definitely right, and his statement applies to absolutely everything, even lemonade. Drinking regime is a kind of ghostly phenomenon that hangs over us and very rarely makes itself felt. A person rarely feels thirsty, but this does not mean that we do not need liquids. Maintaining a drinking regime is the key to the functionality and beauty of the whole body.
A healthy person should drink at least 30 milliliters of liquid per 1 kilogram of weight. During hot periods, this dosage increases and 300 to 600 milliliters of liquid are added to the daily norm.
Monotony becomes boring, so drinking liters of regular filtered water does not bring any pleasure. It is much easier to force yourself to drink from a beautiful glass a multi-colored liquid with a sour/bitter/spicy/sweet note. Homemade lemonade can be just such a healing drink.
Your homemade drink should be radically different from store-bought ones. It is necessary to create an interchangeable complex:
- chemical fragrances for the natural smell of fruits/spices;
- flavorings and stabilizers for fresh pieces of seasonal food products;
- food coloring for a riot of colors of whole plant components.
Benefits of the drink
American doctor Frank Lipman claims that tonic lemonade can remove waste/toxins, restore acid-base balance and energize the body for the whole day. If you choose the right ingredients (for example and), then you can at the same time disinfect the internal cavity.
Detox
A fragrant drink made from plant ingredients is the easiest way to detox. Choose more citrus fruits, throw them into lemonade and enjoy the effect. Citrus fruits are able to cleanse the abdominal organs of “unnecessary” components, improve the functionality of the body, remove inflammation and solve the problem of the inflammatory process itself. Moreover, citrus water stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, increases salivation and improves appetite. You can drink lemonade (exclusively from natural ingredients) throughout the day.
We still have not learned to distinguish between hunger and thirst. Our body sends the same signals to the brain during both the first and second processes, which is why it is so difficult for us to decide on the spectrum of desires. Feelings of hunger are too often disguised as a lack of fluid in the body. The result is that a person overeats, but hunger never subsides, because the body asked not for cake, but for citrus water.
In addition, lemonade stimulates digestion and speeds up metabolic processes, which also promotes weight loss.
Tone
Scientists conducted an experiment to determine the effects of liquids on athletic performance. 15 professional runners took part in the experiment. The group that drank more tonic fluid showed higher and more productive results compared to those who refused the extra glass of lemonade.
Headache
Don’t rush to reach into the medicine cabinet for a handful of pills as soon as you feel a slight pain in your head. Just drink a glass of warm or chilled lemonade - after a few minutes the pain will subside and disappear forever. Headache may be associated with dehydration, abnormal body function, or normal fatigue. Homemade lemonade, which is much healthier than white tablets from a blister pack, will perfectly cope with all these problems.
Kidneys
Scientists from Australia have proven that the amount of fluid entering the body affects the performance of the kidneys. Timely replenishment of water balance guarantees protection against kidney pathologies and flawless functioning of the system.
Beauty control
A glass of lemonade can be as effective as an expensive trip to the beauty salon. Even the best nourishing face cream will not be able to moisturize, nourish and give a natural glow to our skin better than an enriched one. The skin is the largest human organ, which reflects absolutely all the processes occurring inside. A refreshing drink will help:
- moisturize the skin;
- get rid of and prevent the appearance of the notorious orange peel;
- prevent premature aging;
- smooth out existing age-related changes;
- penetrate into the deepest layers of the skin and deliver the maximum amount of useful components to them (which is impossible for a cream, since it only works in the top layer);
- activate the lymphatic system;
- disperse stagnant intercellular fluid.
Lemonade Recipes
Tarragon
We will need:
- filtered water – 200 ml;
- Jerusalem artichoke syrup (can be replaced with honey) – 50 ml;
- tarragon leaves – 100 g;
- sparkling mineral water (the quantity depends on the selected container).
Preparation
Add Jerusalem artichoke syrup to filtered water, put on fire and boil for 5 minutes. Grind the tarragon leaves in a blender, and add the resulting green mixture to hot diluted Jerusalem artichoke syrup. Remove the liquid from the heat, leave to cool at room temperature, strain the syrup and pour into any suitable container. Add a few tablespoons of Jerusalem artichoke syrup with chopped tarragon to mineral water, add a slice, 2 ice cubes, a sprig, close your eyes and imagine that you are 10 years old again.
Green Kombucha
Culinary fact: this is a drink made from kombucha. During the secondary fermentation process, you can add absolutely any ingredients to it: fruits, berries and your favorite spices. This exotic lemonade has become a real superfood of the new generation. Kombucha has a detox effect on the body, activates metabolic processes, improves appetite and fills the body with vital phytonutrients.
We will need:
- spirulina powder – 1 tablespoon;
- prepared kombucha infusion (can be bought at a chain supermarket) – 1 l;
- berries, fruits, spices to taste.
Preparation
Mix the ingredients and let the drink brew for 1-2 days at room temperature.
Apple lemonade with rosemary
We will need:
- green apples – 5 pcs;
- agave syrup (can be replaced with honey or Jerusalem artichoke syrup) - 5 tablespoons;
- rosemary – 4 sprigs;
- lemon juice – 2 tablespoons;
- sparkling mineral water – 1 l;
- ice to taste.
Preparation
Peel and remove the inner core, place in a blender and blend into a thin porridge. Pour syrup and lemon juice into the puree, beat lightly and place in the required container. Pour water into the container with agave-apple puree, add ice. Mix the contents of the bottle thoroughly and drink throughout the day.
Side effects from drinking liquids
There is no need to worry about disruptions in the body due to excessive consumption of lemonade. A person simply cannot pour into himself the amount of water he does not want. Everyone has an individual level of water balance, which we maintain on an intuitive level. There is a risk of going under rather than overboard with water and drinks.
Dehydration is the real problem. Modern man is in a constant rush. We may forget to pick up our children from kindergarten, so there is no need to be surprised at irregular water consumption.
What are the risks of dehydration? Water is involved in all chemical reactions in the human body. If there is not enough water, cells begin to separate moisture from their personal reserves. We begin to age faster, move less, look worse and take longer to digest food.
Preparation and storage of the drink
The right water for cooking
The main component of lemonade is water. The body uses it not only to maintain water balance, but also as a storehouse. There is a concept of the physiological usefulness of drinking liquid. Physiologically complete water is considered to be water that contains, and. It is this water that helps a person to cheer up and recharge with energy for a long time. Harsh filtration in industries often eliminates important minerals, but exceptions can be found.
Additional factors:
- acidity should be 7 (more acidic or alkaline water is used only for medicinal purposes);
- minimum hardness threshold – 1.5 mg – eq/l;
- maximum permissible concentration of chlorides/sulfates – 250 g/l, magnesium – 65 g/l, – 20 ml/l, – 200 ml/l.
- the liquid should be clear and clean.
Correct storage container
Modern people do not have any special space for choosing a container. The container can be glass or plastic. The ideal option is glass containers. It is chemically inert, does not release harmful chemicals when heated and does not react with the contents.
With plastic, things are a little more complicated. PET is most often used in the food industry. It is designed for small volume containers and is made of polyethylene terephthalate. A special mark is placed on PET - a triangle with the number 1 inside. This material is considered the safest from the point of view of processing and recycling.
For larger containers, PVC is used. This is frankly a bad material, during the production and disposal of which a lot of pathogenic substances are formed. There is no need to store your proper homemade lemonade in it, otherwise the benefits will be dubious.
How to motivate yourself to drink more fluids
At some point, even your favorite lemonades can become boring. And the urge to lie down will easily override your efforts to maintain normal water balance. To increase your motivation, you can pay attention to 3 important aspects: savings, permanent reminders, constant presence.
Saving
Homemade lemonade costs pennies compared to what is offered in restaurants or chain hypermarkets. Moreover, you are confident in the quality of the liquid you consume, which also gives additional motivation.
Permanent reminders
Install a mobile application that will calculate your individual fluid intake and will constantly remind you to “fill up the tank.” Some apps are so unforgiving that they will turn your life into a hell of vibrations and reminders until you reach your daily intake.
Permanent presence
Buy beautiful containers of different sizes and constantly fill them with lemonade. Take it with you, drink it in establishments, place a liter bottle next to your bed. If water is always at hand, be sure to use it.
Due to its almost complete absence, we immediately omit the question “Why is it useful?” and let's move on to the main thing:
And so, we take ANY bottle with ANY lemonade. Let's look at the label. We temporarily skip the inscriptions with “obscene” words about the composition of the product, we will return to them soon, and admire the inscription “DRINK CHILLED” or something like that.
Yeah, do you think that manufacturers care about your taste sensations in this way, like with cognac “to feel all its aroma you need to warm the glass in your hands, etc.”? Yeah, right now! In this case, the call to “DRINK CHILLED” is completely consistent with other warnings, such as: “DO NOT INVOLVED! WILL KILL! or “STOP! BACK! DANGEROUS AREA!" Those. This is the “line” beyond which it is dangerous to go.
Why? I explain:
Now we look at the composition, and in 9 out of 10 cases we find there, in the category of sweeteners, aspartame(E-951) . Found it? Well, who would doubt it!
So, aspartame is a synthetic sweetener that is almost 200 times sweeter than sugar and at the same time has almost zero calorie content. Of course, such a product is simply a godsend for the manufacturer, because instead of a ton of sugar, only about 50 kg of sweetener is required to make lemonade. What savings on warehouses, and on price! Moreover, it’s so convenient to advertise: “Coca-Cola Light - 0 calories!”
So, aspartame contains a small amount of methanol. Do you know what this is? Methanol is methyl or wood alcohol, yes, the same one that kills or blinds lovers of “scorched” vodka. When methanol enters our body, it is converted into formaldehyde, which belongs to the same group of toxic substances as arsenic and hydrocyanic acid.
But the most interesting thing is that When heated above 30 degrees Celsius, the amount of this methanol in aspartame increases! So the recommendations to “drink chilled” have very strong arguments.
It’s funny, but with chilled drinks everything is also not so simple, although for other reasons:
Back in 1969, our Soviet radiologists encountered an unusual problem when conducting their intricate experiments: it turns out that if food is washed down with cold drinks (for example, Pepsi-Cola with ice), then instead of being carried out in the stomach, as it should be 4 -5 hours, food doesn’t stay there longer than 20 minutes! Do you know what this threatens? Yes, that’s a small thing: it’s impossible to get enough of such food, and you find yourself hungry again, and this is a direct path to obesity. And putrefactive processes begin in the intestines, because such food did not receive normal digestion.
By the way, this is precisely the principle that McDonald’s works on, and we are still surprised - why are Americans so fat?!
Hence the conclusion: never drink food with cold drinks, be it water, juice, or lemonade. It turns out that you should drink cold liquid only on an empty stomach.
But that's not all. Let's return to aspartame.
It's funny, but drinks containing aspartame do not quench your thirst. The fact is that our saliva does not know how to properly remove residual sweetener from the mucous membrane of the mouth. And that is why, after such lemonades, an unpleasant feeling of cloying remains in the mouth, which you constantly want to wash down with a new portion. So, dear ones, such lemonades are not a means of combating thirst, but on the contrary, they are sources of it!
Aspartame contains phenylalanine, which is used in the food industry. Phenylalanine contained in aspartame changes the threshold of sensitivity, depletes serotonin reserves, which can ultimately lead to the development of manic depression, panic attacks, anger and violence. Phenylalanine accumulates in brain structures, causing mental retardation. Still want some lemonade?
We continue to study the composition of the product. What else is there? ABOUT!
Sodium benzoate (E211). In truth, it is a cough medicine with an expectorant effect, but in the food industry sodium benzoate is used as a preservative. Of course, sodium benzoate is allowed and approved by all sorts of relevant authorities in different countries, but here's the problem: when sodium benzoate is combined with vitamin C - a simple ascorbic acid that people like to add to soft drinks - benzene is formed, a strong carcinogen. And sodium benzoate itself, in large doses, can suppress in cells the activity of enzymes responsible for redox reactions, as well as enzymes that break down fats and starch.
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