Fact checkedExpert's opinion

Expert's opinion

The article is a subjective view on this topic written by writers specializing in medical writing.
It may reflect on a personal journey surrounding struggles with an illness or medical condition, involve product comparisons, diet considerations, or other health-related opinions.

Although the view is entirely that of the writer, it is based on academic experiences and scientific research they have conducted; it is fact-checked by a team of degreed medical experts, and validated by sources attached to the article.

The numbers in parenthesis (1,2,3) will take you to clickable links to related scientific papers.

Cucumber And Lemon Water Benefits: Does It Work For Belly Fat In 2024 

Alexandra Gregg

Updated on - Written by
Medically reviewed by Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN

does lemon and cucumber water help with belly fat

Our bodies are anywhere from 45 – 75% water[1], depending on age, sex, and hydration levels.  And if you’re even barely dehydrated (1-2%), it may affect every part of your body, from how you feel to how your metabolism functions or even how you look. We know that water is super important to our overall health but what about flavored water when it comes to our weight? Does lemon and cucumber water help with belly fat?  

And furthermore, can cucumber and lemon water detox the body? Turns out it’s not magic detox water for weight loss. However, it provides a very low-calorie refreshing beverage with many potential health benefits. Here’s everything you need to know to give your healthy diet a boost. 

Cucumber And Lemon Water Benefits

  1. Aids In Digestion
  2. Blood Sugar Control
  3. Nutrients 
  4. Balances PH Levels

Cucumber And Lemon Water Benefits

Aids In Digestion

Lemon can potentially stimulate the production of your body’s natural stomach acid (hydrochloric acid). The components that make up lemon juice are very similar to those that make up hydrochloric acid, so lemon juice can fool your liver into making additional gastric juices.

Hydrochloric acid naturally decreases[2] as you age but is necessary for digestion because its primary role is to break down food and kill harmful bacteria. 

If your body is lacking hydrochloric acid, you will feel symptoms such as 

  • Bloating
  • Heartburn
  • Gas
  • Increased hunger (even though you do not need to eat)

Blood Sugar Control

Another reason lemon in your water is fantastic for your health is that lemon helps decrease post-meal blood sugar spikes. So if you drink a 16-ounce glass of lemon water right as you wake up in the morning on an empty stomach, it will help to awaken the digestive system and level out your blood sugars, thus helping prevent blood sugar crashes and often improving your mood. Additionally, the extra hydration right in the morning will help curb your appetite. Check out these bedtime beverages to help with weight loss while you sleep.

Nutrients 

Adding cucumber to the lemon water mix is a great way to ingest extra nutritional benefits. Cucumbers and cucumber juice are low in calories yet packed with essential nutrients[3] such as; vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, potassium, and many others. It’s also loaded with antioxidants and phytonutrients essential to maintaining healthy skin and lowering blood pressure and metabolism. 

If you have difficulty getting enough vitamins and minerals, check out our Balance of Nature supplements review.

Balances PH Levels

The acid balance levels[4] in your body are critical. In a low pH state[5] (acidic), many nasty things grow and thrive, such as yeast, candida, bacteria, viruses, cancer, and more. An imbalanced pH can be caused by an overly processed diet, consuming too many artificial sweeteners and sugar, high-stress levels, environmental toxins, drinking alcohol, and many others. 

However, there is good news. Alkaline foods such as lemon-cucumber water can help balance acidic pH levels. Additionally, balancing out your pH system also improves your metabolism.

How Does Lemon And Cucumber Water Help With Belly Fat?

As mentioned before, if you ask yourself, does cucumber water burn belly fat, the answer is yes and no. It’s no better than regular water when it comes to losing weight. But, you might not know that water is our most effective yet underused weight loss tool. Research has shown that water is an appetite suppressant[6] because drinking water takes up room in your stomach yet is naturally calorie-free. 

Imagine you are drinking a glass of water. Next, your stomach sends a message to your brain stating it’s brimful and no longer hungry. Therefore, your appetite is suppressed without any calories being ingested.

Additionally, it is common for a person to feel hungry when they are dehydrated. Dehydration symptoms mirror hunger symptoms and, therefore, can be confused with one another. Simply put, when you drink more water, especially when you replace high-sugar beverages with water, you cut back on calories resulting in weight loss. 

Water Intake is excellent for weight loss, but your health gets kicked up a notch when you add lemon and cucumber.  

Drinking Lemon And Cucumber Water Every Day For Belly Fat

When it comes to the question of how much cucumber lemon water you should drink, there is no rule of thumb out there. However, to have a high-functioning metabolism and thus burn fat, you need a metabolism functioning at its peak level. To do this, you need to drink more cold water. 

The Institute of Medicine recommends 125 ounces of water per day for men and 100 ounces per day for women.  

Adding lemon and cucumber to your water fits well as part of an overall healthy balanced diet, and there is nothing wrong with drinking cucumber water with lemon daily. However, with this being said, keep your consumption to no more than two glasses per day. Unfortunately, drinking more than that can lead to unwanted side effects such as enamel erosion[4], as lemons are highly acidic.

Conclusion

So, does cucumber and lemon water burn belly fat? It’s not a magic detox drink and will not provide rapid weight loss; however, drinking does provide many health benefits, and a healthy diet can help you lose belly fat. It is also an effortless and refreshing drink that provides additional vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! 

“Detox” Water with lemon, mint, and cucumber: 

Ingredients

  • Organic Cucumber Slices (cut into coins) or a half cup of cucumber juice 
  • Orangic Lemon Slices (cut into coins)
  • Organic Fresh Mint Leaves
  • Filtered Water

Add all detox and natural ingredients into a glass bottle and wait thirty minutes until all flavors blend. Keep up to 1 day in the fridge.  

Wondering about other possible ways to lose some pounds? Check out whether this new TikTok trend is worth catching. 


+ 6 sources

Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here

  1. Riebl, S.K. and Davy, B.M. (2013). The Hydration Equation. [online] 17(6), pp.21–28. doi:https://doi.org/10.1249/fit.0b013e3182a9570f.
  2. Feldman, M., Cryer, B., McArthur, K.E., Huet, B. and Lee, E. (1996). Effects of aging and gastritis on gastric acid and pepsin secretion in humans: A prospective study. [online] 110(4), pp.1043–1052. doi:https://doi.org/10.1053/gast.1996.v110.pm8612992.
  3. Usda.gov. (2023). FoodData Central. [online] Available at: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168409/nutrients.
  4. Zimmer, S., Kirchner, G., Mozhgan Bizhang and Benedix, M. (2015). Influence of Various Acidic Beverages on Tooth Erosion. Evaluation by a New Method. [online] 10(6), pp.e0129462–e0129462. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129462.
  5. Pizzorno, J. (2015). Acidosis: An Old Idea Validated by New Research. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.), [online] 14(1), pp.8–12. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566456/.
  6. Corney, R.A., Sunderland, C. and James, L.J. (2015). Immediate pre-meal water ingestion decreases voluntary food intake in lean young males. [online] 55(2), pp.815–819. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0903-4.
Alexandra Gregg

Medically reviewed by:

Kathy Shattler

Alexandra Gregg is a registered and licensed dietitian with a private practice in Kansas City, Missouri. After studying Nutrition and Dietetics at Northwest Missouri State she completed her Dietetic Internship at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN. Following her dietetic internship, Allie worked at Mayo Clinic in a variety of areas including nutrition support, geriatrics, neonatology, and pediatrics. In addition, she was a regular presenter at Mayo Clinic conferences and an educator for dietetic interns.

Medically reviewed by:

Kathy Shattler

Journal of Physical Education and Sport

Trusted Source

Go to source

SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

Trusted Source

Go to source

African Journals Online

Non-profit Platform for African Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of The American Board of Family Medicine

American Board of Family Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

Informit

RMIT University Library

Trusted Source
Go to source

European Food Safety Authority

Science, Safe food, Sustainability

Trusted Source
Go to source

OrthoInfo

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Trusted Source
Go to source

American Academy of Family Physicians

Strengthen family physicians and the communities they care for

Trusted Source
Go to source

Agricultural Research Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Trusted Source
Go to source

The American Journal of Medicine

Official Journal of The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Lippincott Journals

Subsidiaries of Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute on Aging

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Translational Research

The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cell

An All-science Publisher

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of Translational Medicine

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

Federal Trade Commission

Protecting America's Consumers

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Human Genome Research Institute

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Food Production, Processing and Nutrition

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

BMC Gastroenterology

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

ACS Publications

A Division of The American Chemical Society

Trusted Source
Go to source

Annual Reviews

Independent, Non-profit Academic Publishing Company

Trusted Source
Go to source

PubChem

National Center for Biotechnology Information

National Library of Medicine
Go to source

PLOS Journals

Nonprofit Publisher of Open-access Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Thieme E-books & E-Journals

Peer-reviewed & Open Access Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences

Peer-reviewed International Journal Publishes

Trusted Source
Go to source

Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing Home

Chemical Science Journals, Books and Database

Trusted Source
Go to source

Frontiers

Publisher of Peer-reviewed Articles in Open Acess Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

De Gruyter

German Scholarly Publishing House

Trusted Source
Go to source

Hindawi

Open Access Research Journals & Papers

Trusted Source
Go to source

Oilseeds and Fats, Crops and Lipids

EDP Sciences

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cambridge Core

Cambridge University Press

Trusted Source
Go to source

FoodData Central

U.S. Department Of Agriculture

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of the American Heart Association

Peer-reviewed Open Access Scientific Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The Americans with Disabilities Act

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Organization of Food and Nutrition Professionals

tr
Go to source

Sage Journals

Database From Sage Publications

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute of Drug Abuse

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The ClinMed International Library

A Repository and an Open Access Publisher for Medical Research

Trusted Source
Go to source

The Royal Society Publishing

United Kingdom's National Academy of Sciences

Trusted Source
Go to source

APA PsycNet

Database From American Psychological Association

Trusted Source
Go to source

The Pharma Innovation Journal

Peer-reviewed And Refereed Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development

Peer-reviewed Bimonthly Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

British Pharmacological Society

Journals - Wiley Online Library

Trusted Source
Go to source

American Psychological Association

Scientific and Professional Organization of Psychologists

Trusted Source
Go to source

AAP Publications

Database From American Academy of Pediatrics

Trusted Source
Go to source

Karger Publishers

Academic Publisher of Scientific and Medical Journals and Books

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Database From Cambridge University

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute of Mental Health

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

MDPI

Publisher of Open Access Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Bulletin of the National Research Centre

Part of Springer Nature

Trusted Source
Go to source

The New England Journal of Medicine

Massachusetts Medical Society

Trusted Source
Go to source

Economic Research Service

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Trusted Source
Go to source

MedlinePlus

Database From National Library of Medicine

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

National Institute of Health

An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Trusted Source
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The BMJ

Weekly Peer-reviewed Medical Trade Journal

The British Medical Association
Go to source

The British Psychological Society

The British Psychological Society is a charity registered in England

Database From Wiley Online Library
Go to source

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

PubMed

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source

DailyMed

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source

Google Scholar

Go to source

Science.gov: USA.gov for Science

Government Science Portal

Go to source

ResearchGate

Social Network Service For Scientists

Find and share research
Go to source

American Heart Association

To be a rentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives

Go to source

BioMed Central

Research in progress

Go to source

JAMA Network

Home of JAMA and the Specialty Journals of the American Medical Association

Go to source

Springer Link

Database From Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Springer - International Publisher Science, Technology, Medicine
Go to source

ODS

Database from Office of Dietary Supplements

National Institutes of Health
Go to source

Federal Trade Commission

Bureaus of Consumer Protection, Competition and Economics
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database From U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Governmental Authority
Go to source

Oxford Academic Journals

Oxford University Press

Trusted Source
Go to source

Taylor & Francis Online

Peer-reviewed Journals

Academic Publishing Division of Informa PLC
Go to source

WHO

Database from World Health Organization

Go to source

Journal of Neurology

Peer-reviewed Medical Journal

American Academy of Neurology Journal
Go to source

ScienceDirect

Bibliographic Database of Scientific and Medical Publications

Dutch publisher Elsevier
Go to source

Wiley Online Library

American Multinational Publishing Company

Trusted Source
Go to source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

U.S. National Public Health Agency

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database from U.S. National Library of Medicine

U.S. Federal Government
Go to source

U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Federal Agency

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

PubMed Central

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source
Feedback

Help us rate this article

Thank you for your feedback

Keep in touch to see our improvement