“Lemon water boosts your metabolism.”
Lemon water does not boost your metabolism: the lemon has not been shown to raise calories burned in people, and room-temperature water does not raise them either.
Drink lemon water if you like the taste or if it helps you drink more water, but do not expect it to speed up your metabolism or burn fat.
Choose plain or lemon water by taste.
Safety note: Frequent acidic drinks can erode tooth enamel or worsen reflux. Avoid brushing immediately after an acidic drink, and do not use highly concentrated lemon juice as a cleanse.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you have weight change you cannot explain, reflux that does not go away, or you follow very restrictive detox practices. A dentist can advise on tooth sensitivity or enamel wear.
Lab studies show plain water at room temperature does not raise calories burned and very cold water raises them only slightly, and human studies of citrus are limited and inconsistent. No good trial has tested lemon water itself, but its parts have been tested in people and show no real effect, which is why the verdict is False with Limited confidence.
Lemon water does not boost your metabolism: the lemon has not been shown to raise calories burned in people, and room-temperature water does not raise them either. In lab studies, about 2 cups of room-temperature water did not raise energy use any more than a sham drink. Only water temperature makes a measurable difference, and it has nothing to do with the lemon: about 2 cups of water at 37 degrees Fahrenheit raised energy use 4.5 percent for an hour, only a few calories.
A review of citrus fruits and energy use found promising results in cell and animal studies but limited and inconsistent results in people, and much of that research used whole fruit or concentrated extracts rather than a splash of lemon juice in water.
- Charrière N, Miles-Chan JL, Montani JP, Dulloo AG. Water-induced thermogenesis and fat oxidation: a reassessment. Nutrition & Diabetes. 2015;5:e190. DOI: 10.1038/nutd.2015.41. PMID: 26690288. PMCID: PMC4735055
- Brown CM, Dulloo AG, Montani JP. Water-induced thermogenesis reconsidered: the effects of osmolality and water temperature on energy expenditure after drinking. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2006;91(9):3598-3602. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2006-0407. PMID: 16822824
- Aslan MN, Sukan-Karaçağıl B, Acar-Tek N. Roles of citrus fruits on energy expenditure, body weight management, and metabolic biomarkers: a comprehensive review. Nutrition Reviews. 2024;82(9):1292-1307. DOI: 10.1093/nutrit/nuad116. PMID: 37702528. PMCID: PMC11317776