A glass of lemonade is a delicious way to cool off on a hot day. It is a refreshing alternative to other sugary drinks that can leave you feeling thirsty after just one sip. But if you drink too much lemonade, you can dehydrate yourself because of the high amount of sugar.
But a glass of lemon water is still hydrating because it contains water as a primary ingredient. Lemons are a good source of vitamin C, which helps support a strong immune system. You can easily get the recommended daily amount of vitamin C from just one lemon.
Lemon juice is acidic and can dissolve tooth enamel over time, which can lead to sensitivity or pain in the teeth. To avoid this, you can rinse your mouth with plain water after drinking lemonade or drink it through a straw. You can also add a pinch of baking soda to your lemonade to help neutralize the acid.
If you want to make a healthier version of lemonade, you can make it with less sugar and more water. You can also try adding other flavors, such as cucumber mint lemonade, by blending fresh mint leaves with the simple syrup before cooling and straining. Or you can experiment with different flavor combinations like lavender lemonade by steeping a teaspoon of culinary-grade dried lavender buds in the syrup before cooling and straining.
You can serve this lemonade with or without ice. If you’re using ice, I recommend adding it to individual serving glasses so that you can control the lemonade/syrup/water ratio. When making this recipe, try to pick juicy lemons. They will be easier to squeeze and you’ll get more juice out of them. Also, you can roll the lemons before juicing to loosen them up, which will help you get more juice out.