Lemon water in the morning: benefits, teeth, vitamin C

A glass of lemon water in the morning is seen by many as a little health ritual: it’s said to detoxify the body, aid weight loss and kick-start the day with vitamin C. Here’s what consumer advice organisations, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) and experts actually have to say on the matter – and what you should bear in mind because of the acidity.

What are the benefits of drinking lemon water in the morning?

The greatest benefit lies in the water itself. Apotheken Umschau states: “Generally speaking, it is beneficial to drink a large glass of water in the morning on an empty stomach.” If you drink water straight after getting up anyway, you’re off to a good start with your daily fluid intake – our fluid intake calculator shows you how much that should be in total.

Above all, the lemon adds flavour to your glass – and for some people, that’s what encourages them to drink water in the first place. The article on the ten-minute morning routine explains how to turn this into a firm habit.

How much vitamin C is there in lemon water?

According to Apotheken Umschau, lemon juice contains 51 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams. The South Tyrol Consumer Advice Centre quotes 50 milligrams per 100 grams for lemons and concludes that this means they “perform well, but not exceptionally well”.

By way of comparison: the DGE recommends that adults consume 110 milligrams of vitamin C a day (men) or 95 milligrams (women); for smokers, the figures are 155 and 135 milligrams respectively. A squeeze of lemon in water therefore covers only a small fraction of this. As a result, hardly anyone needs to worry about a deficiency: “In industrialised countries, vitamin C deficiency is practically non-existent,” writes the DGE.

Does lemon water help with weight loss?

There is no evidence to support this. Endocrinologist Prof. Karsten Müssig states in Apotheken Umschau: “However, there is no scientific study to prove that drinking lemon water helps with weight loss.” The South Tyrol Consumer Advice Centre does mention that a glass before a meal can curb the appetite slightly – but adds: “The same effect can also be achieved with a glass of water without lemon juice.”

A real difference is more likely to be noticeable when a glass of lemon water replaces a sweet drink. According to the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Centre, sweetened soft drinks in cans contain between 4.3 and 11 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.

Does lemon water help detoxify the body?

No. According to the German Nutrition Society (DGE), the purported detoxifying effect is “not scientifically proven”. The Consumer Advice Centre explains why there is no need for it: “The liver and kidneys are the body’s main detoxifying organs. In healthy people, they function so reliably that hardly any harmful substances remain.” And: “Toxic waste” that is supposedly deposited in the body does not exist. Nor is there any cause for concern about “acidosis” caused by individual foods in healthy people.

Lemon water and teeth: a look at acidity

Acidity is the area where the drink can actually have drawbacks. “Furthermore, the acid contained in lemon juice can erode tooth enamel,” writes Apotheken Umschau. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) emphasises that it makes no difference whether the citric acid is naturally present or has been added – the risk increases if acidic foods are consumed frequently or in large quantities without rinsing the mouth afterwards.

What helps:

• Rinse: Then rinse your mouth with clean water.
• Straw: It minimises the amount of time the acid is in contact with the teeth.
• Don’t sip for hours on end: frequent contact without rinsing increases the risk.

Opinions differ on whether to brush your teeth afterwards: whilst some sources advise waiting, a meta-analysis reported in Zahnärztliche Mitteilungen found that simply delaying brushing did not provide any protection against tooth wear. If you have any questions about sensitive teeth, your dentist’s surgery is the right place to go.

Making lemon water: hot or cold?

Vitamin C is sensitive to heat. The South Tyrol Consumer Advice Centre therefore considers a ‘lukewarm lemon’ to be a better option than a hot one. A splash of fresh lemon juice in cold or lukewarm water is enough – the more juice, the more acidity. You can find more ideas featuring mint, cucumber or berries in the article ‘How to make your own flavoured water’.

Ready-made lemon flavouring from a can

If you don’t have a lemon to hand when you’re out and about: our ‘Citrus’ variety is a citrus-flavoured soft drink – water, carbon dioxide, citric acid as an acidifier and natural citrus flavouring, no sugar and no sweetener, containing 1 kcal per 100 millilitres. It is no substitute for fresh lemon juice and the vitamin C it contains, and the BfR’s advice on citric acid also applies to this product. The other flavoured varieties are listed under ‘flavoured water no sugar’.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Apotheken Umschau: Drinking lemon water in the morning – what are the real benefits?, 19 March 25. apotheken-umschau.de
2. South Tyrol Consumer Advice Centre: Is lemon water really a miracle cure?, 28 April 25. consumer.bz.it
3. German Nutrition Society: Reference values for vitamin C, accessed 2 November 2026. dge.de
4. NRW Consumer Advice Centre: Soft drinks – a sugar trap, 30 July 26. verbraucherzentrale.nrw
5. Consumer Advice Centre: Detox – unnecessary, or does detoxification actually make you healthier?, 9 January 2026. verbraucherzentrale.de
6. Federal Institute for Risk Assessment: High levels of citric acid in confectionery and drinks increase the risk of tooth damage, 24 February 2005. bfr.bund.de
7. aponet.de: When teeth are exposed to acid, 22 August 2017. aponet.de
8. Dental News: There is no need to wait before brushing your teeth after eating foods that cause erosion, 17 December 2020. zm-online.de