It’s considered an effective home remedy for headache: coffee with lemon! This cure is also proposed by Chinese medicine and its effectiveness has been “scientifically” confirmed by western medicine.
Coffee with lemon as a headache remedy
What kind of headache?
The kinds of headache that can be soothed by drinking an espresso cup of unsweetened coffee with the juice of a wedge of lemon are those caused by external factors such as stress, tiredness, indigestion, or overdoing things. That is, when they are not caused by genetic factors, and are not a response to various kinds of chronic illness.
We’re referring to vascular headache, the most common type, especially among women. It occurs when the blood vessels in the head become enlarged, distended, and inflamed, which alters their normal pulsation. This leads to an imbalance in the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain.
This condition must be managed promptly – if possible, using natural remedies like the one we’re proposing – because in some cases it can become debilitating: the vision can become blurred, sounds can seem far away and discomfort is felt every time the head is moved.
How coffee with lemon soothes a headache
Caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties that cause the blood vessels to narrow. This enables it to counteract the main physiological cause of headache.
Lemon improves the concentration of the oxygen molecules in the blood. Additionally, it contains citric acid, which enables the intestine to absorb more caffeine, so boosting the effectiveness of its mechanisms of action.
The benefit of this cure can be felt about 20 or 30 minutes after drinking it.
Coffee with lemon: not just a miracle cure
Although you might find it hard to believe, coffee with lemon is also extremely delicious! In fact, in some bars and cafes – especially in the south of Italy, where lemons are used and celebrated in many recipes – you can find espresso coffee served with lemon cream, a zesty variation of the better-known and more common hazelnut, almond and pistachio creams. But bear in mind that coffee with lemon cream will contain the sugar present in the cream, whereas to ensure you obtain the benefits mentioned above, you need to drink your coffee unsweetened.
So if you get a headache like the one described, try soothing it with some coffee with lemon and let us know how it goes! And if, like us, you’re a real coffee lover, you must try coffee with lemon cream too. You can even make it at home: simply make some lemon cream and add a few teaspoonfuls to your coffee cup.
At home you can also have fun making other drinks where coffee is the main ingredient. For instance, try out our recipe for delicious coffee milkshake, a perfect drink for all seasons. Or, if you’d prefer a dessert, follow our recipe for coffee panna cotta.
