My aunt is one of those people who believes that lemon in warm water in the morning is a universal cure-all. She says it cleans your liver, speeds up your metabolism, cures hangovers. I let her talk but I'm curious if there's anything even minimally backed up by this.
Your aunt isn't completely crazy but she's not totally right either. Water with lemon is basically water with vitamin C and some fiber, nothing special really. What is true is that staying hydrated on an empty stomach is good in general, so if your aunt drinks a glass of water in the morning well, fair enough, it does her good. Vitamin C helps a bit with iron absorption and has antioxidant properties, but it's not like it's gonna change your life or anything.
The whole thing about cleansing your liver is more of an internet meme honestly. Your liver already takes care of "cleaning" itself, that's what it's there for. Lemon isn't gonna do anything special there. The metabolism thing is also pretty exaggerated, maybe a minimal effect but nothing significant. And hangovers... well, hangovers are cured by staying hydrated, yeah, but any water works just as well as water with lemon. Placebo effect is really powerful and lots of people feel better because psychologically they believe they're doing something special.
To sum it up without being a dick to your aunt: water with lemon isn't bad, staying hydrated is always good, but it's not the cure-all she thinks it is. If it makes her feel good psychologically and encourages her to drink more water, well, it doesn't hurt her either. When I finish a shift at the salon I'd rather have a beer than water with lemon but whatever, to each their own haha. Don't let her spend money on weird supplements supposedly better, but the lemon from home, let her keep her ritual.
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