Nutritional Benefits of Lemon

Lemon

Lemon is a yellowish round fruit of the lemon tree, which is a small evergreen tree found in South Asia, South East Asia, and China. Traditionally it is used in South and South East Asia for their antiseptic properties and also used as an antidote for poisons. It is used in India as an ingredient in various Ayurvedic and Siddha medicines. Nowadays it is cultivated around the world for their extensive use in food preparation and flavoring.

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A mixture of lemon juice and water with some added sugar is used to prepare lemonade. Lemon is a citrus fruit that has a sour taste. It is primarily used for its juice, although most of the lemon is used for cooking, pickling, baking, and flavoring. Lemon juice is used in making lemonade, soft drinks, cocktails, and marinades for fish and meat. It is also used as a preservative of foods and in pickling of foods. Lemon slices and grated lemon skin or zest is used to flavor foods and dishes. There are many lemon flavored food items and drinks available in the market.

Nutritional Content

Lemon juice is about 5% to 6% citric acid that gives it a sour taste with a pH of 2-3. It is rich in vitamin C about 64%. It also contains B complex vitamins such as Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate etc. and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus as well as carbohydrates, proteins, etc.

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Lemon juice is a healthy drink when taken along with some sugar or honey, it is an energy boosting drink that reduces fatigue. Daily consumption of lemon juice or lemonade has many health benefits.

Health benefits of Lemon

1. Lemon juice helps to solve problems of indigestion and constipation. Adding a few drops of lemon on your dish helps to aid digestion. A mixture of lemon juice, cold water, soda, common salt or sugar can also be taken after having a heavy meal to help digestion.

2. Massaging lemon juice on the gums can stop bleeding from the gums. It gives relief from diseases such as gingivitis, stomatitis, and other inflammation in the oral cavity. It also gives relief from bad odor of the mouth due to gum problems. These properties possibly due to the action of vitamin C content in the Lemon.

3. Lemon juice helps to cure problems related to the skin. Skin disorders such as acne, eczema, sun burn, insect bite etc. are relieved by applying it over the skin. It can be used to remove wrinkles and dark moles from the skin and make the skin smooth and shiny and brings glow to the skin. There are soaps that are friendly to the skin that contains lemon.

4. When lemon juice is applied to the scalp, it can cure problems like dandruff, hair fall, etc. Lemon juice applied to the hair gives a good shine to the hair.

5. Lemon helps in the production of WBCs and antibodies in blood, which destroys the invading microorganism that provide immunity to the body. It helps to strengthen the immune system and cleanses the stomach and liver. It purifies the blood and also enables the body to fight diseases.

6. Lemon is an antioxidant which neutralizes the free radicals that are produced by the body. Antioxidants help in preventing many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, ageing related illness etc.

7. Lemon is anti-carcinogenic and it prevents the body to develop cancer cells in the body. It prevents the improper metabolism of cells and reduces the incidence of cancer in individuals prone for cancer. The antioxidant in Lemon deactivates the free radicals that are generated due to metabolism and prevents cancer predisposition.

8. Lemon water can help reduce rheumatic disease and arthritis. It reduces inflammation that occurs in the body by flushing out inflammatory content and toxins out of the body.

9. It prevents the disease caused by the deficiency of vitamin C in the body called as scurvy. Lemon juice provides an infusion of vitamin C or ascorbic acid thus preventing the deficiency signs of the disease. Vitamin C also helps the body to develop resistance against diseases and infectious agents. It scavenges harmful inflammatory free radicals in the body.

10. Lemons also contain several varieties of phytochemicals. Flavonoid glycosides such as hesperetin and naringenin are found in lemons and other citrus fruits. These acts as antioxidants that scavenge free radicals, anti-inflammatory, and immune modulator substances. They reduce the oxidative damage caused by the free radicals on the cell structure.

11. Lemon contains the B complex vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate etc. These vitamins help promote the functioning of brain properly and reduce fatigue and tiredness. It helps to prevent mental stress and depression.

12. It helps to promote weight loss helping to reduce the body weight faster. Lemon is mixed with water and honey for reducing the body weight.

13. Lemon owing to its high potassium content prevents from getting heart problems. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and helps relax the body and mind.

14. Lemon juice helps to fight throat infections. Lemon helps in fighting throat problems such as throat infections, sore throat, and tonsillitis. It helps to ward off throat problems by its antibacterial action.

15. Drinking lemon juice helps partly in getting rid of kidney stone formation. Because the lemon juice contains excess potassium, it must not be taken profusely.

16. Lemon drink helps to break the fever symptoms by increasing perspiration. It can treat a person who is suffering from cold, flu, or fever.